有關美音聽力與發音小技巧

　　如何突破聽力障礙？

　　如何說一口純正的美語？

　　多聽多練自然是最好的途徑，

　　但是在此過程中你有沒有注意過一些小細節呢？

　　從今天開始，讓我們一起來與native speaker 零距離接觸，看看如何練就純正發音吧！

　　今天的主題是：can 和 can’t 的發音區別

　　可能遇到的生詞：

　　contract (v.) 『語』 縮約

　　vowel (n.) 『語』 元音

　　stress (n.) (v.) 『語』 重音，重讀

　　本期文本：

　　Welcome to Daily tips on Learning English. Today's tip is on distinguishing “can” and “cannot” in spoken American English.

　　“Cannot” is usually contracted to “can't”. So many learners of English assume that in order to distinguish between “can” and “can't”, one must listen for the final “t” sound /t/. And when speaking, one must pronounce final ‘t’ sound /t/ clearly. However, this is not in fact how native speakers distinguish “can” and “can't”. People do not say ‘I `can drive a car, but I can’t drive a motorcycle.’ People say ‘I can `drive a car', but I `can't drive a motorcycle.’ The difference between “can” and “can't” is in stress. “Can” is not stressed, the verb after it is. “Can't” is stressed. The verb after it is not.

　　Also since ‘can’ is not stressed, the vowel is reduced to /a/, so “can” is actually pronounced “can”. Listen to another example. “I `can't go on Saturday, but I can `go on Sunday.” Did you hear the 't' sound? Did you notice the difference words being stressed? Listening again. “I `can't go on Saturday, but I can `go on Sunday.” If you want to understand whether someone is saying he can or can't do something, you have to be listening for a stressed “can't” or a verb stressed after “can”. What does this mean? “I can `speak Japanese, but I `can't speak Taiwanese.” That's right, I can speak Japanese, but I cannot speak Taiwanese. When you are speaking it is very important that you follow this rule too. When learners of English say I `can help you, native speakers often unsure what is meant because of improper stress. So remember, you can stress “can't”, but you `can't stress “can”.

　　This has been today's tip on learning English. Tune in tomorrow for another tip.

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