pronunciation - Intonation in the phrase "How are you?"

From native English speakers I often hear the phrase "How are you?" intonated differently. Sometimes the word "are" is stressed, and sometimes the word "you" is. What is the difference between these variants?

Answer

Typically, the first person to ask the question will emphasize the word are.

After responding, the second person will emphasize the word you to indicate that they are changing the focus of the conversation from themselves to the other person.

The exchange is often something like this (though the italics aren't typically written):

A: How are you?

B: I'm fine. How are you?

Comments

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