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3.1. 元音（Vowels）
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。
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.
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。
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.
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。
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.