The Schwa /ə/ Sound - How to Pronounce the Schwa - How to Improve English Pronunciation

英语发音 - schwa 怎样让英语发音更好

Hi, my name's Sam.

嗨，我是Sam。

Welcome to Oxford Online English.

欢迎来到Oxford Online English。

In this lesson you can learn about the most common sound in English.

在本节课中，您能学到 最常见的英文音。

What is the most common sound in English?

什么是最常见的英文音？

The most common sound in English is called the schwa.

最常见的英文音称为schwa。

Do you know what a schwa sounds like, or how to pronounce it?

您知道schwa音像是什么吗， 或它怎样发音吗？

In this class, you’ll learn about the schwa, how to recognise it and how to pronounce it.

在本节课中，您会学到schwa、 怎样识别它以及它怎样发音。

The schwa sound is pronounced like this: /ə/

schwa发音类似这个： /ə/

It’s a very short, relaxed sound.

它是很短的、轻松的声音。

Just open your mouth a little, relax everything, and let out a little bit of air: /ə/.

只要打开您的嘴一点、放松一切， 并从喉咙推送出一点空气: /ə/.

Let’s play a quick game.

让我们来玩一个快速游戏。

Look at a sentence I just said:

看一个刚说的句子：

In this lesson, you can learn about the most common sound in English.

In this lesson, you can learn about the most common sound in English.

How many schwa sounds are there in this sentence?

在这个句子里有多少schwa音？

It’s somewhere between zero and five.

大约是0-5个之间。

Have a guess.

猜一下。

Go back and listen once more if you want to.

如果您想，回头再听一次。

In this less/ə/n, you c/ə/n learn /ə/bout th/ə/ most comm/ə/n sound in English.

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.

您能看到仅在一个短句里 我使用了五次 schwa音。

So, now you know what the schwa is, but why is it so important?

那么，现在您知道schwa是什么了， 但是为什么它是很重要的？

It’s helpful to know about the schwa sound because recognising it will improve your listening

了解schwa音是有帮助的，因为认识 它会提升您的听力

and being able to produce the sound will improve your pronunciation.

以及您懂发这个音 将会提升您的发音。

But, learning about the schwa can be difficult, because speakers of English use schwas in

但是，学习schwa音可能是难的， 因为说英语的人在不同的

different places, depending on their accent and depending on which words the speaker chooses

场合使用schwas，取决于他们的 声调以及取决于说话人选择

to stress.

强调哪些单词。

That means that you’ll hear different people use schwa sounds differently.

那意思是您会听到不同的 人以不同方式发schwa音。

I might use a schwa in a word, but another native speaker might not.

我可能在一个单词中使用schwa音，但是 另一个母语人士也许不用。

So you know, I’m from the South of England, and you’ll find that most speakers from

那么您知道我来自英格兰南部， 您会发现大部分英格兰

the South of England use the schwa in a similar way.

南部的人以相同 方式使用schwa音。

Let’s start by looking at how you can hear and recognise schwa sounds.

让我们从您怎样听以及 认识schwa来开始吧。

Here’s the IPA symbol for the schwa sound: /ə/

这是 schwa音的IPA符号：/ə/

It looks like an upside-down “e”.

它看上去像一个颠倒的 “e”。

This will help you to understand how to pronounce words when you see them in a dictionary.

当您在字典里看到他们时，这会帮 您理解怎样发这些单词的音。

For example:

例如：

understand /ʌndəˈstænd/

understand /ʌndəˈstænd/

It’s helpful to use the schwa symbol when you write down new vocabulary.

在您写下新词汇时使用 schwa 符号是有帮助的。

Write the schwa symbol under the letter or letters where it appears.

在字母或出现的字母组合 下面写schwa符号。

That can help you to recognise the schwa sound in new words, but what if you can’t check

那能帮您去认识新单词的schwa音， 但是如果您不能查字典，

the dictionary?

怎么办？

Even if you can’t check a word in the dictionary, you can still find many schwa sounds in new

甚至是如果您不能在字典里查到 一个单词，您仍然可以在很多

words.

新单词里找到很多schwa音。

Let’s see how.

我们来看看是怎样的。

The spelling of a word doesn’t help you much if you’re trying to work out where

如果您想找出schwa音也许 在哪里时，一个单词的

the schwa sounds might be.

拼写不会帮您太多。

Why is that?

那是什么？

It’s because schwa sounds don’t really depend on spelling.

那是因为schwa音真的不是 取决于拼写。

Also, schwa sounds can be produced by any vowel letter: a, e, i, o or u.

同样，schwa音可以通过任何 元音字母：a、e、i、o或u产生。

For example:

例如：

/ə/bout tel/ə/vision

/ə/bout tel/ə/vision

medic/ə/ne comm/ə/n

medic/ə/ne comm/ə/n

minim/ə/m

minim/ə/m

The schwa can also be produced by two or three letters together, like this:

schwa也能由两个或三个字母合 在一起发音，像是：

gov/ə/nment press/ə/

gov/ə/nment press/ə/

cert/ə/n

cert/ə/n

So, the spelling won’t help you to find a schwa, but the stress will; how?

所以，拼写不能帮您找到schwa， 但是重音会，怎样？

One of the most important things to understand about the schwa is that it only appears in

最重要的一件事是理解 schwa仅出现在

unstressed syllables.

不重读的音节。

Knowing which syllable is stressed in a word can help you to find where the schwa sounds

知道单词中的哪一个音节 是重读能帮助您找到

are.

schwa音在哪里。

The schwa can appear at the beginning, middle or end of a word, depending on where the stress

schwa可以出现在开始、中间或 一个单词的结束，

is.

取决于重音在哪里。

/ə/bout Und/ə/stand

/ə/bout Und/ə/stand

Teach/ə/

Teach/ə/

You heard before that stress is more useful than spelling if you’re looking for the

如果您在一个单词里找schwa 音，您之前听到的

schwa sounds in a word.

重音比拼写更有用。

That’s true, but there are some spelling patterns which can help you to find a schwa

那是真的，但是有很多拼写 结构能帮您找到

sound.

schwa音。

Let’s look!

我们来看看！

One: if a word begins with the letter ‘a’ plus a consonant, the ‘a’ is often pronounced

一：如果一个单词以字母“a”开头加 一个辅音，“a”通常发一个

with a schwa sound: about, across, address.

schwa音：about、across、address。

Of course, if the word begins with ‘a’ and ‘a’ is stressed, the ‘a’ will

当然，如果单词以字母“a”开头 并且“a”是重读的， “a”

not have a schwa sound.

将不会有一个schwa音。

For example: able, actor, artist.

例如：able、actor、artist。

Two: In a British accent, word endings such as –er, - ar, -or, –our, or -ure, are

二：在英国腔调，以像是 –er、- ar、 -or、–our或-ure结尾的单词，

very often pronounced with a schwa sound: teacher, dollar, visitor, colour, culture.

常常发schwa 音： teacher、dollar、visitor、colour、culture。

This rule is useful and will work most of the time; however there are some exceptions,

这个规则是有用的，在大部分的时间 内适用：然而，有一些例外，

such as guitar, insure, metaphor or flour.

像是guitar、insure、metaphor或 flour。

Three: in words ending -ion or -ian, the letters ‘ia’ or ‘io’ always have a schwa sound:

三：以-ion或-ian，字母“ia”或“io”结尾 的单词总是有一个schwa音：

politician, pronunciation, correction, musician, discussion.

politician、pronunciation、correction、 musician、discussion。

The same is true for words ending -ous, like dangerous, nervous, or fabulous.

以-ous结尾的单词也相同，像 dangerous、nervous或fabulous。

There are other spelling patterns, but these are some of the most useful.

有其他的拼写结构，但是这些是 最常用的一部分。

Next, let’s see how you can recognise schwa sounds in phrases and sentences.

接下来，让我们看看您能怎样在 词组和句子中认识schwa音。

In almost every English sentence you hear, there will be at least one schwa sound, and

在几乎每个您听到的英语 句子里，有至少一个schwa音，

probably more.

有可能更多。

Let’s look at a sentence you probably use often:

让我们看看您可能常会 用到的一个句子：

How are you?

How are you?

Which words would normally be stressed in this sentence?

在这个句子里哪一个单词 正常来说是重读的？

Say it to yourself.

您自己说它。

Can you work it out?

您能找出来吗？

In this sentence, the stress is on how and you.

在这个句子里，重音是在how 和you。

The unstressed word in this sentence is are and it is pronounced as a schwa sound.

在句子里不重读的单词是 are， 它发schwa音。

Listen and try to hear it:

听并仔细听出它：

How /ə/ you?

How /ə/ you?

So, how do you know which words are stressed or unstressed?

所以，您怎么知道单词是 重读或非重读？

The unstressed words in a sentence are usually auxiliary words, articles and prepositions.

在句子里不重读的单词通常是 助词、冠词和介词。

Words which carry the meaning of a sentence—nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs—are often

携带一个句子意思的单词—名词、 动词、形容词和副词—通常是

stressed.

重读的。

Let’s look at some examples:

让我们看一些例子：

Do you like learning English?

Do you like learning English?

In this sentence, the stressed words are like, learning and English and there are no schwas

在这个句子里，重读的单词是like、 learning和 English，这些

in those words.

单词是没有schwas音的。

The unstressed words are do and you and they will often be pronounced as schwas.

不重读的单词是do和you，它们 经常会发schwas音。

Listen:

听一下：

D/ə/ y/ə/ like learning English?

D/ə/ y/ə/ like learning English?

However, sometimes you might choose to stress different words in a sentence.

然而，有时候您可能在一个句子 里选择强调不同的单词。

If you hadn’t seen a friend for a long time, you might stress are in this sentence.

如果您很久没看到一个朋友，您可能 在这个句子里强调are。

If you do this, the schwa sound is replaced with a longer vowel sound.

如果您这样做，schwa音被 一个长元音取代。

How /ɑ:/ you?

How /ɑ:/ you?

Look again at the question: Do you like learning English?

再看看问题： Do you like learning English？

If you want to make it clear who you’re asking the question to, you can stress you,

如果您想让您要问问题的人更清楚， 您可以强调you。

which again makes the vowel sound longer:

那一样让元音更长：

D/ə/ y/ʊ:/

D/ə/ y/ʊ:/

like learning English?

like learning English?

Here’s a phrase you might hear a lot in the UK:

这是一个您可能在英国 常听到的短语：

/ə/ cup of tea

/ə/ cup of tea

The article a has a schwa sound.

冠词 a 有一个schwa 音。

However, if someone brought me two cups of tea when I only wanted one, I might stress

然而，如果当我只想要一杯，某人拿 给我两杯，我可能强调

a, like this:

a，像这样：

I said I wanted /eɪ/ cup of tea.

I said I wanted /eɪ/ cup of tea.

Recognising the schwa can also help you understand connected speech.

认识schwa也能帮您理解连音。

Let’s see how:

让我们看看时怎样的：

/ə/ cup of tea

/ə/ cup of tea

Most English learners would find it easy to understand this phrase when each word is pronounced

当每个单词清楚发音时，大部分 的英语学习者会容易

clearly.

找到并理解这个短语。

However, in natural speech, the phrase might sound more like this: /əkʌpəti:/

然而，在母语里，短语音可能 更像这个： /əkʌpəti:/

Here, a cup of becomes 'a cuppa', so of is reduced to a schwa.

这里， a cup of 变成“a cuppa”，所以of 降音成schwa。

a cuppa tea /əkʌpəti:/

a cuppa tea /əkʌpəti:/

Let’s practise together.

让我们一起练习。

Repeat the phrases after me:

跟着我重复读短语:

How /ə/ you?

How /ə/ you?

D/ə/ y/ə/ like learning English?

D/ə/ y/ə/ like learning English?

/ə/ cup /ə/f tea

/ə/ cup /ə/f tea

Being aware of schwas in connected speech can really improve your English listening.

在连音中留意schwa 能真正地提高您的英语听力。

You can see that words and sentences are not pronounced as they’re written.

您可以看到单词和句子不像他们 被写的那样发音。

Learning and practising schwa sounds can help you to understand this.

学习和练习schwa音能帮助 您理解这个。

Of course, using schwas and connected speech in your English will also help you to sound

当然，在您的英语中使用schwas和 连音也会帮您发音更流利

more fluent and natural!

和更自然！

Finally, let’s practise pronouncing the schwa in words and sentences.

最后，让我们来练习发单词 和句子里的schwa音。

Look at some words and try to find the schwa sounds.

看一些单词并试着找schwa音。

Pause the video, write the words down and mark the stressed syllables.

暂停视屏，写下单词并 标注重读的音节。

Then say the word and see if you can identify the schwa.

然后念单词看是否您可以识别schwa。

Write the schwa symbol under the vowel.

在元音下面写 schwa符号。

Ready?

准备好了吗？

Let’s check.

让我们检查一下。

Say the words after me:

跟着我说单词：

picture, pict/ə/

picture, pict/ə/

around, /ə/round

around, /ə/round

smaller, small/ə/

smaller, small/ə/

horror, horr/ə/

horror, horr/ə/

national, nat/ə/n/ə/l

national, nat/ə/n/ə/l

similar, simil/ə/r

similar, simil/ə/r

temperature, temper/ə/t/ə/

temperature, temper/ə/t/ə/

celebration, cel/ə/brat/ə/n

celebration, cel/ə/brat/ə/n

happiness, happin/ə/ss

happiness, happin/ə/ss

America, /ə/meric/ə/

America, /ə/meric/ə/

Next, let’s try some phrases.

接下来，我们来试一些短语。

As before, pause the video, write the phrases down and find the schwa sounds:

和之前一样，暂停视屏，写下 短语并找出schwa音：

Ok?

好了吗？

Let’s check.

让我们检查一下。

Say the phrases after me:

跟着我说短语：

a slice of cake, /ə/ slice /ə/f cake

a slice of cake, /ə/ slice /ə/f cake

a cat and a dog, /ə/ cat /ə/nd /ə/ dog

a cat and a dog, /ə/ cat /ə/nd /ə/ dog

an apple and a banana, /ə/n apple /ə/nd /ə/ b/ə/nan/ə/

an apple and a banana, /ə/n apple /ə/nd /ə/ b/ə/nan/ə/

Next, let’s do some full sentences.

接下来，我们来做一些整句。

Again, pause the video, write the sentences down and find the schwa sounds.

再次，暂停视屏，写下 句子并找出schwa音：

Ready?

好了吗？

Now, let’s check.

现在，我们检查一下。

Repeat after me:

跟着我重复：

Where are you from?

Where are you from?

Where /ə/ y/ə/ from?

Where /ə/ y/ə/ from?

What's your favourite film?

What's your favourite film?

What’s y/ə/ fav/ə/r/ə/te film?

What’s y/ə/ fav/ə/r/ə/te film?

What time do you get up?

What time do you get up?

What time d/ə/ y/ə/ get up?

What time d/ə/ y/ə/ get up?

That’s the end of this lesson.

本节课结束了。

I hope you learned something new about how to recognise and produce the schwa sound in

我希望您学到一些新的关于 怎么认识和发英语的

English.

schwa音。

You can find many more free English lessons on Oxford Online English.com.

您可以在：Oxford Online English.com 找到更多的免费英语课程。

Thanks for watching!

感谢观看！

See you next time!

下次见！