是「good」還是「bed」?



 這次我們改談下英文發音吧。


對母語是廣東話的人而言,很自然地會將英文字「bad」(母音 /æ/)唸錯為「bed」(母音/ɛ/)。






每種語言都有自己的一套「音素」(phonemes),即在該語言中被劃分出來、獨特的基本聲音單位,母語人士能自然地(不用思考地)將所有音素分辨出來。


如果某兩個音是某語言中兩個不同的「音素」,那麼,不論「客觀上」兩者有多相似,母語人士也會覺得它們完全不同,能立刻區分出那「客觀上」微小的發音差異。


例如,英文中的母音 /æ/ (如「bad」、「cat」 、「brag」中) 和 /ɛ/  (如「bed」、 「set」、 「peg」中) 分別是兩個「音素」。


這兩個母音以很接近的方式發音。 發音時,舌頭的位置,以及口腔的空間和形狀都很相近,使它們聽起來很相似。


但因為它們在英文中是兩個獨立的「音素」,英文母語人士在聽和講時,都會將兩者理解為兩個完全不同,完全互不相關的音。


例如,「客觀」來說母音很相似的「bad」和「bed」、「sat」和「set」等,在他們聽來是完全不同的。






也就是說,任何英文母語人士在聽到或說出「bad」和「bed」(一個包含母音/æ/,另一個包含母音 /ɛ/)時,一定不會將兩者混淆。


(用大家的母語廣東話想想,「音素」的概念便會更清晰:例如,「雞」字和「街」字中的母音,是兩個不同的廣東話音素。它們客觀上看,是很接近的,但是,對母語人士來說,是 100% 不會混淆的,是兩個完全不同的音。/æ/ 和 /ɛ/ 在英文,也是同樣道理)。


在廣東話的語音系統中,則只有母音 /ɛ/ 是劃分出來的「音素」, /æ/ 並不是。例如「些」和「野」這些單字,都包含/ɛ/ 這母音。


正因為母音 /æ/ 不是廣東話中另一個劃分出來的音素,母語人士自然會覺得英文字中的 /ɛ/ /æ/ 難以分辨,並會自然把 /æ/ 撥入 /ɛ/ ,把兩個都當成是 /ɛ/


客觀上,這兩個母音的確很相似,發音方法也很接近,分別只是 /æ/ 在發音時,需要運用到稍大一點的口腔空間,和壓下舌頭再多一點。


所以,英語中不論是包含 /ɛ/ /æ/ 的單字,廣東話母語人士自然地一律都會用母音 /ɛ/ 來發音,而不是正確地跟隨英文的語音系統,把 /æ//ɛ/ 分辨。


因此,他們會用同樣的方法來發音那些所有其他音都一樣,分別只有這兩個母音的「字對」,像「bad」和「bed」、「sat」和「set」。


即是,他們會將「bad」和「bed」都唸作「bed」 (/ɛ/),「sat」和「set」都唸作「set」(/ɛ/)。


廣東話母語人士誤將「bad」唸成「bed」,這是很自然的事。例如他們會說「I don’t like this. This is ‘bed.’」


不過對於英文母語人士,「bad」和「bed」是完全不一樣的,因為這兩個母音是兩個英文「音素」。因此,當他們聽到廣東話人士用了錯誤的母音來唸「bad」時,會感到很突兀,因為這聽起來明顯是另一個字「bed」,對他們來說是完全不同的。


想在英文發音上避免這種自然錯誤,你需要基本認識英文的音素,以及它們與自己廣東話母語中的音素有何不同。


*其實廣東話母音人士在發「bed」時,雖然自然會發對母音,但也很自然會把這母音錯誤地拉長,因為這母音在廣東話出現時,如在「些」字,是拉長的。在英文字「bed」中,這母音卻是短促的。


如想了解更多,可以查閱我們關於英文音素的課程資料:

https://www.mscharlotteacademy.com/pronunciation


______________

Let’s talk about English pronunciation for a change! 


It’s a natural trap for Cantonese speakers to mispronounce a word like “bad” in English – which has the vowel /æ/ – as “bed” – which has a different vowel /ɛ/.





Every language has its own set of “phonemes” – that is, basic sound units that are distinguished from each other in that language and perceived as completely distinct by native speakers.


If two sounds are “phonemes” in a language, native speakers would perceive them as completely different from each other and can differentiate between words that only differ by them – even if those two sounds are “objectively” similar.


For example, in English, the vowels /æ/ (“bad,” “cat,” “brag”) and /ɛ/ (“bed,” “set,” “peg”) are distinct “phonemes.”


These two vowels are pronounced in a similar fashion in the mouth. The tongue position and space and shape of the mouth used to produce them are similar, resulting in two sounds that objectively sound similar.


However, because they are distinct “phonemes” in English, English native speakers hear and produce them as two completely distinct sounds. They find pairs of words that only differ by them, like “bad” and “bed,” “sat” and “set,” totally different in sound despite their similarity. 






In other words, no native speaker would ever mix up “bad” and “bed” when they hear or produce these two words - one contains the phoneme /æ/, the other contains the phoneme /ɛ/. 


In the Cantonese sound system, however, the vowel /ɛ/ is a phoneme, but /æ/ is not a separate phoneme. The vowel is /ɛ/ is found in words such as 些 and 野.


Because /æ/ is not a phoneme in Cantonese, Cantonese speakers naturally find /ɛ/ and /æ/ in English difficult to distinguish. These two vowels objectively sound similar – because /æ/ is produced with just a slightly bigger mouth space and lower tongue.


Cantonese speakers naturally put English /æ/ into the same “category” as /ɛ/, treating them as the same sound. 


Because of this, they would naturally pronounce both words that contain /ɛ/ and words that contain /æ/ in English with the vowel /ɛ/.


As in, they would pronounce words like “bad” and “bed,” and “sat” and “set,” exactly the same way – with the vowel /ɛ/ like in Cantonese word 些. They would pronounce both “bad” and “bed” as “bed” (/ɛ/), and both “sat” and “set” as “set” (/ɛ/).


It is natural for Cantonese speakers to mispronounce “bad” as “bed” – for example, saying things like “I don’t like this. This is ‘bed.’” 


To native speakers of English, however, “bad” and “bed” are completely distinct. So, when they hear a Cantonese speaker pronounce “bad” with the wrong vowel /ɛ/, they would find it jarring because it sounds to them distinctly as “bed,” which is a completely different word. 


In order to avoid natural mistakes like this when you pronounce English, you need to have a basic understanding of the phonemes that exist in English, and how they differ from those in your native language Cantonese.


If you want to know more, you can check out our course on English phonemes here:

https://www.mscharlotteacademy.com/pronunciation



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