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

英文發音 — schwa 怎麼幫您把英文唸得更好

Hi, my name's Sam.

嗨，我是Sam。

Welcome to Oxford Online English.

歡迎來到Oxford Online English。

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

在本節課裡，您可以學到 最常見的英文發音。

What is the most common sound in English?

什麼是最常見的英文發音？

The most common sound in English is called the schwa.

最常見的英文發音稱為schwa。

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

您知道schwa發音像是什麼嗎， 或是它怎麼唸？

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

在本節課裡，您會學到schwa、 怎樣識別它以及怎麼唸它。

The schwa sound is pronounced like this: /ə/

schwa發音類似這個： /ə/

It’s a very short, relaxed sound.

它是很短的、很輕的音。

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

只要略張開您的嘴巴、放輕鬆， 並從喉嚨裡推送出一點空氣: /ə/.

Let’s play a quick game.

我們來玩一個快速遊戲。

Look at a sentence I just said:

看一個剛說的句子：

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?

在這個句子裡有多少schwa音？

It’s somewhere between zero and five.

大約是0-5個之間。

Have a guess.

猜一猜。

Go back and listen once more if you want to.

如果您需要，回頭再聽一次。

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.

您能看到在一個短句裡 我就唸了五次 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發音是有幫助的，因為認識 它會加強您的聽力

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

以及您懂唸這個音 會提高您的發音。

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

但是，學習唸schwa可能是很難得， 因為母語人士在不同的

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

場合用schwas，取決於他們的 聲調以及取決於說話人選擇

to stress.

強調哪些單字。

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

那意思是您會聽到不同的 人以不同方式念schwa。

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

我可能在一個單字唸schwa音，但是 另一個母語人士也許不唸。

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

那麼您知道我來自英格蘭南部， 您會發現大部分英格蘭

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

南部的人以相同 方式唸schwa音。

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

我們從您怎樣聽出以及 認識schwa開始吧。

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

這是schwa音的IPA符號：/ə/

It looks like an upside-down “e”.

它看上去像一個顛倒的 “e”。

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

當您在辭典裡看到他們時，這會幫 您理解怎樣唸這些單詞。

For example:

例如：

understand /ʌndəˈstænd/

understand /ʌndəˈstænd/

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

在您寫下新字彙時用 schwa 符號是有幫助的。

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

在字母或出現的字母組合 下面寫schwa符號。

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

那能幫助您去認識新單字的schwa音， 但是如果您不能查辭典，

the dictionary?

怎麼辦？

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辭典裡查到 一個單字，您仍然可以在很多

words.

新單字裡找到很多schwa音。

Let’s see how.

我們來看看是怎樣的。

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音可能 在哪裡時，一個單字的

the schwa sounds might be.

拼寫不會幫您太多。

Why is that?

那是什麼？

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

那是因為schwa音真的不是 取決於拼寫。

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

同樣，schwa音可以通過任何 母音字母：a、e、i、o或u產生。

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也能由兩個或三個字母合 在一起發音，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，拼寫不能幫您找到schwa， 但是重音會，怎麼樣？

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僅出現在

unstressed syllables.

不重讀的音節。

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

知道單字中的哪一個音節 要重讀能幫助您找到

are.

schwa音在哪裡。

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

schwa可以是在開始、中間或 一個單字的結束，

is.

取決於重音在哪裡。

/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

如果您在一個單字裡找schwa 音，您之前聽到的

schwa sounds in a word.

重音比拼寫更有用。

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

那是真的，但是有很多拼寫 結構能幫您找到

sound.

schwa音。

Let’s look!

我們來看看！

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

一：如果一個單字以字母“a”開頭加 一個子音，“a”通常唸

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

當然，如果單字以字母“a”開頭 且“a”是重讀的， “a”

not have a schwa sound.

將不會有一個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：在英國腔調，以類似 –er、- ar、 -or、–our或-ure結尾的單字，

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

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

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

這個規則是有用的，在大部分的時間 內適用：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”結尾 的單字總是有一個schwa發音：

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結尾的單字也一樣，像 dangerous、nervous或fabulous。

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

有其他的拼寫結構，但是這些是 最常用的部分。

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

接下來，我們看看您能怎樣在 片語和句子裡認識schwa音。

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

在幾乎每個您聽到的英文 句子裡，有至少一個schwa音，

probably more.

有可能更多。

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

我們看看您可能常會 用到的一個句子：

How are you?

How are you?

Which words would normally be stressed in this sentence?

在這個句子裡，正常來說 哪一個單字是重讀的？

Say it to yourself.

您自己講出來。

Can you work it out?

您可以找到嗎？

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

在這個句子裡，重音是在how 和you。

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

在句子裡不重讀的單字是 are， 它唸schwa的音。

Listen and try to hear it:

仔細聽好並聽出它：

How /ə/ you?

How /ə/ you?

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

所以，您怎麼知道單字是 重讀或非重讀？

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

在句子裡不重讀的單字通常是 助詞、冠詞和介系詞。

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

攜帶一個句子意思的單字 — 名詞、 動詞、形容詞和副詞 — 通常是

stressed.

重讀的。

Let’s look at some examples:

我們看一些例子：

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

在這個句子裡，重讀的單字是like、 learning和English，這些

in those words.

單字是沒有schwas音的。

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

不重讀的單字是do和you，它們 經常會唸schwas音。

Listen:

聽一下：

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，有時候您可能在一個句子 裡選擇強調不同的單字。

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

如果您很久沒看到一個朋友，您可能 在這個句子裡強調are。

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

如果您這樣做，schwa音被 一個長母音取代。

How /ɑ:/ you?

How /ɑ:/ you?

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

再看看問題： Do you like learning English？

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

如果您想讓您要問問題的人更清楚， 您可以強調you。

which again makes the vowel sound longer:

那一樣讓母音更長：

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:

這是一個您可能在英國 常聽到的片語：

/ə/ cup of tea

/ə/ cup of tea

The article a has a schwa sound.

冠詞a 有一個schwa 音。

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

然而，如果當我只想要一杯，但某人拿 給我兩杯，我可能強調

a, like this:

a，像這樣：

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.

認識schwa也能幫您理解連音。

Let’s see how:

我們看看是怎樣的：

/ə/ cup of tea

/ə/ cup of tea

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

當每個單字清楚發音時，大部分 的英文學習者會容易

clearly.

找到並理解這個片語。

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

然而，在母語裡，片語可能聽上去 更像這個： /əkʌpəti:/

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

這裡， a cup of 變成“a cuppa”，所以of 降音成schwa。

a cuppa tea /əkʌpəti:/

a cuppa tea /əkʌpəti:/

Let’s practise together.

我們一起來練習。

Repeat the phrases after me:

跟隨我重複唸片語:

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.

在連音裡留意schwa 能真正地提高您的英文聽力。

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

您可以看到單字和句子不像它們 寫的那樣發音。

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

學習和練習唸schwa音可以幫助 您理解這個。

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

當然，在您使用英文時，用schwas和 連音也會幫助您發音更流利

more fluent and natural!

和更自然！

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

最後，我們來練習唸單字 和句子裡的schwa音。

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

看一些單字並試著找出schwa音。

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

暫停影片，寫下單字並 標註重音的音節。

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

然後唸單字看您能否識別schwa。

Write the schwa symbol under the vowel.

在母音下面寫 schwa符號。

Ready?

準備好了嗎？

Let’s check.

我們檢查一下。

Say the words after me:

跟隨我說單字：

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.

接下來，我們來練一些片語。

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

與之前一樣，暫停影片，寫下 片語並找出schwa音：

Ok?

好了嗎？

Let’s check.

我們檢查一下。

Say the phrases after me:

跟隨我說片語：

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.

接下來，我們來練習一些整句。

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

再次，暫停影片，寫下 句子並找出schwa音：

Ready?

好了嗎？

Now, let’s check.

現在，我們檢查一下。

Repeat after me:

跟隨我重複：

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.

本節課就到這。

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

我希望您學到一些新的關於 怎麼認識和唸英文的

English.

schwa音。

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

您可以在：Oxford Online English.com 找到更多的免費英文課程。

Thanks for watching!

感謝觀看！

See you next time!

下次見！