American English Intonation (4of4)

Have you enjoyed these short videos on intonation? Well, here’s 1 more! In this video I talk about the first rule of intonation - falling intonation. In American English falling intonation is the most common intonation pattern. I hear incorrect intonation patterns all of the time because instead of using falling intonation at the end of English statements, many people around the world use rising intonation. This is especially true for people from India. I hear my Indian clients end each sentence with their voice pitch rising. This is not correct. In fact, when your voice rises at the end of a statement it will sound like a question to native English speakers. This one error can really create confusion for your conversational partner. So practice this skill! And, if you want to learn more about the rules of intonation and the many other rules of English pronunciation, sign up for 1 free week of the Pronunciation Pro training program and then register for the full 12 week program. We guarantee you’ll make at least 50% improvement in your speech or you get your money back. Sign up, you won’t regret it! Transcript: “The first rule is falling intonation. Falling intonation is when the pitch jumps slightly and then falls on the last word of the sentence. This happens in sentences that are commands, statements, and ’wh’ questions. For example, falling intonation in a command sounds like this: Go sit down. Come over here. Eat your food. Do you hear that falling pitch at the end? Falling intonation in statements sounds like this: Her boyfriend came to dinner. I’m 6 feet tall. Those strawberries are for dessert. Falling intonation also happens in ’wh’ questions. ’Wh’ questions are questions that start with the words who, what, where, when, why, and how. Examples of falling intonation in ’wh’ questions sounds like this: What’s your name? How long have you worked here? Where did you go on vacation? “