密歇根新闻广播 剖析zh辅音

 

Consonant¹ sounds like "sh" and "th" and "ch" have a reasonably secure place in our language. You’ll find them at the beginning, middle and end of many English words.

These consonants² will likely never know the struggle that plagues the "zh” sound.

It's not all dark clouds for "zh." When it comes to the middle of words, this consonant sound is doing okay. You’ll find it in words like "measure," "treasure," and "leisure," all of which are borrowed from French.

Finding a word in English that starts with the "zh" sound is where the struggle begins. There's only one – it's the word you'd use to refer to categories of art, literature or films.

The word in question is "genre³." Be honest though, do you pronounce "genre" with a “zh” or a “j” sound at the beginning?

If it’s the latter, that's okay. When words are borrowed into English, it’s completely natural for the phonology to come to conform to English patterns. Since English speakers are very comfortable with the sound at the beginning of words like “jump” and “giant,” it’s not surprising that “genre” is getting the “j” treatment.

Now, can you think of a word that ends with the “zh” sound? Hint: it’s a place to keep your car.

"Garage" is another word where the “zh” sound is struggling to hold on against the “j” sound. Instead of "zh," many of us pronounce “garage” with a “j” sound at the end, similar to “courage” and “average.” Again though, it’s fine to say it this way. It’s just another borrowed word that’s falling into English phonetic⁴ patterns.

Not that any of that makes the struggle any less real for “zh.” Its place at the beginning and end of English words may very well be a lost cause.

1 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。

2 consonants   

n.辅音，子音( consonant的名词复数 )；辅音字母

参考例句：

• Consonants are frequently assimilated to neighboring consonants. 辅音往往被其邻近的辅音同化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

4 phonetic   

adj.语言的，语言上的，表示语音的

参考例句：

• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。
• English phonetic teaching is an important teaching step in elementary stages.语音教学是英语基础阶段重要的教学环节。