Intonation
Use the music of your voice to ask, tell, list and be polite. Lesson 21 of 58: Pronunciation, every level.
Fall and rise
- Statements and wh-questions usually fall at the end: “I live in Leeds.↘” “Where do you live?↘” Yes/no questions usually rise: “Do you live here?↗”
- A rising statement turns it into a question or shows surprise: “You live here?↗”
- Where do you work? (Falls)
- Do you work here? (Rises)
- You finished it already? (Rises: surprise)
Lists, choices and fall-rise
- In a list, the voice rises on each item and falls on the last: “tea↗, coffee↗ or juice↘”. In a closed choice it falls on the second: “Tea↗ or coffee↘?”
- A fall-rise (down then up) on one word means “but…” or “not completely”: “The food was good↘↗ (but the service wasn’t).” It also makes requests and disagreement softer.
- We need eggs, milk, bread and butter. (Up, up, up, down)
- Would you like tea or coffee? (Choose one: falls on coffee)
- It’s possible… (Fall-rise: polite doubt)
Sounding friendly, not flat
- A flat voice can sound bored or rude in English even when the words are polite. Use a wider range than feels natural: start higher, and let the voice move on the stressed words. “Thank YOU!” with a lift sounds warm; flat, it can sound sarcastic.
- Thank you so much! (Lift on “so much”)
- That sounds great. (Not flat)
- Tip: Record yourself saying “That’s a good idea.” If it sounds sarcastic, widen your range.
Lines to have ready
- Would you like tea or coffee? (A choice: falls at the end)
- Is this seat free? (A yes/no question: rises)
- That sounds great! (Warm, with a lift)
- I see what you mean, but… (Fall-rise on “mean”)
Your turn to speak
- Record yourself asking a new colleague five questions: three wh-questions, two yes/no questions. Then offer them a choice of three things for lunch. Listen back for falls and rises.
- My wh-questions fell
- My yes/no questions rose
- My list went up, up, down
- I sounded warm, not flat
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