3.1. Nothing like the Sun

sun
Image by BrunoAmaru in Flickr. CC.

Intonation is the rise and fall of pitch in a phrase or sentence. Each person will unconsciously copy the speech patterns of his native language or dialect, starting from the time he first begins to talk. In the British Isles there are many variations of intonation in all areas of regional speech. Compare, for example, someone who comes from Liverpool with someone born in Birmingham. Different languages will have their own patterns of intonation, which in most cases will be very different from Received Pronunciation (RP).

As well as practising the various speech patterns, we recommend that you also pay attention to the intonation and copy it. The most successful way to achieve native-like intonation is to listen to audiobooks, tv programmes, radio…, copying and repeating small sections at a time. You have to absorb the tunes and rise and fall of the language.

Inflection refers to the gentle rise and fall of the voice in a word or syllable. On listening to English speakers it is important to have what we call a "good ear". In other words, to be able to hear the differences in the rise and fall of the voice. There are six basic inflections, but within these there are many varieties.

Compare Alan Rickman's and Daniel Radcliffe's reciting of Shakespeare's immortal Sonnet 130, the one that starts “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”?                                                                                                                                                                                 vs 

And here is Benedict Cumberbatch reading “The Seven Ages of Man” speech from As You Like It, which contains some wonderful descriptive moments, ripe for reuse, including “mewling and puking” and “the lean and slippered pantaloon”:

 


Objetivos

Edward Hopper Studio
Image by Coelacanth0624 in Wikimedia Commons. CC.

A 1960 painting by Edward Hopper is called Second Story Sunlight. Click here to see it. Now write a short story about it.

Remember that you can:

- write about the whole painting or one of its details;

- write about the theme or the technique of the painter;

- write about the painting factually or the feelings it evokes;

- write about what you see or what one of the characters in the painting sees;

- ask yourself questions about what is outside the frame: what is unsaid or mysterious about the painting.

For tips on how to describe a painting click here.

To learn more about Edward Hopper here.

Actividad

A frequent listening activity is a gap fill or a complete the phrase exercise.

Listen to Dr. Beth Harris & Dr. Steven Zucker describe Hopper's painting Nighthawks.

Video in Youtube

Caso práctico

Complete these sentences using NO MORE THAN FOUR words.

After attempting the exercise, go to the Youtube video and click on script to listen and read along.

1. Beth says she can hear _______________ on the sidewalk.

2. This painting depicts _______________. 

3. One thing that implies that alienation is that there _______________. 

4. This work is similar to a prism which _______________ the silence and the sense of light.

5. The pulled blinds make us imagine the _______________. 

6. There is no clear narrative regarding the role  _______________ who have come into the diner. 

7. The height of WWII was a time of  _______________. 

7. Hopper's rendering of _______________ was typically American.

8. The composition if full of _______________. 

9. Despite the painting's emptiness, Hopper _______________ to place the observer in an American place and time. 

10. Hopper cleverly places with _______________ and _______________ to allow us to know we have been there, but it could be anywhere.