Advanced Spoken
English
Phonology session:
Intonation
Learning Outcomes
At the end of today’ session, you will:
 Understand the concept of intonation,
both for meaning and function
 Have practiced changing your pitch in
different ways
 Know how to practice intonation in
your own time
 Do tasks from and Connected Speech
 Start work on next Speaking Task
What happens inside speech
units/pause groups?
A speech unit is pronounced as if it
were
ONE BIG WORD.
How do we achieve this?
 Intonation over the unit
 Linking
 Elision of consonants
Intonation over the unit
 Each
pause group has its own
intonation pattern. Don’t continue
the same intonation pattern!
Intonation
 What?
– Changes in the pitch of your
voice. Like singing.
 Big problem for many people.
 Two types of intonation
– Intonation for meaning
– Intonation for (grammatical) function
Intonation for meaning

Very personal. Expresses your emotion.

TASK: Try saying the following phrases
with different emotions:
–
–
–
–
–

“Morning”
“yes”
“No”
“I like it”
“That was heaps of fun”
Intonation works with body language
Intonation for Function
Grammatical function: spoken
punctuation
 Declarative sentence
 Y/N question
 open question
 Introducing a sentence
 Changing the topic
Declarative sentences
Lower your pitch at the end
 Say the following sentences out loud

– She saw that man.
– She saw that great big man.
– She saw that great big man’s weapon.
 (Remember
in the news item, the
policeman’s voice stayed up if he had
an ‘and’ coming, but went down
before a long pause.)
Y/N questions
 Raise
your pitch at the end
 Listen to the following example
Open Questions
 Lower
your pitch at the end
 Listen to the following example
Introducing a sentence with an
adverbial phrase
 Keep
your pitch high
 Listen to the following sentences
– Oz Connected Speech, level 3, Tim, first
sentence
– Streaming Speech, Chapter 1, first
sentence
Starting a new topic
 Generally
start with a high pitch
Summary of the theory behind
Intonation
 Can
be found in the Connected
Speech tutorials.
– Read in your own time,
– Listen closely to some of the examples,
– mimic.
Practice
(From Wong 1987)
He: Ready?
 She: No.
 He: Why?
 She: Problems.
 He: Problems?
 She: Yes.
 He: What?
 She: Babysitter.

How to practice intonation
 Both
types working all the time
 Mimic
 Hum along
 Shadow-read
 Develop audio after-image
 Small sections at a time
 Listen to yourself
Now it’s your time
–
Work through the examples mentioned in the
ppt. (Connected Speech)
– Start work on your next speaking Task:
Copy Ross’ monologue from the “Friends” clip
Focus: Intonation. (Try to make your
intonation as exaggerated as his!)