Clase 09

Up we go!

From the bottom... UP!!

We are already familiar with the meanings conveyed by falling tones, and we are
aware of the risks of producing the incorrect pitch range when speaking to another
person.

In this class, we'll learn more about the non-falling tones, their meanings in common
and the linguistic/pragmatic contexts where they are frequently used.

Let's watch the video and identify the fundamental aspects related to
non-falling tones.

If you'd like to download the content of the video in PDF format,

please click here.

As mentioned in the video, non-falling tones include:

● RISE
● FALL-RISE

Both types share most of the sets of meaning, except for the Fall-Rise, which
conveys an implicational meaning that makes it special.
 It's important to point out and remember that, of all
three choices among non-falling tones (low rise, high
rise and fall-rise), the FALL-RISE is the tone with the
highest frequency of occurrence in everyday spoken
language.

Having described the basic aspects to be taken into account for the use of
non-falling tones, we should now do some guided practice...

When learning about tones (out of all three systems of intonation), listening plays a
crucial role. Listening must be the number one skill to develop in every single class.
Non-falling tones pose a serious challenge to non-native English
speakers. We tend to associate the highest-pitched syllables of the
tail in the tone group as the syllables containing the tonic syllable.
However, we must train ourselves to pay attention to the beginning
of pitch movement. If we can identify that, we will definitely be able
to produce when we practise reading aloud.

Listening for identification of tones

● We'll listen to the dialogues below.

● We'll identify tonic placement and tones,
especially non-falling tones.
● We'll listen and repeat.
● We'll listen and repeat once again. Practice
makes perfect!
*Remember you can download the audios from the section called "ARCHIVOS".

Hope you've enjoyed the tasks!

 Something we already know...

In this final section, we'll work with familiar material. We will have a choice. The idea
is that we can have fun while working on the non-fallling tones.

Three options for this final

practice:
● We can go back to the first classes and listen to
the scenes or videos that were used. The idea is
that we work with material we're already familiar
with.
● We can use the audio from Speak Out that was
used in the presentation today (Unit 4.3).
● Or we can choose any video, scene, episode,
podcast we like and try to identify how tones have
been used.

If you decide to work with Speak Out:

● Click here to download the script.

● Click here to download the audio.

** If you have any questions or comments on tones, please post them on the forum.