Master Intonation - Learn American Pronunciation and Reduce Your Accent

67,273 views ・ 2017-04-21

English with Jennifer


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

00:01
Intonation can help us express quite a lot.
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Listen and think about what I might be saying with only a single word.
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Oh.
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That's falling intonation.
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It expresses understanding. It's like saying, "I see. Okay."
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Oh?
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That's rising intonation. It expresses doubt.
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It's like saying, "Really?"
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Oh!
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That's a rise-fall. It expresses surprise.
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It's like saying, "Wow! I didn't know."
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00:57
Well.
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01:00
That's a fall-rise. It expresses hesitation for some reason.
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01:06
I might be saying, "Let me think." or "One moment."
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Yes? No? Maybe?
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01:21
That was all rising intonation.
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I'm expressing a need for an answer. A need for confirmation.
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It's like saying, "Well, what's your answer? Is it yes? Is it no? Is it maybe?"
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By now, I've shared the most common intonation patterns in American English.
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This lesson will review them.
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[title]
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Here's your first review task of 10 items.
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02:02
Listen and identify the intonation pattern that you hear.
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Then you'll repeat the sentence after me.
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We use falling intonation for statements. Listen.
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We use rising intonation for yes-no questions. Listen.
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03:00
We use falling intonation for wh- questions. Those are questions for information. Listen.
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We use falling intonation in tag questions that merely comment. Listen.
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We use rising intonation in tag questions that seek confirmation.
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These are tag questions that require a yes-no answer.
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Repeat after me.
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04:19
We use rising intonation to turn a statement into a yes-no question.
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In informal English, grammar structures can be shortened. Words can sometimes be dropped. Listen.
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Remember we use a combination of rising and falling intonation in lists. Listen.
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With longer sentences, you'll have more than one intonation group.
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The word "well" is often said with a fall-rise to show hesitation.
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05:32
Well...
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You can also hear a fall rise in the middle of a sentence, at a mid sentence pause,
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especially before the word "but."
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I like all those flowers,...
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but my favorite is actually an orchid.
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Falling Intonation at the end.
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Listen.
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06:18
We use a rise-fall intonation pattern to show strong emotion like surprise or anger. Listen.
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06:42
We use both stress and intonation to create a contrast.
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If two thoughts contrast, we have two intonation groups,
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each with their own intonation pattern, each with their own focus word.
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Listen again
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07:15
Here's a bonus challenge. Listen closely.
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Did you hear a change in pitch?
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Remember that our voice drops when we add information that really could be left out.
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You try.
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Let's do one more task.
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Read this text with me.
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I'll go first. Then you can pause the video and read the text aloud yourself. Okay?
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09:08
For more intonation practice and to improve fluency in general,
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I recommend using the practice texts in my Oral Reading Fluency series.
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I also suggest watching my Fast Speech Challenge to learn how words link
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and how their pronunciation can change in fast speech.
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I hope this series of lessons has helped you improve your understanding and use of intonation in English.
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09:39
That's all for now.
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Thanks for watching and happy studies.
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