English Pronunciation Practice Intonation in Communication WANG GUIZHEN English Faculty Guangdong University of Foreign Studies

Fig. 10: “was at war” in the sentence “England was at war with America (native vs non-native).

Intonation: Why? A. It shows the relationship of words within and between sentences; B.  It tells something about the feeling of the speaker.

They 're going to ' have a ↘picnic. They 're going to 'have a ↗picnic.

' Those who ' sold ↘↗quickly ' made a ↘profit. (A profit was made by those who sold quickly.) ' Those who ↘↗sold ' quickly ' made a ↘profit. (A profit was quickly made by those who sold.)

I. Types of English Intonation 1. Falling tone 2. Rising tone 3. Fall-rise tone

J a m i c falling i c rising J a m falling-rising J a m i c

Questions and Responses Falling tone Questions and Responses -- What would you like? -- I'd like a chicken-salad sandwich. -- What will you have? -- I'll have a hotdog and a coke. -- Where are you going? -- To the lab. -- What time is it? -- It's a quarter past four. -- Where's your lab book? -- I lost it. -- Where did you leave it? -- I don't remember.

Questions and responses Falling tone Questions and responses -- What would you like? -- I'd like a chicken-salad ↘ sandwich. -- What will you ↘ have? -- I'll have a hotdog and a ↘ coke. -- Where are you ↘ going? -- To the ↘ lab. -- What ↘ time is it? -- It's a quarter past ↘ four. -- Where's your ↘ lab book? -- I ↘ lost it. -- Where did you ↘ leave it? -- I don't re ↘ member.

Yes/no questions and responses Rising tone Yes/no questions and responses Are you coming later? If I can. May I help you? Yes, I'll have a hotdog. Is it cold outside? It's very cold. Shall I wait for you? No, you go ahead. Did he bring his money? No, he forgot it.

Yes/no questions and responses Rising tone Yes/no questions and responses Are you coming later? If I ↘ can. May I ↗help you? Yes, I'll have a ↘ hotdog. Is it cold ↗outside? It's ↘ very cold. Shall I ↗wait for you? No, you go a ↘ head. Did he bring his ↗money? No, he for ↘ got it.

Questions/statements and responses Fall-rise tone Questions/statements and responses -- Do you know German? -- I can read it. --Everyone knows about it. -- Well, not everyone. -- We got there about midnight. -- I think it was earlier than that. -- Nobody wants to buy them. -- Nobody can afford to buy them. -- Are you sure he's coming tonight? -- He said so.

Questions/statements and responses Fall-rise tone Questions/statements and responses -- Do you know ↗German? -- I can ↘↗read it. --Everyone knows a ↘ bout it. -- Well, ↘ not ↗everyone. -- We got there about ↘ midnight. -- I think it was ↘ earlier than ↗that. -- Nobody wants to ↘ buy them. -- Nobody can af ↘ ford to ↗buy them. -- Are you sure he's coming to ↘ night? -- He ↘ said ↗so.

II. Structure of English Intonation P = Pre-head H = Head N = Nucleus T = Tail

Elements in an intonation unit The nucleus: the stressed syllable of the last 调核 prominent word in a tone unit The tail: any syllable or syllables that may 调尾 follow the nucleus The head: the part of a tone unit that extends from 调头 the first stressed syllable up to the nucleus The pre-head: any unstressed syllable or syllables that 调冠 may precede the head - or the nucleus, if there is no head

We are LEARNing a FOReign LANGuage. P H N T P = Pre-head H = Head N = Nucleus T = Tail

Structures of an intonation unit PH NT: We are learning a foreign language. PH N: I am afraid we can't go. P NT: We hope so. P N: It was at night. H NT: When are they coming? H N: Peter has arrived. NT: Look at him. N: Help!

Mark out the elements in the following intonation units. P H N T : She'll be able to do it properly. P H N : It was a very dark night. P N T : He said so. P N : They'll be late. H N T : Isn't John going? H N : Go ahead. N T : Pardon? N : Thanks.

Mark out the elements in the following intonation units. P H N T : She'll be able to do it properly. P H N : It was a very dark night. P N T : He said so. P N : They'll be late. H N T : Isn't John going? H N : Go ahead. N T : Pardon? N : Thanks.

The Stress Rules 1. Stress tends to fall on content words within an utterance. 2. Only a word’s stressed syllable carries the sentence stress. 3. Within an intonation unit, there may be several words receiving stress but only one has the nucleus. 4. New information tends to receive prominence and generally occurs towards the end of an utterance.

Circle the prominent word in each thought group. A: I’m starved. Let’s go and grab a bite to eat. B: Good idea. Where do you want to go? A: Well, there’s a nice Italian restaurant about a block from here. B: Do you have your heart set on Italian? What about a Chinese place? A: Oh, do you know one? B: I sure do. The food is delicious and it’s right around the corner. A: Great! Let’s go.

Circle the prominent word in each thought group. A: I’m starved. Let’s go and grab a bite to eat. B: Good idea. Where do you want to go? A: Well, there’s a nice Italian restaurant about a block from here. B: Do you have your heart set on Italian? What about a Chinese place? A: Oh, do you know one? B: I sure do. The food is delicious and it’s right around the corner. A: Great! Let’s go.

Circle the prominent word in each thought group. A: I have a picture of a lady sitting in a park. B: I have a lady in a park too. She’s reading a book. A: Oh, my lady is reading a newspaper. B: Next to the lady there’s a big tree. A: There’s a big tree in my picture too. B: My picture has a dog. A: My picture has two dogs.

III. The Use of English Intonation The falling tone -- indicating `definiteness' and `completeness'. Types of sentences: Ordinary statements WH questions Imperative sentences (strong commands) Exclamatory sentences

The rising tone - indicating `uncertainty', `incompleteness' or `politeness'. Types of sentences: Yes-no questions Statements intended as questions Statements intended to be soothing or encouraging Repetition questions

The falling-rising tone - showing contrast, implication, disagree- ment, contradiction, or warning, etc. Types of sentences: Statements where contrast is implied Statements which imply reservation Statements which show disagreement or contradiction Warnings

4. It’s snowing in New York. Utterances Question  Statement  1. He left already. 2. Sally’s moving. 3. John missed his flight. 4. It’s snowing in New York.

1. Your name’s George, isn’t it? Utterances Sure  Unsure  1. Your name’s George, isn’t it? 2. It’s going to rain tomorrow, isn’t it? 3. You wanted to go, didn’t you? 4. We should offer to help, shouldn’t we?

1. Are you coming Friday or Saturday? Utterances Yes-no  Choice  1. Are you coming Friday or Saturday? 2. Can you meet us at eight or nine? 3. Would you like beer or wine? 4. Are you going to Spain or Portugal?

IV The Functions of English Intonation 1. The accentual function of intonation 2. The grammatical function of intonation 3. The discourse function of intonation 4. The attitudinal function of intonation

I. A I saw them together. B Where did you see them? A In the town. B When did you see them? A This morning. B Did you say anything to them? A I told them I should tell you. B Which you’ve now done. Thank you. A Aren’t you going to send for them? B No need. I’ve already invited them for dinner. A Them? Both of them? Together? B Like to join us?

2. A We all know that we face problems. We know that we face difficulties. We are all aware that the difficulties that we face are not difficulties that will be overcome immediately, or that will be overcome easily. We all recognize that the problems that confront us are not problems that will be solved overnight. But I sometimes wonder if we realise… if we realise sufficiently that… B That that was the clock striking two, Frank! Go to sleep! A Sorry, dear. Didn’t know it was so late. My big day, tomorrow, you know. Ah, well. Goodnight. B It’s a lovely speech, Frank.

fifth. Use the lift. I’ll ring to say you’ve arrived. 3. A He’s not on the fourth floor now, he’s been moved – to the fifth. Use the lift. I’ll ring to say you’ve arrived. B No hurry. Er … how is he, Nurse? A I think he’s improved. Still coughs a lot, of course. B And he behaves all right, does he? A Oh, yes. We have plenty of laughs! We’ll miss him when he leaves! B He loves pretty nurses, Granddad does! It’s a family weakness! By the way, he wanted me to bring him this gift. For his special favourite – a nurse called Soft. A How lovely! B Funny name, Soft, isn’t it? A Yes. But I’ve got used to it. B Oh. Sorry. A Well, I’ll ring to say you’ve arrived. B I’m sorry!

4. A I haven’t always lived in this cottage, you know. B Haven’t you? How pretty it is! A You’ve not been here long, of course. B I haven’t, no. Only a month, in fact. But it’s a very nice village. I’ve grown to love it already. A You haven’t seen Ferringly House, yet, I suppose? B Oh, it’s magnificent! A beautiful house! A But the new people haven’t looked after it properly, you know. B Well, I haven’t seen it closely, of course, Mrs, er… A Ferringly. Madeleine Ferringly.

5. A Jim’s left, of course. B He’s left, too, has he? A And Jean. B Yes, she’s gone to work at Fletcher’s, they tell me. A Oh, it’s changed a lot since you were here. It’s become much more efficient, of course. But it’s lost the personal touch, I’m afraid. B And what about our old friend Martin? A Oh, Martin’s stayed on. B And become more efficient? A He’s had to. At avoiding work, that is.

Thank you and good luck!