Voice Inflection: I didn’t say Albert stole my red pen

We discussed inflection during our work on 'The Meerkat Wars' by H.S. Toshack. We tried to have a conversation just using the one word of a hrrummffalo, Hrrummff. The key to success was using facial expressions and gestures along with inflection. .....

Have you ever said something to someone and they misunderstood the meaning of what you said? When you think back over what you said, you wonder how they managed to misunderstand you.

Many times, it is not what was said, but how it was said that causes these reactions.Voice inflection can mean so much more than the actual words that are spoken. Voice inflection means to change your voice. You can vary your voice by stressing a word or phrase, stretching a word or phrase, or pausing before a word or phrase.

I have written the sentence below seven times and have underlined a different word each time. Say each sentence out loud, putting emphasis on the underlined word. Can you work out the difference?

I didn’t say Albert stole my red pen

a. I didn’t say Albert stole my red pen.

b. I didn’t say Albert stole my red pen.

c. I didn’t say Albert  stole my red pen.

d. I didn’t say Albert stole my red pen.

e. I didn’t say Albert stole my red pen.

f. I didn’t say Albert stole my red pen.

g. I didn’t say Albert stole my red pen.