3 Main Components of Accent

1. Intonation (Speech Music) 2. Word Connection Liaison 3. Pronunciation ( the spoken

sounds of vowels, consonants and combination)

American v.s. Visayan Accent

1. INTONATION

-American Intonation follows a staircase

pattern which makes it sound melodic with clear peaks and valleys.

American : I love you!

Io I ove

you

VISAYAN INTONATION

1. INTONATION -In Tagalog or Visayan Accent on the other

hand , peaks nor valleys are not clear because every syllable or word tends to be stressed.

VISAYAN : Gihigugma ta ka
Gi hi gug ma ta ka

2.

LIAISON
Words are not pronounced one by one. - Usually one word attaches to the beginning of the next word which allows the speaker to talk in sound groups rather than in individual words. - Stairsteps are connected together so that each sentence sounds like one long word
-

American : How are you doing?

[ Howr you doin? ]

2. LIAISON
- Liaison

poses a difficulty for a Filipino speaker learning American Accent , since word connection barely exists in Tagalog or Visayan. - Tagalog and Visayan words are overly syllabicated. making speech sound curt and abrupt.

Visayan: Kamusta ka?

[ Ka-mus- ta ka? ]

WORKING YOUR ACCENT:

Bob is on the phone. STEP 1: Use staircase intonation.
Bob is on pho on.

the

WORKING YOUR ACCENT:

Bob is on the phone. STEP 2: Use liaison or word connection.
Bo bi son pho on.

the

WORKING YOUR ACCENT:

Bob is on the phone. STEP 3: Check you pronunciation.
B bi sn f un.

th

STAIRCASE INTONATION

Now, lets work on your intonation!

REMINDERS: 1. Avoid speaking in monotone. 2. Explore the ranges of your voice. 3. Think staircases all the time.

What is Staircase Intonation?

In saying words, imagine that they come
out as if they were bounding lightly down a flight of stairs.
We

re

he re

Were here.

Staircase Intonation
In staircase intonation, you should have
clear PEAKS and VALLEYS.
PEAK PEAK
Accent

We
re he re bcoz VALLEY were taking

Trai

VALLEY
ning

American

NOTE: 1. Keep ongoing down until you encounter a stress. 2. At the end of a sentence, dont just go down, but drop down.

3 Ways to Make an Intonation

Get louder or raise the volume Stretch the word out or lengthen the
word that you want to draw attention to Change pitch.
Im taking American Accent training.

CHARACTERISTICS OF STRESSED AND UNSTRESSED SYLLABLES

Volume Stressed Syllable Unstressed Syllable loud quiet Vowel Length long short Vowel Clarity full reduced Pitch High low

What should I stress?

There are some guidelines that we can
follow. But bottom line, you can stress any word in a sentence depending on the meaning you want to convey. Here are some rules that you can use.

EMPHASIS PATTERN
Do you know which words in English
sentences are stressed and which are not? Basically words can be divided into two categories: content words and structure words. Content words are those which carry the basic meaning of a sentence, such as nouns and verbs. Structure words, also called function words, show grammatical relationship, such as pronouns and prepositions. In general, content words need to emphasized, while structure words are usually de-emphasized and reduced.

STRESS CHART
CONTENT WORDS (stressed)
nouns (cat, book, Mary) main verbs (make, run, study) adjectives (good, happy, many) adverbs (quickly, often, really) question words (who, what, when, where, how, why) demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those)

STRUCTURE WORDS (unstressed)

pronouns (he, she, it, they) prepositions (in, on, of, at) articles (a, an, the) "to-be" verbs (am, is, are, was) "to-have" verbs (has, have, had) conjunctions (and, but, so, since) auxiliary verbs (do, can, may, will)

Staircase Intonation Practice

Read the following sentences and try to apply staircase intonation. Then, in a sheet of paper, write the staircase illustration for each.

1. John wants to be an actor, so he wants to live in Hollywood. 2. Mary made an appointment with the dentist on Monday. 3. After the movie, they went to a bar to have beer.

Exercise 1-1:

Practice with Nonsense Syllables

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, dont jerk it sharply. Make a looping figure with it and do the same with your voice. Use the rubber band and stretch it every time you change pitch.

Read first across and then down.

A 1. duh duh duh 2. duh duh duh 3. duh duh duh 4. duh duh duh B 1. la la la 2. la la la 3. la la la 4. la la la C 1. mee mee mee 2. mee mee mee 3. mee mee mee 4. mee mee mee D 1. ho ho ho 2. ho ho ho 3. ho ho ho 4. ho ho ho

D C A B 1. duh duh duh 1. duh duh duh 1. duh duh duh 1. duh duh duh 2. alphabet 2. A B C 2. imprecise 2. condition 3. a hot dog 3. A hot dog 3. Hot dog stand 3. 1 2 3 4. Dogs eat bones 4. They eat bones. 4. They eat them. 4. Give me one.

Intonation or Pitch change is used to introduce new information

When you are making a statement for the first time, you will stress the nouns. 1. Dogs eat bones. 2. Mike likes bikes 3. Elsa wants a book. 4. Adam plays pool 5. Bobby needs some money 6. Susie combs her hair. 7. John lives in France. 8. Ben writes articles. 9. Keys open locks. 10. Nelly teaches French.

11. Jerry makes music. 12. Jean sells some apples 13. Carol paints the car. 14. Bill and I fix the bikes. 15. Ann and Ed call the kids. 16. The kids like the candy. 17. The girls have a choice. 18. The boys need some help. 19. Sharon pays the bills. 20. Donna plays soccer.

Statement Intonation with PRONOUNS (I,we,you,she,he,they)

When you replace the nouns with pronouns , stress the verb.
eat They them.

NOUNS are new information

PRONOUNS are old information

In a nutshell, these are the two basic
intonation patterns.
Dogs eat They them. bones.

Noun and Pronoun Intonation

1. Bob sees Betty. 2. Betty knows Bob. 3. Ann and Ed call the kids. 4. Jan sells some apples. 5. Bill and I fix the bikes. 6. Carl hears Bob and me. 7. Dogs eat bones. 8. The girls have a choice. 9. The kids like candy . 10. The boys need some help.
1. He sees her. 2. She knows him 3. They call them. 4. She sells some. 5. We fix them. 6. He hears us. 7. They eat them. 8. They have one. 9. They like it. 10. The need something.

Sentence Intonation Test

1. Sam sees bill. 2. She wants one. 3. Betty likes English. 4. They play with them. 5. Children play with toys. 6. Bob and I call you and Bill. 7. You and Bill read the news. 8. It tells one. 9. Bernard works in a restaurant. 10. He works in one.

11. He sees him. 12. Mary wants a car. 13. She likes it. 14. They eat some. 15. Len and Joe eat some pizza. 16. We call you. 17. You read it. 18. The news tells a story. 19. Mark lived in France. 20. He lived there.

Statement vs Question Intonation

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 same intonation pattern.

Statement vs Question
c is my r?

Here

is my

c
r.

Where

Statement Intonation
The voice starts at a middle level tone, rises to a higher
level on the stressed syllable of the last stressed word, and falls to a low tone at the end.

Theyre friends.
They arent sisters.
Note that in the one-syllable word friends, the voice glides down.
Since the word sister has more than one syllable, the voice steps down.

Exercise 2:
Read the sentences below. Have the participants mark
the intonation patterns then have them practice saying these to their partner.

Lets eat at home. That sounds great. I have a better idea.

YES/NO Question Intonation

In questions that have a yes or no answer, the
voice commonly rises to a higher level at the end.

Are they friends? Are they roommates?

Note that in the one-syllable word friends, the

voice glides down. Since the word sister has more than one syllable, the voice steps down.

Exercise 3:
Read the sentences below. Have the participants mark
the intonation patterns then have them practice saying these to their partner.

Are you hungry? Do you know how to cook? Wont you give me some food?

WH- Question Intonation

Information questions begin with Who,
What, Where, When, Why. Which and How follow the same rising-falling intonation pattern as statements.
Whats her name? Whos her roommate?

Exercise 4:
Read the sentences below. Have the participants mark
the intonation patterns then have them practice saying these to their partner.

How about you? What do you want to make? How good are you at using chopsticks?

Choice Question Intonation

Some questions give the responder a choice. Choice
questions use the word or between two parts of the question. The first part of the question uses the rising intonation of a Yes/No question, and the second part of the question uses the falling intonation of a statement.

Are they sisters or roommates?

Do you want to eat at home or go out?

Exercise 3:
Read the sentences below. Have the participants mark
the intonation patterns then have them practice saying these to their partner.

Would you rather have Chinese or

American food? Is the refrigerator empty or full? Do you want to use chopsticks or a fork??

Listing Intonation
When listing several items, the first few are usually spoken with a rising intonation. The last item, which comes after the words and or or, is spoken with falling intonation.

Chinese, American or Mexican food? Eat dinner, wash dishes, and go to a movie.

Exercise 3:
Read the sentences below. Have the participants mark
the intonation patterns then have them practice saying these to their partner.

A fork, a knife and a spoon Listening, thinking and speaking

A red one, a yellow one and a green one

Direct Address Intonation

When addressing a person directly by name or title, a
rising intonation is usually used
1. Hi, Dan. 2. Sir, you dropped your pen. 3.This way, maam. 4. Ken, Bill called you this evening. 5.Good morning, mother. 6.Mr. King, do you have a moment? 7.How about you, Mei? 8. Cam, this is my wife, Nancy. .

Exercise
Read the sentences below. Have the participants mark
the intonation patterns then have them practice saying these to their partner.

A fork, a knife and a spoon Listening, thinking and speaking

A red one, a yellow one and a green one

Tag Question Intonation

A tag question is a short question added to the end of a statement. It can be spoken with either a rising or a falling intonation, depending on the meaning the speaker wishes to express. You have enough money, dont you? Your kids can swim, cant they? Its pretty hot where you live, isnt it? She hasnt been there before, has she? That wasnt your girlfriend, was it?

Tag Question Intonation

If you are almost certain that your statement is right, and you are expecting the listener to agree with you, use falling intonation as for the statement. Its raining, isnt it? You think youre smart, dont you? Hes late again, isnt he? You didnt do your homework, did you?

Application of Staircase Intonation

Hello, my name is ______. Im taking American Accent training. Theres 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. Ive been paying attention to pitch too. Its like walking down a staircase. Ive been talking to a lot of Americans lately, and they tell me that Im 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?

Thank you for calling VIACAST. My name is _______. How may I help you today?