經常被混淆的詞彙 #1: 「expensive」 vs. 「expansive」

 


我們常常會混淆外語中一些發音或書寫方式相似的單字,因此在學習詞彙時,我們得細心觀察。


我將陸續為大家列舉一些我經常看到香港學生混淆的例子。


這篇newsletter,就先從「expensive」和「expansive」說起吧。


這兩個單字,以及它們所衍生自的動詞「expend」和「expand」,還有其他衍生自同一動詞的單字,如名詞「expense」和「expanse」等,都經常被混淆。


「Expensive」和「expansive」都是形容詞;「Expend」和「expand」則都是動詞;「expense」和「expanse」就是名詞。


這三對字在發音和串法上很接近,因此我們在學習時要加倍留意它們之間的分別。


「Expensive」這形容詞比較常見,意思是「貴」。中間音節的母音音素是 /ɛ/,如「set」和「neck」中的母音(以及如廣東話「錫」的母音)。 書寫方面,中間音節母音代表字母是「e」。


Expensive /ɪkspɛnsɪv/ 貴


例: My new phone is very expensive.

我的新手機非常昂貴)


「Expansive」這形容詞的意思是「廣闊」,相對「Expensive」比較沒那麼常見。中間音節的母音音素是 /æ/,如「back」和「cat」中的。 書寫時,中間音節中的母音代表字母是「a」。


Expansive /ɪkspænsɪv/ 廣闊


例: This apartment on the Peak offers expansive views.

(山頂的這套公寓擁有廣闊的景觀)


我在之前的一篇newsletter (這裡) 中解釋過,廣東話人士普遍會覺得英文音素 /ɛ/ 和 /æ/ 比較難分辨,因為廣東話中只存在 /ɛ/(例如「錫」中的母音音素),卻沒有/æ/。


廣東話人士很自然會將分別包含音素 /ɛ/ 和 /æ/ 的英文詞語都用 /ɛ/ 音發音。


但因爲英語單字是可以靠這對母音分辨出來的,如果將 /æ/ 也唸成 /ɛ/ ,我們便無法透過發音來區分「expensive」和「expansive」,或「bed」和「bad」等分別有這兩個母音音素的單字。


想透過中間母音便能適當地區分這些單字,我們須要主動在腦海中,創建為一個英文母音音素 /æ/ 而設的新音素「格格」。


學習區分 /æ/ 爲單獨的元音音素,可能需要付出更多時間和練習,但單從串法分辨出使用「e」的「expensive」,跟使用「a」的「expansive」,應該是輕而易舉的事吧。


所以我們至少要確保自己在書面上懂得將兩者區分。


「Expend」和「expand」,分別是衍生出「expensive」和「expansive」的動詞。


「Expend」的意思是「消耗」 或「花費」,這也是為何它所衍生的形容詞「expensive」會是「昂貴」的意思。與「expensive」一樣,第二個音節的母音是 /ɛ/,書面串法是用「e」的。


Expend /ɪkspɛnd/ 花費


例: I don’t want to expend any time or energy on this.

我不想在這件事情上花費任何時間或精力)


「Expand」的意思是「擴大」 或「擴展」,這也是為何它所衍生的形容詞「expansive」會是「廣闊」的意思。與「expansive」一樣,第二個音節的母音是 /æ/,書面串法是用「a」的。


Expand /ɪkspænd/ 擴大 / 擴展


例: The company plans to expand its operations into new markets next year.

(公司計畫明年將其業務擴展到新的市場)


「Expense」和「expanse」是衍生自同一對動詞的名詞。


「Expense」的意思是「支出」 。與「expensive」和「expend」一樣,它第二個音節的母音是/ɛ/,書面串法是用「e」的。


Expense /ɪkspɛns/ 支出


例: She kept track of her monthly expenses in a spreadsheet to manage her budget.
她用電子表格記錄每月的開支,以管理她的預算)


「Expanse」的意思是「廣闊的區域 / 空間」 。與「expansive」和「expand」一樣,它第二個音節的母音是/æ/,書面串法是用「a」的。


Expanse /ɪkspæns/ 廣闊的空間


例:The vast expanse of the desert stretched out before us, seemingly endless in every direction. 

(沙漠的廣闊地帶在我們面前展開,每個方向似乎都是無盡的)


下次再聊聊其他容易混淆的詞彙。


小練習


請為以下句子選擇適當的單字。


  1. The _________ (expensive / expansive) garden behind the mansion was a peaceful retreat for the family.

    (這座大宅後面的廣闊花園是家人們的寧靜避所)

  2. She decided to _________ (expend / expand) all her energy on completing the project ahead of schedule.

    (她決定把所有的精力都用在提前完成項目上)


______________

(English version) 


It is easy to mix up words in a foreign language that sound similar or look similar in writing – so we need to be observant when we learn new words and see their examples in context.


I will give you different examples of these as they occur to me.


In this newsletter, I want to talk about the words “expensive” and “expansive.”


These words, the verbs from which they are derived, “expend” and “expand,” as well as other derived words like “expense” and “expanse,” are often mixed up.


“Expensive” and “expansive” are both adjectives. “Expend” and “expand” are both verbs.


These pairs of words are almost identical in pronunciation and in spelling, so we need to be extra careful when learning their difference. 


“Expensive,” which is the more common word, means 貴. The vowel phoneme in its middle syllable is /ɛ/, like in the words “set” and “neck” (and Cantonese word “錫"). In writing, the letter representing this vowel sound in the middle syllable is “e.”


Expensive /ɪkspɛnsɪv/ 貴


e.g. My new phone is very expensive.

我的新手機非常昂貴)


“Expansive,” which is a less common word than “expensive,” means 廣闊 or wide in scope. The vowel phoneme in its middle syllable is /æ/, like in the words “back” and “cat. In writing, the letter representing this vowel sound in the middle syllable is “a.” 


Expansive /ɪkspænsɪv/ 廣闊


e.g. This apartment on the Peak offers expansive views.

(山頂的這套公寓擁有廣闊的景觀)


In a previous newsletter (here), I explained that Cantonese speakers naturally have difficulty differentiating the phonemes /ɛ/ and /æ/ because Cantonese has /ɛ/ (like in “錫") but not /æ/. 


It is natural for Cantonese speakers to pronounce both English words with /ɛ/ and English words with /æ/ with the vowel /ɛ/.


This is problematic, however, because English words can be differentiated by these vowels. If you merge /æ/ with /ɛ/, you would not be able to use pronunciation to differentiate between “expensive” and “expansive,” or other word pairs like “bed” and “bad.”


In order to adequately differentiate these words by their middle vowels, you need to actively try to “carve” out a new sound category in your head for the English vowel sound /æ/.


Although learning to differentiate /æ/ as a separate vowel phoneme might take time and practice, differentiating between the spelt words “expensive” (with “e”) and “expansive” (with the “a”) in writing does not – so you should at least make sure that you know the difference between these words when they are written out. 


“Expend” and “expand” are the verbs that “expensive” and “expansive” are derived from. 


“Expend” means 消耗 or 花費. That is why “expensive,” the adjective derived from it, means 貴 (since it’s the quality of needing to 花費). Like “expensive,” the vowel in the second syllable is /ɛ/, and it is spelt with an “e” in writing.


Expend /ɪkspɛnd/ 花費


e.g. I don’t want to expend any time or energy on this.

我不想在這件事情上花費任何時間或精力)


“Expand” means 擴大 / 擴展. That is why “expansive,” the adjective derived from it, means 廣闊 (since it’s the quality of being 擴大). Like “expansive,” the vowel in the second syllable is /æ/, and it is spelt with an “a” in writing. 


Expand /ɪkspænd/ 擴大 / 擴展


e.g. The company plans to expand its operations into new markets next year.

(公司計畫明年將其業務擴展到新的市場)


“Expense” and “expanse” are nouns derived from this same pair of verbs.


“Expense” means 支出. Like “expensive” and “expend,” the vowel in the second syllable is /ɛ/, and it is spelt with an “e” in writing.


Expense /ɪkspɛns/ 花費


e.g. She kept track of her monthly expenses in a spreadsheet to better manage her budget.
她用電子表格記錄每月的開支,以更好地管理她的預算)


“Expanse” means 廣闊的區域 / 空間. Like “expansive” and “expand,” the vowel in the second syllable is /æ/, and it is spelt with an “a” in writing.


Expanse /ɪkspæns/ 廣闊的空間


e.g. The vast expanse of the desert stretched out before us, seemingly endless in every direction. 

(沙漠的廣闊地帶在我們面前展開,每個方向似乎都是無盡的)


I will write about other pairs of words that are often mixed up next time!



Mini Exercise


Choose the right word for each sentence. 


a. The _________ (expensive / expansive) garden behind the mansion was a peaceful retreat for the family.

(這座大宅後面的廣闊花園是家人們的寧靜避所) b. She decided to _________ (expend / expand) all her energy on completing the project ahead of schedule.

(她決定把所有的精力都用在提前完成項目上)


_______

Answers:


a. expansive

b. expend



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