Better English pronunciation to make things better!

今年にこのブログを立ち上げて以来、主に英語の子音（consonants）を中心に発音練習をしてきました。その中でも、/r/ と /l/ の発音については、ずいぶんと説明してきました。今回は、日本人特有の門団点である /r/ と /l/ のコントラストを再確認すべく「年末復習スペシャル１」と銘打って取り上げます。

まずは、日本語の「ラ行」を、/r/ と /l/ でやってみましょう：

ra ri ru re ro
la li lu le lo

こんどは minimal pair で二つの音のコントラストを確認しましょう：

right /raɪt/ – light /laɪt/、read /riːd/ – lead /liːd/
rain /reɪn/ – lane /leɪn/、wrong /rɒŋ/ – long /lɒŋ/
road /rəʊd/ – load /ləʊd/、Jerry /ˈdʒeri/ – jelly /ˈdʒeli/
arrive /əˈraɪv/ – alive /əˈlaɪv/

Today’s my singing
今回の歌は Elvis Presley の “Heart Of Rome” という情熱的な歌です。/r/ と /l/ の練習に絶好の曲と言えるでしょう。

In a little while you’re leavin’
Starting on the journey home
Soon I’ll be alone, the one who loves you
La la la la la, somewhere in the heart of Rome

　I’ll make a wish in every fountain
　Say a prayer that you’ll return
　Minutes I’ll be counting
　Make the fire of love still burn

　I’ll keep your picture by my pillow
　And pretend I’m not alone
　Make believe that you are with me
　La la la la la, in the heart of Rome

Suddenly the tears are falling
As we hear the whistle blow
Hold me very close before you leave me
La la la la la, somewhere in the heart of Rome

—————-
Many speakers of Japanese find it difficult to distinguish between /r/ and /l/. It is chiefly because they are not distinctive in the phonological system of Japanese. Thus the pronunciation of a pair of words like rye and lie, for example, is identically represented in kana orthography, “ライ”. It should always be remembered that, to make /l/, contact is made between the tongue tip and the alveolar ridge, whereas such a contact is not made for /r/.
The song I’ve sung and uploaded here is “Heart Of Rome”, originally sung by Elvis Presley. This song is a very good piece of material for practice in the ‘r-l’ distinction. Except for the post-vocalic “r’s” that are regionally dependent as to whether they are actually pronounced, all the “r’s” and “l’s” in the lyrics are represented in boldface.

(＊発音矯正を望まれる歌手・俳優、また、英語を使うお仕事をされている方は、ホームページをご覧の上メールでご相談ください。)

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