花錢跟海岸有什麼關係？稱讚朋友很勇敢，他卻認為我在說他頭很禿？怎麼會這樣呢？
自從下決心要學好英語，說上一口女王的英文後，就開始更積極的勤讀英文，閱讀報章雜誌﹑看電視﹑聽廣播﹑上bbc英文學習網站﹑去朋友那裡矯正發音。為了掌握瞭解正確的發音，常常一個人口中唸唸有詞，或把先生拖到鏡前，要他做示範，努力地觀看他嘴型的變化，當然先生更無時不刻地矯正我所犯的文法或發音的錯誤。所以當同事提到她先生覺得我英文進步許多，發音較清晰多了，可以輕易瞭解我在說什麼。心中稍感些欣慰，不枉這陣子的努力。
但是我欣慰之情，並沒有維持太久。當我跟朋友說某事很花錢，朋友一臉納悶，待我重複多次，他才瞭解我在表達什麼，原來他聽到的是「coast」（海岸），而不是「cost」（花錢）。半小時前從同事那裡得到的肯定與信心，頓然消逝不見，取代的是很深的挫敗感！
啊！我又把短音的 /ɔ/，發成雙母音的/əu/。〝cost〞的o發音應該是 /ɔ/，短母音，類似漢語的ㄛ音；而〝coast〞的o因為後面連接a，所以發音為 /əu/ 類似〝ㄡ〞。
我除了/ɔ/ /əu/不分外，更常把/ɔ：/，類似ㄛ但為長母音，發成/əu/。這三個音我之前搞不懂它們的差別在哪兒，任憑周遭的人拼命的教我，我有時可以說對，有時卻錯誤連連，連我那演講專家的友人也搞不清楚是怎麼一回事，為什麼有時我可以念對，有時卻抓不到訣竅。所以當我說moaning 是跟morning是一樣，更別說當我稱讚友人很勇敢(bold)，他卻以為我在批評他頭很禿(bald)，意外引起一陣尷尬！
為了清楚區分它們之間的差異，我上網搜尋相關網站，最後終於在BBC的英文學習網站找到答案。在弄懂音標符號及多次的凝聽與練習，我才終於搞清楚它們之間的不同。也恍然大悟瞭解我為何會把〝cost〞唸成〝coast〞，在漢語裡ㄎ與ㄛ並沒有連合在一起，所以我自然發成〝ㄎㄡ〞，而不是〝ㄎㄛ〞。再加上漢語沒有長短母音之分，所以我老是會將英語的短母音拉長發，難怪我會把/ɔ/ /əu/ /ɔ：/ 這三個音混在一起，搞得自己跟英國佬都不清楚我到底在說什麼？
在BBC的英文學習網中的發音一欄，unit 3 是長母音 /ɔ：/ 跟雙母音 /əu/ 的比較，而unit 5則是短母音 /ɔ/ 跟雙母音 /əu/ 的比較。若你也跟我有同樣的困擾，不妨上去它的網站去瞧一瞧。
以下的資料是從 “Sounds like Sense”此書是一位住在紐西蘭的修女所編撰
短母音 /ɔ/
Cobble, squabble; lock,
smock; cod, rod; off, scoff; lodge, dodge; doll, knoll; bomb, from; bond, wand; hop, flop; horrid, forehead; cost, tossed; cot, dot; ox, fox; novel, hovel; because, oz; of, hover.
When the bomb went off, Tom’s box of oranges shot over the
top of the monument and lots of oranges dropped from above.
The Wizard of Oz squabble with Dr Dolittle because Oz
wandered on to Dolittle’s Island and scoffed at it.
The doll’s forehead was squashed when Dorothy dropped it
from the top of the concrete office block.
O watch that old fox as he skulks through the warren,
He longs for a rabbit for tea;
But the rabbits have gone to Pollocky Hollow,
And the fox is as cross as can be.
長母音 /ɔ：/
saw, law; orb,
daub; talk, walk; board, cord; torch, porch; all, maul; lawn, fawn; cause, pause; fought, caught; horse, course.
The horse shied when he saw the fawn walking jauntily around
the race course.
Paul held the chalk high while Saul daubed the patch on the
wall with chalk.
Flora used strong cords to tie the oars firmly to the board
on the floor of George’s flat-bottomed.
(資料是從“Tongue and Lip Exercises”由Jeffrey
du Cann Crenfell-Hill)
Across the lawn the dawn made the small stalks shine
And we talked of salty sauces as we walked along.
The walnut trees beside the wall all looked false in the
dawn;
So we halted in our walk and saw the walnuts fall on the
lawn in the dawn.
There were small fawns beyond the wall in the tall, tall
grass.
All the morning in the dawning
We listened to the cawing from the walnuts trees;
And allthat morn in the dawn the small fawns sauntered.
雙母音 /əU/
go, sow; lobe,
lobe, globe; road, showed; oaf, loaf; token, broken; bowl, goal; comb, Rome; hope, soap; close, toes; tone, bone; boat, wrote; clove, rove; hoax,
pokes
Rona put soap in the loaf instead of margarine and hoped
that no one would notice…but she hoped in vain!
Tony drove Joan past his home and told her he hoped that she
would stroll round his grounds with him one day.
Joe rode his pony over to the Show grounds where a Rodeo was
in progress
