Intonation describes the movement of pitch as you speak. Usually we refer to pitch as being high or low. You might prefer to think of pitch differently, such as: darker and brighter or
Low Pitch left and right (like the way pitch is arranged on a piano)
Experiment 1 Make a long /m/ sound. Start high and move low. Then start low and move high. It will help to move your hand to follow the pitch movement as you speak.
High Pitch High Pitch
Low Pitch
The word tone describes a specific pitch movement (or, in the case of level tone, a lack of movement).
Some languages (like Mandarin, Thai, Hausa, Yoruba) use tones to distinguish between words.
English is not like these languages. It uses tones to express emotions/attitudes, and to make the words sound more interesting for the listener. English makes use of five main tones. Watch the video lessons below: Tone Name Pitch direction Pitch Starts Pitch Ends
Fall Rise Fall-Rise Rise-Fall Level High Low High Low Medium Low High High Low Medium
Of course the pronunciation of the tones in the videos above was exaggerated so you could hear the differences more easily. In normal speech, the tones are pronounced much more quickly.
Listen to the tones both slowly and quickly Now go to the next page.
