Pronunciation 怎樣區分/?/ 和/a:/
Pronunciation 怎樣區分/?/ 和/a:/
Hello. My name is Danny. I find it difficult to tell the difference between the sound / ? / and the sound /a:/. Obviously, one is a short vowel, and the other is a long vowel. But when it comes to listening and speaking, the difference is not that obvious to me. So, is there any other way to distinguish these two sounds? I'm looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you.
Danny from Tianjin
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Can you pronounce the two sounds /?/ and /a:/ well?
Here are some examples: 'hut' and 'heart', 'cut' and 'cart'.
The two vowels are very similar, though one is short and the other is long. If you mispronounce them you might cause confusion when you speak English.
Today, Rob and Wang Fei explain how to pronounce /?/ and /a:/well.
/?/ 和/a:/ 對部分中國英語學習者來說是比較困難的兩個發音。如何發好這兩個音呢？在今天的節目中你可以邊聽邊練。
Here are some examples for practising /?/ and /a:/sounds. Practise your pronunciation while you are listening to the programme. Try to find out which words Rob reads in the programme.
hut and heart
Hut and heart, can you pronounce them well?
cut and cart
stutter and starter
lust and last
If you have a question about the English language, email us at chinaelt@bbc.co.uk.
We might produce a programme about your question.
