Using the Phonetic Alphabet

使用音标字母表

📖 逐句对照翻译

Hello!

你好！

This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Mouhammed in Egypt about using the phonetic alphabet.

本周的《问老师》节目中，我们回答来自埃及的穆罕默德提出的关于使用音标的问题。

Question

问题

Dear Teacher,

亲爱的老师，

I want to ask about the most important sources through which I can learn to improve the [pronunciation] of English letters, [for] trying to master the American accent.

我想请教一下，有哪些最重要的资源可以帮助我学习改进英文字母的发音，以便努力掌握美式口音。

Thank you,

谢谢，

Mouhammed

穆罕默德

Answer

回答

I’m happy to answer this question, Mouhammed.

我很乐意回答这个问题，Mouhammed。

Understanding phonemes and the phonetic alphabet

理解音素和音标

You can use the phonetic alphabet to help you know each sound of American English.

你可以使用音标来帮助你了解美式英语的每个发音。

Let's start by looking at what the phonetic alphabet is.

让我们先来看看什么是音标。

Each separate sound we make when we talk is called a phoneme.

我们说话时发出的每一个单独的声音都称为音素。

For example, the word “cat” has three phonemes: /k/, /æ/, /t/ --“cat.”

例如，单词“cat”有三个音素：/k/、/æ/、/t/——“cat”。

For every phoneme we say, in any language, we can show that phoneme by using a special symbol, or sign.

对于我们在任何语言中发出的每一个音素，我们都可以用一个特殊的符号或标记来表示它。

Those symbols are what make The International Phonetic Alphabet, or IPA.

那些符号构成了国际音标，即IPA。

Notice that in the example with “cat,” only the phonetic symbol for the letter “t” looks the same as the English letter for that sound.

注意，在“cat”这个例子中，只有字母“t”的音标符号与该音对应的英文字母看起来相同。

For many phonemes, the phonetic symbol does not look the same as the letters of the English alphabet that make the sound of the phonemes.

对于许多音素来说，音标符号与英语字母表中发出该音素读音的字母并不相同。

Consider the word “need,” for example.

以“need”这个词为例。

It is spelled N-E-E-D but the phonetic symbol signifying the vowel looks like the English letter “i.”

它的拼写是N-E-E-D，但表示元音的音标符号看起来像英文字母“i”。

Using the phonetic alphabet

使用音标

How can you use the phonetic alphabet?

你如何使用音标？

Try to identify the phonemes that are difficult for you.

试着找出对你来说比较难的那些音素。

For example, small differences between some vowel sounds in American English may be difficult for some non-native speakers to hear.

例如，美式英语中某些元音之间的细微差别，对一些非母语者来说可能很难听出来。

Consider the following example:

考虑以下示例：

bit bet

一点赌注

Did you clearly hear the difference between the two words?

你听清楚这两个词之间的区别了吗？

Hearing the sounds more clearly can help you pronounce them.

更清楚地听到这些发音有助于你正确地读出它们。

The IPA Pronunciation Guide on the website Vocabulary.com has an audio element so you can listen to the sound of each symbol.

Vocabulary.com网站上的国际音标发音指南配有音频元素，你可以收听每个音标的发音。

It also provides example words that contain the sound of each symbol.

它还提供了包含每个符号发音的示例单词。

So, you can use the guide to practice hearing and saying any phoneme in American English.

因此，你可以利用这份指南来练习听和说美式英语中的任何音素。

The VOA Learning English video series How to Pronounce has many lessons that use IPA symbols to help learners practice the sounds of American English.

VOA Learning English的《如何发音》视频系列包含许多课程，使用国际音标符号帮助学习者练习美式英语的发音。

The 21 lessons “Games with Vowel Sounds” and the "Listening Practice” lessons are good places to start.

“元音发音游戏”和“听力练习”这两类共21节课是不错的起点。

On the VOA Learning English website, you can play a short piece of audio and listen for phonemes you want to practice.

在VOA学习英语网站上，你可以播放一小段音频，并聆听你想练习的音素。

You can hear words pronounced clearly and look at the way English spelling represents the phonemes you hear.

你可以听到单词的清晰发音，并观察英语拼写如何表示你所听到的音素。

For our readers and listeners, what are your questions about American English?

对于我们的读者和听众，你们对美国英语有什么疑问吗？

We want to hear from you!

我们期待您的来信！

Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.

请发送电子邮件至learningenglish@voanews.com。

And please let us know where you are from, too.

也请告诉我们你来自哪里。

And that’s Ask a Teacher.

以上就是“问老师”栏目的全部内容。

I’m Andrew Smith.

我是安德鲁·史密斯。

Andrew Smith wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.

安德鲁·史密斯为VOA英语学习频道撰写了这节课。