How to pronounce names like Yusuke and Sasuke?

[N3098]

Whenever I watch anime, there are names like Yusuke and Sasuke that have the second 'u' silenced. It's as if they are pronounced like 'yous-keh' and 'sahs-keh' respectively. Why is that so?

 

[nice gaijin]

The short answer is there is a phonological rule in Japanese, that when a high vowel, /i/ or /u/, is sandwiched between two unvoiced consonants such as /s/, /k/, /t/, /ts/, /sh/, etc, it becomes devoiced. Yusuke and Sasuke both meet this condition, so the u is not voiced.

You can search through the board for "devoicing" or "muted" for more threads that talk about these things

 

[N3098]

The short answer is there is a phonological rule in Japanese, that when a high vowel, /i/ or /u/, is sandwiched between two unvoiced consonants such as /s/, /k/, /t/, /ts/, /sh/, etc, it becomes devoiced. Yusuke and Sasuke both meet this condition, so the u is not voiced.

You can search through the board for "devoicing" or "muted" for more threads that talk about these things

Thanks!