Wavering Intonation

Mastering the American Accent » Wavering Intonation

Wavering Intonation

“Wavering intonation” is used for expressing specific emotions or attitudes. With this type of intonation, the pitch changes within words.

Some of the emotions you can express with your intonation include anger, surprise, sarcasm, hesitation, uncertainty, disgust, fear, amazement, and pity.

Let’s start with the words you did. We can say them five different ways depending on the emotion or intention. Listen to the audio to hear the intonation changes.

	Meaning
1. You did?	curious
2. You did?	very surprised
3. You did?	disappointed
4. You did?	angry
5. You did.	in agreement
Now try saying the expression, thanks a lot, in three different ways. Change the intonation each time.
1. Thanks a lot.	normal
2. Thanks a lot.	very happy
3. Thanks a lot.	sarcastic
Try saying okay with different emotions.
Okay.	normal
Okay.	hesitant or unwilling
Okay!	very excited
Okay!	frustrated and angry
Try saying no with different emotions.
No!	angry
No?	surprised
No...	hesitant
No.	sarcastic

Practice Dialogues

Angry Friends

a. Did you do it? curious
b. No. normal
a. No? very surprised
b. No! angry
a. Why not? surprised
b. I don’t know. hesitant
a. You don’t know? angry
b. I don’t know. angry
a. Oh really? sarcastic
b. Yeah, really. angry

Practice Dialogues

Losing Weight

This dialogue has examples of all of the types of intonation you have learned so far.

Emily: Rachel, is that you?
Rachel: Hi Emily.
Emily: I didn’t recognize you at first. Did you lose weight?
Rachel: As a matter of fact, I lost twenty pounds.
Emily: Really? How did you do it?
Rachel: Well, I stopped eating cake, ice cream, potato chips, and candy bars, and I started eating healthier foods like salads, fruit, nuts, and vegetables.
Emily: Wow! I have to say, you look amazing.
Rachel: Do you really think so?
Emily: Absolutely!

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