Hi, I have some questions about Japanese vowel pronunciation. If the pronunciations I'm asking about vary amongst native speakers, please assume a "good" accent that a learner should try to emulate.
1. My textbook says that when two or more vowels come together they should simply be pronounced with their usual values, except that えい is often pronounced as ええ, and おう is often pronounced as おお. Would you agree with that so far?
I don't think I have a terribly good ear for these things, but sometimes it seems to me that うう is not exactly like う + う. Am I mishearing?
(When I write うう, I'm including the cases when the first vowel is part of another syllable, as in しゅう, for example. The same goes for the other vowel combinations.)
2. In a "おお word", like とおり for example, is the hiragana "spelling" just a convention, or a historical legacy, or an accurate indication that the word definitely should not be pronounced as とうり?
3. If said in isolation, with no tempo reference, is きい (for example) distinguishable from き, and if so, how? Is there a noticeable hiatus between the vowels?
1. My textbook says that when two or more vowels come together they should simply be pronounced with their usual values, except that えい is often pronounced as ええ, and おう is often pronounced as おお. Would you agree with that so far?
I don't think I have a terribly good ear for these things, but sometimes it seems to me that うう is not exactly like う + う. Am I mishearing?
(When I write うう, I'm including the cases when the first vowel is part of another syllable, as in しゅう, for example. The same goes for the other vowel combinations.)
2. In a "おお word", like とおり for example, is the hiragana "spelling" just a convention, or a historical legacy, or an accurate indication that the word definitely should not be pronounced as とうり?
3. If said in isolation, with no tempo reference, is きい (for example) distinguishable from き, and if so, how? Is there a noticeable hiatus between the vowels?