English Intonation

INTONATION IS CRUCIAL TO UNDERSTANDING

 ENGLISH INTONATION

Intonation is crucial for communication. It's also a largely unconscious mechanism, and as such, a complex aspect of pronunciation.

What is intonation?

Intonation is about how we say things, rather than what we say.

Without intonation, it's impossible to understand the expressions and thoughts that go with words. 

Listen to somebody speaking without paying attention to the words: the 'melody' you hear is the intonation. It has the following features:

Intonation serves to let the listener know :

1.     whether you have finished a sentence or not.

2.     Whether you are making a statement or asking a question.

3.      It conveys information about  attitude. Is he  trying to be friendly, or helpful, or are you being cold and hostile?

Adapted from:

BRITISH  COUNCIL  and BBC INTONATION

December · PROMO

STARTING DEC.23rd THRU DEC.30th a lot of my books AT SPECIAL PRICE,don't miss out! Only available at Amazon.com & Amazon.co.uk - Kindle Edition.

Please find the list below, happy 2017!

Stories & Legends of La Lanzada Mar 27, 2015 | Kindle eBook
Pronunciation Mind Maps: Explicación en Español (Spanish Edition) Oct 8, 2015 | Kindle eBook 
Río do Esquecemento, Memorias (Galician Edition) Jul 14, 2015 | Kindle eBook 
Vivencias Insólitas de una Au Pair: 2ª ed. ampliada con diálogos en Gallego y Español (Spanish Edition) Jan 26, 2016 | Kindle eBook

Sounds & Spelling Mindmaps Nov 29, 2012 | Kindle eBook

CLAPPING GAME - For Articulation [æ] & Rhythm

 MY LANDLADY'S CAT  

My landlady        The cat

has                      saw

a black                a fish

cat                   and ran

                       

It sat                   The landlady    

black                  ran

black                after the cat

black                   and lost

and very fat          her hat

1) My landlady               2)   The cat              3)    It saw           4) The landlady
    has                            sat                          a rat                also ran
     a black                      on the mat                and ran            she lost 
    cat                                                                                    her hat

                                                                                                      and her bag

CLAP on the STRESSED syllable; neglet the others.

ENGLISH RHYTHM PRACTICE

ENGLISH LANGUAGE RHYTHM

Foreign English learners use only strong forms but English speakers use generally weak forms. This is why foreigners do not understand nor are understood.

The English Rhythm is determined by sentence stress. The lexical or content words are the ones that carry the stress (nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs), whereas the grammatical words (pronouns, articles, auxiliaries, prepositions and conjunctions) are generally unstressed.

The use of weak and strong forms determines rhythm. Foreigners should bear in mind that the schwa [ə] is the most common vowel sound in English. Many unstressed vowel sounds become schwa.

...& the lyrics

A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

Bob Dylan

Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son

And where have you been, my darling young one

I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains

I've walked and I've crawled on six crooked highways

I've stepped in the middle of seven sad forests

I've been out in front of a dozen dead oceans

I've been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard

And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard

It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall

Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son

And what did you see, my darling young one

I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it

I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it

I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin'

I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin'

I saw a white ladder all covered with water

I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken

I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children

And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard

It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall

And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?

And what did you hear, my darling young one?

I heard the sound of a thunder that roared out a warnin'

Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world

Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin'

Heard ten thousand whisperin' and nobody listenin'

Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin'

Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter

Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley

And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard

It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall

Oh, what did you meet, my blue-eyed son?

Who did you meet, my darling young one?

I met a young child beside a dead pony

I met a white man who walked a black dog

I met a young woman whose body was burning

I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow

I met one man who was wounded in love

I met another man who was wounded with hatred

And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard

It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall

And what'll you do now, my blue-eyed son?

And what'll you do now, my darling young one?

I'm a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin'

I'll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest

Where the people are many and their hands are all empty

Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters

Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison

And the executioner's face is always well hidden

Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten

Where black is the color, where none is the number

And I'll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it

And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it

Then I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin'

But I'll know my song well before I start singin'

And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard

It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall

Patti Smith - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (Nobel ceremony 2016)

Emotional tribute to the legendary Bob...

oʊ, wɛr hæv ju bɪn, maɪ blu-aɪd sʌn? 

oʊ, wɛr hæv ju bɪn, maɪ ˈdɑrlɪŋ jʌŋ wʌn? 

aɪv ˈstʌmbəld ɑn ðə saɪd ʌv twɛlv ˈmɪsti ˈmaʊntənz, 

aɪv wɔkt ænd aɪv krɔld ɑn sɪks krʊkt ˈhaɪˌweɪz, 

aɪv stɛpt ɪn ðə ˈmɪdəl ʌv ˈsɛvən sæd ˈfɔrəsts, 

aɪv bɪn aʊt ɪn frʌnt ʌv ə ˈdʌzən dɛd ˈoʊʃənz, 

aɪv bɪn tɛn ˈθaʊzənd maɪlz ɪn ðə maʊθ ʌv ə ˈgreɪˌvjɑrd, 

ænd ɪts ə hɑrd, ænd ɪts ə hɑrd, ɪts ə hɑrd, ænd ɪts ə hɑrd, 

ænd ɪts ə hɑrd reɪnz ə-ˈgɑnə fɔl. 

oʊ, wʌt dɪd ju si, maɪ blu-aɪd sʌn? 

oʊ, wʌt dɪd ju si, maɪ ˈdɑrlɪŋ jʌŋ wʌn? 

aɪ sɔ ə ˈnubɔrn ˈbeɪbi wɪð waɪld wʊlvz ɔl əˈraʊnd ɪt 

aɪ sɔ ə ˈhaɪˌweɪ ʌv ˈdaɪməndz wɪð ˈnoʊˌbɑˌdi ɑn ɪt, 

aɪ sɔ ə blæk brænʧ wɪð blʌd ðæt kɛpt ˈdrɪpɪn, 

aɪ sɔ ə rum fʊl ʌv mɛn wɪð ðɛr ˈhæmərz ə-ˈblidɪn, 

aɪ sɔ ə waɪt ˈlædər ɔl ˈkʌvərd wɪð ˈwɔtər, 

aɪ sɔ tɛn ˈθaʊzənd ˈtɔkərz huz tʌŋz wɜr ɔl ˈbroʊkən, 

aɪ sɔ gʌnz ænd ʃɑrp sɔrdz ɪn ðə hændz ʌv jʌŋ ˈʧɪldrən, 

ænd ɪts ə hɑrd, ænd ɪts ə hɑrd, ɪts ə hɑrd, ɪts ə hɑrd, 

ænd ɪts ə hɑrd reɪnz ə-ˈgɑnə fɔl. 

ænd wʌt dɪd ju hir, maɪ blu-aɪd sʌn? 

ænd wʌt dɪd ju hir, maɪ ˈdɑrlɪŋ jʌŋ wʌn? 

aɪ hɜrd ðə saʊnd ʌv ə ˈθʌndər, ɪt rɔrd aʊt ə ˈwɔrnɪn, 

hɜrd ðə rɔr ʌv ə weɪv ðæt kʊd draʊn ðə hoʊl wɜrld, 

hɜrd wʌn ˈhʌndrəd ˈdrʌmərz huz hændz wɜr ə-ˈbleɪzɪn, 

hɜrd tɛn ˈθaʊzənd ˈwɪspərɪn ænd ˈnoʊˌbɑˌdi ˈlɪsənɪn, 

hɜrd wʌn ˈpɜrsən stɑrv, aɪ hɜrd ˈmɛni ˈpipəl ˈlæfɪn, 

hɜrd ðə sɔŋ ʌv ə ˈpoʊət hu daɪd ɪn ðə ˈgʌtər, 

hɜrd ðə saʊnd ʌv ə klaʊn hu kraɪd ɪn ði ˈæli, 

ænd ɪts ə hɑrd, ænd ɪts ə hɑrd, ɪts ə hɑrd, ɪts ə hɑrd, 

ænd ɪts ə hɑrd reɪnz ə-ˈgɑnə fɔl. 

oʊ, hu dɪd ju mit, maɪ blu-aɪd sʌn? 

hu dɪd ju mit, maɪ ˈdɑrlɪŋ jʌŋ wʌn? 

aɪ mɛt ə jʌŋ ʧaɪld bɪˈsaɪd ə dɛd ˈpoʊˌni, 

aɪ mɛt ə waɪt mən hu wɔkt ə blæk dɔg, 

aɪ mɛt ə jʌŋ ˈwʊmən huz ˈbɑdi wʌz ˈbɜrnɪŋ, 

aɪ mɛt ə jʌŋ gɜrl, ʃi geɪv mi ə ˈreɪnˌboʊ, 

aɪ mɛt wʌn mən hu wʌz ˈwundəd ɪn lʌv, 

aɪ mɛt əˈnʌðər mən hu wʌz ˈwundəd wɪð ˈheɪtrəd, 

ænd ɪts ə hɑrd, ɪts ə hɑrd, ɪts ə hɑrd, ɪts ə hɑrd, 

ɪts ə hɑrd reɪnz ə-ˈgɑnə fɔl. 

oʊ, ˈwʌtəl ju du naʊ, maɪ blu-aɪd sʌn? 

oʊ, ˈwʌtəl ju du naʊ, maɪ ˈdɑrlɪŋ jʌŋ wʌn? 

aɪm ə-ˈgoʊən bæk aʊt fɔr ðə reɪn stɑrts ə-ˈfælɪn, 

aɪl wɔk tu ðə dɛpθs ʌv ðə ˈdipəst blæk ˈfɔrəst, 

wɛr ðə ˈpipəl ɑr ˈmɛni ænd ðɛr hændz ɑr ɔl ˈɛmpti, 

wɛr ðə ˈpɛləts ʌv ˈpɔɪzən ɑr ˈflʌdɪŋ ðɛr ˈwɔtərz, 

wɛr ðə hoʊm ɪn ðə ˈvæli mits ðə dæmp ˈdɜrti ˈprɪzən, 

wɛr ði ˌɛksəˈkjuʃənərz feɪs ɪz ˈɔlˌweɪz wɛl ˈhɪdən, 

wɛr ˈhʌŋgər ɪz ˈʌgli, wɛr soʊlz ɑr fərˈgɑtən, 

wɛr blæk ɪz ðə ˈkʌlər, wɛr nʌn ɪz ðə ˈnʌmbər, 

ænd aɪl tɛl ɪt ænd θɪŋk ɪt ænd spik ɪt ænd brið ɪt, 

ænd rəˈflɛkt ɪt frʌm ðə ˈmaʊntən soʊ ɔl soʊlz kæn si ɪt, 

ðɛn aɪl stænd ɑn ði ˈoʊʃən ənˈtɪl aɪ stɑrt ˈsɪŋkɪn, 

bʌt aɪl noʊ maɪ sɔŋ wɛl bɪˈfɔr aɪ stɑrt ˈsɪŋɪn, 

ænd ɪts ə hɑrd, ɪts ə hɑrd, ɪts ə hɑrd, ɪts ə hɑrd, 

ɪts ə hɑrd reɪnz ə-ˈgɑnə fɔl.