Golgo_13
先輩
- 27 Nov 2003
- 1,887
- 37
- 58
Pronouncing the L sound has traditionally been very difficult for many Japanese simply because the sound does not exist in the Japanese language and also because the instructors in middle and high schools who are native Japanese cannot pronounce the sound very well themselves. In the past, any one of the Japanese ra, ri, ru, re, ro sounds has been used to pronounce the L.
E.g., lemon = remon, McDonald = Makudonarudo, Blue Light Yokohama = Buruu Raito Yokohama, etc.
What is most difficult for the Japanese to pronounce, however, is when the letter L is the last consonant pronounced in an English word, e.g., apple, nickel, beautiful, etc.
In the past, the Japanese pronounced these words as appuru, nikkeru, or byuutifuru.
However, what I've noticed as a recent trend is to NOT pronounce the letter L as a consonant but instead pronounce it as the vowel "u". In other words,
apple is now taught to be pronounced "appou", unbelievable is pronounced "anbiriibabou", and the Spanish/Portuguese surname "Silva" is pronounced "Shi'uba". I have seen these words written out in katakana in such new pronunciations in various forms of the printed media.
The problem with this new practice is, it doesn't help the situation any. If the word "apple" is now pronounced "appou" instead of the traditional "appuru," it's still no closer to the proper English pronunciation. If such a poorly-taught Japanese attempts to communicate with an English speaker, he would be MORE likely to not be understood because each Japanese sound is very clear and distinctive so a word pronounced as appo'u would make no sense to an English speaker.
Further, if students are taught to pronouce all words ending with an L instead with a vowel "u" they would probably become confused because some words will continue to be pronounced as:
Michael Jackson = Maikeru Jakuson,
double play = daburu purei, and
final round = fainaru raundo
Pronunciation cannot be learned from reading a textbook. The only way to teach how to produce proper English sounds is by hiring enough teachers who are native English speakers. UNtil then, I'd say don't try to fix something if it ain't broke.
I teach the "L" sound by impressing upon the [Japanese] student that words/sounds do not always end with a vowel as in Japanese. The "L" isn't la, li, lu, le, lo. It's just "L"--I have him/her place the tip of the tongue behind the front teeth and just make the "LLLLLLLL" sound without any vowels attached. Once he can do that, I'll have him say "ap" or "sing" then ad the "LLL" to it to form the sounds "apple" or "single."
Many of you here are in Japan teaching English. I welcome your comments.
E.g., lemon = remon, McDonald = Makudonarudo, Blue Light Yokohama = Buruu Raito Yokohama, etc.
What is most difficult for the Japanese to pronounce, however, is when the letter L is the last consonant pronounced in an English word, e.g., apple, nickel, beautiful, etc.
In the past, the Japanese pronounced these words as appuru, nikkeru, or byuutifuru.
However, what I've noticed as a recent trend is to NOT pronounce the letter L as a consonant but instead pronounce it as the vowel "u". In other words,
apple is now taught to be pronounced "appou", unbelievable is pronounced "anbiriibabou", and the Spanish/Portuguese surname "Silva" is pronounced "Shi'uba". I have seen these words written out in katakana in such new pronunciations in various forms of the printed media.
The problem with this new practice is, it doesn't help the situation any. If the word "apple" is now pronounced "appou" instead of the traditional "appuru," it's still no closer to the proper English pronunciation. If such a poorly-taught Japanese attempts to communicate with an English speaker, he would be MORE likely to not be understood because each Japanese sound is very clear and distinctive so a word pronounced as appo'u would make no sense to an English speaker.
Further, if students are taught to pronouce all words ending with an L instead with a vowel "u" they would probably become confused because some words will continue to be pronounced as:
Michael Jackson = Maikeru Jakuson,
double play = daburu purei, and
final round = fainaru raundo
Pronunciation cannot be learned from reading a textbook. The only way to teach how to produce proper English sounds is by hiring enough teachers who are native English speakers. UNtil then, I'd say don't try to fix something if it ain't broke.
I teach the "L" sound by impressing upon the [Japanese] student that words/sounds do not always end with a vowel as in Japanese. The "L" isn't la, li, lu, le, lo. It's just "L"--I have him/her place the tip of the tongue behind the front teeth and just make the "LLLLLLLL" sound without any vowels attached. Once he can do that, I'll have him say "ap" or "sing" then ad the "LLL" to it to form the sounds "apple" or "single."
Many of you here are in Japan teaching English. I welcome your comments.