Introducing Yourself: Focus in Names

How do you introduce yourself in your own language?  Which name do you say first?  Do you use body language?  What differences do you notice between introducing yourself in your own language and in English?

English speakers can usually understand names that are spoken with the expected focus pattern.  A foreign-sounding name will be easier for listeners to understand if it carries an English focus pattern, even it is sounds funny to you.

When listening to the self-introductions below, you will notice that one word in each sentence of the introduction has the focus, that is:

1) The word is said for a much longer time than non-focus words.
2) The focus has a change in voice pitch.

A skillful use of focus is necessary to communicate effectively in English.  Focus follows clear patterns in English.  A person cannot simply put focus on any word he or she likes.  The word with focus needs to be the one the listener expects.  Putting focus on a different word will make the meaning unclear.

Notice the focus on the phrases below.

I'm Nancy Swisher.  I'm from Columbia, South Carolina.
I’m Alan Smith. I’m from New York, New York.
I'm Doug Rogers.  I'm from Sacramento, California.
I'm Luisa Gonzalez.  I'm from El Paso, Texas.

What are the rules?

For names of people, the _______________________ name is in focus.

For names of places, the _______________ part of the name is in focus.

Say the following names with good pitch jump and lengthening on the stressed syllable of the last name:
 

Cathy Smith	Meilin Chang	Alex Gonzales
John Sherman	Lee Kim	Mariko Itoh

  
Say the following place names with good pitch jump and lengthening on the stressed syllable of the last word:
 

Raleigh, North Carolina	Beijing, China
Miami, Florida	Tokyo, Japan
Lima, Peru	Seoul, Korea
Bombay, India	Kutno, Poland

 
Now, introduce yourself using the similar focus pattern on your own name:

Hi, I’m _____________ ______________.
              (first name)           (last name)

I’m from _______________ ______________.
                     (city)              (country or state)

My major is __________________________.