美式英语正音训练第68期:第5章

 　　Chapter 5 The El

　　This chapter discusses the sound of L (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 next by comparing L to the related sounds of T, D, and N.

　　L Compared 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.

　　T and D The sound of both T and D is produced by allowing a puff² of air to come 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.

　　L

　　With L, the tip of the tongue is securely 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.

　　With your 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 differentiating³ 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 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。

3 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。