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1000-hours/sounds-of-american-english/2.1.2-ʌ.md

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+# 3.1.2. `ʌ/ɑː`  
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+从唇形上来看，`ʌ` 的唇形最小，`ɑ` 的唇形最大。
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+In terms of mouth shape, the vowel sound `ʌ` requires the lips to be the most closed, while the vowel sound `ɑ` requires the lips to be the most open.
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+![mouth shape of ʌ/ɑ](/images/vowels-mouth-ʌ-ɑ.svg)
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+美国人会把 `ʌ` 读成 `ə`，比如，*but* 会被读成 `/bət/`。
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+Americans often pronounce the `ʌ` sound as `ə`, turning words like *but* into `/bət/`.
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+美国人还会再进一步，会把很多非重读音节内的元音简化为 `ə` —— 对此还有个专门的术语，将其称为 *schwa*。所以，*encourage* 这个词英国人和美国人读得不太一样，英国人会读作 `/ɪnˈkʌrɪdʒ/`，但，美国人却将其被读成 `/ɪnˈkərədʒ/` —— 不仅要将 `ʌ` 读成 `ə`，还要将 `i` 变成 *schwa*, `ə`……
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+They even go a step further, simplifying many unstressed vowel sounds to `ə`, which is particularly referred to as a *schwa*. So, the word *encourage* is pronounced differently by Brits and Americans. Brits say `/ɪnˈkʌrɪdʒ/`, while Americans pronounce it as `/ɪnˈkərədʒ/`. In this case, not only is `ʌ` pronounced as `ə`, but the `i` also turns into a *schwa*, `ə`...
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+长元音 `/ɑː/` 常常会被儿化 —— 加上一个卷舌音 `r`，所以很多美式词典干脆用 `ɑr` 替代 `ɑː`。比如，*card* `/kɑrd/`, *mark* `/mɑrk/`。
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+The long vowel `/ɑː/` is often *rhotacized* - meaning it is followed by a `r` sound, which leads to many American Dictionaries replacing `ɑː` with `ɑr`. For example, *card* is pronounced as `/kɑrd/`, and *mark* as `/mɑrk/`.
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+在英音中，长元音 `ɑː` 对应的短元音是 `ʌ`。但，在美音中，长元音 `ɑr` 对应的更短版本是 `ɑ`；不过，它实际上是英音中的短元音 `ɒ`。比如，*hot*, 英音是 `/hɒt/` ，美音是 `/hɑt/`。
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+In British English, the short vowel matching the long vowel `ɑː` is `ʌ`. However, in American English, the short vowel corresponding to the long vowel `ɑr` is `ɑ`, which is actually similar to the British short vowel `ɒ`, yet a little bit longer. For instance, the word *hot* is pronounced `/hɒt/` in British English and `/hɑt/` in American English.
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+这是美音比较特殊的地方，`ɑ` 要比短元音 `ə` 略长一点，但比真正的长元音 `ɑː` 要略短一点。
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+Here's an interesting quirk of American English: the vowel sound `ɑ` is a tad longer than the short vowel `ə`, yet slightly shorter than the true long vowel `ɑː`.