摘要：If I don't pay attention, I will revert back to the old habit. So how can I solve this problem? Well, the answer is…I have to incr

In this video, we're going to talk about how you can improve your pronunciation quickly and permanently.

在本视频中，我们将讨论如何快速且持久地提高发音。

And at the end of this video, I'll give you a link to a webpage that links to a lot of free pronunciation exercises.

在视频的最后，我会提供一个网页链接，其中包含许多免费的发音练习。

Let's start by talking about a very frustrating problem. Suppose I currently mispronounce this word. Suppose I say pogam instead of program.

我们先来谈谈一个非常令人沮丧的问题。假设我现在把“program”读成了“pogam”。

I want to fix this mistake. So I learn the right pronunciation and I repeat it over and over. Program program program.

我想改正这个错误。所以我学习了正确的发音，并一遍又一遍地重复。

Now here's the problem. Because I have mispronounced this word for so long, the incorrect pronunciation has become a habit.

现在问题来了。因为我长期发音错误，错误的发音已经成为一种习惯。

And because of that, I can only say the word correctly if I pay attention to my pronunciation.

正因为如此，只有注意发音，我才能正确地发音。

If I don't pay attention, I will revert back to the old habit. So how can I solve this problem? Well, the answer is…I have to increase the number of repetitions.

如果我不注意，我就会回到以前的习惯。那么我该如何解决这个问题呢？答案是……我必须增加重复的次数。

Imagine that right now inside my brain there are two memories associated with the word program. One of them is old. The other is new.

想象一下，现在我的大脑里有两个与“program”这个词相关的记忆。其中一个是旧的，另一个是新的。

The old memory represents the wrong pronunciation - the bad habit. The new one represents the right pronunciation that I've just learned.

旧的记忆代表错误的发音——坏习惯。新的记忆代表我刚学到的正确发音。

So these are memories of how to coordinate the muscles in my tongue, lips, and other parts to say the word "program".

这些记忆记录了如何协调舌头、嘴唇和其他部位的肌肉来说出“program”这个词。

The reason that I mispronounce this word if I don't pay attention is that the old memory is much stronger.

如果我不注意就会读错这个单词，因为旧有的记忆太深刻了。

If I want to break this old habit, I have to repeat the right pronunciation many, many times.

如果我想改掉这个旧习惯，我必须重复正确的发音很多很多次。

Every time I do that, the new memory gets stronger, and the old memory gets weaker. I repeat - the old memory doesn't stay the same.

每当我这样做时，新的记忆就会变得更牢固，而旧的记忆则会变得更模糊。我重申一遍——旧的记忆不会保持原样。

It actually gets weaker. This phenomenon is called Retrieval-Induced Forgetting.

它实际上会逐渐淡化。这种现象被称为提取诱发遗忘。

It happens when there are two or more memories competing with each others.

当两个或多个记忆相互竞争时，就会发生这种情况。

It's a phenomenon where retrieving one memory makes us forget other memories. This is why you have to be careful when fixing a mistake.

这是一种提取某个记忆会导致我们遗忘其他记忆的现象。这就是为什么在纠正错误时必须小心谨慎。

If you accidentally repeat the mistake, it'll strengthen the old habit and weaken the correction that you're trying to make, making the problem worse.

如果你不小心重复了错误，它会强化旧习惯，削弱你试图纠正的效果，使问题变得更糟。

So that's the first thing to keep in mind. You have to repeat, repeat, and repeat.

首先要记住的是：你必须重复、重复、再重复。

This sounds good in theory. But in practice, there's huge problem with repetition.

理论上这听起来不错，但在实践中，重复会带来很大的问题。

So what's the problem with repetition? Well, it takes a tremendous amount of time.

重复的问题是什么呢？因为它会耗费大量的时间。

Fixing just one mistake requires a lot of repetition. Who has time for that?

仅仅纠正一个错误就需要大量的重复。谁有时间呢？

After all, you probably have lot of mistakes to eliminate. So what can you do?

毕竟，你可能有很多错误需要纠正。那么，你该怎么办呢？

Fortunately, there's a technique that you can use to speed up the process. And that is exaggeration.

幸运的是，有一种技巧可以加快这个过程。那就是夸张。

Going back to our previous example, suppose I pronounce this word as pogam. That's incorrect because the R sound is missing.

回到之前的例子，假设我把这个词读成pogam。这是错误的，因为缺少了R音。

If I want to fix this mistake quickly, I will exaggerate the R sound. PRogRam pRogRam pRogRam.

如果我想快速纠正这个错误，我会把R音夸张一下。

Here's another example: Let's say I pronounce this word as "banana". This is incorrect because I don't stress the second syllable.

再举个例子：假设我把这个词读成“banana”。这是错误的，因为我没有重读第二个音节。

So to fix this, I will stress the second syllable real hard. BaNAna baNAna.

为了解决这个问题，我会用力重读第二个音节。

This sounds silly but you will not believe how much faster your pronunciation will improve when you exaggerate.

这听起来很傻，但你绝对想不到，当你夸张发音时，你的发音进步得有多快。

But how does this technique help you improve your pronunciation faster?

但是，这种技巧是如何帮助你更快提高发音的呢？

Well, one of the reasons that we mispronounce words is that we replace certain sounds with other sounds that are easier to say.

我们读错单词的原因之一，是我们会用更容易发音的其他音来替代。

So a non-native speaker might pronounce this word as "taught" instead of "thought". We also tend ignore certain sounds.

非母语人士可能会把这个词读成“taught”而不是“thought”。我们也倾向于忽略某些发音。

So we might pronounce this word as hoss instead of horse. This is because the brain is lazy. It has the tendency to pronounce words in the easiest way possible.

我们可能会把这个词读成“hoss”而不是“horse”。这是因为大脑很懒惰。它倾向于用最简单的方式发音。

But when you exaggerate, you're telling your lazy brain that the sounds being exaggerating are important.

但是，当你夸张发音时，你就是在告诉你懒惰的大脑，被夸张的发音很重要。

You're basically telling your brain, "Hey, these sounds are important. Do not ignore them." So you when speak normally, you will sound much clearer.

你实际上是在告诉你的大脑：“这些声音很重要。别忽略它们。”当你正常说话时，声音会清晰得多。

But that's not all. When you exaggerate, you're strengthening the muscles involved in speaking, especially your tongue muscles.

但这还不是全部。当你夸张说话时，你正在强化与说话相关的肌肉，尤其是舌头肌肉。

This is a huge benefit because if those muscles are strong, you will speak much clearer.

这是一个巨大的好处，因为如果那些肌肉强壮，你说话会清晰得多。

So to summarize: There are two things that you can do to quickly and permanently improve your pronunciation.

总结一下：有两件事可以快速且持久地改善发音。

Number one: You can use repetition to break bad speaking habits and replace them with good ones.

第一：你可以用重复来改掉不好的说话习惯，并用好习惯取而代之。

Number two: You can speed up the process by exaggerating everything that should be exaggerated.

第二：你可以通过夸张所有应该夸张的部分来加快进程。

来源：英语东