标准美语发音的13个秘诀 CD 3 Track 25

 

Chapter 5. The El    CD 3 Track 25 

This chapter discusses the sound ofL (not to be confused with that of the American R, which is covered in the next chapter). We'll approach this sound first,by touching¹ on the difficulties it presents to foreign speakers of English, and nextby comparing L to the related sounds of T, D, and N.

L and Foreign Speakers of English 

The English L is usually no problem at the beginning or in the middle of a word. The native language of some people, however, causes them tomake their English L much too short. At the end of a word, the L is especially noticeable if it is eithermissing (Chinese) or too short (Spanish). In addition, most people consider the L as a simple consonant². This can also cause a lot of trouble. Thus, two things are at workhere: location of languagesounds in the mouth, and the complexity³ of the L sound. ,

Location ofLanguage in the Mouth

The sounds of many Romance languages are generally located far forward inthe mouth. My French teacher told me that ifI couldn't see my lips when I spoke⁴ French—it wasn't French! Spanish is sometimes even called the smiling language. Chinese, on the other hand, is similar to American English in that it is mostly produced far back in the mouth. The principal difference is that English also requires clear use of the tongue's tip, a large component⁵ of the sound of L.

The Compound Sound of L

The L is not a simple consonant; it is a compoundmade up of a vowel⁶ and a consonant. Like the [æ] sound discussed in Chapter 3, the sound of L is a combination of [ə] and [1]. The [ə], being a reduced vowel sound, is created in the throat, but the [1] part requires a clear movement of the tongue. First, the tip must touch behind the teeth. (This part is simple enough.) But then, the back of the tongue must then drop down and back for the continuing schwa sound. Especially at the end of a word, Spanish-speaking people tend to leave out the schwa and shorten the L, and Chinese speakers usually leave it off entirely⁷.

One way to avoid the pronunciation difficulty of a final L, as in call, is to make a liaison⁸ when the next word begins with a vowel. For example, if you want to say I have to call on my friend, let the liaison do your work for you; say [I have to kälän my friend]. 

LCompared with T, D, and N

When you learn to pronounce the L correctly, you will feel its similarity with T, D, and N. Actually, the tongue is positioned in the same place in the mouth for all four sounds— behind the teeth. The difference is in how and where the air comes out. (See the drawings in Exercise 5-1.)

T and D 

The sound of both T and D is produced by allowing a puff⁹ of air tocome out over the tip of the tongue.

N 

The sound of N is nasal. The tongue completely blocks all air from leaving through the mouth, allowing it to come out only through the nose. You should be able to feel the edges of your tongue touching your teeth when you say nnn.

With L, the tip of the tongue issecurely touching the roof of the mouth behind the teeth, but the sides of the tongue are dropped down and tensed. This is where L is different from N. With N, the tongue is relaxed and covers the entire area around the back of the teeth so that no air can come out. With L, the tongue is very tense, and the air comes out around its sides. At the beginning it's helpful to exaggerate the position of the tongue. Look at yourself in the mirror as you stick out the tip of your tongue between your front teeth. Withyour tongue in this position say el several times. Then, try saying it with your tongue behind your teeth. This sounds complicated, but it is easier to do than to describe. You can practice this again later with Exercise 5-3. Our first exercise, however, must focus on differentiating¹⁰ the sounds.

1 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

2 consonant   

n.辅音；adj.[音]符合的

参考例句：

• The quality of this suit isn't quite consonant with its price.这套衣服的质量和价钱不相称。
• These are common consonant clusters at the beginning of words.这些单词的开头有相同辅音组合。

3 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

6 vowel   

n.元音；元音字母

参考例句：

• A long vowel is a long sound as in the word"shoe ".长元音即如“shoe” 一词中的长音。
• The vowel in words like 'my' and 'thigh' is not very difficult.单词my和thigh中的元音并不难发。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 liaison   

n.联系，（未婚男女间的）暖昧关系，私通

参考例句：

• She acts as a liaison between patients and staff.她在病人与医护人员间充当沟通的桥梁。
• She is responsible for liaison with researchers at other universities.她负责与其他大学的研究人员联系。

9 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

10 differentiating   

[计] 微分的

参考例句：

• They succeed in differentiating the most commodity-like products. 在最通用的日用产品方面，它们也能独树一帜标新立异。
• The simplest and most effective method of differentiating areas is to use different colours. 区别面状要素最简单而又行之有效的办法，是使用不同的颜色。