Hello! You are logged in! Happy studying!

Balance:Your credits: 0 Credits

Click to buy more credits

Login Problem: Try again

Forgot your password?

Login to LearnProsody.com

Forgot your password?

Not registered yet?

Enter email address to receive reset password email

Register to LearnProsody

We are currently not accepting external recordings during testing, we apologise, but feel free to use all the free materials - including recording yourself!! Enjoy!

volume_upOn SOME mobile devices control browser VOLUME with "Call volume"
(not "Media").

Guide to English Prosody

  • Content links

  • Guide to Prosody NotationGo! send
  • Guide to FeedbackGo! send
  • Introduction - Coming soon!
  • Key Concepts - Coming soon!
  • How to Improve - Coming soon!
  • Resources - Coming soon!


Prosody Notation

PROSODY GRID

Word Stress

HEllo / goodBYE / intoNAtion

All words in English with more than one syllable have a stressed syllable. If the word has many syllables there could even be a secondary stress for the word. This stress does not change even as prosody is applied.

The reason that stress is important and inflexible is that words are strongly identified and recognised via their basic stress pattern.

Some words even change meaning with different stress, compare the many nouns like REport, DEfect, INvalid with verbs & adjectives rePORT, deFECT, inVALid.

Pitch Levels

Prosody
arrow_upward top
broken_image mid
arrow_downward bottom
Why use pitch?

Pitch has a number of interesting considerations, firstly is the extra emphasis that words with increased pitch have. By raising the pitch the speaker tells the listener that it is more important.

Lowered pitch, the bottom row, is a key way to pass faster through less important words. By using a lower pitch we use less energy and can quickly get to the next word.

Mid pitch is used for 'basic' words within the sentence. It is not flat however, and includes small variations of pitch in order to keep the voice interesting.

How to produce pitch?
  • RAISED PITCH:
    • Imagine talking when your breath has just come in.
    • Imagine trying to talk from the top of your chest.
  • MODULATING MID PITCH:
    • As you speak normally let your voice 'roll' with your breathing and move with the words' stressed syllables too.
  • LOWERED PITCH:
    • Imagine talking when your breath has just gone out.
    • Imagine trying to talk from the top of your stomach.

Up Intonation

call_made
uu OO

A rising intonation can be used to be "inquisitive", or in 'up speak' to signal the end of your speaking turn.

Down Intonation

call_received
OO uu

A downwards intonation is the default intonation - not flat which would give a robotic effect. Falling intonation is also used for 'yes/no' questions.

UpDown Intonation

call_missed
uu OO uu

Up Down intonation really reflects some doubt or reservation from the speaker. Something is not quite right and needs to be clarified. The speaker is holding back a little.

DownUp Intonation

call_missed_outgoing
OO uu OO

A DownUp intonation reflects interest from the speaker. It is a generally positive intonation.

UpDownUp Intonation

call_missedcall_made
uu OO uu OO

This intonation can be used in positive or questioning tones - and reflects energy and focus on that word with the precise meaning coming from the surrounding words.

Volume

loud (normal) loud

Raising your voice is a way to add extra emphasis - this could mean extra positivity or extra negativity from the speaker, all depending on the underlying message.

Lengthen

looong (normal) lllong

Making a word longer is another way to focus on a word to emphasize its importance in the sentence. It is particulary useful if you want to stress a word that is otherwise very short. Typically the word also has a raised pitch.

Long & Loud!

combinaaation (normal)

Combining loudness and length is a very common way to really force the listener to hear a specific word in your discourse.


SOUND ROW

General & Linking

general sound row
general soun d- row
Sound Row Basics

The Sound Row allows the possibility to see any significant pronunciation elements in the phrase. Things to note are:

  • Words are potentially separated into 2 parts, Start and End.
  • If separated each half will have a different colour.
  • The different colours are to help see connected speech features if present.
  • The Start will have the same colour as the previous word's End.
  • The End will have the same colour as the next word's Start.
  • The End part will also have a "-" to indicate a continuation of sound

Phonetics

nice to meet you
ni /s/- to mee /ʧ/- you

Converting the text above to /s/ & /ʧ/ is to highlight the sound that is actually produced. Notice that 'nice' finishes with an /s/ sound so it becomes easier to read how it connects to the next word.

Linking Phonetics

who is anna asking
who /w/- i s- a nna/r/- asking

When a sound is actually introduced that is not present in the sounds of the written words a more colourful notation is used. Here the examples are from the insertion of /r/, /y/ or /w/ between two vowel sounds.


Prosody & Sound

Weak Sounds

nice to meet you Adam
nice t/ə/ meet /jʊ|jə/ Adam
(linking ignored here)

In addition to using normal phonetic notation, where there is a change to weak forms a more colourful notation is used - mainly because the weak forms are almost obligatory in order to achieve other prosodic features.

Pause

Oh! I see.
oh I see

Pauses are a truly fundamental part of prosody and to being understood.

Pauses allow the separation of ideas, incorrect pausing can lead to confusion about what your idea was, and an absence pausing makes it impossible to start processing what the complete idea is.



Guide to Feedback

Positive Feedback

  • Good pitch
    Your pitch for the word was correct. That could mean it was either top, middle or bottom row - depending on the requirement.
  • Good pause
    You paused adequately in the correct place.
  • Good UP word intonation
    Your intonation of the word correctly rose as you said it.
  • Good DOWN word intonation
    Your intonation of the word correctly fell as you said it.
  • Good UP-DOWN word intonation
    Your intonation of the word correctly rose then fell as you said it.
  • Good UP-DOWN-UP word intonation
    Your intonation of the word correctly rose then fell then rose as you said it.
  • Good DOWN-UP word intonation
    Your intonation of the word correctly fell then rose as you said it.
  • Well shortened
    You correctly shortened the word by saying it faster, probably using weak forms.
  • Well lengthened
    You extended the word to add emphasis
  • Good extra volume
    You made the word louder as requested
  • Good weak form
    You used the weak form pronunciation of the word correctly.
  • Good linking
    You linked the two words in a natural way.

Need to Improve Feedback

  • Need to modulate mid-pitch words
    Remember that mid-pitch words do not all use the same pitch, giving the impression that the section is flat. Instead the voice should fluctuate within the mid-pitch range to give interest and clarity to your words.
  • Pause needed
    A pause was requested here.
  • Need up pitch
    You needed a higher pitch - do this by speaking more from the top of your chest/bottom of neck.
  • Need down pitch
    You needed a lower pitch - do this by speaking more from the bottom of your chest/top of your stomach.
  • Need UP word intonation
    You need to raise the intonation of the word as you say it. Try lifting your chin as you say the word.
  • Need DOWN word intonation
    You need to lower the intonation of the word as you say it. Try lowering your chin as you say the word.
  • Need UP-DOWN word intonation
    You need to raise and then lower the intonation of the word as you say it. Try lifting your chin and then lowering it as you say the word.
  • Need UP-DOWN-UP word intonation
    You need to raise and then lower and then raise again the intonation of the word as you say it. Try lifting your chin, then lowering it and then raising it again as you say the word.
  • Need DOWN-UP word intonation
    You need to lower and then raise the intonation of the word as you say it. Try lowering your chin and then raising it again as you say the word.
  • Needs to be short
    The word needed to be shortened. To do this we use 'weak forms' which need less articulation and allow you to say them faster.
  • Needs to be long
    The word needed to be longer - do this by 'holding' and continuing the sound.
  • Needs to be loud
    The word needed to be louder - do this by increasing the energy of the word as you say it.
  • No pause before
    You paused at an incorrect place. Incorrect pausing can either change the focus or meaning of the sentence - or worse can impede understanding completely.
  • Pitch too high
    The pitch you have used is too high - to lower your pitch try speaking that word closer to your stomach.
  • Pitch too low
    The pitch you have used is too low - to raise your pitch try speaking that word closer to your neck.
  • Need FLATTER word intonation
    You have used too much intonation with this word. However in the modelled sentence the word had a flatter intonation.
  • Incorrect shortening
    The word modelled here was not shortened - possibly because the speaker wanted to give some focus to it in the sentence.
  • Incorrect lengthening
    The word modelled here was not lengthened - remember lengthening may emphasize a word and change the meaning, or focus, of a sentence.
  • Too loud
    The word modelled here was not loud - remember increasing volume may emphasize a word and change the meaning, or focus, of a sentence.
  • Incorrect linking
    The word modelled here did not use linking - possibly because the speaker wanted to focus on it and not 'finish it' as soon as possible.
  • Incorrect Intonation
    The intonation used with this word was not as modelled.
  • Used Up Intonation
    You used an UP intonation instead of the intonation indicated.
  • Used Down Intonation
    You used an DOWN intonation instead of the intonation indicated.
  • Used UpDown Intonation
    You used an UpDown intonation instead of the intonation indicated.
  • Used DownUp Intonation
    You used an DownUp intonation instead of the intonation indicated.
  • Used UpDownUp Intonation
    You used an UpDownUp intonation instead of the intonation indicated.
  • Weak form needed
    A weak form was indicated but you must have used the full pronunciation form.
  • Link needed
    The model indicated a link between two words which unfortunately you did not use.


Free Courses record_voice_over Login

To view purchase options: log in / refresh page



/lessonAudio/audio_initHolding.mp3