外教教你学英语音标 辅音发音注意事项

Now, we're gonna talk a little bit about what a consonant sound is.

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A consonant sound is some kind of interruption in the vocal stream that creates a sound.

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Sometimes it can be a very violent interruption like a /p/, /t/, /k/,...

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...or a softer interruption like /l/ or /m/, or /ʒ/,...

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In any case, some part of the articulators come together and create that interruption in the vocal stream.

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Your consonants are either going to be voiced or voiceless.

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In some cases, you'll have what we call consonant cognates or pairs.

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These pairs of sounds are made in exactly the same place,...

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...one is voiced and one is voiceless.

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An example of that would be your "TH" sound /θ/, /ð/.

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And there are many samples of that such as a /p/, /b/.

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Okay, and some are just a simple interruption and there's no voiceless version like /m/,...

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If there were a voiceless /m/, it would be like this...

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...doesn't really make any sense, does it?

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So, when you're working on your consonant sounds,...

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...just notice them and work on them in your practice sessions.