101 Read This First
102 A Few Words On Pronunciation
104 The American Speech Music
105 Exercise 1-1: Rubber Band Practice with Nonsense Syllables
106 Staircase Intonation
107 Statement Intonation with Nouns
108 Statement Intonation with Pronouns
109 Exercise 1-3; Noun and Pronoun Intonation
110 Statement Versus Question Intonation
Emotional or Rhetorical Question Intonation
112 Exercise 1-5: Four Main Reasons for Intonation
113 Exercise 1-6: Pitch and Meaning Change
114 Exercise 1-7: Individual Practice
115 Exercise 1-8: Meaning of "Pretty"
116 Exercise 1-9: Inflection
117 Exercise 1-10; Individual Practice
118 Exercise 1-11: Translation
120 Exercise 1-13: Variable Stress
122 Application of Intonation
123 Exercise 1 -15: Application of Stress
124 How You Talk Indicates to People How You Are
126 Exercise 1-17: Staircase Intonation Practice
127 Exercise 1-18: Reading with Staircase Intonation
128 Exercise 1-19: Spelling and Numbers
129 Exercise 1-20; Sound/Meaning Shifts
130 Exercise 1-21: Squeezed-Out Syllables
131 Syllable Stress Syllable Count Intonation Patterns
132 Exercise 1-22: Syllable Patterns
133 Exercise 1-23：Syllable Count Test
134 Word Count Intonation Patterns
135 Exercise 1-24: Single-Word Phrases
Two-Word Phrases
136 Descriptive Phrases
137 Exercise 1-25: Sentence Stress with Descriptive Phrases
138 Exercise 1 -26: Two Types of Descriptive Phrases
139 Exercise 1-27: Descriptive Phrase Story—The Ugly Duckling
141 Exercise 1-28: Sentence Stress with Set Phrases
143 Exercise 1-30: Set Phrase Story—The Little Match Girl
144 Exercise 1-31: Contrasting Descriptive and Set Phrases
145 Exercise 1-32: Two-Word Stress
101 Read this first
Welcome to American Accent Training. CD1 track 1 录音下载
This book and CD set is designed to get you started on your American accent. We'll follow the
book and go through the 13 lessons and all the exercises step by step. Everything is explained
and a complete Answer Key may be found in the back of the text.
What Is Accent?
Accent is a combination of three main components: intonation (speech music), liaisons (word
connections), and pronunciation (the spoken sounds of vowels, consonants, and combinations).
As you go along, you'll notice that you're being asked to look at accent in a different way.
You'll also realize that the grammar you studied before and this accent you're studying now are
completely different. Part of the difference is that grammar and vocabulary are systematic and
structured— the letter of the language. Accent, on the other hand, is free form, intuitive, and
creative— more the spirit of the language. So, thinking of music, feeling, and flow, let your
mouth relax into the American accent.
Can I Learn a New Accent?
Can a person actually learn a new accent? Many people feel that after a certain age, it's just not
possible. Can classical musicians play jazz? If they practice, of course they can! For your
American accent, it's just a matter of learning and practicing techniques this book and CD set
will teach you. It is up to you to use them or not. How well you do depends mainly on how open
and willing you are to sounding different from the way you have sounded all your life.
A very important thing you need to remember is that you can use your accent to say what you mean and how you mean it. Word stress conveys meaning through tone or feeling, which can be much more important than the actual words that you use. We'll cover the expression of these feelings through intonation in the first lesson. You may have noticed that I talk fast and often run my words together. You've probably heard enough "English-teacher English"—where ... everything ...is ... pronounced without having to listen too carefully. That's why on the CDs we're going to talk just like the native speakers that we are, in a normal conversational tone.
Native speakers may often tell people who are learning English to "slow down" and to "speak
clearly." This is meant with the best of intentions, but it is exactly the opposite of what a
student really needs to do. If you speak fairly quickly and with strong intonation, you will be
understood more easily. To illustrate this point, you will hear a Vietnamese student first trying
to speak slowly and carefully and then repeating the same words quickly and with strong
intonation. Studying, this exercise took her only about two minutes to practice, but the
difference makes her sound as if she had been in America for many years.
Please listen. You will hear the same words twice. Hello, my name is Muoi. I'm taking American Accent Training.
You may have to listen to this CD a couple of times to catch everything. To help you, every word on the CD is also written in the book. By seeing and hearing simultaneously, you'll learn to reconcile the differences between the appearance of English (spelling) and the sound of English (pronunciation and the other aspects of accent). The CD leaves a rather short pause for you to repeat into. The point of this is to get you responding quickly and without spending too much time thinking about your response.
Accent versus Pronunciation Many people equate accent with pronunciation. I don't feel this to be true at all. America is a big country, and while the pronunciation varies from the East Coast to the West Coast, from the southern to the northern states, two components that are uniquely American stay basically the same—the speech music, or intonation, and the word connections or liaisons. Throughout this program, we will focus on them. In the latter part of the book we will work on pronunciation concepts, such as Cat? Caught? Cut? and Betty Bought a Bit of Better Butter; we also will work our way through some of the difficult sounds, such as TH, the American R, the L, V, and Z.
"Which Accent Is Correct?"
American Accent Training was created to help people "sound American" for lectures, interviews, teaching, business situations, and general daily communication. Although America has many regional pronunciation differences, the accent you will learn is that of standard American English as spoken and understood by the majority of educated native speakers in the United States. Don't worry that you will sound slangy or too casual because you most definitely won't. This is the way a professor lectures to a class, the way a national newscaster broadcasts, the way that is most comfortable and familiar to the majority of native speakers.
"Why Is My Accent So Bad?"
Learners can be seriously hampered by a negative outlook, so I'll address this very important point early. First, your accent is not bad; it is nonstandard to the American ear. There is a joke that goes: What do you call a person who can speak three languages? Trilingual. What do you call a person who can speak two languages? Bilingual. What do you call a person who can only speak one language? American. Every language is equally valid or good, so every accent is good. The average American, however, truly does have a hard time understanding a nonstandard accent. George Bernard Shaw said that the English and Americans are two people divided by the same language! Some students learn to overpronounce English because they naturally want to say the word as it is written. Too often an English teacher may allow this, perhaps thinking that colloquial American English is unsophisticated, unrefined, or even incorrect. Not so at all! Just as you don't say the T in listen, the TT in better is pronounced D, bedder. Any other pronunciation will sound foreign, strange, wrong, or different to a native speaker.
Less Than It Appears ... More Than It Appears
As you will see in Exercise 1-21, Squeezed-Out Syllables, on page 18, some words appear to have three or more syllables, but all of them are not actually spoken. For example, business is not (bi/zi/ness), but rather (birz/ness). Just when you get used to eliminating whole syllables from words, you're going to come across other words that look as if they have only one syllable, but really need to be said with as many as three! In addition, the inserted syllables are filled with letters that are not in the written word. I'll give you two examples of this strange phenomenon. Pool looks like a nice, one-syllable word, but if you say it this way, at best, it will sound like pull, and at worst will be unintelligible to your listener. For clear comprehension, you need to say three syllables (pu/wuh/luh). Where did that W come from? It's certainly not written down anywhere, but it is there just as definitely as the P is there. The second example is a word like feel. If you say just the letters that you see, it will sound more like fill. You need to say (fee/yuh/luh). Is that really a Y? Yes. These mysterious semivowels are explained under Liaisons in Chapter 2. They can appear either inside a word as you have seen, or between words as you will learn.
Language Is Fluent and Fluid
Just like your own language, conversational English has a very smooth, fluid sound. Imagine that you are walking along a dry riverbed with your eyes closed. Every time you come to a rock, you trip over it, stop, continue, and trip over the next rock. This is how the average foreigner speaks English. It is slow, awkward, and even painful. Now imagine that you are a great river rushing through that same riverbed—rocks are no problem, are they? You just slide over and around them without ever breaking your smooth flow. It is this feeling that I want you to capture in English. Changing your old speech habits is very similar to changing from a stick shift to an automatic transmission. Yes, you continue to reach for the gearshift for a while and your foot still tries to find the clutch pedal, but this soon phases itself out. In the same way, you may still say "telephone call" (kohl) instead of (kahl) for a while, but this too will soon pass. You will also have to think about your speech more than you do now. In the same way that you were very aware and self-conscious when you first learned to drive, you will eventually relax and deal with the various components simultaneously.
A new accent is an adventure. Be bold! Exaggerate wildly! You may worry that Americans will laugh at you for putting on an accent, but I guarantee you, they won't even notice. They'll just think that you've finally learned to "talk right." Good luck with your new accent!
下一篇：A Few Words On Pronunciation
This book and CD set is designed to get you started on your American accent. We'll follow the
book and go through the 13 lessons and all the exercises step by step. Everything is explained
and a complete Answer Key may be found in the back of the text.
What Is Accent?
Accent is a combination of three main components: intonation (speech music), liaisons (word
connections), and pronunciation (the spoken sounds of vowels, consonants, and combinations).
As you go along, you'll notice that you're being asked to look at accent in a different way.
You'll also realize that the grammar you studied before and this accent you're studying now are
completely different. Part of the difference is that grammar and vocabulary are systematic and
structured— the letter of the language. Accent, on the other hand, is free form, intuitive, and
creative— more the spirit of the language. So, thinking of music, feeling, and flow, let your
mouth relax into the American accent.
Can I Learn a New Accent?
Can a person actually learn a new accent? Many people feel that after a certain age, it's just not
possible. Can classical musicians play jazz? If they practice, of course they can! For your
American accent, it's just a matter of learning and practicing techniques this book and CD set
will teach you. It is up to you to use them or not. How well you do depends mainly on how open
and willing you are to sounding different from the way you have sounded all your life.
A very important thing you need to remember is that you can use your accent to say what you mean and how you mean it. Word stress conveys meaning through tone or feeling, which can be much more important than the actual words that you use. We'll cover the expression of these feelings through intonation in the first lesson. You may have noticed that I talk fast and often run my words together. You've probably heard enough "English-teacher English"—where ... everything ...is ... pronounced without having to listen too carefully. That's why on the CDs we're going to talk just like the native speakers that we are, in a normal conversational tone.
Native speakers may often tell people who are learning English to "slow down" and to "speak
clearly." This is meant with the best of intentions, but it is exactly the opposite of what a
student really needs to do. If you speak fairly quickly and with strong intonation, you will be
understood more easily. To illustrate this point, you will hear a Vietnamese student first trying
to speak slowly and carefully and then repeating the same words quickly and with strong
intonation. Studying, this exercise took her only about two minutes to practice, but the
difference makes her sound as if she had been in America for many years.
Please listen. You will hear the same words twice. Hello, my name is Muoi. I'm taking American Accent Training.
You may have to listen to this CD a couple of times to catch everything. To help you, every word on the CD is also written in the book. By seeing and hearing simultaneously, you'll learn to reconcile the differences between the appearance of English (spelling) and the sound of English (pronunciation and the other aspects of accent). The CD leaves a rather short pause for you to repeat into. The point of this is to get you responding quickly and without spending too much time thinking about your response.
Accent versus Pronunciation Many people equate accent with pronunciation. I don't feel this to be true at all. America is a big country, and while the pronunciation varies from the East Coast to the West Coast, from the southern to the northern states, two components that are uniquely American stay basically the same—the speech music, or intonation, and the word connections or liaisons. Throughout this program, we will focus on them. In the latter part of the book we will work on pronunciation concepts, such as Cat? Caught? Cut? and Betty Bought a Bit of Better Butter; we also will work our way through some of the difficult sounds, such as TH, the American R, the L, V, and Z.
"Which Accent Is Correct?"
American Accent Training was created to help people "sound American" for lectures, interviews, teaching, business situations, and general daily communication. Although America has many regional pronunciation differences, the accent you will learn is that of standard American English as spoken and understood by the majority of educated native speakers in the United States. Don't worry that you will sound slangy or too casual because you most definitely won't. This is the way a professor lectures to a class, the way a national newscaster broadcasts, the way that is most comfortable and familiar to the majority of native speakers.
"Why Is My Accent So Bad?"
Learners can be seriously hampered by a negative outlook, so I'll address this very important point early. First, your accent is not bad; it is nonstandard to the American ear. There is a joke that goes: What do you call a person who can speak three languages? Trilingual. What do you call a person who can speak two languages? Bilingual. What do you call a person who can only speak one language? American. Every language is equally valid or good, so every accent is good. The average American, however, truly does have a hard time understanding a nonstandard accent. George Bernard Shaw said that the English and Americans are two people divided by the same language! Some students learn to overpronounce English because they naturally want to say the word as it is written. Too often an English teacher may allow this, perhaps thinking that colloquial American English is unsophisticated, unrefined, or even incorrect. Not so at all! Just as you don't say the T in listen, the TT in better is pronounced D, bedder. Any other pronunciation will sound foreign, strange, wrong, or different to a native speaker.
Less Than It Appears ... More Than It Appears
As you will see in Exercise 1-21, Squeezed-Out Syllables, on page 18, some words appear to have three or more syllables, but all of them are not actually spoken. For example, business is not (bi/zi/ness), but rather (birz/ness). Just when you get used to eliminating whole syllables from words, you're going to come across other words that look as if they have only one syllable, but really need to be said with as many as three! In addition, the inserted syllables are filled with letters that are not in the written word. I'll give you two examples of this strange phenomenon. Pool looks like a nice, one-syllable word, but if you say it this way, at best, it will sound like pull, and at worst will be unintelligible to your listener. For clear comprehension, you need to say three syllables (pu/wuh/luh). Where did that W come from? It's certainly not written down anywhere, but it is there just as definitely as the P is there. The second example is a word like feel. If you say just the letters that you see, it will sound more like fill. You need to say (fee/yuh/luh). Is that really a Y? Yes. These mysterious semivowels are explained under Liaisons in Chapter 2. They can appear either inside a word as you have seen, or between words as you will learn.
Language Is Fluent and Fluid
Just like your own language, conversational English has a very smooth, fluid sound. Imagine that you are walking along a dry riverbed with your eyes closed. Every time you come to a rock, you trip over it, stop, continue, and trip over the next rock. This is how the average foreigner speaks English. It is slow, awkward, and even painful. Now imagine that you are a great river rushing through that same riverbed—rocks are no problem, are they? You just slide over and around them without ever breaking your smooth flow. It is this feeling that I want you to capture in English. Changing your old speech habits is very similar to changing from a stick shift to an automatic transmission. Yes, you continue to reach for the gearshift for a while and your foot still tries to find the clutch pedal, but this soon phases itself out. In the same way, you may still say "telephone call" (kohl) instead of (kahl) for a while, but this too will soon pass. You will also have to think about your speech more than you do now. In the same way that you were very aware and self-conscious when you first learned to drive, you will eventually relax and deal with the various components simultaneously.
A new accent is an adventure. Be bold! Exaggerate wildly! You may worry that Americans will laugh at you for putting on an accent, but I guarantee you, they won't even notice. They'll just think that you've finally learned to "talk right." Good luck with your new accent!
下一篇：A Few Words On Pronunciation
102 A Few Words On Pronunciation
A Few Words On Pronunciation CD 1 track 2 录音下载
I'd like to introduce you to the pronunciation guide outlines in the following chart. There aren't too many characters that are different from the standard alphabet, but just so you'll
be familiar with them, look at the chart. It shows eight tense vowels and six lax vowels and semivowels.
Tense Vowels? Lax Vowels? In some books, tense vowels are called long and lax vowels are called short. Since you will be learning how to lengthen vowels when they come before a voiced consonant, it would be confusing to say that hen has a long, short vowel. It is more descriptive to say that it has a lax vowel that is doubled or lengthened.
Tense Vowels ..................................... Lax Vowels
Symbol Sound Spelling Example ... Symbol Sound Spelling Example
ā εi take [tak] ...................................... ε eh get [gεt]
ē ee eat [et] ......................................... i ih it [it]
ī i ice [is] ........................................... ü ih + uh took [tük]
ō ou hope [hop] ................................ uh some [sm]
ū ooh smooth [smuth]
ah caught [kt] .................................. Semivowels
+ ε cat [kt] ................................................. r er her [hr]
o + o down [don] ..................................... l ul dull [dl]
Now you try it. Repeat after me.
Voiced Consonants? Unvoiced Consonants? A consonant is a sound that causes two points of your mouth to come into contact, in three locations—the lips, the tip of the tongue, and the throat. A consonant can either be unvoiced (whispered) or voiced (spoken), and it can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. You'll notice that for some categories, a particular sound doesn't exist in English.
上一篇：Read this first
下一篇：The American Speech Music
I'd like to introduce you to the pronunciation guide outlines in the following chart. There aren't too many characters that are different from the standard alphabet, but just so you'll
be familiar with them, look at the chart. It shows eight tense vowels and six lax vowels and semivowels.
Tense Vowels? Lax Vowels? In some books, tense vowels are called long and lax vowels are called short. Since you will be learning how to lengthen vowels when they come before a voiced consonant, it would be confusing to say that hen has a long, short vowel. It is more descriptive to say that it has a lax vowel that is doubled or lengthened.
Tense Vowels ..................................... Lax Vowels
Symbol Sound Spelling Example ... Symbol Sound Spelling Example
ā εi take [tak] ...................................... ε eh get [gεt]
ē ee eat [et] ......................................... i ih it [it]
ī i ice [is] ........................................... ü ih + uh took [tük]
ō ou hope [hop] ................................ uh some [sm]
ū ooh smooth [smuth]
ah caught [kt] .................................. Semivowels
+ ε cat [kt] ................................................. r er her [hr]
o + o down [don] ..................................... l ul dull [dl]
Now you try it. Repeat after me.
Voiced Consonants? Unvoiced Consonants? A consonant is a sound that causes two points of your mouth to come into contact, in three locations—the lips, the tip of the tongue, and the throat. A consonant can either be unvoiced (whispered) or voiced (spoken), and it can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. You'll notice that for some categories, a particular sound doesn't exist in English.
上一篇：Read this first
下一篇：The American Speech Music
104 The American Speech Music
Chapter 1 American Intonation
The American Speech Music CD 1 Track 4 录音下载
What to Do with Your Mouth to Sound American One of the main differences between the way an American talks and the way the rest of the world talks is that we don't really move our lips. (So, when an American says, "Read my lips!" what does he really mean?) We create most of our sounds in the throat, using our tongue very actively. If you hold your fingers over your lips or clench your jaws when you practice speaking American English, you will find yourself much closer to native-sounding speech than if you try to pronounce every ... single ... sound ... very ... carefully.
If you can relate American English to music, remember that the indigenous music is jazz. Listen to their speech music, and you will hear that Americans have a melodic, jazzy way of producing sounds. Imagine the sound of a cello when you say, Beddy bada bida beader budder (Betty bought a bit of better butter) and you'll be close to the native way of saying it.
Because most Americans came from somewhere else, American English reflects the accent contributions of many lands. The speech music has become much more exaggerated than British English, developing a strong and distinctive intonation. If you use this intonation, not only will you be easier to understand, but you will sound much more confident, dynamic, and persuasive.
Intonation, or speech music, is the sound that you hear when a conversation is too far away to be clearly audible but close enough for you to tell the nationality of the speakers. The American intonation dictates liaisons and pronunciation, and it indicates mood and meaning. Without intonation, your speech would be flat, mechanical, and very confusing for your listener.
What is the American intonation pattern? How is it different from other languages? Foa egzampuru, eefu you hea ah Jahpahneezu pahsohn speakingu Ingurishu, the sound would be very choppy, mechanical, and unemotional to an American. Za sem vey vis Cheuman pipples, it sounds too stiff. A mahn frohm Paree ohn zee ahzer ahnd, eez intonashon goes up at zee end ov evree sentence, and has such a strong intonation that he sounds romantic and highly emotional, but this may not be appropriate for a lecture or a business meeting in English.
American Intonation Do's and Don'ts Do Not Speak Word by Word
+ Do not speak word by word.
If you speak word by word, as many people who learned "printed" English do, you'll end up sounding mechanical and foreign. You may have noticed the same thing happens in your own language: When someone reads a speech, even a native speaker, it sounds stiff and stilted, quite different from a normal conversational tone.
+ Connect words to form sound groups.
This is where you're going to start doing something completely different than what you have done in your previous English studies. This part is the most difficult for many people because it goes against everything they've been taught. Instead of thinking of each word as a unit, think of sound units. These sound units may or may not correspond to a word written on a page. Native speakers don't say Bob is on the phone, but say [bbizn the foun]. Sound units make a sentence flow smoothly, like peanut butter— never really ending and never really starting, just flowing along. Even chunky peanut butter is acceptable. So long as you don't try to put plain peanuts directly onto your bread, you'll be OK.
+ Use staircase intonation.
Let those sound groups floating on the wavy river in the figure flow downhill and you'll get the staircase. Staircase intonation not only gives you that American sound, it also makes you sound much more confident. Not every American uses the downward staircase. A certain segment of the population uses rising staircases—generally, teenagers on their way to a shopping mall: "Hi, my name is Tiffany. I live in La Canada. I'm on the pep squad."
What Exactly Is Staircase Intonation?
In saying your words, imagine that they come out as if they were bounding lightly down a flight of stairs. Every so often, one jumps up to another level, and then starts down again. Americans tend to stretch out their sounds longer than you may think is natural. So to lengthen your vowel sounds, put them on two stairsteps instead of just one.
We're here.
We
///////// 're
///////// ///////// he
///////// ///////// ///////// re.
///////// ///////// ///////// /////////
The sound of an American speaking a foreign language is very distinctive, because we double sounds that should be single. For example, in Japanese or Spanish, the word no is, to our ear, clipped or abbreviated.
No
/////////
Clipped
No ///////// ou
///////// /////////
Standard American
When you have a word ending in an unvoiced consonant—one that you "whisper" (t, k, s, x, f, sh)—you will notice that the preceding vowel is said quite quickly, and on a single stairstep. When a word ends in a vowel or a voiced consonant—one that you "say" (b, d, g, z, v, zh, j), the preceding vowel is said more slowly, and on a double stairstep.
seat ////////////
Unvoiced
see ///////// eed
///////// /////////
Voiced
There are two main consequences of not doubling the second category of words: Either your listener will hear the wrong word, or even worse, you will always sound upset.
Consider that the words curt, short, terse, abrupt, and clipped all literally mean short. When applied to a person or to language, they take on the meaning of upset or rude. For example, in the expressions "His curt reply ...," "Her terse response...'' or "He was very short with me" all indicate a less than sunny situation.
上一篇：A Few Words On Pronunciation
下一篇：Rubber Band Practice with Nonsense Syllables
The American Speech Music CD 1 Track 4 录音下载
What to Do with Your Mouth to Sound American One of the main differences between the way an American talks and the way the rest of the world talks is that we don't really move our lips. (So, when an American says, "Read my lips!" what does he really mean?) We create most of our sounds in the throat, using our tongue very actively. If you hold your fingers over your lips or clench your jaws when you practice speaking American English, you will find yourself much closer to native-sounding speech than if you try to pronounce every ... single ... sound ... very ... carefully.
If you can relate American English to music, remember that the indigenous music is jazz. Listen to their speech music, and you will hear that Americans have a melodic, jazzy way of producing sounds. Imagine the sound of a cello when you say, Beddy bada bida beader budder (Betty bought a bit of better butter) and you'll be close to the native way of saying it.
Because most Americans came from somewhere else, American English reflects the accent contributions of many lands. The speech music has become much more exaggerated than British English, developing a strong and distinctive intonation. If you use this intonation, not only will you be easier to understand, but you will sound much more confident, dynamic, and persuasive.
Intonation, or speech music, is the sound that you hear when a conversation is too far away to be clearly audible but close enough for you to tell the nationality of the speakers. The American intonation dictates liaisons and pronunciation, and it indicates mood and meaning. Without intonation, your speech would be flat, mechanical, and very confusing for your listener.
What is the American intonation pattern? How is it different from other languages? Foa egzampuru, eefu you hea ah Jahpahneezu pahsohn speakingu Ingurishu, the sound would be very choppy, mechanical, and unemotional to an American. Za sem vey vis Cheuman pipples, it sounds too stiff. A mahn frohm Paree ohn zee ahzer ahnd, eez intonashon goes up at zee end ov evree sentence, and has such a strong intonation that he sounds romantic and highly emotional, but this may not be appropriate for a lecture or a business meeting in English.
American Intonation Do's and Don'ts Do Not Speak Word by Word
+ Do not speak word by word.
If you speak word by word, as many people who learned "printed" English do, you'll end up sounding mechanical and foreign. You may have noticed the same thing happens in your own language: When someone reads a speech, even a native speaker, it sounds stiff and stilted, quite different from a normal conversational tone.
+ Connect words to form sound groups.
This is where you're going to start doing something completely different than what you have done in your previous English studies. This part is the most difficult for many people because it goes against everything they've been taught. Instead of thinking of each word as a unit, think of sound units. These sound units may or may not correspond to a word written on a page. Native speakers don't say Bob is on the phone, but say [bbizn the foun]. Sound units make a sentence flow smoothly, like peanut butter— never really ending and never really starting, just flowing along. Even chunky peanut butter is acceptable. So long as you don't try to put plain peanuts directly onto your bread, you'll be OK.
+ Use staircase intonation.
Let those sound groups floating on the wavy river in the figure flow downhill and you'll get the staircase. Staircase intonation not only gives you that American sound, it also makes you sound much more confident. Not every American uses the downward staircase. A certain segment of the population uses rising staircases—generally, teenagers on their way to a shopping mall: "Hi, my name is Tiffany. I live in La Canada. I'm on the pep squad."
What Exactly Is Staircase Intonation?
In saying your words, imagine that they come out as if they were bounding lightly down a flight of stairs. Every so often, one jumps up to another level, and then starts down again. Americans tend to stretch out their sounds longer than you may think is natural. So to lengthen your vowel sounds, put them on two stairsteps instead of just one.
We're here.
We
///////// 're
///////// ///////// he
///////// ///////// ///////// re.
///////// ///////// ///////// /////////
The sound of an American speaking a foreign language is very distinctive, because we double sounds that should be single. For example, in Japanese or Spanish, the word no is, to our ear, clipped or abbreviated.
No
/////////
Clipped
No ///////// ou
///////// /////////
Standard American
When you have a word ending in an unvoiced consonant—one that you "whisper" (t, k, s, x, f, sh)—you will notice that the preceding vowel is said quite quickly, and on a single stairstep. When a word ends in a vowel or a voiced consonant—one that you "say" (b, d, g, z, v, zh, j), the preceding vowel is said more slowly, and on a double stairstep.
seat ////////////
Unvoiced
see ///////// eed
///////// /////////
Voiced
There are two main consequences of not doubling the second category of words: Either your listener will hear the wrong word, or even worse, you will always sound upset.
Consider that the words curt, short, terse, abrupt, and clipped all literally mean short. When applied to a person or to language, they take on the meaning of upset or rude. For example, in the expressions "His curt reply ...," "Her terse response...'' or "He was very short with me" all indicate a less than sunny situation.
上一篇：A Few Words On Pronunciation
下一篇：Rubber Band Practice with Nonsense Syllables
105 Exercise 1-1: Rubber Band Practice with Nonsense Syllables
Exercise 1-1: Rubber Band Practice with Nonsense Syllables CD1 track 5 录音下载
Take a rubber band and hold it with your two thumbs. Every time you want to stress a word by changing pitch, pull on the rubber band. Stretch it out gently, don' t jerk it sharply. Make a looping ° ° figure with it and do the same with your voice. Use the rubber band and stretch it out every time you change pitch. Read first across, then down.
A ................. B ............ C ........... D
1. duh duh duh 1. la la la 1. mee mee mee 1. ho ho ho
2. duh duh duh 2. la la la 2. mee mee mee 2. ho ho ho
3. duh duh duh 3. la la la 3. mee mee mee 3. ho ho ho
4. duh duh duh 4. la la la 4. mee mee mee 4. ho ho ho
Read each column down, keeping the same intonation pattern.
A .............. B ............. C ........... D
1.duh duh duh 1. duh duh duh 1.duh duh duh 1. duh duh duh
2.ABC 2. imprecise 2.condition 2. alphabet
3.123 3. a hot dog 3.a hot dog 3. hot dog stand
4.Dogs eat bones. 4. They eat bones. 4.They eat them.4. Give me one.
上一篇：The American Speech Music
下一篇：Staircase Intonation
Take a rubber band and hold it with your two thumbs. Every time you want to stress a word by changing pitch, pull on the rubber band. Stretch it out gently, don' t jerk it sharply. Make a looping ° ° figure with it and do the same with your voice. Use the rubber band and stretch it out every time you change pitch. Read first across, then down.
A ................. B ............ C ........... D
1. duh duh duh 1. la la la 1. mee mee mee 1. ho ho ho
2. duh duh duh 2. la la la 2. mee mee mee 2. ho ho ho
3. duh duh duh 3. la la la 3. mee mee mee 3. ho ho ho
4. duh duh duh 4. la la la 4. mee mee mee 4. ho ho ho
Read each column down, keeping the same intonation pattern.
A .............. B ............. C ........... D
1.duh duh duh 1. duh duh duh 1.duh duh duh 1. duh duh duh
2.ABC 2. imprecise 2.condition 2. alphabet
3.123 3. a hot dog 3.a hot dog 3. hot dog stand
4.Dogs eat bones. 4. They eat bones. 4.They eat them.4. Give me one.
上一篇：The American Speech Music
下一篇：Staircase Intonation
106 Staircase Intonation
Staircase Intonation CD1 track 6
So what is intonation in American English? What do Americans do? We go up and down
staircases. We start high and end low.
Every time we want to stress a word or an idea, we just start a new staircase. That sounds simple enough, but when and where do you start a new staircase?
Statement Intonation with Nouns
Intonation or pitch change is primarily used to introduce new information. This means that when you are making a statement for the first time, you will stress the nouns.
Dogs eat bones
上一篇：Rubber Band Practice with Nonsense Syllables
下一篇：Noun intonation
So what is intonation in American English? What do Americans do? We go up and down
staircases. We start high and end low.
Every time we want to stress a word or an idea, we just start a new staircase. That sounds simple enough, but when and where do you start a new staircase?
Statement Intonation with Nouns
Intonation or pitch change is primarily used to introduce new information. This means that when you are making a statement for the first time, you will stress the nouns.
Dogs eat bones
上一篇：Rubber Band Practice with Nonsense Syllables
下一篇：Noun intonation
107 Exercise 1-1:Noun intonation
Exercise 1-1:Noun intonation CD 1 Track 7 录音下载
Practice the noun stress pattern after me, using pitch change. Add your own examples.
1. Dogs eat bones. 11. Jerry makes music.
2. Mike likes bikes. 12. Jean sells some apples.
3. Elsa wants a book. 13. Carol paints the car.
4. Adam plays pool. 14. Bill and I fix the bikes.
5. Bobby needs some money. 15. Ann and Ed call the kids.
6. Susie combs her hair. 16. The kids like the candy.
7. John lives in France. 17. The girls have a choice.
8. Nelly teaches French. 18. The boys need some help.
9. Ben writes articles.
10. Keys open locks.
+ Pause the CD. V Practice the patterns five more times on your own, using your rubber band.
Statement Intonation with Pronouns CD 1 Track 8
When you replace the nouns with pronouns (i.e., old information), stress the verb.
.............. eat
They ///////// them
///////// ///////// /////////
As we have seen, nouns are new information; pronouns are old information. In a nutshell, these are the two basic intonation patterns:
Dogs .......... bones.
................eat
They .......... them.
上一篇：Staircase Intonation
下一篇：Noun and Pronoun Intonation
Practice the noun stress pattern after me, using pitch change. Add your own examples.
1. Dogs eat bones. 11. Jerry makes music.
2. Mike likes bikes. 12. Jean sells some apples.
3. Elsa wants a book. 13. Carol paints the car.
4. Adam plays pool. 14. Bill and I fix the bikes.
5. Bobby needs some money. 15. Ann and Ed call the kids.
6. Susie combs her hair. 16. The kids like the candy.
7. John lives in France. 17. The girls have a choice.
8. Nelly teaches French. 18. The boys need some help.
9. Ben writes articles.
10. Keys open locks.
+ Pause the CD. V Practice the patterns five more times on your own, using your rubber band.
Statement Intonation with Pronouns CD 1 Track 8
When you replace the nouns with pronouns (i.e., old information), stress the verb.
.............. eat
They ///////// them
///////// ///////// /////////
As we have seen, nouns are new information; pronouns are old information. In a nutshell, these are the two basic intonation patterns:
Dogs .......... bones.
................eat
They .......... them.
上一篇：Staircase Intonation
下一篇：Noun and Pronoun Intonation
109 Exercise 1-3: Noun and Pronoun Intonation
Exercise 1-3: Noun and Pronoun Intonation CD 1 Track 9 录音下载
In the first column, stress the nouns. In the second column, stress the verb. Fill in your own examples at the bottom.
1. Bob sees Betty. 1. He sees her.
2. Betty knows Bob. 2. She knows him.
3. Ann and Ed call the kids. 3. They call them.
4. Jan sells some apples. 4. She sells some.
5. Jean sells cars. 5. She sells them.
6. Bill and I fix the bikes. 6. We fix them.
7. Carl hears Bob and me. 7. He hears us.
8. Dogs eat bones. 8. They eat them.
9. The girls have a choice. 9. They have one.
10. The kids like the candy. 10. They like it.
11. The boys need some help. 11. They need something.
12. Ellen should call her sister. 12. She should call someone.
13. The murderer killed the plumber. 13. He killed a man.
14. The tourists went shopping. 14. They bought stuff.
15. ______________________ 15. ______________________
16. ______________________ 16. ______________________
17. ______________________ 17. ______________________
18. ______________________ 18. ______________________
19. ______________________ 19. ______________________
20. ______________________ 20. ______________________
上一篇：Statement Intonation with Pronouns
下一篇：Statement Versus Question Intonation
In the first column, stress the nouns. In the second column, stress the verb. Fill in your own examples at the bottom.
1. Bob sees Betty. 1. He sees her.
2. Betty knows Bob. 2. She knows him.
3. Ann and Ed call the kids. 3. They call them.
4. Jan sells some apples. 4. She sells some.
5. Jean sells cars. 5. She sells them.
6. Bill and I fix the bikes. 6. We fix them.
7. Carl hears Bob and me. 7. He hears us.
8. Dogs eat bones. 8. They eat them.
9. The girls have a choice. 9. They have one.
10. The kids like the candy. 10. They like it.
11. The boys need some help. 11. They need something.
12. Ellen should call her sister. 12. She should call someone.
13. The murderer killed the plumber. 13. He killed a man.
14. The tourists went shopping. 14. They bought stuff.
15. ______________________ 15. ______________________
16. ______________________ 16. ______________________
17. ______________________ 17. ______________________
18. ______________________ 18. ______________________
19. ______________________ 19. ______________________
20. ______________________ 20. ______________________
上一篇：Statement Intonation with Pronouns
下一篇：Statement Versus Question Intonation
110 Statement Versus Question Intonation
Statement Versus Question Intonation CD 1 Track 10 录音下载
You may have learned at some point that questions have a rising intonation. They do, but usually a question will step upward until the very end, where it takes one quick little downward step. A question rises a little higher than a statement with the same intonation pattern.
"Here is my car."
Here c
///////// is ///// r.
///////// ///// my ///// /////
///////// ///// ///// ///// /////
"Where is my car?"
c ///// r?
Where ///// /////
/////////// is ///// /////
/////////// //// my ///// /////
/////////// //// ////// ///// /////
Emotional or Rhetorical Question Intonation
If you know that your car is parked outside, however, and someone doesn't see it and asks you where it is, you might think that it has been stolen and your emotion will show in your intonation as you repeat the question. As your feelings rise in an emotional situation, your intonation rises up along with them.
"Where is my car?" ............. r?
....................................................................c /////
Where ///// /////
///////// is ///// /////
///////// //// my ///// /////
///////// //// ///////// ///// /////
///////// //// ///////// ///// /////
"Why? Is it gone?"
Exercise 1-4: Sentence Intonation Test
Pause the CD and underline or highlight the words that you think should be stressed. Check Answer Key, beginning on page 193.
1. Sam sees Bill. 11. He sees him.
2. She wants one. 12. Mary wants a car.
3. Betty likes English. 13. She likes it.
4. They play with them. 14. They eat some.
5. Children play with toys. 15. Len and Joe eat some pizza.
6. Bob and I call you and Bill. 16. We call you.
7. You and Bill read the news. 17. You read it.
8. It tells one. 18. The news tells a story.
9. Bernard works in a restaurant. 19. Mark lived in France.
10. He works in one. 20. He lived there.
上一篇：Noun and Pronoun Intonation
下一篇：Four Main Reasons for Intonation
You may have learned at some point that questions have a rising intonation. They do, but usually a question will step upward until the very end, where it takes one quick little downward step. A question rises a little higher than a statement with the same intonation pattern.
"Here is my car."
Here c
///////// is ///// r.
///////// ///// my ///// /////
///////// ///// ///// ///// /////
"Where is my car?"
c ///// r?
Where ///// /////
/////////// is ///// /////
/////////// //// my ///// /////
/////////// //// ////// ///// /////
Emotional or Rhetorical Question Intonation
If you know that your car is parked outside, however, and someone doesn't see it and asks you where it is, you might think that it has been stolen and your emotion will show in your intonation as you repeat the question. As your feelings rise in an emotional situation, your intonation rises up along with them.
"Where is my car?" ............. r?
....................................................................c /////
Where ///// /////
///////// is ///// /////
///////// //// my ///// /////
///////// //// ///////// ///// /////
///////// //// ///////// ///// /////
"Why? Is it gone?"
Exercise 1-4: Sentence Intonation Test
Pause the CD and underline or highlight the words that you think should be stressed. Check Answer Key, beginning on page 193.
1. Sam sees Bill. 11. He sees him.
2. She wants one. 12. Mary wants a car.
3. Betty likes English. 13. She likes it.
4. They play with them. 14. They eat some.
5. Children play with toys. 15. Len and Joe eat some pizza.
6. Bob and I call you and Bill. 16. We call you.
7. You and Bill read the news. 17. You read it.
8. It tells one. 18. The news tells a story.
9. Bernard works in a restaurant. 19. Mark lived in France.
10. He works in one. 20. He lived there.
上一篇：Noun and Pronoun Intonation
下一篇：Four Main Reasons for Intonation
112 Exercise 1-5: Four Main Reasons for Intonation
Exercise 1-5: Four Main Reasons for Intonation CD 1 Track 12 录音下载
Depending on the situation, a word may be stressed for any of the following reasons: New Information Opinion Contrast "Can't"
1. New Information It sounds like rain. Rain is the new information. It's the most important word in that sentence and you could replace everything else with duh-duh-duh. Duh-duh-duh rain will still let you get your point across. V Repeat: Duh-duh-duh rain I It sounds like rain. Duh ray ///// duh ///// ayn. ///// ///// duh ///// ///// ///// ///// ///// ///// /////
V Make rain very musical and put it on two notes: ray-ayn. Duh-duh-duh ray-ayn / It sounds like ray-ayn.
2. Opinion It sounds like rain, but I don't think it is. In this case, intonation makes the meaning the opposite of what the words say: It looks like a diamond, but I think it's a zircon. It smells like Chanel, but at that price, it's a knock-off.
It feels like... It tastes like... These examples all give the impression that you mean the opposite of what your senses tell you. V Practice the intonation difference between new information and opinion: It sounds like rain. (It's rain.) It sounds like rain, (but it's not.)
3. Contrast He likes rain, but he hates snow. Like and hate are contrasted and are the stronger words in the sentence.
4. Can't It can't rain when there're no clouds. Contractions (shouldn't, wouldn't) and negatives (no, not, never) are important words since they totally negate the meaning of a sentence, but they are not usually stressed. Can't is the exception.
上一篇：Statement Versus Question Intonation
下一篇：Pitch and Meaning Change
Depending on the situation, a word may be stressed for any of the following reasons: New Information Opinion Contrast "Can't"
1. New Information It sounds like rain. Rain is the new information. It's the most important word in that sentence and you could replace everything else with duh-duh-duh. Duh-duh-duh rain will still let you get your point across. V Repeat: Duh-duh-duh rain I It sounds like rain. Duh ray ///// duh ///// ayn. ///// ///// duh ///// ///// ///// ///// ///// ///// /////
V Make rain very musical and put it on two notes: ray-ayn. Duh-duh-duh ray-ayn / It sounds like ray-ayn.
2. Opinion It sounds like rain, but I don't think it is. In this case, intonation makes the meaning the opposite of what the words say: It looks like a diamond, but I think it's a zircon. It smells like Chanel, but at that price, it's a knock-off.
It feels like... It tastes like... These examples all give the impression that you mean the opposite of what your senses tell you. V Practice the intonation difference between new information and opinion: It sounds like rain. (It's rain.) It sounds like rain, (but it's not.)
3. Contrast He likes rain, but he hates snow. Like and hate are contrasted and are the stronger words in the sentence.
4. Can't It can't rain when there're no clouds. Contractions (shouldn't, wouldn't) and negatives (no, not, never) are important words since they totally negate the meaning of a sentence, but they are not usually stressed. Can't is the exception.
上一篇：Statement Versus Question Intonation
下一篇：Pitch and Meaning Change
113 Exercise 1-6: Pitch and Meaning Change
Exercise 1-6: Pitch and Meaning Change CD 1 Track 13 录音下载
Practice saying the four sentences after me. Pay close attention to
the changes in pitch that you must make to convey the different meanings
intended. The words to be stressed are indicated in bold face.
1. It sounds like rain.
2. It sounds like rain.
3. He likes rain, but he hates snow.
4. It can't rain on my parade! He can't do it. (See also Ex. 1-43 for
negatives.)
上一篇：Four Main Reasons for Intonation
下一篇：Individual Practice
Practice saying the four sentences after me. Pay close attention to
the changes in pitch that you must make to convey the different meanings
intended. The words to be stressed are indicated in bold face.
1. It sounds like rain.
2. It sounds like rain.
3. He likes rain, but he hates snow.
4. It can't rain on my parade! He can't do it. (See also Ex. 1-43 for
negatives.)
上一篇：Four Main Reasons for Intonation
下一篇：Individual Practice
114 Exercise 1-7: Individual Practice
Exercise 1-7: Individual Practice CD 1 Track 14 录音下载
Practice saying the sentences after the suggestion and the beep tone
+. You will be given only a short time in which to reply so that you
won't have the leisure to overthink. Start speaking as soon as you hear the tone because I'll be saying the sentence only a few seconds later.
1. Convey the information that it really does sound as if rain is
falling. +
2. Convey the opinion that although it has the sound of rain, it may
be something else. +
3. Convey the different feelings that someone has about rain and snow. +
4. Convey the fact that rain is an impossibility right now. +
+ Pause the CD. V Practice the four sentences on your own ten times.
+ Once you're familiar with moving the stress around and feeling how
the meaning changes, turn the CD on to continue with the next exercise.
上一篇：Pitch and Meaning Change
下一篇：Meaning of "Pretty"
Practice saying the sentences after the suggestion and the beep tone
+. You will be given only a short time in which to reply so that you
won't have the leisure to overthink. Start speaking as soon as you hear the tone because I'll be saying the sentence only a few seconds later.
1. Convey the information that it really does sound as if rain is
falling. +
2. Convey the opinion that although it has the sound of rain, it may
be something else. +
3. Convey the different feelings that someone has about rain and snow. +
4. Convey the fact that rain is an impossibility right now. +
+ Pause the CD. V Practice the four sentences on your own ten times.
+ Once you're familiar with moving the stress around and feeling how
the meaning changes, turn the CD on to continue with the next exercise.
上一篇：Pitch and Meaning Change
下一篇：Meaning of "Pretty"
115 Exercise 1-8: Meaning of "Pretty"
Exercise 1-8: Meaning of "Pretty" CD 1 Track 15 录音下载
Native speakers make a clear distinction between pretty easily (easily) and pretty easily (a little difficult). Repeat the answers after me paying close attention to your stress.
Question: How did you like the movie?
Answer: 1. It was pretty good. (She liked it.)
2. It was pretty good. (She didn't like it much.)
上一篇：Individual Practice 下一篇：Inflection
Native speakers make a clear distinction between pretty easily (easily) and pretty easily (a little difficult). Repeat the answers after me paying close attention to your stress.
Question: How did you like the movie?
Answer: 1. It was pretty good. (She liked it.)
2. It was pretty good. (She didn't like it much.)
上一篇：Individual Practice 下一篇：Inflection
116 Exercise 1-9: Inflection
Exercise 1-9: Inflection CD 1 Track 16 录音下载
Notice how the meaning changes, while the actual words stay the same.
1. I didn't say he stole the money. Someone else said it.
2. I didn't say he stole the money. That's not true at all.
3. I didn't say he stole the money. I only suggested the possibility.
4. I didn't say he stole the money. I think someone else took it.
5. I didn't say he stole the money. Maybe he just borrowed it.
6. I didn't say he stole the money, but rather some other money.
7. I didn't say he stole the money. He may have taken some jewelry.
I .... I didn't say he stole the money. Someone else said it.
...............It's true that somebody said it, but I wasn't that person.
Didn't... I didn't say he stole the money. That's not true at all.
...............Someone has accused me and I'm protesting my innocence.
Say ... I didn't say he stole the money. I only suggested the possibility.
.......... ..Maybe I hinted it. Maybe I wrote it. In some way, I indicated that
..............he stole the money, but I didn't say it.
He .......... I didn't say he stole the money. I think someone else took it.
......... I think someone stole the money, only not the person you suspect did it.
Stole ....... I didn't say he stole the money. Maybe he just borrowed it.
................I agree that he took it, but I think his motive was different.
The .......... I didn't say he stole the money, but rather some other money.
............ We agree that he stole some money, but I don't think it's this money.
Money ......... I didn't say he stole the money. He may have taken some jewelry.
................We agree that he's a thief, but we think he stole different things.
Notice that in the first half of these sentences nothing changes but the intonation.
V Repeat after me.
上一篇：Meaning of "Pretty" 下一篇：Individual Practice
Notice how the meaning changes, while the actual words stay the same.
1. I didn't say he stole the money. Someone else said it.
2. I didn't say he stole the money. That's not true at all.
3. I didn't say he stole the money. I only suggested the possibility.
4. I didn't say he stole the money. I think someone else took it.
5. I didn't say he stole the money. Maybe he just borrowed it.
6. I didn't say he stole the money, but rather some other money.
7. I didn't say he stole the money. He may have taken some jewelry.
I .... I didn't say he stole the money. Someone else said it.
...............It's true that somebody said it, but I wasn't that person.
Didn't... I didn't say he stole the money. That's not true at all.
...............Someone has accused me and I'm protesting my innocence.
Say ... I didn't say he stole the money. I only suggested the possibility.
.......... ..Maybe I hinted it. Maybe I wrote it. In some way, I indicated that
..............he stole the money, but I didn't say it.
He .......... I didn't say he stole the money. I think someone else took it.
......... I think someone stole the money, only not the person you suspect did it.
Stole ....... I didn't say he stole the money. Maybe he just borrowed it.
................I agree that he took it, but I think his motive was different.
The .......... I didn't say he stole the money, but rather some other money.
............ We agree that he stole some money, but I don't think it's this money.
Money ......... I didn't say he stole the money. He may have taken some jewelry.
................We agree that he's a thief, but we think he stole different things.
Notice that in the first half of these sentences nothing changes but the intonation.
V Repeat after me.
上一篇：Meaning of "Pretty" 下一篇：Individual Practice
117 Exercise 1-10: Individual Practice
Exercise 1-10: Individual Practice CD 1 Track 17 录音下载
Now, let's see what you can do with the same sentence, just by changing the stress around to different words. I'll tell you which meaning to express. When you hear the tone +, say the sentence as quickly as you can, then I'll say the sentence for you. To test your ear, I'm going to repeat the sentences in random order. Try to determine which word I'm stressing. The answers are given in parentheses, but don't look unless you really have to. Here we go.
1. Indicate that he borrowed the money and didn't steal it. (5) +
2. Indicate that you are denying having said that he stole it. (2) +
3. Indicate that you think he stole something besides money. (7) +
4. Indicate that you were not the person to say it. (1) +
5. Indicate that you don't think that he was the person who stole it. (4) +
6. Indicate that you didn't say it outright, but did suggest it in some way. (3) +
7. Indicate that he many have stolen a different amount of money. (6) +
Overdo It Practice these sentences on your own, really exaggerating the word that you think should be stressed. In the beginning, you're going to feel that this is ridiculous. (Nobody stresses this hard! Nobody talks like this! People are going to laugh at me!) Yet as much as you may stress, you're probably only going to be stressing about half as much as you should.
+ Pause the CD and practice the sentences in random order ten times. Another reason you must overexaggerate is because when you get tired, emotional, or relaxed, you will stop paying attention. When this happens, like a rubber band, you're going to snap back to the way you originally were sounding (10 percent). So, if you just stretch yourself to the exact position where you ideally want to be, you'll go back almost completely to the old way when you relax. For practice, then, stretch yourself far beyond the normal range of intonation (150 percent), so when you relax, you relax back to a standard American sound (100 percent).
We All Do It Possibly about this time you're thinking, Well, maybe you do this in English, but in my language, I just really don't think that we do this. I'd like you to try a little exercise.
上一篇：Inflection 下一篇：Translation
Now, let's see what you can do with the same sentence, just by changing the stress around to different words. I'll tell you which meaning to express. When you hear the tone +, say the sentence as quickly as you can, then I'll say the sentence for you. To test your ear, I'm going to repeat the sentences in random order. Try to determine which word I'm stressing. The answers are given in parentheses, but don't look unless you really have to. Here we go.
1. Indicate that he borrowed the money and didn't steal it. (5) +
2. Indicate that you are denying having said that he stole it. (2) +
3. Indicate that you think he stole something besides money. (7) +
4. Indicate that you were not the person to say it. (1) +
5. Indicate that you don't think that he was the person who stole it. (4) +
6. Indicate that you didn't say it outright, but did suggest it in some way. (3) +
7. Indicate that he many have stolen a different amount of money. (6) +
Overdo It Practice these sentences on your own, really exaggerating the word that you think should be stressed. In the beginning, you're going to feel that this is ridiculous. (Nobody stresses this hard! Nobody talks like this! People are going to laugh at me!) Yet as much as you may stress, you're probably only going to be stressing about half as much as you should.
+ Pause the CD and practice the sentences in random order ten times. Another reason you must overexaggerate is because when you get tired, emotional, or relaxed, you will stop paying attention. When this happens, like a rubber band, you're going to snap back to the way you originally were sounding (10 percent). So, if you just stretch yourself to the exact position where you ideally want to be, you'll go back almost completely to the old way when you relax. For practice, then, stretch yourself far beyond the normal range of intonation (150 percent), so when you relax, you relax back to a standard American sound (100 percent).
We All Do It Possibly about this time you're thinking, Well, maybe you do this in English, but in my language, I just really don't think that we do this. I'd like you to try a little exercise.
上一篇：Inflection 下一篇：Translation
118 Exercise 1-11: Translation
Exercise 1-11: Translation CD 1 Track 18 录音下载
Take the sentence I didn't say he stole the money and translate it into your native language. Write it down below, using whatever letters or characters you use in your language. _______________________________
Now that you have written your sentence down, try shifting the stress around in your own language by going through the stress patterns 1-7 in Exercise 1-9. Don't try to put on a particularly American or other accent; just concentrate on stressing a different word in the sentence each time you say it.
For example, if your language is German, Ich habe nicht gesagt da er das Geld gestohlen hat, you would change the stress to: Ich habe nicht gesagt da er das Geld gestohlen hat, or Ich habe nicht gesagt da er das Geld gestohlen hat. If you translated it into French, you would say, Je n'ai pas dit qu'il a vole l'argent, or Je n' pas dit qu'il a vole l'argent. In Japanese, many people think that there are no intonation changes, but if you hear someone say, wakkanai, you'll realize that it has similarities to every other language. Watashi wa kare ga okane o nusunda to wa iimasen deshita. Or perhaps, Watashi wa kare ga okane o nusunda to wa ümasen deshita.
No matter how strange it may sound to you, stress each different word several times in your language. You may notice that with some words it sounds perfectly normal, but with other words it sounds very strange. Or you may find that in your language, rather than stressing a word, you prefer to change the word order or substitute another word. Whatever you do is fine, as long as you realize where your language patterns are similar to and different from the American English intonation patterns. Then, when you do it again, in English, it will be much easier.
Note An excellent exercise is to practice speaking your native language with an American accent. If you can sound like an American speaking your native language, imagine how easy it would be to speak English with an American accent.
X Pause the CD and practice shifting the stressed words in your native language.
Intonation Contrast Below are two sentences—the first is stressed on the most common, everyday word, book. Nine times out of ten, people will stress the sentence in this way. The second sentence has a less common, but perfectly acceptable intonation, since we are making a distinction between two possible locations.
Normal intonation Where's the book? It's on the table.
Changed intonation Is the book on the table or under it? It's on the table.
X Pause the CD and repeat the sentences.
Exercise 1-12: Create Your Own Intonation Contrast
Write a short sentence and indicate where you think the most normal intonation would be placed. Then, change the meaning of the sentence slightly and change the intonation accordingly. Normal intonation ___________________________
Changed intonation ___________________________
上一篇：Individual Practice 下一篇：Variable Stress
Take the sentence I didn't say he stole the money and translate it into your native language. Write it down below, using whatever letters or characters you use in your language. _______________________________
Now that you have written your sentence down, try shifting the stress around in your own language by going through the stress patterns 1-7 in Exercise 1-9. Don't try to put on a particularly American or other accent; just concentrate on stressing a different word in the sentence each time you say it.
For example, if your language is German, Ich habe nicht gesagt da er das Geld gestohlen hat, you would change the stress to: Ich habe nicht gesagt da er das Geld gestohlen hat, or Ich habe nicht gesagt da er das Geld gestohlen hat. If you translated it into French, you would say, Je n'ai pas dit qu'il a vole l'argent, or Je n' pas dit qu'il a vole l'argent. In Japanese, many people think that there are no intonation changes, but if you hear someone say, wakkanai, you'll realize that it has similarities to every other language. Watashi wa kare ga okane o nusunda to wa iimasen deshita. Or perhaps, Watashi wa kare ga okane o nusunda to wa ümasen deshita.
No matter how strange it may sound to you, stress each different word several times in your language. You may notice that with some words it sounds perfectly normal, but with other words it sounds very strange. Or you may find that in your language, rather than stressing a word, you prefer to change the word order or substitute another word. Whatever you do is fine, as long as you realize where your language patterns are similar to and different from the American English intonation patterns. Then, when you do it again, in English, it will be much easier.
Note An excellent exercise is to practice speaking your native language with an American accent. If you can sound like an American speaking your native language, imagine how easy it would be to speak English with an American accent.
X Pause the CD and practice shifting the stressed words in your native language.
Intonation Contrast Below are two sentences—the first is stressed on the most common, everyday word, book. Nine times out of ten, people will stress the sentence in this way. The second sentence has a less common, but perfectly acceptable intonation, since we are making a distinction between two possible locations.
Normal intonation Where's the book? It's on the table.
Changed intonation Is the book on the table or under it? It's on the table.
X Pause the CD and repeat the sentences.
Exercise 1-12: Create Your Own Intonation Contrast
Write a short sentence and indicate where you think the most normal intonation would be placed. Then, change the meaning of the sentence slightly and change the intonation accordingly. Normal intonation ___________________________
Changed intonation ___________________________
上一篇：Individual Practice 下一篇：Variable Stress
120 Exercise 1-13: Variable Stress
Exercise 1-13: Variable Stress CD 1 Track 20 录音下载
Notice how the meaning of the following sentence changes each time we change the stress pattern. You should be starting to feel in control of your sentences now.
1. What would you like ? This is the most common version of the sentence, and it is just a simple request for information.
2. What would you like?
This is to single out an individual from a group.
3. What would you like?
You've been discussing the kinds of things he might like and you want to determine his specific desires: "Now that you mention it, what would you like?" or He has rejected several things and a little exasperated, you ask,
"If you don't want any of these, what would you like?"
4. What would you like?
You didn't hear and you would like the speaker to repeat herself. or You can't believe what you heard: "I'd like strawberry jam on my asparagus." — "What would you like ?" + Turn off the CD and repeat the four sentences.
Exercise 1 -14: Make a Variable Stress Sentence CD 1 Track 21 Now you decide which words should be emphasized. Write a normal, everyday sentence with at least seven words and put it through as many changes as possible. Try to make a pitch change for each word in the sentence and think about how it changes the meaning of the entire sentence. 1.________________________________________________________ 2.________________________________________________________ 3.________________________________________________________ 4.________________________________________________________ 5.________________________________________________________ 6.________________________________________________________ 7.________________________________________________________
上一篇： Translation
下一篇：Application of Intonation
Notice how the meaning of the following sentence changes each time we change the stress pattern. You should be starting to feel in control of your sentences now.
1. What would you like ? This is the most common version of the sentence, and it is just a simple request for information.
2. What would you like?
This is to single out an individual from a group.
3. What would you like?
You've been discussing the kinds of things he might like and you want to determine his specific desires: "Now that you mention it, what would you like?" or He has rejected several things and a little exasperated, you ask,
"If you don't want any of these, what would you like?"
4. What would you like?
You didn't hear and you would like the speaker to repeat herself. or You can't believe what you heard: "I'd like strawberry jam on my asparagus." — "What would you like ?" + Turn off the CD and repeat the four sentences.
Exercise 1 -14: Make a Variable Stress Sentence CD 1 Track 21 Now you decide which words should be emphasized. Write a normal, everyday sentence with at least seven words and put it through as many changes as possible. Try to make a pitch change for each word in the sentence and think about how it changes the meaning of the entire sentence. 1.________________________________________________________ 2.________________________________________________________ 3.________________________________________________________ 4.________________________________________________________ 5.________________________________________________________ 6.________________________________________________________ 7.________________________________________________________
上一篇： Translation
下一篇：Application of Intonation
122 Application of Intonation
Application of Intonation CD 1 Track 22 录音下载
There is always at least one stressed word in a sentence and
frequently you can have quite a few if you are introducing a
lot of new information or if you want to contrast several things.
Look at the paragraph in Exercise 1-15. Take a pencil and mark
every word that you think should be stressed or sound stronger
than the words around it. I'd like you to make just an accent mark (') to indicate a word you think should sound stronger than others around
it. Reminder The three ways to change your voice for intonation are:
(1) Volume (speak louder), (2) Length (stretch out a word), and (3) Pitch (change your tone). * Pause the CD and work on the paragraph below.
Exercise 1 -15: Application of Stress Mark every word or syllable with ' where you think that the sound is stressed. Use the first sentence as your example. Check Answer Key,
beginning on page 193. Pause the CD.
Hello, my’ name is______________. I'm taking American Accent
Training. There's a lot to learn, but I hope to make it as enjoyable
as possible. I should pick up on the American intonation pattern
pretty easily, although the only way to get it is to practice
all of the time. I use the up and down, or peaks and valleys, intonation
more than I used to. I've been paying attention to pitch, too. It's like
walking down a staircase. I've been talking to a lot of Americans lately,
and they tell me that I'm easier to understand. Anyway, I could go on and
on, but the important thing is to listen well and sound good. Well, what
do you think? Do I?
V Listen and re-mark the stressed words with your marker. After you've
put in the accent marks where you think they belong, take one of the
colored translucent markers and as I read very slowly, mark the words
that I stress. I am going to exaggerate the words far more than you'd normally hear in a normal reading of the paragraph. You can mark
either the whole word or just the strong syllable, whichever you prefer,
so that you have a bright spot of color for where the stress should fall.
Note If you do the exercise only in pencil, your eye and mind will
tend to skip over the accent marks. The spots of color, however, will
register as "different" and thereby encourage your pitch change. This may strike you as unusual, but trust me, it works.
* Pause the CD and practice reading the paragraph out loud three times
on your own.
上一篇：Variable Stress
下一篇：How You Talk Indicates to People How You Are
There is always at least one stressed word in a sentence and
frequently you can have quite a few if you are introducing a
lot of new information or if you want to contrast several things.
Look at the paragraph in Exercise 1-15. Take a pencil and mark
every word that you think should be stressed or sound stronger
than the words around it. I'd like you to make just an accent mark (') to indicate a word you think should sound stronger than others around
it. Reminder The three ways to change your voice for intonation are:
(1) Volume (speak louder), (2) Length (stretch out a word), and (3) Pitch (change your tone). * Pause the CD and work on the paragraph below.
Exercise 1 -15: Application of Stress Mark every word or syllable with ' where you think that the sound is stressed. Use the first sentence as your example. Check Answer Key,
beginning on page 193. Pause the CD.
Hello, my’ name is______________. I'm taking American Accent
Training. There's a lot to learn, but I hope to make it as enjoyable
as possible. I should pick up on the American intonation pattern
pretty easily, although the only way to get it is to practice
all of the time. I use the up and down, or peaks and valleys, intonation
more than I used to. I've been paying attention to pitch, too. It's like
walking down a staircase. I've been talking to a lot of Americans lately,
and they tell me that I'm easier to understand. Anyway, I could go on and
on, but the important thing is to listen well and sound good. Well, what
do you think? Do I?
V Listen and re-mark the stressed words with your marker. After you've
put in the accent marks where you think they belong, take one of the
colored translucent markers and as I read very slowly, mark the words
that I stress. I am going to exaggerate the words far more than you'd normally hear in a normal reading of the paragraph. You can mark
either the whole word or just the strong syllable, whichever you prefer,
so that you have a bright spot of color for where the stress should fall.
Note If you do the exercise only in pencil, your eye and mind will
tend to skip over the accent marks. The spots of color, however, will
register as "different" and thereby encourage your pitch change. This may strike you as unusual, but trust me, it works.
* Pause the CD and practice reading the paragraph out loud three times
on your own.
上一篇：Variable Stress
下一篇：How You Talk Indicates to People How You Are
124 How You Talk Indicates to People How You Are
How You Talk Indicates to People How You Are CD 1 Track 24 录音下载
Beware of "Revealing" a Personality that You Don't Have! There is no absolute right or wrong in regard to intonation because a
case can be made for stressing just about any word or syllable, but you
actually reveal a lot about yourself by the elements you choose to emphasize.
For example, if you say, Hello, this intonation would indicate doubt. This is why you say, Hello ? when answering the telephone because you don't know who
is on the other end. Or when you go into a house and you don't know who's there
because you don't see anyone. But if you're giving a speech or making a
presentation and you stand up in front of a crowd and say, Hello, the people
would probably laugh because it sounds so uncertain. This is where you'd confidently want to say Hello, my name is So-and-so.
A second example is, my name is—as opposed to my name is. If you
stress name, it sounds as if you are going to continue with more personal
information: My name is So-and-so, my address is such-and-such, my blood
type is O. Since it may not be your intention to give all that information,
stay with the standard—Hello, my name is So-and-so. If you stress / every
time, it will seem that you have a very high opinion of yourself.
Try it:
I'm taking American Accent Training. I've been paying attention to pitch,
too. I think I'm quite wonderful. An earnest, hard-working person might
emphasize words this way: I'm taking American Accent Training (Can I learn
this stuff?). I hope to make it as enjoyable as possible (I'll force myself
to enjoy it if I have to). Although the only way to get it is to practice
all the time (24 hours a day). A Doubting Thomas would show up with: I should
pick up on (but I might not) the American intonation pattern pretty easily,
(but it looks pretty hard, too). I've been talking to a lot of Americans lately, and they tell me that I'm easier to understand (but I think
they're just being polite).
上一篇：Application of Intonation
下一篇：Staircase Intonation Practice
Beware of "Revealing" a Personality that You Don't Have! There is no absolute right or wrong in regard to intonation because a
case can be made for stressing just about any word or syllable, but you
actually reveal a lot about yourself by the elements you choose to emphasize.
For example, if you say, Hello, this intonation would indicate doubt. This is why you say, Hello ? when answering the telephone because you don't know who
is on the other end. Or when you go into a house and you don't know who's there
because you don't see anyone. But if you're giving a speech or making a
presentation and you stand up in front of a crowd and say, Hello, the people
would probably laugh because it sounds so uncertain. This is where you'd confidently want to say Hello, my name is So-and-so.
A second example is, my name is—as opposed to my name is. If you
stress name, it sounds as if you are going to continue with more personal
information: My name is So-and-so, my address is such-and-such, my blood
type is O. Since it may not be your intention to give all that information,
stay with the standard—Hello, my name is So-and-so. If you stress / every
time, it will seem that you have a very high opinion of yourself.
Try it:
I'm taking American Accent Training. I've been paying attention to pitch,
too. I think I'm quite wonderful. An earnest, hard-working person might
emphasize words this way: I'm taking American Accent Training (Can I learn
this stuff?). I hope to make it as enjoyable as possible (I'll force myself
to enjoy it if I have to). Although the only way to get it is to practice
all the time (24 hours a day). A Doubting Thomas would show up with: I should
pick up on (but I might not) the American intonation pattern pretty easily,
(but it looks pretty hard, too). I've been talking to a lot of Americans lately, and they tell me that I'm easier to understand (but I think
they're just being polite).
上一篇：Application of Intonation
下一篇：Staircase Intonation Practice
126 Exercise 1-17: Staircase Intonation Practice
Exercise 1-17: Staircase Intonation Practice CD 1 Track 26
Draw one step of the staircase for each word of the paragraph. Start a
new staircase for every stressed word. There usually is more than one
staircase in a sentence. New sentences don't have to start new staircases;
they can continue from the previous sentence until you come to a stressed
word. I'll read the beginning sentences. Check the first sentence against
the example. Then put the words of the second sentence on a staircase,
based on the way I read it. Remember, I'm exaggerating to make a point.
Hello, my’ name is______________. I'm taking American Accent Training.
There's a lot to learn, but I hope to make it as enjoyable as possible.
I should pick up on the American intonation pattern pretty easily, although
the only way to get it is to practice all of the time. I use the up and
down, or peaks and valleys, intonation more than I used to. I've been
paying attention to pitch, too. It's like walking down a staircase. I've been
talking to a lot of Americans lately, and they tell me that I'm easier
to understand. Anyway, I could go on and on, but the important thing is
to listen well and sound good. Well, what do you think? Do I?
V Write out the rest of the staircases. × Turn the CD back on to check your staircases with the way I read
the paragraph.
× Pause the CD again to check your staircases in the Answer Key,
beginning on page 193.
× Back up the CD, and listen and repeat my reading of the paragraph
while following the staircases in the Answer Key.
上一篇：How You Talk Indicates to People How You Are
下一篇:Reading with Staircase Intonation
Draw one step of the staircase for each word of the paragraph. Start a
new staircase for every stressed word. There usually is more than one
staircase in a sentence. New sentences don't have to start new staircases;
they can continue from the previous sentence until you come to a stressed
word. I'll read the beginning sentences. Check the first sentence against
the example. Then put the words of the second sentence on a staircase,
based on the way I read it. Remember, I'm exaggerating to make a point.
Hello, my’ name is______________. I'm taking American Accent Training.
There's a lot to learn, but I hope to make it as enjoyable as possible.
I should pick up on the American intonation pattern pretty easily, although
the only way to get it is to practice all of the time. I use the up and
down, or peaks and valleys, intonation more than I used to. I've been
paying attention to pitch, too. It's like walking down a staircase. I've been
talking to a lot of Americans lately, and they tell me that I'm easier
to understand. Anyway, I could go on and on, but the important thing is
to listen well and sound good. Well, what do you think? Do I?
V Write out the rest of the staircases. × Turn the CD back on to check your staircases with the way I read
the paragraph.
× Pause the CD again to check your staircases in the Answer Key,
beginning on page 193.
× Back up the CD, and listen and repeat my reading of the paragraph
while following the staircases in the Answer Key.
上一篇：How You Talk Indicates to People How You Are
下一篇:Reading with Staircase Intonation
订阅：
博文 (Atom)