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STUDY NOTES EPISODE 12: INTONATION

INTONATION

Intonation is a feature of pronunciation,
one of the criteria by which your Speaking
is assessed. Other features which define
this criterion include the following.

Pronunciation Features
Rhythm Number and length of stressed
syllables
Stress Syllable and sentence stress
Intonation Rising and falling tones of your
voice
Sounds Pronunciation of sounds


Speaking English naturally and fluently means speaking with English stress and
rhythm patterns. It is sentence stress that actually gives the English language its
rhythm. Try saying this sentence aloud.

I really admire my university professor.

How many stresses are there in the sentence?

1 2 3 4
I 'really ad 'mire my uni 'versity pro 'fessor


There are four strong stresses or beats.

Now, tap out the beats with your hands. The beat occurs on the strong stresses or
syllables.

a 1 and a 2 and then a 3 and then a 4


The stressed syllables occur at regular intervals while the unstressed ones in
between are said more quickly to keep the rhythm pattern of English.

Rhythm and sentence stress
English is a stress-timed language. This means that the timing between stressed
syllables in a spoken sentence comes at regular intervals regardless of the number
of syllables that may occur between the stressed ones. There may be one, two or
three syllables between the stressed ones as in the example above.

Stressed syllables occur on certain words within a spoken sentence. There are two
types of word in sentences:

content or information words
function or grammar words

IELTS Tip

Be aware of and listen out for
English stress and rhythm patterns.
Practise these patterns by imitating
the speech of native speakers.

In the IELTS interview remember
to speak with a clear and strong
voice. Use a rising tone when
asking for clarification and a falling
tone when making a statement.


















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Content words are the important words in the sentence. They carry the meaning or
sense and are stressed.

Function words are the smaller words and give the sentence its structure and make it
grammatically correct.

The following table shows the types and examples of content and function words.

Content words stressed
main verbs admire, teach, know, write, think, dream, learn, talk, describe,
ask
nouns professor, rhythm, knowledge, information, success,
experience
adjectives nice, good, talented, smaller, excited, famous, confident,
popular
adverbs really, quickly, surprisingly, creatively, environmentally-friendly
negatives arent, cant, dont, no, not, none
demonstratives this, that, these, those
wh-question words who, what, when, which, why


Function words unstressed
pronouns I, you, he, she, his, her, it , we, our, they, their
prepositions at, by, for, from, in, of, on, to, with
articles a, an, the
conjunctions and, but, or, for, because, as, while, although, so, yet
auxiliary verbs be, do, have
modal auxiliary verbs will, can, may, might, could, would, should, must


Rhythm patterns of a sentence are created using stressed and unstressed syllables.
The stressed syllables carry the strong beat. They are pronounced longer and
somewhat louder. Unstressed syllables are weak and pronounced using a short
vowel / / or schwa /!/.

Here are some examples of rhythm patterns. A phonetic transcription is given of the
unstressed syllables and/or words.


1. Hes a tall man with dark hair.

beat 1 beat 2 beat 3 beat 4
Hes a /'h z!/ 'tall 'man with /w "/ 'dark

'hair.


2. You promised to help me with my pronunciation.

beat 1 beat 2 beat 3
You
/ju:/
'promised to
/m st!/
'help me with my pronunci
/m w " ma pr!n nsi/
'ation.


















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3. The city is full of great restaurants and pubs.

beat 1 beat 2 beat 3 beat 4 beat 5
The
/#!/
'city is
/tij z/
'full of
/!v/
'great 'restaurants and
/tr nts!n/
'pubs.


4. My goal in life is to run my own business in five years time.

beat 1 beat 2 beat 3 beat 4 beat 5 beat 6 beat 7
My
/ma /
'goal in

/ n/
'life is to
/ zt!/
'run my own
/ma j! /
'business in
/n!s n
/
'five 'years 'time.


5. Shes the funniest person Ive ever met.

beat 1 beat 2 beat 3 beat 4
Shes the
/$ z#!/
'funniest
/n j!st/
'person Ive
/s!n a v/
'ever 'met.


Communicating different meaning
It is important to know that placing a stronger emphasis on a word in an utterance
can also affect its meaning. In the single utterance below a different word is stressed
changing the meaning in each.

Stressed word Meaning
Id like you to talk to her older sister. The emphasis is on you, meaning that the person
is referring to you specifically, and not someone
else.
Id like you to talk to her older sister. The emphasis is on talk, meaning that the person
doesnt want you to write, email or take any other
action.
Id like you to talk to her older sister. The emphasis is on older, meaning that its not the
younger or the oldest sister, but the older one that
the person wants you to talk to.
Id like you to talk to her older sister. The emphasis is on the sister, meaning that its the
sister in particular that the person wants you to talk
to and not her brother.


Practising using rhythm and the stress patterns of English will help to improve not
only your speaking but listening skills as well. Because English is a stressed-timed
language not every word will be heard loudly and clearly. Being aware of this can
help overcome some difficulties when listening. Be careful also that particular
meaning may be conveyed when more emphasis is placed on a word.