Voiceless whispers

GoldCoinLover · 28 Jan 2006

NOw I understand 'desu' is whispered but what about "Sumimasen"

Here's what it says:

"The unaccented vowels i and u often become voiceless at the end of a sentence when sandwiched between voiceless consonats like k, s, t, or h. So in the correct pronunciation of Dooitashima****e, the underlined shi is "whispered."

I didn't know this. How often is this used? Why are the "K, s, t' or h" consoants voiceless? The "I am yan san" video never mentions how to prounce it like this.
What are consoants? WHat are the vowels "a e i o u"?

TronDD · 28 Jan 2006

Vowels are a,e,i,o,u, everything else is a consonant. Voiced/voiceless, refers to vibration of the vocal chords when making the sound. Pronounce 's' and 'z'. They both have the same mouth movements/shape but with a 'z' you vibrate your vocal chords.

's' is unvoiced, 'z' is voiced
'k' is unvoiced, 'g' is voiced
't' is unvoiced, 'd' is voiced
-note that these letters in Japanese Kana take the unvoiced character and just add the " looking part to change the sound.
か－が
さ－ざ
た－だ

I think what the lesson you are referring to is that sometimes vowels are not strongly pronounced (they call it whispered, I guess). "douitashimashita' sounds like 'douitashimashta' Not the missing 'i' near the end.

Similarly, 'desu' sounds like 'des'.

When you speak the words at a normal pace, it makes sense. It really feels odd to pronounce the vowels in those places.

'sumimasen' is fully pronounced, 'm' and 'n' are voiced so there are no vowels between unvoiced consonants.

GoldCoinLover · 28 Jan 2006

TronDD said:
Vowels are a,e,i,o,u, everything else is a consonant. Voiced/voiceless, refers to vibration of the vocal chords when making the sound. Pronounce 's' and 'z'. They both have the same mouth movements/shape but with a 'z' you vibrate your vocal chords.
's' is unvoiced, 'z' is voiced
'k' is unvoiced, 'g' is voiced
't' is unvoiced, 'd' is voiced
-note that these letters in Japanese Kana take the unvoiced character and just add the " looking part to change the sound.
窶堋ｩﾂﾂ−ﾂ窶堋ｪ
窶堋ｳﾂﾂ−ﾂ窶堋ｴ
窶堋ｽﾂﾂ−窶堋ｾ
I think what the lesson you are refering to is that sometimes vowels are not strongly pronounced (they call it whipered, I guess). "douitashimashita' sounds like 'douitashimashta' Not the missing 'i' near the end.
Similarly, 'desu' sounds like 'des'.
When you speak the words at a normal pace, it makes sense. It really feels odd to pronounce the vowels in those places.
'sumimasen' is fully pronounced, 'm' and 'n' are voiced so there are no vowels between unvoiced consonents.

What about wakarimasu?

I prounuced this to a naitve japanese speaker and they got completely confused.

And I said "Eigo wakarimasu?"

And they still didn't understand what I was saying.

MeAndroo · 28 Jan 2006

TronDD said:
'sumimasen' is fully pronounced, 'm' and 'n' are voiced so there are no vowels between unvoiced consonents.

Even though 90% of the time it comes out "suimase~n"

TronDD · 28 Jan 2006

Pronounced like 'wakarimas', provided you are pronouncing all the other sounds correctly.

I wouldn't really worry about "whispered" vowels yet. If you pronounce the vowel, you'll be understood.

TronDD · 28 Jan 2006

MeAndroo said:
Even though 90% of the time it comes out "suimase~n"

Uhhh...yes, it does, doesn't it. Chaulk that one up to lazy tongues.

Voiceless whispers

GoldCoinLover

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TronDD

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GoldCoinLover

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MeAndroo

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TronDD

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TronDD

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