Đang tải... (xem toàn văn)
English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation English Intonation
ENGLISH INTONATION Spring 2012 Ms Candice Quiđones THE BASICS • Intonation is a non-verbal method of expressing various meanings, emotions or situations • Intonation in American English uses the rise and fall of pitch to accomplish this INTONATION AND STRUCTURE Intonation is very closely linked to grammar, or more specifically, sentence structure Because English has a fairly strictly fixed word order, it is not an option to rearrange the words when we want to make a point about something Therefore, it becomes necessary to shift our intonation to highlight information that is key to our point SOME CLASSIC RULES Sentence Level Rules Yes/no questions usually have a rising intonation at the end I.E Do you want some water? Information or “wh” questions usually have falling intonation at the end I.E When will the package arrive? Declarative sentences also have falling intonation at the end I.E Intonation makes English more interesting SOME CLASSIC RULES Other Rules When listing items, your pitch should rise at the end of the word for each item, but drop after the last one I.E I need a hammer, nails, wood, and some hinges It is acceptable to leave your intonation high and let your voice trail off when you are still thinking but plan to continue speaking I.E Let me see… SOME CLASSIC RULES: THOUGHT GROUPS Every sentence can be divided up into a series of shorter “thought groups” For Example: “My brother bought me a new bicycle.” Can be divided as: My brother / bought me / a new bicycle Each of the divisions begins a new thought group THOUGHT GROUPS & INTONATION In a sentence, depending on the focus and the type of sentence, you will determine which words in each thought group to stress or emphasize by raising your pitch However, please note, that at the end of each thought group, your intonation must end by falling Example: My brother / bought me / a new bicycle [Translation: My brother (not my sister) bought me (not you) a new bicycle (not a pony).] *Exception: the end of the final thought group of yes/no questions will rise ASPECTS OF INTONATION New Information Contrast Meaning Pronunciation Mood or Personality Cultural Understanding *Source: http://www.americanaccent.com/intonation.html NEW INFORMATION In standard English, the nouns usually carry the weight of a sentence, when everything else is equal Although the verb carries important information, it does not receive the primary stress of a first-time noun Ex Dogs eat bones After the information has been introduced, or is being repeated through the use of pronouns, the intonation shifts over to the verb The intonation changes when a sentence changes from nouns to pronouns: Ex Dogs eat bones They eat them NEW INFORMATION: PHRASING In addition to the intonation of a statement, there is another aspect of speech that indicates meaning -phrasing In a sentence, phrasing tells you where the speaker is at the moment, where he is going, and if he is finished or not PHRASING: NOTICE THAT THE INTONATION STAYS ON THE NOUNS Statement Stress the nouns and let the tone fall at the end of the sentence Dogs eat bones First half, second half The first half of a sentence usually sets up the second half Dogs eat bones, but cats eat fish Intro Phrase When you want to preface your statement, use a rising tone As we all know, dogs eat bones Listing With more than one item in a list, all but the last one have a rising tone Dogs eat bones, kibbles and meat Question A regular question goes up (compared with a statement), but drops back down at the end Do dogs eat bones? Repeated Question A repeated, rhetorical or emotional question goes up, and then up again at the end Do dogs eat bones?! CONTRAST Once the intonation of new information is established, notice that there is a pattern that breaks that flow When you want to emphasize one thing over another, you reflect this contrast with pitch change Notice how the intonation indicates contrast: Bob studies English Bob studies English, but he doesn't use it CONTRAST: DANGERS If a person consistently stresses "contrast words" as opposed to "new information words", he can end up sounding permanently argumentative* Examples: I said it is good He doesn't like it Where are you going? *this is not a good thing CONTRAST: DANGERS Mixed messages occur when modals or verbs of perception are stressed you end up with the opposite meaning! Examples: People should exercise more, but They would help us, if It looks like Chanel, but at that price, it's a knockoff He seems like a nice guy, but once you get to know him MEANING Exercise to demonstrate the variety of meaning through intonation changes: Take a single sentence, try stressing each word in turn, and see the totally different meanings that come out I didn't say he stole the money I didn't say he stole the money I didn't say he stole the money I didn't say he stole the money I didn't say he stole the money I didn't say he stole the money I didn't say he stole the money MEANING Once you are clear on the intonation changes in the seven sentences, you can add context words to clarify the meaning: I didn't say he stole the money, someone else said it I didn't say he stole the money, that's not true at all I didn't say he stole the money, I only suggested the possibility I didn't say he stole the money, I think someone else took it I didn't say he stole the money, maybe he just borrowed it I didn't say he stole the money, but rather some other money I didn't say he stole the money, he may have taken some jewelry PRONUNCIATION In any language, there are areas of overlap, where one category has a great deal in common with a different category In this case, intonation and pronunciation have two areas of overlap First is the pronunciation of the letter T When a T is at the beginning of a word (such as table, ten, take), it is a clear sharp sound It is also clear in combination with certain other letters, (contract, contain, etc.) When T is in the middle of a word (or in an unstressed position), it turns into a softer D sound Betty bought a bit of better butter Beddy bada bida bedder budder It is this intonation/pronunciation shift that accounts for the difference between photography (phoTAgraphy) and photograph (PHOdagraph) MOOD AND PERSONALITY This determines if you will be considered charming or rude, confident or nervous, informed or unfamiliar An extremely important part of intonation is inside a one-syllable word We put in little sounds that are not in the written language, but that convey a great deal of information in terms of who we are MOOD AND PERSONALITY When we contrast two similar words, one ending with a voiced consonant (d, z, g, v, b) and the other with an unvoiced consonant (t, s, k, f, p), you will hear the difference in the preceding vowel, specifically in the length or duration of that vowel In other words, words that end in a voiced consonant have a doubled (longer) vowel sound For example, if you say bit, it is a quick, sharp sound a single musical note If you say bid, however, the word is stretched out, it has two musical notes, the first one higher than the second, bi-id MOOD AND PERSONALITY How you stretch a word and manipulate your pitch when you say it can also send various messages Consider this video MOOD AND PERSONALITY Sarcasm: The Three Little Pigs Sarcasm is another function of intonation, or rather the purposed lack of intonation to signal an opposite meaning ... BASICS • Intonation is a non-verbal method of expressing various meanings, emotions or situations • Intonation in American English uses the rise and fall of pitch to accomplish this INTONATION. .. speech that indicates meaning -phrasing In a sentence, phrasing tells you where the speaker is at the moment, where he is going, and if he is finished or not PHRASING: NOTICE THAT THE INTONATION. .. Declarative sentences also have falling intonation at the end I.E Intonation makes English more interesting SOME CLASSIC RULES Other Rules When listing items, your pitch should rise at