EXERCISES IN INTONATION

SECTION ONE

Review of Part Two¹

EXERCISES

Simple Tunes

I.² This exercise is meant to review Intonation Patterns IX and XII. Listen carefully to the following sentences. Mark the stresses and tunes. Listen to the sentences again. Pronounce the unstressed syllables of the pre-head as low as possible. Make the stressed and the unstressed syllables of the head carry the pitch lower, until you come to the last stressed syllable of all, which starts very high and falls right down to the bottom of the voice. Any syllables after the last stressed syllable are said on a very low note. Do not forget to blend the words together. Give a conversational context with the same sentences. Say what attitudes you mean to render.

Intonation Pattern IX:

(LOW PRE-HEAD+) HIGH FALL ( + TAIL)

Intonation Pattern XII:

(LOW PRE-HEAD + ) HIGH HEAD + HIGH FALL ( + TAIL)

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• I think you'd better ask the others.
• Henry said he'd wait for us at home.
• What time do you generally have breakfast?
• I was held up at the last moment.
• Which of Shakespeare's plays d'you like best?

2. This exercise is meant to review Intonation Pattern XIII. Listen carefully to the following sentences. Mark the stresses and tunes. Listen to the sentences again. Pronounce the stressed and the unstressed syllables of the high head on the same rather high pitch. The very last stressed syllable starts from a medium to a high pitch. Do not forget to blend the words together. Give a conversational context with the same sentences. Say what attitudes you mean to render.

Intonation Pattern XIII

(LOW PRE-HEAD + ) (HIGH HEAD + ) HIGH RISE

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• Is that the man who sent you tickets?
• Hasnt't John given Mary the paper?
• Can you tell me the shortest way to the station?
• Aren't you going to take the children to school?
• Are you quite sure I'm not bothering you?

3. This exercise is meant to review Intonation Patterns I, III, IX, XII. Read the following sentences with the Low Fall, making your voice fall from a medium to a very low pitch; with the High Pall, making your voice fall from a high to a very low pitch; with the Low Rise, making your voice rise from a low to a medium pitch; with the High Rise, making your voice rise from a medium to a high pitch. Use them in conversational situations. Observe the difference in attitudes.

4.^* This exercise is meant to develop your ability to hear and reproduce intonation in proper speech situations. Listen to the following dialogue. Write it down. Mark the stresses and tunes. Practise the dialogue. Find sentences with the High Fall and the High Rise. Observe the attitudes they convey. Record your reading. Play the recording back immediately for your teacher and fellow-students to detect the errors in your pronunciation. Practise reading each sentence of your corrected variant after the tape-recorder. Practise reading the dialogue with a fellow-student. Make up a conversation with a fellow-student using any phrases from the dialogue. See that your Russian pronunciation habits do not interfere.

A Letter of Introduction

Short. Mr. Wills?

Wills. Yes.

Short. My name's Short, from Malaya. J. R. Smith told me to come and see you. I believe he's written to you.

Wills. Yes, I heard from him - when was it? About a month ago, I suppose. He said you'd be coming along, but he didn't say when. Have you just arrived?

Short. On Monday. I rang you up yesterday, but there wasn't anyone who knew when you'd be in. I had to be passing this morning in any case, so I thought I'd look in and ask if there was any chance of finding you.

Wills. Well now, I'd love to have a chat with you, but it's a bit awkward this morning. The trouble is, I've got a man coming to see me in a few minutes, and I don't know just how long the business'll take. Otherwise I'd have suggested your having lunch with me. But I just don't know when I shall be free.

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Short. Oh please don't bother. I hate to worry you, but if you could spare me a little time some other day ...

Wills. Well, what could we do, I wonder. Are you staying in town for the moment?

Short. About ten days. Till Monday week in fact.

Wills. Let's see. To-day's Thursday, and I shall be going out of town next Wednesday. What about Monday? Is that any use to you, or have you got other things on?

Short. Could you make it the afternoon? I've already made an appointment for the morning. I might be able to change it - if I could let you know this afternoon.

Wills. No, no; that's all right. We'll make it Monday afternoon. What shall we say - half-past two?

Short. Yes, that'll be fine. Thanks very much.

Wills. Good. I'm sorry to have to push you out like this now, but we'll have our talk on Monday. See you then.

5.^* This exercise is meant toreview Intonation Patterns VI and VII. Listen to the following sentences. Mark the stresses and tunes. Listen to the sentences again, and repeat them in the intervals. Pronounce each group of sentences several times so as to accustom yourself to the various intonation patterns. Do not forget to blend the words together smoothly. In order to improve your ability to control the ups and downs of your voice, to hear and produce an intonation pattern record the groups of sentences, play the recording back. The fellow-students will try to detect any failure to reproduce the pattern. Give a conversational context with the same sentences. Say what attitudes you mean to render. Make a dialogue of your own.

Intonation Pattern VI

FALL-RISE

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Intonation Pattern VII

(LOW PRE-HEAD + FALLING HEAD + FALL-RISE

• She never really looks very well.
• I wish we could get them all to agree.
• It's easier to speak than to understand.
• I should like you to take the class to-morrow.
• You can't be sure of finding them in the office.
• I think most of the trains used to stop at Exeter.
• It doesn't do to be too eager about it.
• You surely don't believe everything you hear.
• We didn't know the whole family was there.
• They won't arrive before lunch to-morrow.

Compound Tunes

FALL + RISE

• She ought to tell us when she's going to leave.
• I used to be very fond of strawberries and cream.
• We should have hated to have stayed any longer.
• It would have been much better to peel them.
• You can certainly ask him to wait in the drawing-room.
• It's easy to see he's not susceptible to flattery.
• The librarian lent him the book.
• I know you wouldn't be anxious to go.
• Nobody wanted to stay there.

6. Read the following sentences with the Fall + Rise. In order to fix intonation of this compound tune in your mind, ear and speech habits read each sentence several times until they sound perfectly natural to you. Use them in conversational situations. Observe quick pronunciation of unstressed syllables. Concentrate your attention on Rhythm and Intonation. Say what attitudes you mean to render.

• I want you to take the others.
• Living in a big city has advantages.

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• She sang so well that the listeners were filled with admiration.
• How can they be so indifferent to the sufferings of the child?
• I'm sure they accepted the invitation with pleasure.
• She pretends to be quite indifferent to what her friends said to her.
• He was indignant with Tom for not telling him the truth.
• I wish I could spare you the trouble of going there.
• But we are confident of winning the first place in the competition.
• She'll have an accident if she doesn't show more discretion when driving the car.
• Spare me the trouble of reminding you of your promises.
• I admit that the statement is true.
• For me the picture has an irresistible charm.
• I regard it as my duty to help them.
• She is tired of your constant complaints.
• I can hardly believe that my son will be admitted to screen the play.
• I'm sorry you've had all this bother on my account.
• You don't mean to say you'd forgotten it.
• But I've already made an appointment'for the morning.

7.¹ This exercise is meant to develop your ability to hear and reproduce intonation in proper speech situations. Listen to the dialogue. Mark the stresses and tunes. Practise the dialogue. Record your reading. Play the recording back immediately for your teacher and fellow-students to detect the errors in your pronunciation. Practise reading each sentence of your corrected variant after the tape-recorder. Find phrases pronounced with Fall - Rise or Fall + Rise- Say what attitudes are rendered by them. Make up conversational situations, using these sentences.

A. Did you see "Othello" on television last night?

B. The opera, you mean? No, I didn't. I was out.

A. I saw it, and quite enjoyed it.

B. Did you? I thought you didn't approve of television.

A. I don't as a regular thing, but I happened to be round at my sister's, and she wanted to see it, so I watched it too.

B. Have you thought any more about getting a set?

A. No, I don't think I shall. Though there's a good deal of pressure, of course.

B. From your family?

A. From my daughter in particular. All her school friends talk about it so much.

B. I'know. You'd think they never did anything else but sit glued to the television screen.

A That's mostly what I object to, the time it wastes. B. It isn't the television that wastes the time, it's you. A. I know that, but I have a deep distrust of myself. So it's probably better to avoid the occasion of sin. Don't you think?

8. Listen to the extract from "The Importance of Being Earnest" (see pp. 51-55). Read it. Find sentences containing more than one Fall. Use them in conversational situations.

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9. Respond using the High Fall to emphasize delight, joy, pleasant surprise, approval, self-satisfaction. •

10. Respond using Intonation Patterns IX or X to emphasize hostility, anger, indignation, disgruntled protest.

11. Respond using the Fall-Rise to express reproach, concern, regret, hurt feelings, reluctance and impatience.

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12.^* Listen to the following proverbs and sayings. Make sure you understand each sentence. Observe the peculiarities of intonation group division, pitch, stress and tempo. Underline the communicative centre and the nuclear word of each intonation group. Practise reading the proverbs and sayings. Make your reading expressive. Memorize them.

• A man's as old as he feels and a woman's as old as she looks.
• Sit in your place, and none can make you rise.
• Who chatters to you will chatter of you.
• If a man deceives me once, shame on him; if he deceives me twice, shame on me.
• You can't eat your cake and have it.
• He's a good physician who cures himself.
• Two things a man should never be angry at: what he can help and what he can't help.
• Better be ill spoken of by one before all than by all before one.
• Young men think old men fools, and old men know young men to be so.

13. Make up a dialogue of your own to illustrate the proverbs and sayings given above. Use the High Fall, the High Rise, the Fall-Rise and the Fall + Rise in it.

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