What is the intonation of speech?

Bernard Shaw once said a wonderful thing: "There are 50 ways to say yes, as many options to say no. But there is only one way to write it down. " Here we are talking about intonation. After all, with its help you can not just express a thought, but also convey your attitude to what has been said. What is intonation? Why is it so necessary?

Definition

Intonation is a change in strength, pace and tone of speech. In other words, this is a variation of the sound of the voice. The main types of intonation are: narrative, exclamatory and interrogative. For the first option is characterized by a smooth and calm pronunciation, but the last syllable speaks slightly lower than the rest. For example, the phrase "You took a ticket to Hawaii" simply states the fact.

Bright emotional color and highlighting the most important word in a tone above - this refers to the exclamation of the phonetic organization of speech ("You took a ticket to Hawaii!"). In the sentences of the latter kind, the interrogative word is highlighted by the increased intonation. This is done regardless of whether it is at the beginning or end of the phrase ("Did you take a ticket to Hawaii?").

Why change the intonation?

The human voice is a wonderful tool. If you use it correctly, then with its help you can revitalize the performance, move the listeners, even cause a tear. And most importantly - to induce to action. In everyday speech, this usually does not cause problems. But as for public speeches, then there may be certain difficulties.

Speech, even very informative, but without any changes in intonation, is similar to the work of a typewriter, which at the same rate mint letters. Ideally, the sound of the voice resembled a melodic game on a musical instrument. Some speakers, due to excitement or the fact that they are trying to read already written text, forget about what intonation is. Therefore, their speech sounds really monotonous. Such statements are lulling. In addition, if the speaker does not change the strength, height or tempo of the voice, one can not understand his personal attitude to his own words.

How to do it?

But this can not be achieved with the help of some technical techniques. For example, mark in the abstract of speech, where you need to add the power of voice, and where to increase the tempo. Such a report will lead the audience into bewilderment. Experienced speakers say that the secret of their success is that they try to penetrate themselves with thoughts that they want to convey to listeners. And then the intonation of speech does not sound artificially, but sincerely.

Changing the power of voice

This technique is not limited to a simple periodic increase or decrease in volume, which occurs with a boring monotony. First of all, this would distort the meaning of what was said. On the other hand, too frequent and unjustified amplification of the voice would cut the ears. It would look as if someone from time to time increases the volume of the radio, then reduces it.

The strength of the voice is mainly determined by the material itself. For example, if you need to express an urgent request, order, conviction or deep conviction, then increasing the volume of speech would be very appropriate. In this way, one can distinguish the main points of the statement. Secondary thoughts must be expressed by a decrease in loudness and an acceleration in the rate of speech. Passion and anxiety are transmitted in a strained and muffled voice. But if you always talk too quiet, then the audience can perceive it as uncertainty or indifference to one's own words. Sometimes an unjustified use of the intensity of the sound of speech can not reach the ultimate goal of the utterance. This happens in cases where words do not just need strength, but cordiality.

What is intonation: change in tempo

In everyday conversations, words flow easily and spontaneously. If a person is excited about something, then he speaks quickly. When he wants the listeners to remember his words well, he slows down the pace. But in public speaking, it is not always easy. Especially if the speaker has memorized the text for memory. In this case, his intonation is cold. He is concentrated only on something not to forget. Accordingly, the pace of his speech is likely to be the same throughout the performance.

In order not to make such mistakes, it is necessary to master the basic techniques of literate technique of conversation. Accelerate the speech should be inessential details or insignificant details. But the main thoughts, important arguments or culminating points should be voiced slowly, clearly, with the alignment. Another important point: you never need to chatter so fast that the diction suffers from this.

What is intonation: the pitch of the sound

Without a change of tonality (modulation), speech would be devoid of euphony and emotionality. Joyful excitement and zeal can be conveyed by increasing the tone, anxiety and sadness by lowering. Emotions help the speaker to reach the hearts of his listeners. So, it's faster to encourage them to take certain actions.

True, there are tonal languages (for example, Chinese), in which the change in pitch affects the meaning of the word itself. Therefore, there is a different concept of what intonation is. Russian language does not apply to such. But in it, with the help of modulation, you can express different thoughts. For example, to turn a narrative sentence into an interrogative sentence , its final part is pronounced with an upward intonation. As a result, we perceive the phrase differently.

The intonation for any utterance, whether everyday conversation or public speaking, is like spices for a dish. Without them it is tasteless. True, we must use it wisely, so as not to overdo it. In this case, the speech will look faked and insincere.