ENGLISH PHONOLOGY: PRONUNCIATION
VIDEO LESSON 6
INTONATION
Mgs. Nina Nesterenko
WHAT IS INTONATION, AND WHY TEACH IT
• Non-native English speakers tend to transfer the patterns of their mother tongue to English.
The correct use of intonation is necessary to convey your message and to ensure that your speech is appropriate and natural-sounding.
The term INTONATION refers to linguistic uses of pitch to convey meaning at the sentence or discourse level
Intonation is linked to grammar
Intonation is linked to Discourse.
Intonationrefers to the use of melody and includes rise and fall of the voice when speaking
PITCH
the quality of a sound governed by the rate of vibrations producing it; the degree of highness or lowness of a tone.
Tonic Syllables and Tone UnitsTo be able to analyze intonation, an utterance can be split into segments. The one with the largest syllable is referred to as the tone - unit.
A TONE UNIT refers to a sequence of accented syllables, one or more of which are prominent.
Tone Unit and Tonic SyllableSometimes tone-units may consist of only one syllable :Example : Hey ! Or it may consist of more syllables like in Hey, you !
Tone units have some signals
a pause at the end of each thought group.
the pitch drops at the end of each tone unit.
FUNCTIONS OF INTONATION
1. Grammatical
2. Attitudinal
3. Discourse
4. Accentual
Grammar and IntonationIntonation and grammar are directly related.
Example:Although we were late ,we did not miss the film.
Example: Helen / is a school teacher.
It can convey grammatical meaning of a sentence.
It works in the same way as punctuation marks in writing.
It divides subject and predicate in a sentence.
GRAMMATICAL FUNCTION OF INTONATION
Example: My friend ,who is on vacation in Egypt now , has just phoned me .
We may convert a statement into a question simply by changing the pitch from falling into rising.
Example: Don’t you like it ? Don’t you like it!
It allows hearer to distinguish between defining and non-defining relative clauses
It serves to make distinction between questions and exclamations.
THE FALL is used:1. In AFFIRMATIVE sentences Ex. This is a book. Today is Monday.2. In NEGATIVE sentences Ex: I don t like milk. He can ´t play the piano.3.In IMPERATIVE sentences. Ex: Close the window . Bring me that book.4. In SPECIAL ( wh- ) questions Ex: What is your name? Where do you live?5. In the second part of ALTERNATIVE questions Ex: Is this a pen or a pencil?6. In the first part of TAG questions Ex: You are very happy , aren’t you? 7. In GREETINGS: Ex: Good morning. How do you do? It is nice to meet you.The rising intonation indicates that the idea is incomplete. To complete the message, the speaker has to use falling intonation.
Attitudinal function of intonation
Attitude can be expressed through prosodic elements: the speed of speech
loudnessvoice quality
Intonation helps us express emotions and attitudes as we speak, and this loads spoken language with a special meaning. It is often called the attitudinal function of intonation
Intonation may express our attitude toward what is said:Ex: I got married last month . - Oh, did you?
Ex. You drop a cake and say: GREAT !
In EFL class teacher should be aware of explaining
the function of “attitude” for the appropriate choice of
correct intonation pattern, since the same sentence
may be uttered in different ways.
The relationship between intonation and discourse can beanalyzed from two points of view:
The discourse function of intonation is used to describe the relationship between linguistic elements and the context in which it occurs.
DISCOURSE AND INTONATION
How the intonation focuses the listener’s attention on aspects of the message
The regulation of conversational behavior
Referring tone and Proclaiming toneA proclaiming tone is an intonation pattern that either rises and then falls, or just falls.
A proclaiming tone shows that the speaker is giving new information.
A referring tone is an intonation pattern which shows that the speaker is referring to something everybody already knows.
Example: In the sentence “That guy we met at the party ismy new teacher”, there is a referring tone on “That guy we met at the party” because it is not new information.
ACCENTUAL function of Intonation
ACCENTED SYLLABLE
Ex: John likes FISH (not chicken!).
This is the bus FROM Paris (not TO Paris).
She is wearing a RED dress today (not green, or blue).
THANK YOU!
IT IS ALL ! [email protected]
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