This week on Ask a Teacher we answer a question from Doraemon in Japan. Here is Doraemon’s question:
本周的“请教老师”节目中，我们回答了来自日本的《哆啦A梦》的问题。这是哆啦A梦的问题：
For me, as an English learner, words like clash, crash, and crush sound like the same word. Can you help me to tell one word from others? Thank you.
对于我来说，作为一名英语学习者，“crash”、“crash”和“crush”等词听起来像是同一个词。你能帮我说出别人的一句话吗？谢谢。
When 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.
当外语包含母语中不存在的声音时，学习者可能很难听到这些声音。
The 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.
您之所以难以听清“crash”和“clash”之间的区别，是因为日语中没有辅音“r”或“l”。当说英语的人说话速度很快时，“r”和“l”的发音之间的差异就变得很小。因此，这两个辅音对于日语母语者来说听起来是一样的。
Some 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:
根据一个人的母语的元音，某些元音也可能难以听到或发音。例如，考虑以下两个单词之间的区别：
The Spanish language has the vowel sound in the word “heat,” but it does not have the vowel sound in the word “hit.”
西班牙语中“heat”一词有元音，但“hit”一词没有元音。
As 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 .
因此，西班牙语使用者有时会将“hit”、“bit”和“little”等单词发音为“ee”。例如，用西班牙口音说“hit”和“heat”这两个词时，听起来都像“heat”。
Train your ears using minimal pairs
使用最少的配对训练你的耳朵
You 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.
通过使用最少的配对进行仔细练习，您可以学会听出外语中声音之间的差异。最小词对是仅一个发音不同的两个单词。
For example, the two words “hit” and “heat” differ from each other by only one sound.
例如，“hit”和“heat”这两个词只有一个声音不同。
Here are some tips for using minimal pairs:
以下是使用最小对的一些技巧：
Find 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:
通过 Google 搜索或 YouTube 查找最少配对的列表和录音。对于日语使用者，找到“r”和“l”发音不同的最小对。确保包含最少的对，将两个声音放在单词的开头、中间和结尾处。以下是示例：
correct collect
正确收集
Carefully 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.
仔细听最小对的发音。起初，您可能很难听出它们之间的区别。但随着时间的推移，您将开始听到其中的差异。
Also 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.
还要练习发音这些声音。学习它们的发音可以帮助您听到它们。要发音，您需要练习将舌头放在正确的位置。
The 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.
舌头是一块肌肉。正如我们可以训练肌肉进行一项运动一样，我们可以训练我们的舌头移动到正确的位置来发音外语。来自美国之音学习英语的这段如何发音视频显示了正确发音字母“r”和“l”所需的舌头位置。