Intonation of Questions: can you tell the difference?

21,393 views ・ 2021-01-19

Accent's Way English with Hadar


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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Hey everyone, it's Hadar.
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Thank you so much for joining me.
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Today we are going to talk about intonation of questions.
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Intonation of questions?
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Intonation of questions.
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What is intonation to begin with?
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Intonation is basically the melody of the language.
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It's the notes that you use when speaking - ta-da, tada-ta, ta-tada.
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If you want to learn more about intonation, then I'm going to post
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the link to my intonation video right up here or in the description.
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But in the meantime, let's just agree that intonation is a part of the language,
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and it's so incredibly important.
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Because it's not about sounding American more than it is about making sure that
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you deliver your message properly.
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Because think of intonation as code, that when you use a certain type of melody,
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it indicates one thing; and if you use another one, it indicates something else.
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It's cultural and it's norms that are associated with how people speak in
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a certain culture or a certain area.
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So, sometimes what happens is that when you apply your own intonational patterns
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onto English, you're using the code from your own native language, rather than the
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code that is familiar by native speakers.
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Not that it's a bad thing, but sometimes it might compromise your
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message and people won't really get what you're trying to say.
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So, this is why I wanted to talk about intonation of questions.
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Now, again, there's a lot to discuss when it comes to intonation
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and differences between different cultures and different languages.
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So I'm going to share more content around intonation in the description
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below, so you can learn a bit more and learn how to practice in a way
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that helps you become more confident and more clear speaker of English.
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If you're new to my channel, then welcome.
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My name is Hadar.
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I'm a non-native speaker of English, and I'm here to help
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you speak English confidently, clearly, and with absolute freedom.
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And if you want to find out more about how I can help you and subscribe
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to my email newsletter to get an email with a lesson every single
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week, then click on the link below.
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Let's get started with understanding how you can control your intonation.
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So, the melody in your speech is like the melody when you sing - sometimes
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we go up and sometimes we go down.
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We're going to talk about two major international patterns: rising-rising
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intonation - where you go up from a lower note to a higher note; or
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rising-falling intonation, where you go up and down, up and down
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- that's rising-falling intonation.
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It's like a wave, if you think about your sound as a line, right,
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going up - going up and down.
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Again, do it with me: going up - going up and down.
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Now, in general, intonation that falls down at the end is usually
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associated with statement.
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As if you put a period at the end, right?
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Intonation is like punctuation.
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It's like vocal punctuation, right.
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And if you put that period at the end, usually the melody drops down.
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And it's very common to assume that when intonation remains open at the
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end, it feels like an open statement.
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Usually, like a question or like you're waiting for something
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to happen right after that.
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Let me give you an example.
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"I'm not sure I'm ready" - that's rising-rising intonation.
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It feels open, it feels uncertain.
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"I'm not sure I'm ready.
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I'm not sure I'm ready" - so that feels more like a statement as
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if there was a period at the end.
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This rising-rising intonation is usually associated with yes/no questions.
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When you use that and the answer that you expect is either a
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yes or no, not a long answer.
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"Are you hungry?
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Are you hungry?
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Do you want to go?
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Are you going to be late?
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Don't we turn left here?"
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So, as you can see, I'm keeping my intonation rather flat until I reach
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the last word: "Are you hungry?"
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And sometimes even the last syllable: "Do you want to go?
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Are we there yet?"
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Right?
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So at the end there was a quite nice rise up: "Are we there yet?"
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From the bottom of your pitch to the top of your pitch.
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"Are we there yet?
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Are you hungry?
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Don't we turn left here?
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Are you serious?"
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Okay?
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So that intonation usually indicates questions that the
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answer to them is either yes or no.
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Now, statements, as I said at the beginning, are sentences that
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are said with a rising-falling intonation: "I don't think I'm ready.
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I'm not really hungry.
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I'd love to go there."
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Can you hear that I'm not opening it up?
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I'm closing it: "I would love to go there."
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So I'm ending the sentence with a really low note.
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Now, here's the tricky thing.
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When it comes to yes/no questions, we go up, we open it up - this is how
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people ask questions in many other languages as well, with that open
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feeling, right, like open intonation.
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However, in English - and probably in other languages as well, but we're
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talking about English - when you ask a question that requires more
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information, more than yes or no, then the intonation sounds like a statement.
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"That's where I'm coming from" - statement, right?
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"Where are you coming from?"
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So, did it sound any different?
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"That's where I'm coming from."
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"Where are you coming from?"
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So except for the word 'where' I did not change the intonation.
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So in fact, the intonation that we used for WH questions is the same
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intonation that we use for statements.
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"What are you doing here?"
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I'm not saying, "What are you doing here?
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What are you doing here?", right, like I'm not opening it up at the
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end: "What are you doing here?
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Why are you so late?
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Why were you unhappy today?
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What can I do to help you?
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Where are the keys?"
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So do you recognize the pattern?
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Now, why is it so important?
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Remember that intonation is code and the way I ask the question indicates the
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type of answer that I'm trying to get.
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Let's take a simple, typical yes/no question.
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"Have you seen her recently?"
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When I use that intonation, it indicates that, you know, I'm probably waiting
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for a simple answer, like yes or no.
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"Have you seen her recently?
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- Yeah."
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Okay?
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Now, if I switch that intonation around and I move it into a rising-falling
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intonation, like a question that requires more information, usually
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associated with WH questions: "Have you seen her recently?"
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There's more weight to it.
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It feels like I'm more serious, it feels like I'm trying to
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start a deeper conversation.
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Maybe something has happened.
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So this is why I'm changing my intonation.
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Now, this is not a must, it's nuanced.
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But more than I want you to start, you know, thinking about, "Oh, should I go
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up here or down?", I want you to use that as you're listening to people speaking.
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Because when you want to be clear when speaking, you want to make sure that
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you understand clearly if someone is asking a question or making a statement.
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Now, if your brain is used to hearing that falling intonation and
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associating it with a statement, then it might be loss on you when someone
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is actually asking you a question.
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So, let's go back and practice it again.
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Rising-rising intonation: "Are you done?
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Do you want to go?
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Have you seen that movie?
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Can I help you?
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Rising-falling intonation - WH questions: "What time's the party?
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Where did you get that dress?
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Why are you smiling?
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What was your first teacher's name?"
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Now, there are many types of questions and it really depends on the context and
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the interaction with the other person.
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So, it's not science, it's not pure science, it's not always like that.
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And sometimes you will hear variations.
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But once you understand the two fundamental patterns, it's a
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lot easier to conduct yourself.
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And then you're more aware of the nuances as well.
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Now, if you want to practice more, I've actually prepared for you a list
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of questions, yes/no questions with a rising-rising intonation, and WH questions
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with a rising-falling intonation.
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So you can practice it because you know, it's all about repetition and doing it
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yourself again and again, and again.
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And even if you can't apply it right away, you'll start becoming a lot
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more aware of it, you'll hear it more.
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And when you are aware of it, it's much easier to start using it.
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Okay?
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So download the PDF and audio, it's totally free.
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And you can click the link below to get it.
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Okay, my friends.
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I hope this was helpful.
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Let me know in the comments below, if the way you ask questions in English,
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like I explained, is the way you ask questions in your native language.
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And I want you to use the terms rising-rising intonation and
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rising-falling intonation.
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And if you're not sure, then listen to how people speak in your native language and
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try to detach the words from the melody.
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It's really cool when you're able to just hear the melody
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and separate it from the words.
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Okay, that's it.
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Thank you so much for watching.
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Again, if you want to download the PDF and audio, click the link in the description.
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And once you get it, you'll also get my weekly email to your inbox
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every single week with the letter for me and a valuable lesson.
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And if you want to connect on Instagram, you can find me at @hadar.accentsway,
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where we can DM and chat, and you can tell me what you think.
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Have a beautiful, beautiful week.
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And I'll see you next week in the next video.
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Bye.
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