If you want to reassure someone who is anxious about something, or to sound sympathetic if someone tells you of their troubles, there is a particular intonation pattern you can use. This consists of a low rise on the tonic, preceded by a high level pre-tonic pattern. Look at the two short dialogues below and listen to the sound clips.
A
Annie: It’s two o’clock. We’ll miss the train!
Fred: I Hwon’t be Hmore than a Hcouple of MminutesL
Alternative sound
B
Annie: It’s two o’clock. We’ll miss the train!
Fred: I Hwon’t be Hmore than a Hcouple of LminutesM
Alternative sound
In dialogue A, Fred sounds rather abrupt and maybe annoyed — the implication is something like: “Please stop bothering me”. In dialogue B he sounds much more reassuring and here the implication is: “Don’t worry. We’ll catch the train”.
See the Symbols page for an explanation of the superscript H M and L in Fred’s utterances.
2013_08_24