because it means that you should be able to hear and pronounce the Japanese sounds clearly and easily.
Look at the photographs below and pay special attention to how the words are formed with the mouth.
As you listen to the CD, pay attention to the slight differences from the English short vowel sounds that you’re used to.
THE LONG VOWEL SOUNDS
In addition to the five short vowel sounds, Japanese contains five double vowels or long vowel sounds, each of which is twice as long as the equivalent short vowel. In this book, a long vowel is shown with a long macron or dash mark ( – ) over the letter—except for the long i sound which is written ii.
| ā | ah | obāsan (grandmother) | → | o ba a sa n (5 syllables) | |
| ii | ee | iie (no) | → | i i e (3 syllables) | |
| ū | oo | fūsen (balloon) | → | fu u se n (4 syllables) | |
| ē | eh | onēsan (elder sister) | → | o ne e sa n (5 syllables) | |
| ō | oh | sōko (warehouse) | → | so o ko (3 syllables) |
It is important to take care when pronouncing long vowels since a long vowel can change the meaning of a word completely. For example, if obāsan is pronounced with a short vowel instead of a long vowel, the meaning changes from “grandmother” to “aunt.” More drastically, if a wife talks of her shujin, she means her “husband,” but if the word is pronounced with a long vowel, shūjin, she will end up talking about her “prisoner.” So, before pronouncing a word, always pay attention to whether it has a short or a long vowel.
THE VOICELESS VOWEL SOUNDS
Linguists talk about two kinds of sounds in the languages we speak: “voiced” sounds make your vocal cords vibrate, and “voiceless” sounds don’t. To understand this idea physically, place your hand under your chin, against your neck, over your vocal cords, then say a voiced sound like “g”. You’ll feel your vocal cords vibrate. Now say a voiceless sound like “t”. You’ll see that the difference is that the “g” sound is produced by vibrating the vocal cords—this is called a voiced sound.
In Japanese, certain vowels are voiced, but there are a few that are voiceless:
1. When the Japanese vowel i or u is used between two voiceless consonants, namely k, p, s(sh), h(f), or t(ts), it is generally voiceless too. And being voiceless makes the vowel very soft and difficult to hear when spoken quickly, just as certain sounds are in English contractions—for example, “can’t” for “cannot.”
The voiceless vowels are underlined in the following examples.
hito (person)
kusuri (medicine)
shitsumon (question)
tsukue (desk)
pittari (exactly)
ongakuka (musician)
sushi (a Japanese food)
2. The final letter “u” in desu and -masu is usually voiceless also. Again, that makes it almost seem as though the vowel is silent, and in rapid speech it is omitted altogether.
| Okane desu. | “It’s money.” |
| Kōhii ga hoshii desu. | “I want coffee.” |
| Wakarimasu. | “I understand.” |
| Arigatō gozaimasu. | “Thank you very much.” |
Saying Double Consonant Sounds
Double consonants such as kk, pp, ss, or tt are pronounced with a slight pause between the first and second consonant sound, the same way as when the same sound occurs at the end of a word and beginning of the next word in English—as in “hot tea” or “red door.”
Pronounce the first consonant along with the preceding vowel, and then hesitate for a split second before pronouncing the second consonant so that two distinct syllables are formed; e.g.:
| gakkō | school | |
| kippu | ticket | |
| zasshi | magazine | |
| kitte | stamps | |
| matchi | matches, etc. |
Note that the double consonant form of “ch” is written “tch,” not “cch” as you might expect.
Tips for Learning New Words and Sentences
1. PRONOUNCING NEW WORDS
Japanese words, remember, are pronounced very clearly, one syllable at a time, with equal stress placed on each syllable.
Let’s divide the following words into syllables and then pronounce them distinctly. Read the word several times until you can say it smoothly.
| First say: | Then say: | … | |||
| niku (meat) | → | ni ku | → | niku | |
| shizuka(quiet) | → | shi zu ka | → | shizuka | |
| atatakai (warm) | → | a ta ta ka i | → | atatakai | |
| kyōdai (sibling) | → | kyo o da i | → | kyō dai | |
| → | kyōdai | ||||
| oyasumi nasai | → | o ya su mi na sa i | → | oyasumi nasai | |
| → | oyasuminasai (good night) |
To help you properly pronounce the consonant n (the final sound of the Gōjuonzu chart back on page 1) or the first letter of double consonants, you can consider it part of the preceding syllable. Try it with these words:
| First say: | Then say: | … | |||
| onna (woman) | → | on na | → | onna | |
| densha (electric train) | → | den sha | → | densha | |
| motto (more) | → | mot to | → | motto | |
| irasshaimase (welcome) | → | iras shai mase | → | irasshai mase | |
| → | irasshaimase |
In this book, when n falls before a vowel or y falls within a word, an apostrophe (’) will be used after n to help you know the correct syllable breaks. Because once again, if you pronounce a word inaccurately, sometimes you’ll accidentally be saying a different word.
| First say: | Then say: | |||
| kin’en (no smoking) | → | ki n e n | → | kin’en |
| kinen (memory) | → | ki ne n | → | kinen |
| ten’in (salesclerk) | → | te n i n | → | ten’in |
| kon’yaku (marriage engagement) | → | ko n ya ku | → | kon’yaku |
2. USING THE RIGHT PHRASING WHEN LEARNING NEW SENTENCES It is easier to speak and to listen—whether in Japanese or English—if you pronounce a sentence clearly with a few pauses. When you learn to pronounce a new sentence, pause just a little after its particles (such as wa, ga, o, ni, e, de, and kara) and its conjunctions (such as soshite). Notice where the pauses fall in these sentences:
Boku wa Amerikajin da.
I’m // an American.
Nihonjin wa ohashi de gohan o taberu.
Japanese people // eat // a meal // with chopsticks.
Koko kara totemo chikai.
It’s // very close // from here.
Obasan ni kurisumasu kādo o okutta.
I sent // the Christmas card // to my aunt.