Minimal Pairs for Pronunciation
2025-01-25
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1This week on Ask a Teacher we answer a question from Doraemon in Japan. Here is Doraemon's question:
2Hi VOA,
3For me, as an English learner, words like clash, crash, and crush sound like the same word.
4Can you help me to tell one word from others?
5Thank you.
6I'm happy to answer this question, Doraemon.
7When a foreign language contains sounds that do not exist in a person's native language, it can be difficult for learners to hear those sounds.
8The reason you have difficulty hearing the difference between "crash" and "clash" is because the Japanese language does not have the consonant sounds "r" or "l."
9And when English speakers are talking quickly, the difference between the sounds of "r" and "l" becomes very small.
10As a result, those two consonants can sound the same to a native Japanese speaker.
11Some vowel sounds can also be difficult to hear or pronounce depending on the vowels a person's native language has.
12For example, consider the difference between the following two words:
13hit heat
14The Spanish language has the vowel sound in the word "heat," but it does not have the vowel sound in the word "hit."
15As a result, Spanish speakers will sometimes pronounce words like "hit," "bit," and "little" with an "ee" sound.
16For example, the two words "hit" and "heat" will both sound like "heat" when spoken with a Spanish accent.
17You can learn to hear the difference between sounds in a foreign language by careful practice using minimal pairs.
18Minimal pairs are two words that differ from each other by only one sound.
19For example, the two words "hit" and "heat" differ from each other by only one sound.
20Here are some tips for using minimal pairs:
21Find lists and recordings of minimal pairs through a Google search or on YouTube.
22For Japanese speakers, find minimal pairs that differ between the sounds of "r" and "l."
23Be sure to include minimal pairs that place the two sounds at the beginning, middle, and end of words.
24Here are examples:
25rake lake
26correct collect
27hair hail
28Carefully listen to the pronunciation of the minimal pairs.
29At first, it might be difficult for you to hear the difference between them.
30But over time you will start hearing the difference.
31Also practice pronouncing these sounds.
32Learning to pronounce them can help you hear them. To pronounce them, you need to practice putting your tongue in the correct position.
33The tongue is a muscle.
34Just as we can train our muscles to play a sport, we can train our tongue to move to the correct positions for pronouncing a foreign language.
35This How to Pronounce video from VOA Learning English shows the tongue positions you need to pronounce the letters "r" and "l" correctly.
36For our readers and listeners, what are your questions about American English?
37We want to hear from you! Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
38And please let us know where you are from, too.
39And that's Ask a Teacher.
40I'm Andrew Smith.
1This week on Ask a Teacher we answer a question from Doraemon in Japan. Here is Doraemon's question: 2Hi VOA, 3For me, as an English learner, words like clash, crash, and crush sound like the same word. 4Can you help me to tell one word from others? 5Thank you. 6I'm happy to answer this question, Doraemon. 7When a foreign language contains sounds that do not exist in a person's native language, it can be difficult for learners to hear those sounds. 8The reason you have difficulty hearing the difference between "crash" and "clash" is because the Japanese language does not have the consonant sounds "r" or "l." And when English speakers are talking quickly, the difference between the sounds of "r" and "l" becomes very small. As a result, those two consonants can sound the same to a native Japanese speaker. 9Some vowel sounds can also be difficult to hear or pronounce depending on the vowels a person's native language has. For example, consider the difference between the following two words: 10hit heat 11The Spanish language has the vowel sound in the word "heat," but it does not have the vowel sound in the word "hit." 12As a result, Spanish speakers will sometimes pronounce words like "hit," "bit," and "little" with an "ee" sound. For example, the two words "hit" and "heat" will both sound like "heat" when spoken with a Spanish accent. 13Train your ears using minimal pairs 14You can learn to hear the difference between sounds in a foreign language by careful practice using minimal pairs. Minimal pairs are two words that differ from each other by only one sound. 15For example, the two words "hit" and "heat" differ from each other by only one sound. 16Here are some tips for using minimal pairs: 17Find lists and recordings of minimal pairs through a Google search or on YouTube. For Japanese speakers, find minimal pairs that differ between the sounds of "r" and "l." Be sure to include minimal pairs that place the two sounds at the beginning, middle, and end of words. Here are examples: 18rake lake 19correct collect 20hair hail 21Carefully listen to the pronunciation of the minimal pairs. At first, it might be difficult for you to hear the difference between them. But over time you will start hearing the difference. 22Also practice pronouncing these sounds. Learning to pronounce them can help you hear them. To pronounce them, you need to practice putting your tongue in the correct position. 23The tongue is a muscle. Just as we can train our muscles to play a sport, we can train our tongue to move to the correct positions for pronouncing a foreign language. This How to Pronounce video from VOA Learning English shows the tongue positions you need to pronounce the letters "r" and "l" correctly. 24For our readers and listeners, what are your questions about American English? We want to hear from you! Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com. And please let us know where you are from, too. 25And that's Ask a Teacher. 26I'm Andrew Smith. 27Andrew Smith wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 28______________________________________________________ 29Words in This Story 30accent - n. a way of speaking typical of a particular group of people and especially of the natives or residents of a region 31practice - v. to perform or work at repeatedly so as to become proficient