INTONATION PATTERNS EXAMPLES

INTONATION PATTERNS AND DROPPED SYLLABLES

INTONATION PATTERNS

 HOW TO DRAW THE LINES?

                                        

                                   

 3 HIGH

2 STANDARD

1 LOW

What’re you doing?

LEVEL 3 HIGH

CONTENTS WORDS

NOUNS

VERBS

 ADJECTIVES

ADVERBS

                                                           For short

Falling intonation pattern

                                                            Wh-questions

                                                      For short

Falling intonation pattern

                                                         Affirmative statements

                                         

                                                    For negative

Falling intonation pattern

                                                        sentences

                                                      for long

falling intonation pattern

                                                         affirmative statements

         

                                                      For yes/no

Rising intonation pattern

                                                      Questions

                                                    For affirmative sentences

Rising intonation pattern

                                                      In form of questions

INTONATION PATTERN ( REVIEW)

QUESTIONS OF CHOICE

RISING INTONATION

                 

                       3                 3                              

2 Is your job easy 2 or hard?

                                        3                              3

  2 Do you speak English 2or Chinese?

                                    3                         3

2  Is your name Carlos 2 or George?

 Long sentences

Rising- Falling intonation

                                 

DROPPED SYLLABLE ( ELIMINATE)

Dramatic /drəˈmætɪk/ 3 vowels 3 syllables

Dramatically/ drəˈmætɪklɪ/ 4 syllables

When a vowel sound is eliminated in pronunciation the whole syllable is reduced

Ex:

broccoli  

/ˈbrɒk.əl.i/ /ˈbrɑː.kəl-/ [U]

chocolate

/ˈtʃɒk.lət/ /ˈtʃɑːk-/

family   

/ˈfæm.əl.i/

practically

/ˈpræktɪk^əli/ adverb

opera

/ˈɒp^ərə/ noun

extraordinary

/ɪkˈstrɔːd^ən^əri/ adjective

laboratory

/ləˈbɒrət^əri/ US  /ˈlæbrətɔːri/ noun [C]

generally

/ˈdʒen^ər^əli/ adverb

Different

/ˈdɪf^ər^ənt/ adjective

comfortable

/ˈkʌmftəbl/ adjective

Teaching English intonation and stress patterns

Teaching intonation - the theories behind intonation

Definitions

1. Tone - the rise and fall of the voice. Tune/Pitch variation. An oscilloscope will give an oscillograph of speech. The frequency will be shown by the closeness of the waves (high frequency will be shown by waves which are closer together).
2. The volume (strength of signal) will be shown by the height of the waves. The height of the note depends on the speed of opening and closing of the vocal cords. More vibrations of the larynx (up to 800 per sec) show up more compact waves.
The first thing that people (Daniel Jones, Kindom, Pike) looked at was pitch variation. Crude rules (Wh Qs fall; Yes/No Qs rise) based on introspection (what do I say?) rather than data. Those who have collected data come up with interesting findings:

 

Intonation has various functions in different world languages

On this page, we have been concerned with the functions of intonation in spoken English. In world languages, intonation is used to mark:

1. gender
2. number
3. quantity
4. tense or time
5. modality
6. pace (in some languages)
7. word order
8. punctuation and
9. boundary features

Intonation Patterns 

Do you ever hear people say that English has a melody? It’s true. Many people think that spoken English has a musical quality. That’s probably because we use many intonation patterns when we speak.
What do I mean by intonation patterns?
Well, intonation refers to the pitch patterns we Americans use when we talk. There are many intonation patterns in American English. These patterns are important because they convey meaning.
While some tonal languages such as Mandarin, Cantonese and Vietnamese use changes in pitch to differentiate between words, English uses pitch or intonation patterns over phrases and sentences to convey larger chunks of meaning.
The two most commonly used sentence intonation patterns used in spoken English are: rising-falling intonation and rising intonation.

Rising-Falling Intonation

First I’ll tell you about rising-falling intonation. In rising-falling intonation the speaker’s pitch rises and falls on the focus word in a sentence (you learned about focus words in last week’s lesson). The final falling pitch indicates that the speaker is finished talking.

Rising Intonation

In rising intonation the speaker’s pitch rises and stays HIGH at the end of a sentence. The rising pitch at the end of a sentence indicates that the speaker is waiting for a reply.

Examples:

Here are some examples. Sentence A below has rising-falling intonation and Sentence B has rising intonation.

A. She wants to buy some SOda.
B. Do you think that’s a good deCISion?

Mini Lesson: Listening for Intonation Patterns

 Rising-falling intonation is the most common intonation pattern in English. The speaker’s pitch rises at the top of the focus word and then drops to indicate the speaker is finished speaking.

 Rising-falling intonation is found in:

• declarative sentences
• commands (very strong)
• ‘wh’ questions

In rising intonation the pitch rises and stays high at the end of the sentence. When you hear rising intonation it indicates that they speaker is waiting for a reply. Rising intonation is found in:
o yes/no questions
o situations when someone is expressing doubt or surprise

  1. When is John coming over?

2. Is he coming over this afternoon?

3. No, he’s coming over this evening.

4. Is he bringing a pizza?

5.  No, he’s bringing Chinese food. 

 Insight: American English Idioms

An idiom is a unique expression in which the meaning cannot necessarily be understood from the literal definitions of the words.
I’ve chosen two of my favorite food idioms to share with you.
 The first idiom is: a bad apple
In American English a bad apple is a rotten person who spreads their bad temperament or habits to others around him or her. As you can imagine, if someone calls you a bad apple it is NOT a complement!
For example: If my brother has been hanging out with a mean kid at school my father might say, “Peter, you should stay away from Jimmy, he’s a bad apple”.
 The second idiom is: a bun in the oven
What do you think this idiom means? Hint: it has nothing to do with bread but it has a lot to do with being a woman…. Did you guess? Well, when a woman has a ‘bun in the oven’ it means she’s pregnant.
For example: If my sister is pregnant, I might say, “Did you hear the good news about Katy, she’s got a bun in the oven”.

Intonation (linguistics)

In linguistics, intonation is variation of pitch while speaking which is not used to distinguish words. It contrasts with tone, in which pitch variation does distinguish words. Intonation, rhythm, and stress are the three main elements of linguistic prosody. Intonation patterns in some languages, such as Swedish and Swiss German, can lead to conspicuous fluctuations in pitch, giving speech a sing-song quality. Fluctuations in pitch either involve a rising pitch or a falling pitch. Intonation is found in every language and even in tonal languages, but the realisation and function are seemingly different. It is used in non-tonal languages to add attitudes to words (attitudinal function) and to differentiate between wh-questions, yes-no questions, declarative statements, commands, requests, etc. Intonation can also be used for discourse analysis where new information is realised by means of intonation. It can also be used for emphatic/contrastive purposes.
All languages use pitch pragmatically as intonation — for instance for emphasis, to convey surprise or irony, or to pose a question. Tonal languages such as Chinese and Hausa use pitch for distinguishing words in addition to providing intonation.
Generally speaking, the following intonations are distinguished:

• Rising Intonation means the pitch of the voice rises over time [↗];
• Falling Intonation means that the pitch falls with time [↘];
• Dipping Intonation falls and then rises [↘↗];
• Peaking Intonation rises and then falls [↗↘].

Those with congenital amusia show impaired ability to discriminate, identify and imitate the intonation of the final words in sentences.

Transcription

In the International Phonetic Alphabet, global rising and falling intonation are marked with a diagonal arrow rising left-to-right [↗] and falling left-to-right [↘], respectively. These may be written as part of a syllable, or separated with a space when they have a broader scope:

He found it on the street?

[ hiː ˈfaʊnd ɪt | ɒn ðə ↗ˈˈstɹiːt ‖ ]

Here the rising pitch on street indicates that the question hinges on that word, on where he found it, not whether he found it.

Yes, he found it on the street.

[↘ˈjɛs ‖ hi ˈfaʊnd ɪt | ɒn ðə ↘ˈstɹiːt ‖ ]

How did you ever escape?

[↗ˈˈhaʊ dɪdjuː | ˈɛvɚ | ə↘ˈˈskeɪp ‖ ]

Here, as is common with wh- questions, there is a rising intonation on the question word, and a falling intonation at the end of the question.
More detailed transcription systems for intonation have also been developed, such as ToBI (Tones and Break Indices), RaP (Rhythm and Pitch), and INTSINT

Uses of intonation

The uses of intonation can be divided into six categories:

• informational: for example, in English I saw a ↘man in the garden answers "Whom did you see?" or "What happened?", while I ↘saw a man in the garden answers "Did you hear a man in the garden?"

• grammatical: for example, in English a rising pitch turns a statement into a yes-no question, as in He's going ↗home? This use of intonation to express grammatical mood is its primary grammatical use (though whether this grammatical function actually exists is controversial).^{[4]:pp.140, 151} Some languages, like Chickasaw and Kalaallisut, have the opposite pattern from English: rising for statements and falling with questions.

• illocution: the intentional force is signaled in, for example, English Why ↘don't you move to California? (a question) versus Why don't you ↗move to California? (a suggestion).

• attitudinal: high declining pitch signals more excitement than does low declining pitch, as in English Good ↗morn↘ing versus Good morn↘ing.

• textual: linguistic organization beyond the sentence is signaled by the absence of a statement-ending decline in pitch, as in English The lecture was canceled [high pitch on both syllables of "cancelled", indicating continuation]; the speaker was ill. versus The lecture was can↘celed. [high pitch on first syllable of "canceled", but declining pitch on the second syllable, indicating the end of the first thought] The speaker was ill.

• indexical: group membership can be indicated by the use of intonation patterns adopted specifically by that group, such as street vendors, preachers, and possibly women in some cases (see high rising terminal.)

Dropped syllables, syncope

Does the word interesting have three syllables or four? How many syllables in the word favorite, every, and different?

Sentence Stress in English

Sentence stress is the music of spoken English. Like word stress, sentence stress can help you to understand spoken English, especially when spoken fast.
Sentence stress is what gives English its rhythm or "beat". You remember that word stress is accent on one syllable within a word. Sentence stress is accent on certain words within a sentence.
Most sentences have two types of word:

• content words
• structure words

Content words are the key words of a sentence. They are the important words that carry the meaning or sense.
Structure words are not very important words. They are small, simple words that make the sentence correct grammatically. They give the sentence its correct form or "structure".
If you remove the structure words from a sentence, you will probably still understand the sentence.
If you remove the content words from a sentence, you will not understand the sentence. The sentence has no sense or meaning.
Imagine that you receive this telegram message:

Will

you

SELL

my

CAR

because

I've

GONE

to

FRANCE

This sentence is not complete. It is not a "grammatically correct" sentence. But you probably understand it. These 4 words communicate very well. Somebody wants you to sell their car for them because they have gone to France. We can add a few words:

Will	you	SELL	my	CAR	because	I've	GONE	to	FRANCE

The new words do not really add any more information. But they make the message more correct grammatically. We can add even more words to make one complete, grammatically correct sentence. But the information is basically the same:

Content Words
Will	you	SELL	my	CAR	because	I've	GONE	to	FRANCE.
Structure Words

In our sentence, the 4 key words (sell, car, gone, France) are accentuated or stressed.
Why is this important for pronunciation? It is important because it adds "music" to the language. It is the rhythm of the English language. It changes the speed at which we speak (and listen to) the language. The time between each stressed word is the same.
In our sentence, there is 1 syllable between SELL and CAR and 3 syllables between CAR and GONE. But the time (t) between SELL and CAR and between CAR and GONE is the same. We maintain a constant beat on the stressed words. To do this, we say "my" more slowly, and "because I've" more quickly. We change the speed of the small structure words so that the rhythm of the key content words stays the same.

syllables
2			1		3			1
Will	you	SELL	my	CAR	because	I've	GONE	to	FRANCE.
t1		beat	t1	beat	t1		beat	t1	beat

                   

Sities Web

www.pronunciationtips.com/clusters1.htm

1.     grammar.about.com/od/c/g/Consonant-Cluster-Cc.htm -

www.firstschoolyears.com/literacy/word/.../clusters/clusters.htm -

athene.riv.csu.edu.au/~smcleod/Consonantclustertest

1.     www.phonetik.uni-muenchen.de/cluster/

Other final consonant cluster

Final consonant clusters with the ending S/ES

[ps], [ts], [ks]

stops – lamps – helps – writes – tests – texts – links – thanks – sharks;

[bz], [dz], [gz]

rubs – bulbs – needs – holds – worlds – thousands – pigs – legs;

[fs], [θs]

beliefs – laughs – gulfs – cliffs – deaths – myths – births;

[vz], [ðz]

leaves – knives – wolves – valves – saves – clothes – breathes – bathes;

Note: cloths [kloðz] or [kloθs]; clothes [klouðz] or [klouz]; oaths [ouðz]; BrE: baths [ba:ðz] or [ba:θs]; AmE: baths [bæðz] or [bæθs];

[mz], [nz], [ŋz], [lz]

homes – storms – cleans – fans – lungs – rings – girls – thrills.

Final consonant clusters with the ending ED

[pt], [kt], [ft]

hoped – stopped – tipped – linked – locked – marked – sniffed – laughed – coughed;

[st], [sht], [cht]

missed – danced – mixed – washed – rushed – fished – watched – reached – searched;

[bd], [gd]

robbed – stabbed – tubed – begged – lagged – logged – hugged;

[vd], [ðd], [zd]

lived – received – saved – bathed – breathed – clothed – seized – raised – closed;

[zhd], [jd]

rouged – charged – managed – paged;

[md], [nd], [ŋd], [ld]

filmed – armed – planned – rained – hanged – banged – called – hurled – sealed.

Final consonant clusters

Final consonant clusters

[ft], [kt]

drift – gift – lift – sift – left – draft – shaft – loft – soft;

act – fact – tact – elect – affect – depict – deduct;

[lt], [ld]

belt – dealt – felt – melt – built – guilt – kilt – tilt – halt – malt – fault – default – vault – bolt – colt – jolt;

old – bold – cold – fold – gold – hold – mold – scold – sold – told – child – mild – wild – field – build – held – bald – world;

[lk], [lp], [lb]

milk – silk – elk – bulk – hulk – sulk;

help – yelp – palp – pulp – bulb;

[lf], [lv]

self – elf – shelf – golf – gulf – wolf – Ralph – Rolph – Rudolph;

solve – involve – valve – delve;

[lch], [lj], [lm], [ls]

belch – bilge – bulge – divulge;

film – helm – realm – else – pulse;

[mp], [mf]

limp – temp – camp – lamp – ramp – stamp – stomp – bump – dump – jump – plump – rump – stump;

lymph – nymph – triumph;

[nt], [nd]

mint – lint – sent – spent – bent – tent – vent – moment – agreement – statement – pant – can't – haunt – want – hunt – paint – saint – pint – point – joint;

wind – send – spend – lend – friend – attend – band – land – hand – sand – bond – fond – pond – fund – find – kind – bind – mind – behind – rind – wind – found – round – sound – pound;

[nch], [nj]

finch – pinch – bench – French – branch – ranch – launch – crunch – hunch – lunch;

change – range – strange – binge – cringe – fringe – tinge – sponge – lunge – lounge;

[ns], [nz]

rinse – since – mince – wince – dense – fence – sense – absence – license – science – chance – dance – fragrance – ounce;

cleanse [klenz] – lens [lenz];

[ŋk]

pink [piŋk] – ink – drink – think – link – mink – sink – shrink – wink – bank – banker – sank – rank – frank – spank – tank – honk – monk – monkey – drunk – junk – punk – skunk – distinct – jinx – wrinkle – uncle – ankle – anchor – anxious – banquet ['bæŋkwit];

[ŋg]

finger ['fiŋgər] – linger – hunger – hungry – anger – angry – longer – longest – stronger – strongest – younger – youngest – congress (n.) – mongrel – single – angle – strangle – tangle – language – lingo – linguist – distinguish;

Note: The sound combination [ŋg] does not occur at the end of English words. It is given here for comparison with [ŋk], which can be at the end and in the middle of words. (Звуковое сочетание [ŋg] не встречается в конце английских слов. Оно дано здесь для сравнения с [ŋk], которое может быть в конце и в середине слов.)

[ps], [pt]

perhaps – lapse – collapse – ellipse – glimpse – oops;

apt – rapt – leapt – crept – kept – accept – crypt – script – adopt – erupt – attempt – tempt;

[sk], [sp], [st]

risk – flask – mask – task – desk – mosque – dusk – husk;

lisp – crisp – wisp – clasp – grasp – wasp;

least – feast – beast – mist – wrist – best – chest – test – fast – last – past – cost – lost – first – thirst – burst – dust – must – rust – paste – taste – waste – boast – coast – roast – most – post;

Clusters with final [θ]

month – health – wealth – stealth – filth – warmth – strength – length – width – breadth – depth;

seventh – ninth – tenth – fifteenth – sixteenth – thirteenth – sixth – fifth – twelfth – eighth [eitθ] – hundredth – thousandth.

Note: length [leŋθ] or [leŋkθ]; strength [streŋθ] or [streŋkθ].

Initial consonant clusters

Initial consonant clusters

[pl], [pr], [bl], [br]

plead – please – plink – pleasant – plenty – plan – plastic – platter – plaza – plot – plural – plume – plug – pluck – plum – plump – plus – play – place – plain – plane – plague – plywood – plight – plow – plosive;

preach – priest – pretty – prepare – prefer – print – prison – press – present – pregnant – practice – practical – prank – problem – product – profit – proof – prove – prune – prude – professor – promote – praise – pray – prayer – price – pride – prime – private – prize – pry – proud – prowl – prose – probe – prone – program;

bleed – bleak – blink – bliss – bless – blend – black – blank – blast – block – blond – blue – bloom – blur – blood – blame – blaze – blind – blow – bloat;

breed – breeze – breathe – brief – bring – brick – brim – bread – breast – brand – bracket – bra – broad – broth – brood – broom – brook – brother – brush – brain – break – brace – bright – brow – brown – browser – broil – broken;

[tr], [dr]

tree – treat – trim – trip – trick – trend – tread – track – trap – travel – tram – trauma – true – troop – trust – truck – trunk – tray – trace – train – trail – try – tribe – trout – troll;

dream – drill – drink – drip – draft – drama – draw – drop – droop – drew – drum – drunk – drain – drape – dry – drive – drown – drone – drove;

[kl], [kr], [gl], [gr]

clean – clear – click – cling – clever – cleft – clan – class – clasp – clue – clerk – club – claim – clay – climb – cloud – clown – close – clone;

cream – creed – critical – crib – credit – crest – crack – crash – crawl – cross – crop – crew – cruise – crude – crook – crush – crust – crazy – crane – cry – crime – crisis – crowd – crown – crow;

glee – glib – glimpse – glare – glad – glamor – glance – glue – gloomy – glum – glide – globe – global;

green – Greek – grief – grease – grip – grim – grin – grab – gram – grand – grasp – grew – groom – group – great – grade – grave – grime – grind – ground – grow – grown – growth – gross;

[fl], [fr]

flee – fleece – flick – flint – flip – flesh – flex – flare – flap – flax – floor – flock – floss – flew – flu – flirt – flame – flake – fly – flight – Floyd – flow – flown;

free – freeze – freak – frequent – frisk – frigid – Fred – friend – fresh – Frank – fraction – fragment – fragile – fraud – frog – frost – fruit – frame – fragrant – phrase – freight – fry – fright – frown – froze;

[θr], [shr]

three – thrifty – thrill – thread – threat – threshhold – thrash – throng – throb – through – threw – thrush – thrust – thrice – thrive – throat – throw – thrown – throne,

shriek – shrimp – shrink – shred – shredder – shrewd – shrug – shrine;

[sk], [skr]

ski – skin – skip – skim – scare – scan – scatter – scar – score – scoff – school – scuba – skirt – skunk – skull – sculpture – skate – scale – sky – scout – scoundrel – scope – scold;

scream – screen – screech – scribble – scrimp – script – scrap – scratch – scramble – scrawl – screw – scrooge – scruple – scrutiny – scrub – scrape – scroll;

[sl], [sm], [sn]

sleep – sleet – sleeve – sleazy – sling – slick – slim – slip – slit – slender – sledge – slam – slap – slash – slack – slang – slot – slob – sloppy – sluice – slew – slur – slurp – slum – slug – slave – slay – sleigh – sly – slide – slight – slime – slouch – slow – slope – slogan;

smear – Smith – smell – smash – smack – smart – small – smog – smock – smooth – smooch – smother – smudge – smug – smile – smoke – smolder;

sneeze – sneak – sneer – sniff – snip – snare – snack – snap – snatch – snarl – snore – snort – snorkel – snob – snoop – snug – snake – snail – snipe – sniper – snout – snow;

[sp], [spl], [spr]

speak – speed – spin – spit – spill – spirit – spend – special – speck – spell – spare – span – spam – spark – spa – sport – spot – sponsor – spoon – spool – spook – spur – sponge – Spain – space – spy – spice – spike – spine – spite – spout – spouse – spoil – spoke – spoken;

spleen – split – splint – splinter – splendid – splendor – splash – splotch – splurge – splay – splice;

spree – spring – sprint – sprinkle – spread – sprang – sprawl – spruce – sprung – spray – sprain – sprite – sprout;

[st], [str]

steal – steam – steel – steep – steer – stick – still – stiff – step – stencil – sterile – stare – stair – stand – stamp – stab – statue – staff – star – stark – start – store – stork – storm – stop – stock – story – stew – stool – stoop – student – stir – sterling – stern – study – stuff – stub – stubborn – stun – stunt – stumble – stay – stake – state – stain – style – sty – stout – stone – stove – stow;

street – stream – streak – strict – string – strip – stress – stretch – strength – strand – strangle – strap – stratosphere – straw – strong – struck – structure – struggle – strange – strain – straight – stray – strike – stripe – strive – stride – stroke – stroll;

[sw], [tw], [dw], [kw], [skw], [gw]

sweet – sweep – swim – swift – switch – swing – swindle – Swiss – swivel – swell – swept – sweat – swear – swore – sworn – swarm – swan – swallow – swamp – swab – swap – swung – sway – swine – swollen;

tweed – tweezer – twin – twist – twig – twelve – twenty – twang – twice – twilight – twine;

dwarf – dwell – dwindle – Dwayne – Dwight;

queen – queer – quick – quit – question – quest – quarrel – quart – quarter – quite – quiet – quote – quotation;

squeeze – squeak – squeal – squid – square – squad – squander – squash – squat – squirrel – squirt;

Gwen – Gwendolen – Guatemala.