成为英语学习局内人

American Accent Training是一部非常强大的语音训练教材，作者Ann Cook从各个方面讲解了真实的美式发音是怎样一回事。书中有这样一段话：

One way to look at English from the inside out, rather than always looking from the outside in, is to get a feel for what Americans have already accepted and internalized. This starts out as a purely language phenomenon, but you will notice that as you progress and undergo the relentless cultural indoctrination of standard intonation patterns, you will find yourself expressing yourself with the language cues and signals that will mark you as an insider—not an outsider.

这本书已经有中文版，我没看过，不知道这段话在中文版当中是怎样翻译的。按照自己的理解，我把“insider”和“outsider”称为“局内人”和“局外人”。只有真真正正地去体会和理解Americans是如何使用这门语言的，才能从“局外人”逐渐地入门，成为“局内人”，进而得以窥见英语的另一种面貌。

为了帮助英语学习者达到这一境界，这本书逐一分析了英语语音中需要注意的要点：

• Intonation (speech music)

• Liaisons (word connection)

• pronunciation (the spoken sounds of vowels, consonants, and combinations)

全书对语调、连读，还有几个重点元辅音的发音难点进行了解析，并总结了规律。每一个小条目后面都有相应的练习题，帮助学习者巩固提高。

虽然AAT的重点在于语音规律，但本文只打算介绍一些书中提供的练习工具和方法。例如，在讲解intonation时，用到的staircase：

将语调的高低起伏放置在staircase上，将抽象的语调具体化，更有助于感受发音时的起伏变化。下面这个rubber band也能够起到类似的作用：

Take a rubber band and hold it with your two thumbs. Every time you want to stress a word by changing pitch, pull on the rubber band. Stretch it out gently, don' t jerk it sharply. Make a looping figure with it and do the same with your voice. Use the rubber band and stretch it out every time you change pitch.

使用rubber band可以制造一种惯性，这是一种刻意的练习，在惯性形成之后，就可以摆脱这种“具象的”rubber band，改用自己意识当中“抽象的”rubber band来帮助自己练习语调。

在练习schwa/ə/时，书中建议了以下这种方法：

…try clenching your teeth the first time. It won't sound completely natural, but it will get rid of all of the excess lip and jaw movement and force your tongue to work harder than usual.

"clench your teeth"可以避免"excess lip and jaw movement"，在练习发好/ə/音的同时，还可以加强对口腔肌肉的锻炼。

练习/l/的发音时，也使用了类似的方法，而这次是要"leaving your tongue attached to the top of your mouth".

…you're going to completely focus on the thing that's most difficult: leaving your tongue attached to the top of your mouth.

保持这样，读完一整段练习文章。非常怪异，但也非常有趣。

当然，AAT当中最重要的部分还是每一章的语音规律讲解。这本书页数并不多，翻一翻，很快就能读完。但是每个部分的内容都非常重要而且值得反复阅读体会。尤其是里面的语音练习，需要大量的跟读学习，才能达到流利的程度。

正如本文开头所述，要成为英语学习“局内人”实属不易，但是一旦踏上这段旅程，我们都不会满足于只停留在门外徘徊张望。

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