Jean:  Hello, I'm Jean and you're listening to Question and Answer of the Week. 本来今天的这集节目是应该由我和 Finn 共同主持的，不过不巧的是他今天不能来了，所以我给大家带来了一位新朋友就是 Eric Electric.
 
Eric:  Hello, my name is Eric Electric.  
 
Jean:  请大家不要见怪 Eric 他这么奇怪的说话声音，因为 Eric 他是一个机器人，而我们还
没有完全设置好他的语言功能系统。Eric, do you want to introduce this week's
question?
 
Eric:  Yes please. This week's question comes from our listener Ricky in Xi'an. 
 
Insert
 
Apart from pronunciation, intonation is another key factor to speak good English. When we speak English, it always sounds different from native speakers. Any suggestions?
 
 
Jean:  Ok so Ricky wants to know about intonation. 就是英语里的语调。正如他所说，发音的语调是英语会话中非常重要的一部分。语调不对，这对你说的话的意思和效果都会有很大的影响。也正如 Ricky 所说，要想把自己的语调掌握的像英国人一样熟练，确实不是一件容易的事情。
 
Eric:  Intonation is important.
 
Jean:  Yes, it is very important. 其实我觉得我们这位 Eric Electric 的发音语调就应该先来好好改善一下，肯定可以有办法。Eric, can you repeat your last sentence, please?
 
Eric:  Intonation is important.
 
Jean:  我想大家也能听得出来，他这句话的语调确实显得太单调太没有生气。发音的音高 the pitch 一点没有变化，在说的词语和音节上也没有任何的强调语气 no stress. Both pitch and stress are important aspects of intonation.
 
Eric:    Intonation is important.
 
 
Jean:  So, what can we do to help? 首先我们要注意的是，在英语单词当中，每一个词都是有它自然的重音放在一个音节上。For example, Eric, what was the first word in that sentence?
 
Eric: Intonation.
 
Jean:  Sorry Eric, that doesn't sound very good, it should be 'intonation'.  
Eric: Oh.
 
Jean:  这个词的重音是在第三个音节上 in-to-na-tion. 
 
Eric: Intonation.
 
Jean: That's better. 如果大家对某个词的重音在那里感到没有把握的话，可以在字典上这个词的音标中找到答案。像 important 这个词的重音是放在中间的音节上。
 
Eric: Important.
 
Jean:  And in this sentence, the word 'is' is not stressed at all, it's said quickly: intonation is important.
 
Eric: Intonation is important.
 
Jean:  Very good Eric. 好，那我们就再进一步，加进几个新的单词放在这个句子的后面：when communicating in English.
 
Eric: Intonation is extremely important when communicating in English.
 
Jean:  Now how did that sound? Eric 把每个词的重音都说对了，每个词的发音也很标准，不过整个这句话听上去还是很别扭。在这方面我们也有一个小贴士给大家，就是我们要注意区分两种词语，一种是表意词，在一个句子中有它自己的意思，比如像 important 还有 English，还有一种是起连接作用的功能词，像 is, when and in… 当这些单词在一个句子中出现的时候，我们一般要把强调的语气多放在表意词，少放在功能词上。
 
Eric:  Intonation is extremely important when communicating in English.
 
Jean:  非常好。那么，在我们使用像 extremely, completely or especially 这样表示事情程度的形容词的时候，我们要对这些词加上最强调的语气，比如:
 
Eric: Intonation is extremely important when communicating in English.
 
Jean:  Good. Almost there. 那让我们再来看一下英语里的问句，在问句中语调也是非常重要的。Eric, try this: intonation is extremely important, isn't it? I want you to use a rising intonation on the last two words 就是一个升调。
 
Eric:  Intonation is extremely important, isn't it?
 
Jean:  Now use a falling intonation 降调的语调。
 
Eric:  Intonation is extremely important, isn't it?
 
 
Jean:  Do you know what difference this makes? 这两句话都是问句，不过区别就在句子最后的语调掌握上—升调表示这是一个疑问句，确实是在问对方一个问题，而降调表示的是设问句，不是让对方回答而是让对方肯定你这句话的意思的。
 
Eric:  Intonation is extremely important, isn't it? (rising)   Intonation is extremely important, isn't it? (falling)  Jean, I'm tired of this sentence.
 
Jean:  Yes, so am I! Let's move on. 其实刚才 Eric Electric 说的这句话已经体现了一个很自然的重音，就是在强调一个词语的时候，音调有所提高。Did you hear which word it was?
 
Eric: Jean, I'm tired of this sentence.
 
Jean: Yes, tired. 因为语调也是用来表达情绪和情感的。Let's listen to a few more examples. Ready Eric? You like chocolate cake, don't you?
 
Eric:  (monotone) Jean, I love chocolate cake.  
 
Jean:  Come on, you can do better.
 
Eric: Jean, I love chocolate cake.
 
Jean:    Well, maybe you can have some after the programme, we'll see.
 
Eric:    Thank you Jean.
 
Jean:  So, so far we've looked at stress in individual words, stress in sentences, rising and falling intonation in questions, and using intonation to show your mood. Now finally, listen to Eric's answers to these two questions, and listen out for the difference in intonation. Eric you want to eat carrot cake every week, don't you?
 
Eric:  No, I want to eat chocolate cake every week.
 
Jean:  Ok, how about just once a month?
 
Eric:  No, I want to eat chocolate cake every week.
 
Jean:  Did you hear it? Each sentence  used exactly the same words, but a different word was stressed. 这样一来，这句话里最重要的意思就得到了强调 – 刚才 Eric 说的第一句话里他强调的是巧克力 chocolate，一次和 carrot 区分开来，在第二句话里他强调的是 week，表示是每个星期他都想吃巧克力蛋糕，而不是每个月。
 
Eric:  No, I want to eat chocolate cake every week.   No, I want to eat chocolate cake every week.   Can I have some now please?
 
Jean:  Well, I think you've worked very hard, here you go.
 
Eric: Yum yum.
 
 
Jean:  英语里的语调掌握确实是并不简单，不过却非常的重要。一个不错的练习方法是把你自己说的话录下来，然后给自己重放一遍，着重听听看你自己的语调是否正确。还有，我们可以多听一听英语母语国家的人是怎么运用他们的语调的，多看一些原版的英语电影和电视，肯定会有帮助。
 
Eric:  And of course you can visit our website  www.bbcchina.com.cn for more help with your English.
 
Jean:  And if you have any other questions for us, please email us at questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk and we'll do our best to answer them.
 
Eric:  Bye for now, everybody.
 
Jean:  (Robot voice) Good bye, see you next week. Aaargh, what's happening?
 
Eric: Oh no. 

This week's question comes from Ricky in Xi'an who wants to know more about intonation in English.

As he points out, intonation is different from pronunciation, and is an important part of learning to speak like a native speaker. But it's also quite difficult to learn.

So here are some tips to helps you.

1) Syllable stress

Every word in English has a natural stress which falls on one of its syllables. For example, the word 'intonation' has four: in-ton-a-tion.

The stress falls on the third syllable in this word: in-ton-A-tion.

It's a good idea to look up a dictionary to find out where the stress falls whenever you learn a new word.

2) Words of degree

In a sentence, words which indicate degree, like 'extremely', 'absolutely' and 'especially', are often stressed in a sentence, for example:

Intonation is extremely important when communicating in English.

3) Emotion

One other time words are stressed is for emotional effect, for example the word 'tired' would often be stressed in the following sentence, because it is the word which lets us know how the speaker is feeling:

I'm tired of talking English, can we speak Chinese please?

	Eric Electric joins Jean in the studio

4) Asking questions

When asking questions, we often use a rising or falling intonation at the end of the sentence. Listen to the programme to find out when we use which.

5) Emphasis

Sometimes we want to emphasise one piece of information in a sentence. For instance compare the following two sentences and work out what is being emphasised:

I want to eat chocolate cake every day.
I want to eat chocolate cake every day.

In the first sentence, what's being emphasised is that the person wants to eat chocolate cake evey day, not another kind of cake.

In the second sentence, the speaker wants to emphasise that they want to eat chocolate cake evey day, not every week or month.

6) Record and listen to yourself

This is a good way to find out how you actually sound when you speak English, and can help you identify areas where you need to improve your pronunciation and intonation.

7) Listen to native speakers as much as possible

Listen and imitate! It's the best way to learn the rhythms of English.

And those are our seven tips for today. Good luck with improving your English intonation!

If you have a question about the English language, email it to questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk.

Glossary 词汇

Intonation 语调

Pronunciation 发音

Native speaker 英文为母语的人

Stress 强调，重音

Syllable 音节

Degree 程度

Rising intonation 升调

Falling intonation 降调

Emphasise 强调

Identify 找出

Imitate 模仿

Rhythm 节奏