Pronounciation

[NanakiXIII]

I've some trouble with how to pronounce things, mainly with which syllable to stress in names and such. Are there rules to that?

Also I noticed that in some words (Romaji) sometimes there are unpronounced vowels. Any rules about that?

 

[Glenn]

About the names, even in the dictionary there isn't any guide to pronunciation of names, so you kind of have to go with what you've heard.

For the vowels, u and i tend to be whispered when they are on an unstressed syllable. However, I have heard that this occurs mostly in Kantou, and that you will always be understood if you actually pronounce them.

 

[NanakiXIII]

I see. Does it matter much if you stress the wrong syllable in a name?

What is Kantou?

Thank you.

 

[Glenn]

I see. Does it matter much if you stress the wrong syllable in a name?

What is Kantou?

Thank you.

Well, they may not understand that you are saying their name. Other than that I guess it would just sound unnatural.

Sorry, I was posting in a hurry earlier. Kantou is a region in eastern Japan that includes Tokyo and Yokohama, and its inhabitants for the most part speak the standard dialect of Japanese (the one with which everyone starts learning).

 

[Sariki-san]

ummmm. i am tring to think about that one. as far as i had learned but i dont know. usually when the have a little line over the letter you stress it.

 

[NanakiXIII]

Thanks, Glenn.

I've never seen any lines over letters, though, Sariki-san.

For the vowels, u and i tend to be whispered when they are on an unstressed syllable.

But not always, right? Are there specific rules or do you just have to know the word/have a feel for the language?

 

[Glenn]

As far as I know it can be done any time they fall on an unstressed syllable, and you can check pronunciations in the dictionary. But definitely having a feel for the language and experience with certain words that behave in that manner helps a lot. Also, when you do whisper them you should have your mouth in position to actually pronounce them, so maybe it would be better for a beginner to actually pronounce them, and then try to imitate native speakers.

 

[NanakiXIII]

Thanks again, Glenn.

 

[Elizabeth]

There is absolutely no way you're going to be able to approximate sounds from one language to another, particularly over the Internet. The optimal strategy would be repeated practice with a recording of all 46 sounds + their combinations and derivatives, if that's at all possible.

But as long as we're on the topic, which unpronounced vowels are you referring to in particular, Nanakixiii ? Enlongated vowels (although some people treat them more sequentially) such as ii or ei ? 'U' in the syllable 'su' before 'k' (sukoshi) or at the end of 'desu' and 'masu' ? 'I' as it appears in the syllables 'shi, chi, hi, ki, t, tsu' ? before certain consonants ? Those are the main ones I can think of that tend to be unvoiced or whispered.


Another pronunciation question | Japan Forum

 

[sugarbasil]

Since there's already a post on this, is there anyway you know which vowel to stress without a stressor or any indication on it? My books don't have that. Is it like spanish where, unless it has un accento on it, the 2nd to last vowel is stressed? I always kinda thought in Japanese it was the first vowel for most cases. I could never figure it out. Like the word subaru (I do know how to say it because it's the name of a car ;P, but just as an example), would you say sUbaru or subAru? I dunno... the books never told me that. XD

 

[Glenn]

For most words you can just look them up in the dictionary, and the number at the end of the word will tell you which syllable to accent. If the number is zero, then there is no accent, which means that the following case particle will be high in pitch. If there are two numbers, then either is acceptable.

Here is an example using the word 合体 from the 大辞林. As you can see, it has no accent fall, so any case particle that follows (e.g. 合体が) will be pronounced with a high pitch.

 

[Elizabeth]

ummmm. i am tring to think about that one. as far as i had learned but i dont know. usually when the have a little line over the letter you stress it.

The line is a stylistic convention usually signifying a long vowel sound or combination, not that accented syllables are held longer or made louder as stress would be shown in English. It's more a matter of determining the rhythm and pitch accent (high, low or neutral) for a word which again simply requires heavy listening and attempted emulation. Japanese is actually a relatively easy language pronouncation-wise, so no need to memorize the dictionary (I've don't even have one with accent marks). It should come fairly naturally with enough exposure, and mostly from context since so many words are and sound alike.