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1000-hours/sounds-of-american-english/3.1-vowels.md

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+# 3.1. 元音（Vowels）
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+英文总计 6 个基础元音，分别是 `ʌ`、`e`、`ə`、`ɪ`、`ʊ`、`ɒ` —— 这 6 个短元音就好像是 “根” 一样。剩下的 14 个元音要么是它们略有变化的更长版本，即，长元音  ——  `ɑː, æ, əː, iː, uː, ɔː`。要么是它们的组合版本，即，双元音 —— `aɪ, eɪ, ɔɪ, aʊ, əʊ, eə, ɪə, ʊə`。
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+In English, there are 6 basic vowels: `ʌ`, `e`, `ə`, `ɪ`, `ʊ`, and `ɒ`. Think of these 6 short vowels like the *roots* of a tree. The remaining 16 vowels are either slightly modified, longer versions of these - the *long* vowels, which are `ɑː, æ, əː, iː, uː, ɔː`; or, they are combinations of these basic sounds, known as *diphthongs* - `aɪ, eɪ, ɔɪ, aʊ, əʊ, eə, ɪə, ʊə`.
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+元音的关键在于它们的**长短**。搞错元音的长短，一方面可能会造成错误或者理解困难。更为重要的是另外一方面 —— 会造成**节奏**混乱。
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+The crux of vowels lies in their *duration*. If you mess up the length of vowels, not only could it lead to errors or difficulties in understanding, but more importantly, it could disrupt the *rhythm*.
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+由于双元音由两个基础元音构成，所以**双元音**的长度与**长元音**相当。于是，英文**音节**的发声总体上倾向于比其它语言更长，因为 20 个元音中只有 6 个是短的，与之相对的，有 14 个是长的。这是一个相当显著的差异 —— 尤其在与亚洲语言相比的时候尤为明显，因为在大多数亚洲语言中元音（可能被称为韵母、母音）总是等长的，没有长短之分。
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+Since diphthongs are composed of two basic vowels, their length is equivalent to that of long vowels. As a result, English syllables tend to be pronounced longer overall than in other languages, given that only 6 out of 20 vowels are short, while the remaining 14 are long. This is a rather noticeable difference, especially when compared to Asian languages, where vowels always have equal length, with no distinction between long and short.