We have intensively discussed speech sounds in this class. The aim has been to improve on how we pronounce words. Today, we are building on what I hope has been achieved by looking at the concept of ...

Have you ever noticed that a natural conversation flows like a dance—pauses, emphases, and turns arriving just in time? A new study has discovered that this isn't just intuition; there is a biological ...

Intonation is an integral part of communication for all speakers. But can sign languages have intonation? A new study shows that signers use their faces to create intonational ‘melodies’ just as ...

Tonal languages are different from non-tonal languages because tonal languages are dependent on the emphasis and pronunciation, because how a word is said will affect its meaning. It is quite ...

Raúl Sánchez and Dan Bullock are linguistics and communications specialists and NYU professors. They say improving vocalics, aka nonverbal aspects of speech, is key for effective communication. Vocal ...

As noted last week, intonation is the rise and fall of pitch in the voice — when speaking. There is the need to master the concept and its manifestations to improve on our spoken English. Among other ...