标准美语发音的13个秘诀 CD 3 Track 25

Chapter 5. The El    CD 3 Track 25 

This chapter discusses the sound ofL (not to be confused with that of the American R, which is covered in the next chapter). We'll approach this sound first,by touching 1 on the difficulties it presents to foreign speakers of English, and nextby comparing L to the related sounds of T, D, and N.

L and Foreign Speakers of English 

The English L is usually no problem at the beginning or in the middle of a word. The native language of some people, however, causes them tomake their English L much too short. At the end of a word, the L is especially noticeable if it is eithermissing (Chinese) or too short (Spanish). In addition, most people consider the L as a simple consonant 2. This can also cause a lot of trouble. Thus, two things are at workhere: location of languagesounds in the mouth, and the complexity 3 of the L sound. ,

Location ofLanguage in the Mouth

The sounds of many Romance languages are generally located far forward inthe mouth. My French teacher told me that ifI couldn't see my lips when I spoke 4 French—it wasn't French! Spanish is sometimes even called the smiling language. Chinese, on the other hand, is similar to American English in that it is mostly produced far back in the mouth. The principal difference is that English also requires clear use of the tongue's tip, a large component 5 of the sound of L.

The Compound Sound of L

The L is not a simple consonant; it is a compoundmade up of a vowel 6 and a consonant. Like the [æ] sound discussed in Chapter 3, the sound of L is a combination of [ə] and [1]. The [ə], being a reduced vowel sound, is created in the throat, but the [1] part requires a clear movement of the tongue. First, the tip must touch behind the teeth. (This part is simple enough.) But then, the back of the tongue must then drop down and back for the continuing schwa sound. Especially at the end of a word, Spanish-speaking people tend to leave out the schwa and shorten the L, and Chinese speakers usually leave it off entirely 7.

One way to avoid the pronunciation difficulty of a final L, as in call, is to make a liaison 8 when the next word begins with a vowel. For example, if you want to say I have to call on my friend, let the liaison do your work for you; say [I have to kälän my friend]. 

LCompared with T, D, and N

When you learn to pronounce the L correctly, you will feel its similarity with T, D, and N. Actually, the tongue is positioned in the same place in the mouth for all four sounds— behind the teeth. The difference is in how and where the air comes out. (See the drawings in Exercise 5-1.)

T and D 

The sound of both T and D is produced by allowing a puff 9 of air tocome out over the tip of the tongue.

N 

The sound of N is nasal. The tongue completely blocks all air from leaving through the mouth, allowing it to come out only through the nose. You should be able to feel the edges of your tongue touching your teeth when you say nnn.

With L, the tip of the tongue issecurely touching the roof of the mouth behind the teeth, but the sides of the tongue are dropped down and tensed. This is where L is different from N. With N, the tongue is relaxed and covers the entire area around the back of the teeth so that no air can come out. With L, the tongue is very tense, and the air comes out around its sides. At the beginning it's helpful to exaggerate the position of the tongue. Look at yourself in the mirror as you stick out the tip of your tongue between your front teeth. Withyour tongue in this position say el several times. Then, try saying it with your tongue behind your teeth. This sounds complicated, but it is easier to do than to describe. You can practice this again later with Exercise 5-3. Our first exercise, however, must focus on differentiating 10 the sounds.