... apologizing, challenging, complaining, condoling, congratulating, declining, giving permission, giving way, greeting, leave-taking, mocking, naming, offering, praising, promising, proposing marriage, ... varies from one individual to the next, based mainly on childhood experiences. Many people believe that to give an apology is to accept blame and to make an admission of having made a mistake ... on. Stressing every single word, especially if the intonation is flat, can also make the speakers sound sarcastic. 4. Intonation This is another neglected area of language that can be usefully...