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Queen's English refers to standard British English, and it can be further defined as the standard pronunciation and intonation of British English. Its opposite is American English. |
英語普通話是指標準的英國英語，進而可被定義為標準的英語語音和語調，與其相對立的是美國英語。 |
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Mandarin as the standard Chinese pronunciation has already been accepted widely and advocated throughout China. However, as its counterpart, Queen's English is still little known and never promoted in China, where English has been designated as the first foreign language and a compulsory subject for all students in primary and secondary schools and even universities. In fact, students learning English nowadays in China basically have no concept of what Queen's English is and how it differs from the American version. |
漢語普通話作為標準的漢語發音，在中國已得到普遍推廣，并已在全國范圍內得以公認。然而，作為與漢語普通話有同等地位的英語普通話，其知之者卻甚少，并從未在中國得以推廣，盡管在中國英語已被指定為大、中、小學的第一外語和必修課。實際上，今天學習英語的中國學生根本不知道什么是英語普通話，也不知道英語和美語究竟有何不同。 |
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As is known to us all, mandarin originates from the dialect spoken in northern China and is based on the Beijing accent. In analogy, Queen's English originates from England and is based on the educated London accent. American English is derived from Queen's English. In China, only mandarin is accepted as the standard Chinese pronunciation. But as to the standard English pronunciation, some students would think it must be the American version. |
眾所周知，漢語普通話源于中國北方方言，以北京口音為基礎。同漢語普通話一樣，英語普通話源于英國，以倫敦口音為基礎，而美國英語是從英語派生出來的，屬于英語的音系分支。在中國，只有普通話被視為標準的漢語發音，但對于標準的英語發音，許多英語學習者甚至會認為是美語。 |
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The Chinese government has been trying to popularize mandarin across the country in the past five decades, because there are 56 ethnic groups in China who speak different languages, and Chinese language alone is spoken in seven main dialects, each of which, in turn, has several local varieties. This has caused great misunderstandings and difficulties for people to communicate in their daily life. The same situation exists in the English-speaking world, where native speakers of English from different parts of the world speak different forms of the language. Even in London, people from the western part sometimes find it difficult to understand the people from the eastern part. Therefore, for a better understanding among the people who speak different forms of English, it is highly necessary to uphold Queen's English as the standard pronunciation in not only the English-speaking countries but the other parts of the world as well. |
在過去的五十年中，中國政府一直在大力推廣漢語普通話，因為中國有56個說不同方言的民族，僅漢語就有七大語系，各語系自身也極具變化，這給人們的日常生活和交流帶來極大不便。同樣的問題在英語世界亦廣泛存在，來自不同英語國家的人們用不同的英語口音講話。即使在倫敦，東西部之間的人也時常會有交流的困難。所以，為使講不同英語口音的人們能夠無障礙地交流，在英語國家里以及世界其它地區都十分有必要倡導英語普通話。 |
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The English pronunciation varies mainly in the sound of vowels, while the consonants are pronounced in very much the same way wherever English is spoken. A language is first of all to be spoken. Good pronunciation comes from a good command of phonetics. In order to standardize pronunciation of vowels, phoneticians invented a diagram illustrating the side view of oral cavity and showing clearly the pronouncing positions of different vowels. Queen's English also serves as the foundation of the International Phonetic Alphabet promulgated by the International Pronunciation Association (IPA) established in 1886. |
英語口音的不同主要體現在元音上，而輔音的發音在世界各地都大致相同。語言首先是用來說話的，好的發音源自對音標的良好掌握。為了規范元音的發音，語言學家發明了語音圖，即語音口腔剖面圖，使看不見、摸不著的不同元音有了明確的發音定位。國際語音協會于1886年成立，其制定的國際音標也是以標準英語，即英語普通話為基礎的。 |
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For about 50 years, until the end of last century, teachers and students of English in China regarded Queen's English as the sole standard, and the IPA was a compulsory course in schools and an independent item for the annual national university entrance English examinations. In the 1970s, China imported the "Linguaphone English Course" with sound effect, and in the 1980s followed this with the introduction of the "Follow Me" TV English teaching program and the "New Concept English Course" with tape-recordings. The oral standard and elegant Queen's English courses have helped at least two generations of Chinese learners of English develop the basic skills of English pronunciation. |
直到上世紀末，大約五十年以來，中國的英語老師和學生都把以國際音標為依據的英語普通話視為英語的唯一標準。國際音標是學校的必修課，也曾是高考英語試卷中不可缺少的內容。在上世紀七十年代，中國引進了《靈格風英語教程》，八十年代引進了《跟我學》電視英語以及至今仍十分流行的《新概念英語》。通過這些標準優雅的英語普通話的學習，至少有兩代中國學習者掌握了基本的英語發音。 |
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However, along with introduction of the US TOEFL course into China in the late 1980s, Queen's English gradually lost its dominant position. Consequently, more and more students nowadays never stop complaining that English has no unified standard and different teachers teach different forms of English, which dampens students’ interest in learning the language and in a certain sense damages the teachers’ image in the hearts of their students. |
然而，在上世紀八十年代末，隨著美國托?？荚囅到y的引進，英語普通話逐漸喪失了其在教與學中的主導地位，最終導致今天越來越多的學生抱怨英語沒有標準，不同的老師講不同口音的英語。這不僅極大降低了學生們學習的興趣，也影響了老師在學生心目中的形象。 |
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Although different Chinese teachers may pronounce Chinese differently, few students complain that there is no standard pronunciation. That is because most Chinese people know very well what the standard is and they can easily consult dictionaries whenever they are uncertain about the pronunciation of a particular word. Within a Chinese dictionary every word is marked with the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, which is the only standard for Chinese people to follow. |
雖然不同的漢語老師也講不同口音的漢語，但卻沒有學生抱怨漢語沒有標準，因為中國人都知道漢語的標準是什么。當他們對一個字的發音感到不確定時，可隨時查字典找標準。在漢語字典里，每個字都有明確的拼音標識，這是漢語的唯一標準。 |
