/?:/ & / ?/
/?:/ is a mid-back vowel. For its production, the tongue is retracted and almost flat in the mouth. The vowel is almost fully back and has quite strong lip-rounding. /?/ is a low vowel. The lips are slightly rounded. / ?/ is a difficult vowel for the Chinese learners. Many of them use a shortened version of /?:/ as its substitution. To ensure correct pronunciation, it is important to make the following distinction between these two vowels:
1. / ?/ is a low vowel while /?:/ is a mid vowel, so the mouth is more open for
/ ?/,
2. /?:/ has quite strong lip rounding while the lips are only slightly rounded
for / ?/.
/?:/ & /?/
The /?:/ is made by lowering and flattening the tongue in the oral cavity. It is a low vowel, but not as back as other back vowels in English. /?/ is quite different from other vowels in this group in that it is more like a central vowel than a back vowel (see the vowel chart). /?/ is made with the tongue in the approximate middle of the mouth, perhaps shifted back slightly. It is lower than the other central vowels /з:/ and /?/. The lip position is neutral. It is important for the learners to make a clear distinction between /?:/ and /?/ in their pronunciation. 元音: 后元音
在这个单元里，我们将学习英语的后元音。英语有六个后元音。发后元音时，舌身从中间位置向后移动，舌尖与下齿保持同一水平。英语的前元音在发音时，唇形是扁平的。后元音中则有四个圆唇音。我们可以根据其口的开张程度，由近乎全合到近乎全开，逐步张开，舌位依次降低发出以下后元音：/u:, ?, ?:, ?/。
我们来看后元音的舌位图。英语的后元音中有四个圆唇音，两个非圆唇音。从发音时口的开张程度看，/ u: /近乎全合；/ ? /属半合；/ ?: /在发音时牙床半开； / ? /在发音时牙床张开；/ ? /近乎全开；/?:/也近乎全开；/ ? /与/ ?:/在口的开张度上相似，但/ ? /是圆唇音，/ ?:/是非圆唇音；/ ?:/的舌位要比/ ? /稍前一些。 现在来看看这些音的具体发音。 / u: / / ?/
/ u: /和/?/都是高元音、后元音、圆唇元音。/ u: /在英语后元音中，舌位是最高的。就如/ i: /在前元音中舌位最高一样。发此音时，舌头后缩，并向软腭隆起。这个音在当今世界的许多语言中都很常见，对大多数中国学习者来说，发此音并没有多大问题。/?/在发音时与/u:/一样，舌头后缩，但后度不及/u:/，舌面隆起但程度不及/u:/。另外，发/?/音时，肌肉的紧张程度不及/u:/。
学习/ u: /和/?/的发音时，要特别注意以下几点：
1、/ u: /是舌位最高的后元音，因此舌头隆得比/?/音高。 2、发/ u: /音时，舌头隆起部位比/?/更接近舌根。
3、发/ u: /音时，双唇呈滚圆形；发/?/音时，双唇呈微圆形。 4、发/ u: /音时，肌肉紧张度高而发/?/时，肌肉轻为松驰。 / ?: / / ? /
/ ?: /在发音时，舌头后缩牙床半开，双唇呈滚圆形。/ ? /在发音时舌面尽量压低和往后靠，牙床近乎全开，呈微圆形。/ ? /对中国学生来说是一个较难发好的音，许多人就用/ ?: /的短音来代替。为确保发音准确，掌握这两个元音以下的区别尤为重要：
1、/ ? /在发音时口的开张度大于/ ?: /，牙床近乎全开。 2、发/ ?: /音时，双唇呈滚圆形；发/ ? /音时，双唇呈微圆形。
/ ?: / / ? /
发/ ?: /音时，口要尽量张大，牙床全开，双唇中常，舌尖离开下齿，舌位放到最低点，同时向后缩，但后度不及/ ? /。/?/不同于其它后元音。与其说它是后元音，还不如说它是中元音。发/?/音时，舌头在口腔里平放着，舌面中部略抬起，牙床半开，舌位比中元音/з: /要低，双唇中常，肌肉松驰。
练习这两个音的时候，要特别注意它们之间的不同：1、/ ?: /的舌位比/?/后；2、/ ?: /音口的开张度比/?/大。在练习/ ?: /音时还要注意区分/ ?: /与/ ? /。这两个音的牙床开张程度是相似的，都属近乎全开，所不同的：一是/ ? /的舌位更后一些；二是/ ? /是圆唇音而/ ?: /是非圆唇音；三是一般说来在相同的语音环境中/?:/的音长于/ ? /。
Unit 3 Diphthongs
Purpose:
The students will learn the Vowels: Diphthongs in English.
Objectives: Students will be able to :
1. Define - in their own words a definition for Vowels: Diphthongs; 2. Compare – based on the understanding of the basic concept, compare them with other vowels;
3. Practice – imitate the sounds and do practice. Activities and Procedures:
1. Stimulating: Begin by asking the class to find out how much the students know about what they are required to learn. Make sure that it serves the purpose of stimulating the students to think about the issue and have the desire to find
out the answers themselves.
2. Display examples by playing the recording of the native speakers showing the typical pronunciation in English.
3. Ask the students to listen to the tapes to make a good discrimination of the sounds in focus.
4. Have the students imitate the sound in focus.
5. Have the students share what they have learned by reading out the practice materials in pairs.
6. Have the students listen to the conversations recorded by native speakers of English and try to get the sounds in focus correct in their pronunciation. 7. Have the students practice the guided conversation. Ask them to pay special attention to the sounds in focus in speech.
8. Highlight the language function in the conversation in the practice.
9. Have several pairs of the students present their conversation in the class. 10. Comment on the students’ performance by highlighting the achievement of the students and the efforts they need for the improvement.
11. Ask the students to do more practice after class and get ready for presentation during the next session.
Vowels: Diphthongs
In this unit, we will learn the diphthongs in English.
There are eight diphthongs in English. Diphthongs are sounds which consist of a movement of glide from one vowel to another. Perhaps the most important thing to remember about all the diphthongs is that the first part is much longer and stronger than the second part. Take /a?/ as an example. Most of this diphthong consists of the [a] vowel, and only in about the last quarter of the diphthong does the glide to [?] begin. As the glide to [?] happens, the loudness of the sound decreases. As a result, the [?] part is shorter and quieter. The English diphthongs can be shown in the following diagram (P69): Diphthong
centring closing
ending in ? ending in ? ending in ?
?? e?
?? e? a? ??
?? a?
The following is a description of the eight English diphthongs (70). /?? e? ??/
/?? e? ??/ are called centring diphthongs because they all glide towards the [?] (schwa) vowel, as the symbols indicate. The starting point for /??/ is a little closer than [?] in bit, bin. /e?/ begins with the similar vowel sound as the [e] of get, men. /??/ has a starting point slightly closer than [?] in put, pull. / e? a? ??/
/e?/, /a?/ and /??/ the three diphthongs that glide towards [?]. /e?/ begins with the same vowel sound as the [e] of get, men. /a?/ begins with an
open vowel which is between front and back; it is quite similar to the [?] in words like cut, bun. The starting point of /??/ is a little more open than [?:] in ought, born. The closing diphthongs have the characteristic that they all end with a glide towards a closer vowel. Because the second part of the diphthong is weak, they often do not reach a position that could be called close. The important thing is that a glide from a relatively more open towards a relatively more close vowel is produced. /?? a?/
/?? a?/ are the two diphthongs that end with a glide towards [?]. So as the tongue moves closer to the roof of the mouth there is at the same time a rounding movement of the lips. This movement is not a large one, again because the second part of the diphthong is weak. The vowel position for the beginning of /??/ is the same as for the \vowel [?]. The lips may be slightly rounded in anticipation of the glide towards [?], for which there is quite a noticeable lip-rounding. /a?/ begins with a vowel similar to [?:] but a little more front. There is slight lip-rounding during the glide towards [?]. Pronunciation difficulties with the diphthongs
Most Chinese EFL learners have little problem with most of the diphthongs, but the following two are particularly important to ensure correct pronunciation.
1. Make sure that you have a correct starting point. For example, /??/ start with an [?] which is neither [i:] nor [?]. It is a sound which is a little bit closer than /?/ in big. 2. Make sure that the diphthongs end with a glide. One of the problems with some of the learners is the production of pure vowels where a diphthong should be pronounced. For example, some learners find it difficult to make a clear distinction between /e/ and /e?/. 元音: 双元音
本单元介绍的是英语的双元音。双元音与单元音不同之处在于：单元音在发音时发音器官自始至终保持某一固定位置，如/e/, /e/在发音时牙床的开张度居半合与半开之间，发音过程中舌位与唇型一直保持同样的位置不变,直至发音结束。双元音又称“滑音”，即在发音过程中发音器官的位置或形状有所变化，从一个单元音滑向另一个单元音，如/e?/, 发/e?/这一双元音就是从发/e/开始，朝/?/的方向滑动，构成/e?/。
发双元音时要注意两个问题：一是双元音必须一口气完成，如果中断，就会形成两个音素而不再是一个双元音了, 如将/e?/发成:/e/ /?/。二是要注意:英语双元音的两个成分中，位于前面的音发音通常清晰响亮，位于后面的则较轻,甚至有点模糊，英语的双元音的发音就是这样从第一个成分开始然后滑向第二个成分. 如/e?/.
英语有8个双元音。根据发音特点，我们可以将他们分为三组：
双元音
中向双元音 以/?/结尾
合口双元音 以/?/结尾
以/?/结尾
?? e? ?? e? a? ?? ?? a?
/??/ /e?/ /??/在发音时从各自的起点朝着中元音的方向移动,故称中向双元音, /e?/ /a?/ /??/ /??/ /a?/这五个音在发音过程中,口形从开到合, 因此被称作合口双元音。
请看双元音的发音舌位图(见课本P70)。
/??/ /e?/ /??/是中向双元音. /??/在发音时舌位从[?]滑向[?], 双唇扁平，牙床从半合到半开。要注意,这个双元音的第一个成分是[?]而不是[i]:/ ??/. /e/的第一个成分是一个半开前元音,发音时双唇保持扁平：/e?/. /??/发音的起点是[?], 舌头位置高，圆唇. 在发音过程中，舌头朝[?]的方向移动，双唇往两边拉开: /??/。
/e?/ /a?/ /??/ /??/ /a?/是合口双元音, 其中/e?/ /a?/ /??/是朝着[?]
的方向移动,而/??/ /a?/则是朝着[?]的方向移动。/e?/在发音时舌头位置以[e]为起点，朝着[?]的方向移动。注意：是“朝着[?]的方向移动”,但不是非达到[?]不可. 牙床开始时半开，逐渐收拢。/a?/发音起点为前元音[a], 舌位低,牙床全开，双唇中常,发音时朝着[?]的方向移动,即牙床逐渐收拢，双唇往两边拉开：/??/的发音起点为后元音[?],牙床近乎全开，双唇稍圆,然后舌头朝着[?]的方向移动, 即牙床逐渐闭合,双唇从圆到扁平：/??/.
/??/ /a?是朝着[?]的方向移动的合口双元音. /??/的发音以中元音作为起点，
朝后元音[?]的方向移动，唇形从中常到略圆,牙床渐合。总的说来，/??/音在发音时滑动的幅度并不大: /??/。 /a?/的发音以[a]作为起点，朝后元音[?]的方向移动，此处的[a]音稍后于/a?/的起点，准确地说，它位于/a?/的起点和[?]之间。发音时牙床全开，双唇中常,随后舌位朝[?]的方向滑动,牙床逐渐收拢，双唇呈圆状，从[a]到[?]滑动幅度较大，牙床从开到合: /a?/.
我国学生在学习英语双元音时主要应注意以下两点：
1. 确保所发双元音的起点准确无误. 以/??/为例, 该音的起点更接近[?]而非[i:], 发音时，勿将其发得太长、太紧: /??/. 又如/??/, 该音的起点为[?]而非[u:]: /??/.
2. 确保发音过程中的“滑动”,缺了“滑动”则不成其为双元音了。以/e?/为例,如果
缺少了发音过程的滑动, /e?/就成了/e/, pain与pen就没什么区别了。
英语语音教案课程
