Name: Anonymous 2008-10-10 8:52
I know many people take Japanese now, and are used to hearing it from their
subtitled DVDs and such, but when I was growing up in America, there were many
people who couldn't say anything right ever. "Ryuu" (the character from "Street
Fighter") became "RYE-you," and his famous "Shouryuuken" move became all sorts
of things--the "All You Can" is my favorite.
Anyway, enough ranting. Japanese is a fairly monotone language filled with
polysyllabic words. Here's how to pronounce the consonants:
"k" = "k" as in "kite." The "k" sound is harshly aspirated in Japanese and
sometimes sounds like a "t" to English speakers because of that. In other
words, a strong puff of air comes from the lungs when saying this often.
"g" = "g" as in "good." This is a voiced "k." Also,
= "ng" as in "fang" when it comes in the middle of a word quite often,
especially in the Tokyo area.
"s" = "s" as in "lapse." The "s" in Japanese is a rather "hard" "s". It's
actually with the tongue pressed up closer to the roof of the mouth than in
English.
= "sh" as in "shape." This occurs before the "i" and "y" sounds.
TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "sh" IN THESE INSTANCES.
"z" = "dz" as in "gadzooks!" The "d" is slight, so often it will sound just
like an English "z;" a voiced "s."
= "j" as in "jam." This occurs before the "i" and "y" sounds.
TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "j" IN THESE INSTANCES.
"t" = "t" as in "top." Actually, this "t" is not heavily aspirated, so it
may sometimes sound like a "k" or a "d" to some English speakers.
= "ch" as in "chopper." Again, not seriously aspirated, this appears only
before the "i" and "y" sounds.
TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "ch" IN THESE INSTANCES.
= "ts" as in "lets" before a "u."
TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "ts" IN THIS INSTANCE.
"d" = "d" as in "don't." A voiced "t."
"n" = ... This is difficult. There are two different sounds written "n" in
Romanised Japanese.
"n" at the beginning of a syllable = "n" as in "not."
"n" by itself is its own syllable; no vowel is needed. This is a different
"letter" in the Japanese writing system, and is similar to the French
"n." In other words, the tongue doesn't touch the roof of the mouth and
a nasal sound is produced.
Before "p," "b," and "m," the lips close and this sound comes out like
an "m."
TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "n'" IF IT COMES BEFORE A VOWEL AND
SHOULD BE PRONOUNCED AS THE "FRENCH 'N'." ALSO, I SHALL WRITE IT AS "m"
BEFORE LABIAL SOUNDS.
"h" = "h" as in "hat." This is actually a "hard h;" the tongue is, again,
raised up agains the roof of the mouth (farther back than the "s") and the
air almost hisses out.
= "f" as in.... Well, our "f" is just an approximation. When the lips
are pursed for "u," the air puffs out and sounds like an "f." The lip should
not touch the teeth, generally. This occurs only before the "u" sound.
TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "f" IN THIS INSTANCE.
"b" = "b" as in "boy."
"p" = "p" as in "pad."
"m" = "m" as in "map."
"y" = "y" as in "you." Not that this comes right after other consonants
frequently and should be pronounced the same but with the other consonant
attached to its front; NOT AS ANOTHER SYLLABLE. For example, "kyuu" is
not "KYE-you" or something like that; it's more like "Q" as in "the letter
'Q.'"
"r" = ... Well, unfortunately, this one's a bit tricky. The tongue generally
flaps against the raised ridge behind the front teeth on the roof of the mouth
and sounds like the "tt" in "butter" in the middle of words, and comes fully
in contact with them at the beginning of words to make more of a conventional
"l" sound.
"w" = "w" as in "wane."
There are five vowels in Japanese writing:
"a" = "a" as in "father."
"i" = "ee" as in "feet." After a "voiceless" consonant (p, k, etc), the "i"
sound is muted; almost whispered with no voice. To many, it sounds like it
vanishes, but it doesn't completely.
"u" = "oo" as in "loop." Just like "i," after voiceless consonants the "u"
sound seems to vanish, but just gets quite muted and becomes almost voiceless.
"e" = "ay" as in "say," sorta. It's kind of between there and the "e" in "bet."
"o" = "oh" as in "oh, man!"
Vowels are read each after the other (without the gutteral break in "uh-oh!").
This makes pseudo-diphthongs as such:
"ai" = "ah + ee." Sounds similar to "eye."
"au" = "ah + ooh." Sounds similar to "ow" as in "cow."
"ae" = "ah + eh." No equivalent.
"ao" = "ah + oh." No equivalent.
Also, vowels can be lengthened. This means you say the vowel twice (again
without a break); making it last longer. It doesn't mean there's some weird
other sound (such as the difference between long and short vowels in English).
Here is a list of the ways I will lengthen the vowels:
"aa" or "a-"
"ii" or "i-"
"uu" or "u-"
"ei" or "e-" or "ee" Note that "ei" is sometimes pronounced as two "e" sounds
and sometimes as an "e" + "i." The difference is negligable and most Japanese
people wouldn't distinguish it.
"ou" or "o-" or "oh" or "oo" Again, "ou" is sometimes pronounced as two "o"
sounds and someitmes as as "o" + "u." The difference, again, is negligable.
The reason for "oo" to show up is because of the way the word would be written
in Japanese script, usually using the word "big" ("ookii" or "ooi" [rare, but
used as a prefix often].)
In other words, it's not "GOW-key." It's not "GOO-key." It's "GO-key." (the
"Street Fighter" character Gouki, that is.)
Consonants can be lengthened, too. This makes it sound like the word has
stopped and paused for a split second. Hold your mouth in the position of
the consonant. Sometimes it makes it sound a bit more stressed; like the
muscles were more tense than usual in the mouth. This takes a bit of practice
sometimes. Most consonants can do this, and they will be written twice.
Here is a listing of all the syllables that occur in modern Japanese:
a ka sa ta na ha ma ya ra wa ga za da ba pa n(or "m")
i ki shi chi ni hi mi ri gi ji ji bi pi
u ku su tsu nu fu mu yu ru gu zu zu bu pu
e ke se te ne he me re ge ze de be pe
o ko so to no ho mo yo ro wo* go zo do bo po
kya sha cha nya hya mya rya gya ja ja bya pya
kyu shu chu nyu hyu myu ryu gyu ju ju byu pyu
kyo sho cho nyo hyo myo ryo gyo jo jo byo pyo
*--This is really pronounced the same as "o" except by some pre-WWII people.
It's listed here because it's usually used as a "particle word."
"Stressing" syllables should usually only occur with elongated vowels and
syllables starting with a stopped (doubled) consonant. There are some words
that have clear "stress," but many words have none at all.
Lastly, note that I will use an apostrophe to separate sounds that I feel
need to be separated so you can pronounce them correctly. This will probably
only occur with "n" sounds in the middle of words (that's the nasal, solitary
"n" that is its own syllable) and long vowel patterns. For example, "Ma'ou"
should be pronounced "ma + oh (long)"--tho' I'll probably forget the apostrophe
sometimes in this instance. "In'e" should be pronounced "i + n + e;" not "i +
ne."
subtitled DVDs and such, but when I was growing up in America, there were many
people who couldn't say anything right ever. "Ryuu" (the character from "Street
Fighter") became "RYE-you," and his famous "Shouryuuken" move became all sorts
of things--the "All You Can" is my favorite.
Anyway, enough ranting. Japanese is a fairly monotone language filled with
polysyllabic words. Here's how to pronounce the consonants:
"k" = "k" as in "kite." The "k" sound is harshly aspirated in Japanese and
sometimes sounds like a "t" to English speakers because of that. In other
words, a strong puff of air comes from the lungs when saying this often.
"g" = "g" as in "good." This is a voiced "k." Also,
= "ng" as in "fang" when it comes in the middle of a word quite often,
especially in the Tokyo area.
"s" = "s" as in "lapse." The "s" in Japanese is a rather "hard" "s". It's
actually with the tongue pressed up closer to the roof of the mouth than in
English.
= "sh" as in "shape." This occurs before the "i" and "y" sounds.
TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "sh" IN THESE INSTANCES.
"z" = "dz" as in "gadzooks!" The "d" is slight, so often it will sound just
like an English "z;" a voiced "s."
= "j" as in "jam." This occurs before the "i" and "y" sounds.
TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "j" IN THESE INSTANCES.
"t" = "t" as in "top." Actually, this "t" is not heavily aspirated, so it
may sometimes sound like a "k" or a "d" to some English speakers.
= "ch" as in "chopper." Again, not seriously aspirated, this appears only
before the "i" and "y" sounds.
TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "ch" IN THESE INSTANCES.
= "ts" as in "lets" before a "u."
TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "ts" IN THIS INSTANCE.
"d" = "d" as in "don't." A voiced "t."
"n" = ... This is difficult. There are two different sounds written "n" in
Romanised Japanese.
"n" at the beginning of a syllable = "n" as in "not."
"n" by itself is its own syllable; no vowel is needed. This is a different
"letter" in the Japanese writing system, and is similar to the French
"n." In other words, the tongue doesn't touch the roof of the mouth and
a nasal sound is produced.
Before "p," "b," and "m," the lips close and this sound comes out like
an "m."
TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "n'" IF IT COMES BEFORE A VOWEL AND
SHOULD BE PRONOUNCED AS THE "FRENCH 'N'." ALSO, I SHALL WRITE IT AS "m"
BEFORE LABIAL SOUNDS.
"h" = "h" as in "hat." This is actually a "hard h;" the tongue is, again,
raised up agains the roof of the mouth (farther back than the "s") and the
air almost hisses out.
= "f" as in.... Well, our "f" is just an approximation. When the lips
are pursed for "u," the air puffs out and sounds like an "f." The lip should
not touch the teeth, generally. This occurs only before the "u" sound.
TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "f" IN THIS INSTANCE.
"b" = "b" as in "boy."
"p" = "p" as in "pad."
"m" = "m" as in "map."
"y" = "y" as in "you." Not that this comes right after other consonants
frequently and should be pronounced the same but with the other consonant
attached to its front; NOT AS ANOTHER SYLLABLE. For example, "kyuu" is
not "KYE-you" or something like that; it's more like "Q" as in "the letter
'Q.'"
"r" = ... Well, unfortunately, this one's a bit tricky. The tongue generally
flaps against the raised ridge behind the front teeth on the roof of the mouth
and sounds like the "tt" in "butter" in the middle of words, and comes fully
in contact with them at the beginning of words to make more of a conventional
"l" sound.
"w" = "w" as in "wane."
There are five vowels in Japanese writing:
"a" = "a" as in "father."
"i" = "ee" as in "feet." After a "voiceless" consonant (p, k, etc), the "i"
sound is muted; almost whispered with no voice. To many, it sounds like it
vanishes, but it doesn't completely.
"u" = "oo" as in "loop." Just like "i," after voiceless consonants the "u"
sound seems to vanish, but just gets quite muted and becomes almost voiceless.
"e" = "ay" as in "say," sorta. It's kind of between there and the "e" in "bet."
"o" = "oh" as in "oh, man!"
Vowels are read each after the other (without the gutteral break in "uh-oh!").
This makes pseudo-diphthongs as such:
"ai" = "ah + ee." Sounds similar to "eye."
"au" = "ah + ooh." Sounds similar to "ow" as in "cow."
"ae" = "ah + eh." No equivalent.
"ao" = "ah + oh." No equivalent.
Also, vowels can be lengthened. This means you say the vowel twice (again
without a break); making it last longer. It doesn't mean there's some weird
other sound (such as the difference between long and short vowels in English).
Here is a list of the ways I will lengthen the vowels:
"aa" or "a-"
"ii" or "i-"
"uu" or "u-"
"ei" or "e-" or "ee" Note that "ei" is sometimes pronounced as two "e" sounds
and sometimes as an "e" + "i." The difference is negligable and most Japanese
people wouldn't distinguish it.
"ou" or "o-" or "oh" or "oo" Again, "ou" is sometimes pronounced as two "o"
sounds and someitmes as as "o" + "u." The difference, again, is negligable.
The reason for "oo" to show up is because of the way the word would be written
in Japanese script, usually using the word "big" ("ookii" or "ooi" [rare, but
used as a prefix often].)
In other words, it's not "GOW-key." It's not "GOO-key." It's "GO-key." (the
"Street Fighter" character Gouki, that is.)
Consonants can be lengthened, too. This makes it sound like the word has
stopped and paused for a split second. Hold your mouth in the position of
the consonant. Sometimes it makes it sound a bit more stressed; like the
muscles were more tense than usual in the mouth. This takes a bit of practice
sometimes. Most consonants can do this, and they will be written twice.
Here is a listing of all the syllables that occur in modern Japanese:
a ka sa ta na ha ma ya ra wa ga za da ba pa n(or "m")
i ki shi chi ni hi mi ri gi ji ji bi pi
u ku su tsu nu fu mu yu ru gu zu zu bu pu
e ke se te ne he me re ge ze de be pe
o ko so to no ho mo yo ro wo* go zo do bo po
kya sha cha nya hya mya rya gya ja ja bya pya
kyu shu chu nyu hyu myu ryu gyu ju ju byu pyu
kyo sho cho nyo hyo myo ryo gyo jo jo byo pyo
*--This is really pronounced the same as "o" except by some pre-WWII people.
It's listed here because it's usually used as a "particle word."
"Stressing" syllables should usually only occur with elongated vowels and
syllables starting with a stopped (doubled) consonant. There are some words
that have clear "stress," but many words have none at all.
Lastly, note that I will use an apostrophe to separate sounds that I feel
need to be separated so you can pronounce them correctly. This will probably
only occur with "n" sounds in the middle of words (that's the nasal, solitary
"n" that is its own syllable) and long vowel patterns. For example, "Ma'ou"
should be pronounced "ma + oh (long)"--tho' I'll probably forget the apostrophe
sometimes in this instance. "In'e" should be pronounced "i + n + e;" not "i +
ne."