Hi, my name’s Sam.
嗨，我叫薩姆。
Welcome to Oxford Online English.
歡迎來到牛津線上英語。
In this lesson you can learn about the most common sound in English.
在本課程中，你可以了解英語中最常見的聲音。
What is the most common sound in English?
是什麼英語中最常見的聲音？
The most common sound in English is called the schwa.
英語中最常見的聲音稱為弱讀母音ə。
Do you know what a schwa sounds like, or how to pronounce it?
你知道弱讀母音ə聽起來像什麼，或者怎麼樣發音嗎？
In this class, you’ll learn about the schwa, how to recognise it and how to pronounce it.
在本課程中，你將了解弱讀母音ə，如何識別它以及如何發音。
The schwa sound is pronounced like this: /ə/
弱讀母音的聲音發音像這樣：/ə/
It’s a very short, relaxed sound.
這是一個非常短暫，輕鬆的聲音。
Just open your mouth a little, relax everything, and let out a little bit of air: /ə/.
只要稍微張口，放鬆，然後放出一點空氣：/ə/。
Let’s play a quick game.
讓我們玩一個快速的遊戲。
Look at a sentence I just said:
看看我剛才說的一句話：
In this lesson, you can learn about the most common sound in English.
在本課程中，你可以了解英語中最常見的聲音。
How many schwa sounds are there in this sentence?
這句話中，有多少次弱讀母音ə的聲音？
Listen once more.In this lesson, you can learn about the most common sound in English.
在本課程中，你可以了解英語中最常見的聲音。
It’s somewhere between zero and five.
介於0到5次之間。
Have a guess.
猜一猜。
Go back and listen once more if you want to.
如果你願意，可以回去再聽一遍。
In this less/ə/n, you c/ə/n learn /ə/bout th/ə/ most comm/ə/n sound in English.
You can see that I used the schwa sound five times in just one short sentence.
在一個短句中，你可以看到我用了5次弱讀母音ə。
So, now you know what the schwa is, but why is it so important?
所以，現在你知道什麼是弱讀母音，然而為什麼弱讀母音ə如此重要嗎？
It’s helpful to know about the schwa sound because recognising it will improve your listening and being able to produce the sound will improve your pronunciation.
了解弱讀母音ə很有幫助，因為辨識它會改善你的聽力，而且能夠發出這個聲音，將會改善你的發音。
But, learning about the schwa can be difficult, because speakers of English use schwas in different places, depending on their accent and depending on which words the speaker chooses to stress.
但是，學習弱讀母音ə可能是困難的，因為英語說話者在不同場合使用是弱讀母音ə，這取決於他們的口音，並取決於說話者選擇那些字重音讀。
That means that you’ll hear different people use schwa sounds differently.
這意味著，你會聽到不同的人用不同方式使用弱讀母音ə。
I might use a schwa in a word, but another native speaker might not.
我可能會在一個字用一個弱讀母音ə，而另一個母語人士可能不會。
So you know, I’m from the South of England, and you’ll find that most speakers from the South of England use the schwa in a similar way.
所以你知道，我來自英格蘭南部，你會發現大多數來自英格蘭南部的說話者用類似的方法使用弱讀母音ə。
Let’s start by looking at how you can hear and recognise schwa sounds.
我們以你如何聽出及認出弱讀母音ə的聲音來開始。
Part One：How can you Recognise a Schwa?
Here’s the IPA symbol for the schwa sound: /ə/
這是國際音標協會的弱讀母音符號：/ə/
It looks like an upside-down “e”.
它看起來像一個顛倒的“e”。
This will help you to understand how to pronounce words when you see them in a dictionary.
這將有助於當你在字典中看到它們時，知道如何去發字的音。
For example:
例如：
understand /ʌndə ‘stænd/
了解
It’s helpful to use the schwa symbol when you write down new vocabulary.
當你寫下新的詞彙時，使用弱讀母音ə符號是有幫助的。
Write the schwa symbol under the letter or letters where it appears, like this.
在出現的弱讀母音ə的某個字母或數個字母下面，寫下弱讀母音ə符號像這個了。
Understand
/ ə/
That can help you to recognize the schwa sound in new words, but what if you can’t check the dictionary?
這可以幫助你在新單字中辨識弱讀母音ə，但如果你不能查字典怎麼辦？
Even if you can’t check a word in the dictionary, you can still find many schwa sounds in new words.
即使你不能查字典中的單字，你仍然可以在新字中找到許多弱讀母音ə聲音。
Part two：How to Find the Schwa Sound in Words
Let’s see how.
我們來看看如何。
The spelling of a word doesn’t help you much if you’re trying to work out where the schwa sounds might be.
如果你想在哪裡找到可能有弱讀母音，字的拼寫對你不會有很多幫助。
Why is that?
這是為什麼？
It’s because schwa sounds don’t really depend on spelling.
這是因為弱讀母音的聲音並不是真正取決於拼寫。
Also, schwa sounds can be produced by any vowel letter: a, e, i, o or u.
而且，弱讀母音聲音可由任何母音字母：a，e，i，o或u產生。
For example:例如：
– about /ə/bout
– television /tel/ə/vision
– medicine medic/ə/ne
– common comm/ə/n
– minimum minim/ə/m
The schwa can also be produced by two or three letters together, like this:
弱讀母音ə也可以由兩個或三個在一起的字母產生，像這樣：
government gov/ə/nment
pressure press/ə/
certain cert/ə/n
So, the spelling won’t help you to find a schwa, but the stress will; how?
所以，拼寫不會幫助你找到弱讀母音，但重讀方式可以;怎麼樣？
One of the most important things to understand about the schwa is that it only appears in unstressed syllables.
了解弱讀母音的最重要的事情之一是弱讀母音只出現在不重讀的音節上。
Knowing which syllable is stressed in a word can help you to find where the schwa sounds are.
知道一個單字中哪個音節被重讀，可以幫助你找到哪裡有弱讀母音。
The schwa can appear at the beginning, middle or end of a word, depending on where the stress is.
弱讀母音可以出現在開頭，中間或者一個字的結尾，取決於重讀的位置
–about /ə/bout
-Understand und/ə/stand
-teacher teach/ə/
You heard before that stress is more useful than spelling if you’re looking for the schwa sounds in a word.
你前面聽到如果你正在尋找一個字的弱讀母音時，重讀比拼寫更有用。
That’s true, but there are some spelling patterns which can help you to find a schwa sound.
這是真的，但有一些拼寫方式可以幫助你找到弱讀母音聲音。
Let’s look!
我們看看吧！
（1.’a’＋consonant=/ə/）
One: if a word begins with the letter a plus a consonant, the a is often pronounced with a schwa sound: about, across, address.
1：如果一個單字以字母a開頭加上一個子音，a經常發弱讀母音
–about
–across
–address
Of course, if the word begins with a and a is stressed, the a will not have a schwa sound.
當然，如果單詞以a開頭a是重讀的，則a不會有母音弱讀聲音。
（stressed ‘a’≠/ ə /）
For example:
– able /ˋeɪbl/
– actor/ ˋæktə/
– artist /ˋɑ:tɪst/
（2.Vowel＋r＝/ə/ at the and of a word）
Two: In a British accent, word endings such as er, ar, or, our, or ure, are
very often pronounced with a schwa sound: teacher, dollar, visitor, colour, culture.
2：在英國口音中，單字結尾像 er，ar，or，our或ure，經常發弱讀母音ə的聲音：
Exceptions：
– teacher
– dollar
– Visitor
– colour
– culture
This rule is useful and will work most of the time; however there are some exceptions, such as guitar, insure, metaphor or flour.
這條規則很有用，大部分時候都適用;但是有一些例外。
– guitar /gɪˋtɑ:/ 吉他
– insure /ɪnˋʃʊə/ 保險
– metaphor /ˋmetəfɚ/ 隱喻
– flour /flaʊa/ 麵粉
(3.in words ending-ion/-ian, ‘io’/ia’=/ə)
Three: in words ending ion or ian, the letters ia or io always have a schwa sound: politician, pronunciation, correction, musician, discussion.
3：字母以ion或ian結尾，字母ia或io總是有一個母音弱讀ə的聲音。
– politician / pɑləˋtɪʃən / 政治家
– pronunciation /prə͵nʌnsɪˋeʃən / 發音
– correction / [kəˋrɛkʃən]/ 訂正
– musician / mjuˋzɪʃən/ 音樂家
– discussion / dɪˋskʌʃən]/ 討論
(in words ending-ous, ‘ou’’=/ə/)
The same is true for words ending ous, like dangerous, nervous, or fabulous.
對於以ous結尾的單字也是如此像危險的，緊張的或神話般的。
There are other spelling patterns, but these are some of the most useful.
還有其他拼寫型式，但這些是一些最有用的。
– dangerous / ˋdendʒərəs]/ 危險
– nervous /ˋnɝvəs/ 神經質的
– fabulous /ˋfæbjələs/ 驚人的
Next, let’s see how you can recognise schwa sounds in phrases and sentences.
接下來，讓我們看看你如何在片語和句子內辨識出弱讀母音ə的聲音。
(Part Three：How to Find the Schwa Sound in Phrases and Sentences)
In almost every English sentence you hear, there will be at least one schwa sound, and probably more.
在你聽到的幾乎所有英語句子中，都至少含有一個弱讀母音ə的聲音，也可能更多。
Let’s look at a sentence you probably use often:
讓我們看看一個你可能常用的句子：
-How are you?
你好嗎？
-How are you?
/ə/
Which words would normally be stressed in this sentence?
通常句中那些字會重讀？
Say it to yourself.
對自己說吧。
Can you work it out?
你能看出嗎？
In this sentence, the stress is on how and you.
在這句話中，重讀在how和you。
The unstressed word in this sentence is are and it is pronounced as a schwa sound.
這句話中沒有重讀的字是are，它被發音為一個弱讀母音的聲音。
Listen and try to hear it:
傾聽並試著聽聽：
So, how do you know which words are stressed or unstressed?
那麼，你怎麼知道哪些詞是重讀還是沒有重讀？
The unstressed words in a sentence are usually auxiliary words, articles and prepositions.
句子中沒有重讀的字通常是輔助字，冠詞和介詞。
Words which carry the meaning of a sentence—nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs—are often stressed.
帶有一個句子意義的字，名詞，動詞，形容詞和副詞通常都重讀。
Let’s look at some examples:
我們來看一些例子：
– Do you like learning English?
你喜歡學英語嗎？
In this sentence, the stressed words are like, learning and English and there are no schwas in those words.
在這句話中，重讀的字是like, learning 及 English，在那些字中，沒有弱讀母音ə的聲音。
The unstressed words are do and you and they will often be pronounced as schwas.
沒有重讀的字是do和you，它們通常會被發音為弱讀母音。
Listen:
聽：
– Do you like learning English?
/ə/ /ə/
– D/ə/ y/ə/ like learning English?
However, sometimes you might choose to stress different words in a sentence.
但是，有時你可能會在句中選擇重讀不同字。
If you hadn’t seen a friend for a long time, you might stress are in this sentence.
如果你很久沒看到一個朋友了，在句中你可能會重讀are。
If you do this, the schwa sound is replaced with a longer vowel sound.
如果這樣做，則用一個有更長母音聲音取代母音弱讀。
How are you?
/ɑ:/
Look again at the question: Do you like learning English?
再看看這個問題：你喜歡學習英語嗎？
If you want to make it clear who you’re asking the question to, you can stress you, which again makes the vowel sound longer:
如果你想說清楚你是在向誰問這個問題，你可以重讀you，再次使用母發更長一些：
Do you like learning English?
/ju/
D/ə/ y/ʊ:/like learning English?
Here’s a phrase you might hear a lot in the UK:
這裡有個你可能在英國常聽到的片語：
(-a cup of tea)
/ə/
/ə/ cup of tea
The article a has a schwa sound.
冠詞a有一個弱讀母音ə的聲音。
However, if someone brought me two cups of tea when I only wanted one, I might stress a, like this:
I said I wanted a cup of tea!
但是，如果當我只想一杯有人給我兩杯茶，我可能會重讀a，像這樣：
I said I wanted /eɪ/ cup of tea.
Recognising the schwa can also help you understand connected speech.
辨識弱讀母音也可以幫助你理解連結的說話。
Let’s see how:
我們來看看如何：
（A cup of tea）
/ə/ cup of tea
Most English learners would find it easy to understand this phrase when each word is pronounced clearly.
當每個字清楚發音時，大多數英語學習者會覺得很容易去了解這個成語。
However, in natural speech, the phrase might sound more like this: /əkʌpəti:/
然而，在自然的說話中，這句話可能清起來會更像這樣：/ə’kʌpəti：/
Here, a cup of becomes ‘a cuppa’, so of is reduced to a schwa.
在這裡，a cup tea變成’a cuppa’，所以of弱化或一個弱讀母音ə。
a cuppa tea /ə’kʌpəti:/
Let’s practise together.
讓我們一起練習。
Repeat the phrases after me:
跟著我重複這些片語：
How are you?
/ə/
Do you like learning English?
/ə/ /ə/
a cup of tea
/ə/ /ə/
Being aware of schwas in connected speech can really improve your English listening.
在連結的說話中，了解弱讀母音能確實提高你的英語聽力。
You can see that words and sentences are not pronounced as they’re written.
你可以看到單字和句子不像他們寫的那樣在發音。
Learning and practising schwa sounds can help you to understand this.
學習和練習弱讀母音的聲音，可以提供幫助你了解這一點。
Of course, using schwas and connected speech in your English will also help you to sound more fluent and natural!
當然，在英語中，使用弱讀母音和連結說話，也會幫助你發音更流暢更自然！
Finally, let’s practise pronouncing the schwa in words and sentences.
最後，讓我們練習在單字及句中的弱讀母音。
Look at some words and try to find the schwa sounds.
看一些單字並試著找出弱讀母音聲音。
（Part Four：How you Can Pronounce the Schwa Sound）
Pause the video, write the words down and mark the stressed syllables.
暫停一下影片，將字寫下來，並標記重讀的音節。
Then say the word and see if you can identify the schwa.
然後說出這個字，看看你是否能辨識出來弱讀母音。
Write the schwa symbol under the vowel.
在母音下面，寫下弱讀母音符號。
Ready?
準備？
Let’s check.
讓我們檢查。
Say the words after me:
跟著我唸出這些字：
– picture, pict/ə/ 圖片
– around, /ə/round周圍
– smaller, small/ə/ 更小的
– horror, horr/ə/ 恐怖
– national, nat/ə/n/ə/l 國家的
– similar, simil/ə/r 類似的
– temperature, temper/ə/t/ə/ 溫度
– celebration, cel/ə/brat/ə/n 慶祝
– happiness, happin/ə/ss 幸福
– America, /ə/meric/ə/ 美國
Next, let’s try some phrases.
接下來，讓我們嘗試一些片語。
As before, pause the video, write the phrases down and find the schwa sounds:
和前面一樣，暫停一下影片，寫下片語，並找出弱讀母音的聲音：
Ok?好？
Let’s check.讓我們檢查。
Say the phrases after me:
跟著我說出這些片語：
a slice of cake, /ə/ slice /ə/f cake
一塊蛋糕
a cat and a dog, /ə/ cat /ə/nd /ə/ dog
一隻貓和一隻狗
an apple and a banana, /ə/n apple /ə/nd /ə/ b/ə/nan/ə/
一個蘋果和一根香蕉，
Next, let’s do some full sentences.
接下來，讓我們練一些完整的句子。
Again, pause the video, write the sentences down and find the schwa sounds.
再一次，暫停一下視頻，寫下句子，並找出母音弱讀的聲音。
Ready?準備？
Now, let’s check.
現在，讓我們檢查一下。
Repeat after me:跟著我重複：
Where are you from?
你從哪裡來？
Where /ə/ y/ə/ from?
What’s your favourite film?
你最喜歡的電影是什麼？
What’s y/ə/ fav/ə/r/ə/te film?
What time do you get up?
你什麼時候起床？
What time d/ə/ y/ə/ get up?
That’s the end of this lesson.
本課的結尾了。
I hope you learned something new about how to recognise and produce the schwa sound in English.
希望你能學到新的東西，如何去辨識和發出英語中的弱讀母音。
You can find many more free English lessons on Oxford Online English.com.
你可以在Oxford Online English.com找到更多免費的英語課程。
Thanks for watching!
謝謝觀看！
See you next time!
下次見！