Intonation

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From the course by University of California, Irvine

Tricky American English Pronunciation

239 ratings

University of California, Irvine

Tricky American English Pronunciation

239 ratings

In this course, you’ll practice the sounds of American English that might sometimes be confusing. You'll practice both consonant and vowel sounds. You’ll also learn about the things that give English its special “music,” such as how to stress the right syllable in a word, how to make your voice go up and down in a natural-sounding melody, and how to naturally connect sounds and words. Learning these things will help you speak more clearly and make sure that others can understand what you're saying. This course is useful for English language learners who want to improve pronunciation of American English for better communication. Note that access to all of the lectures and handouts are free to anyone, but the graded assignments and quizzes are only available in the paid version of the course. You will need to submit recordings of your own pronunciation for graded assignments.

From the lesson

The Music of American English Pronunciation

This week, you’ll learn about some things that give English its special rhythm and melody. You’ll learn about syllables—the small chunks of sound that make up the “beats” in words—and word stress—the way some parts of words are emphasized more than others. You’ll also see how some words become shorter and weaker when we talk. Since these words are used very often in ordinary speaking, we can’t understand spoken English without them. Our goal this week is to help you use the music of English to communicate more effectively and to be understood more easily when you speak. Enjoy learning about the music of American English pronunciation.

Intonation Practice8:22

Meet the Instructors

Tamy Chapman
Instructor, International Programs
University of California Irvine Division of Continuing Education
Marla Yoshida
Academic Coordinator
International Programs
Brad Gilpin

The intonation of American English.

What is intonation?

It's the way your voice goes up and down as you speak, the melody of your voice.

Listen to the melody of this sentence.

My brother likes to play tennis.

My voice went up a little on brother, then back down and

up on tennis, and finally, down at the end.

Intonation is important when you speak.

It can tell listeners whether you're making a statement or asking a question.

It can tell about your feelings, whether you are happy, sad, angry or surprised.

It can tell the listener whether you're finished speaking or

you still want to talk some more.

Different languages have different types of intonation.

Some have intonation that's fairly flat and doesn't go up-and-down very much.

Some are more up-and-down and have a wider range of pitch.

The intonation of English is more like the second kind, it goes up and

down quite a bit.

As you're practicing, don't be afraid to let your voice go up-and-down.

Let's look at the different kinds of sentences and

the intonation patterns they usually have.

Statements in English usually have this intonation pattern, your voice goes

up on an important word near the end of the sentence then goes down at the end.

Try saying these sentences.

My brother likes to play tennis.

Playing tennis is good exercise.

I'd like to learn to play tennis someday.

Intonation also usually goes down at the end when we make requests or commands.

For example, try saying these sentences.

Please write your name at the top of the paper.

Go ahead and have a seat.

Don't forget to put away your tennis equipment.

But the intonation of requests and commands can vary a lot.

Some requests are in the form of a question.

These usually go up at the end, as most yes/no questions do.

Can you help me?

Could you come to my office, please?

Would you mind putting out your cigarette?

And the intonation we use can make a big difference in how people think we feel.

Listen to three ways of saying the same request.

Can you tell that each one shows a different feeling or emotion?

Sit down.

Sit down.

Sit down.

It's clear that simple intonation marks don't tell the full story of how

the melody of your voice sounds.

We put a lot of feeling into our words and that's often hard to describe.

Now let's look at the intonation of different kinds of questions.

First, yes/no questions, the ones that can be answered with yes or no.

These questions usually have rising intonation, your voice goes up at the end.

Is today Friday?

Here are more examples, try saying them.

Do you think it's going to be sunny today?

Have you checked the weather report?

Is Sacramento the capital of California?

W-H questions which starts with question words like who,

what, where, when, why and how, usually have falling intonation.

Your voice goes down at the end of the question, like this, what's your name?

Try these examples.

What's your name?

When are they planning to go home?

Why did you decide to become a teacher?

Another kind of question uses the word or to give a choice between two or

more things.

In this case the intonation goes up on the first choice and down at the end.

Is it sunny or rainy?

Now say these sentences.

Is it sunny or rainy?

Would you rather watch tennis or soccer?

Are you going home by car or by train?

Would you like coffee, tea, or water?

Finally, let's look at tag questions which start with a statement and

have a short question part at the end, like your name is Ann, isn't it?

Or your name is Ann, isn't it?

We can say these questions with two different kinds of intonation and

the intonation changes the meaning of the question.

When we use rising intonation, we're saying I really don't know the answer,

I'm not sure what you'll say.

Your name is Ann, isn't it?

I really don't know.

When we use falling intonation, we're saying, I already know the answer but

I'm just double checking.

I'm pretty sure you'll say yes.

Your name is Ann, isn't it?

We often use this falling intonation when we're just making conversation, like this.

Nice weather, isn't it?

Let's practice asking these questions.

Notice the intonation you use with each one.

If you like, go ahead and answer the questions.

How many legs does a spider have?

Do spiders lay eggs?

Which has more legs, a spider or an ant?

Do spiders make good pets?

Some spiders are poisonous, aren't they?

Some spiders are poisonous, aren't they?

In this lesson and the last one,

you've learned about the importance of intonation.

Besides helping listeners understand your feelings and

letting them know when it's their turn to speak, it can tell them about

whether you're telling them something or asking a question.

Intonation is very complicated, but

very useful in getting our meaning across and making our words sound more natural.

Intonation is important!

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