The Descending Stepping Scale is formed by a series of stressed and unstressed syllables which gradually descend. It is used with all the English tones.
' How do you pro'nounce this ˎword?
˙˙˙
The Upbroken Descending Scale
In order to avoid the monotony of the Gradually Descending Stepping Scale one of the stressed syllables of the scale can be pitched higher than the preceding stressed or unstressed syllable. This syllable is said to be pronounced with a special Rise, which can be found:
on any word that needs extra prominence
I 'want you to 'give me a↑nother ˎbook.
∙˙ ↑
on the first word of clauses
I 'don’t 'know ↑what to ˎsay. . ↑ · The syllable pronounced with the special Rise is pitched lower than the first stressed syllable. This Scale is widely used in reading descriptive prose.