著者

小栗 敬三

出版者

横浜国立大学

雑誌

横浜国立大学人文紀要. 第二類, 語学・文学 (ISSN:0513563X)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.12, pp.1-16, 1965-11-30

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Japanese students of English, like most foreigners, are apt to use the strong form, when the weak form is required, in their pronunciation of English. They tend to pronounce the second syllables of purchase, village like chase, age and put the same vowel quality to the vowel "o" of confide, confidence; politics, political; come, welcome. Hardly any distinction is made between the vowel "u" of suppose and that of supper. In pronouncing I.P.A. [ə], we should be on our guard against the use of such vowels as [a], [ɑ] in place of murmuring obscure vowels. The strong [i] vowel is to be used in the first (not in the second) syllables of city, busy, women, pretty, etc. We have to learn that the weak form [əm] (and contracted form [m]) is usual in a sentence like I am [I'm] tired, whereas the strong form is always used in I really am tired. The same is true of is in Who is coming?-He is. It is well known that the pronunciation of British English has, on the whole, greater varieties of weak forms than the American pronunciation, in which the secondary stress is of greater significance. In this paper I have tried to point out, with many examples of words and sentences, the importance of learning and using the weak form, which plays a far more important role in the pronunciation of English than in other European languages and in Japanese.