How does syntax contribute to tone?

Answer 1

"Do or do not. There is no try." Yoda, Star Wars: Episode V

When movie goers hear Yoda speak for the first time, his speech pattern is quirky, different, absurd. He's not speaking in tradition English syntax. It mess with the flow of his words, which gives him character, yes, but it also forces the watcher to repeat his sentence in their heads to process the meaning. That is kinda the point of Yoda, slowing down and thinking things through.

That isn't to say that you should write a paper in Yoda's syntax to make your reader think about what you have to say. But that flip in his speech changes the tone of what he's saying. While he speaks in a nonsense version of English that is seemingly unintelligent, a characterization of Yoda would say he's wise. It's a very stark contrast.

Conversely, consider how dialogue for a child is written. It usually contains run-ons, double negatives, or slang to convey the lower intelligence of a kid, without that fact needing to be said. While the words are usually in the right order, the rushed and elongated sentences of "I went to the park and then I say a dog but I didn't wanna not pet the dog so I went have found his owner and then I got ice cream..." feels like it's spoken a lot faster than the amount of space it takes up on the page.