Better English pronunciation to make things better!

英米人のクリスマスの読み物の定番といえば Charles Dickens の Christmas Carol でしょう。わたしたち日本人の多くも、舞台や映画を通してその話に親しんでいます。今回は Christmas Carol の一部分を朗読してみたいと思います。ぜひ一緒に練習しながら朗読の面白さを楽しんでみてください。
クリスマスイブに霊的な体験をした意地悪で吝嗇家の商売人Scrooge は、今までの自分を悔いて心を入れかえます。そして、雇用している Bob Cratchit にも親切な対応をして Bob を驚かせます。朗読箇所は、その二人のやりとりの場面です。

では、まず passage に出てくるいくつかの単語の発音を確認してみます。（発音は RP です。）：

Scrooge /skruːdʒ/、Cratchit /ˈkræʃtɪt/、comforter /ˈkʌmfətə/、
stool /stuːl/、jiffy /ˈdʒɪfi/、overtake /ˈəʊvəteɪk/、
groaled /grəʊld/、accostomed /əˈkʌstəmd/、feign /feɪn/、
continued /kənˈtɪnjuːd/、waistcoat /ˈweɪskəʊt/、staggered /ˈstægəd/、
salary /ˈsæləri/、momentary /ˈməʊment(ə)ri/、tembled /ˈtrembld/、
earnestness /ˈɜːnɪstnəs/、endeavour /ɪnˈdevə/、struggling /ˈstrʌglɪŋ/、
bishop /ˈbɪʃɒp/、coal-scuttle /ˈkəʊlˌskʌtl/

では、朗読してみます。みなさんも、子供に読んで聞かせる状況を思い浮かべながら朗読してみてください。↓

…he was early at the office next morning. Oh, he was early there. If he could only be there first, and catch Bob Cratchit coming late! That was the thing he had set his heart upon.
　And he did it; yes, he did! The clock struck nine. No Bob. A quarter past. No Bob. He was full eighteen minutes and a half behind his time. Scrooge sat with his door wide open, that he might see him come into the Tank.
　His hat was off, before he opened the door; his comforter too. He was on his stool in a jiffy; driving away with his pen, as if he were trying to overtake nine o’clock.
　“Hallo!” growled Scrooge, in his accustomed voice, as near as he could feign it. “What do you mean by coming here at this time of day?”
　“I am very sorry, sir,” said Bob. “I am behind my time.”
　“You are?” repeated Scrooge. “Yes. I think you are. Step this way, sir, if you please.”
　“It’s only once a year, sir,” pleaded Bob, appearing from the Tank. “It shall not be repeated. I was making rather merry yesterday, sir.”
　“Now, I’ll tell you what, my friend,” said Scrooge, “I am not going to stand this sort of thing any longer. And therefore,” he continued, leaping from his stool, and giving Bob such a dig in the waistcoat that he staggered back into the Tank again; “and therefore I am about to raise your salary.”
　Bob trembled, and got a little nearer to the ruler. He had a momentary idea of knocking Scrooge down with it, holding him, and calling to the people in the court for help and a strait-waistcoat.
　“A merry Christmas, Bob,” said Scrooge, with an earnestness that could not be mistaken, as he clapped him on the back. “A merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have given you for many a year. I’ll raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon, over a Christmas bowl of smoking bishop, Bob. Make up the fires, and buy another coal-scuttle before you dot another i, Bob Cratchit!”

Today’s My Singing
今回は軽いタッチのゴスペル “I Believe In The Man In The Sky” を歌ってみましたのでアップします。もちろん Elvis バージョンです！ Elvis はゴスペルも数多く歌っていますが、この曲もそのひとつです。若い頃の Elvis の伸びやかな声を真似するのはとても難しいのですが、これもボーカルトレーニングのつもりで歌ってみました。

The steps that lead to any church
Form a stairway to a star
They’re part of God and should be trod
More often than they are

I believe in the Man in the sky
I believe with His help I’ll get by
My footsteps may falter
My eyes may grow dim
But He’s my Gibraltar
I’m trusting in Him

Though a sparrow is all I may be
On me He will still keep an eye
Yes I’m singing His praise
Till the end of my days
I believe in the Man in the sky

Sparrow, sparrow am I
Keep an eye
Yes I’m singing His praise
Till the end of my days
I believe in the Man in the sky

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