标准美语发音的13个秘诀 CD 3 Track 42

 

Chapter 6. The American R    CD 3 Track 42 

American English, today—although continually changing—is made up of the sounds of the various people who have come tosettle here from many countries. All of them have put in their linguistic two cents, the end result being that the easiest way to pronounce things has almost always been adopted as the most American. R is an exception, along with L and the sounds of [æ] and [th], and is one of the most troublesome sounds for people to acquire. Not only is it difficult for adults learning the language, but also for American children, who pronounce it like a W or skip over it altogether and only pick it up after they've learned all the other sounds.

The Invisible R 

The trouble is that you can't see an R from the outside. With a P, for instance, you can see when people put their lips together and pop out a littlepuff. With R, however, everything takes place behind almost closed lips—back down in the throat—and who can tell whatthe tongue is doing? It is really hard to tell what's going on if, when someone speaks, you can only hear the err¹ sound, especially if you're used to making an R by touching² your tongue to the ridge³ behind your teeth. So, what should your tongue be doing?

This technique can help you visualize⁴ the correct tongue movements in pronouncing the R. (1) Hold your hand out flat, with the palm up, slightlydropping the back end of it. That's basically the position your tongue is in when you say ah [ä], so your flat hand will represent this sound. (2) Now, to go from ah to the er, take your fingers and curl themup slightly. Again, your tongue should follow that action. The sides of your tongue should comeup a bit, too. When the air passes over that hollow in the middle of your tongue (look at the palm of your hand), that's what creates the er sound.

Try it using both your hand and tongue simultaneously⁵. Say ah, with your throat open (and your hand flat), then curl your tongue up (and your fingers) and say errr. The tip of the tongue should be aimed at a middle position in the mouth, but never touching, and your throat should relax and expand. R, like L, has a slight schwa in it. This is what pulls the er down so far back in your throat.

Another way to get to er is to go from the ee sound and slide your tongue straight back like a collapsing accordion⁶, letting the two sides of your tongue touch the insides of your molars; the tip of the tongue, however, again, should not touch anything. Now from ee, pull your tongue back toward the center of your throat, and pull the sound down into your throat:

图片1

Since the R is produced in the throat, let's link it with other throat sounds.

1 err   

vi.犯错误，出差错

参考例句：

• He did not err by a hair's breadth in his calculation.他的计算结果一丝不差。
• The arrows err not from their aim.箭无虚发。

2 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。

3 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

4 visualize   

vt.使看得见，使具体化，想象，设想

参考例句：

• I remember meeting the man before but I can't visualize him.我记得以前见过那个人，但他的样子我想不起来了。
• She couldn't visualize flying through space.她无法想像在太空中飞行的景象。

5 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

6 accordion   

n.手风琴；adj.可折叠的

参考例句：

• The accordion music in the film isn't very beautiful.这部影片中的手风琴音乐不是很好。
• The accordion music reminds me of my boyhood.这手风琴的乐声让我回忆起了我的少年时代。