 |
 |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
In this issue we
present some information and teaching points to help you teach
your students natural Japanese pronunciation. In our online
version of this issue we have included sound fi les which contain
a spoken version of the example words and sentences which follow.
This icon indicates a sound file. Click on it to hear the examples. |
| |
|
| |
 |
| |
How would you divide the following into syllables?
........ndandandandandandanda...
An English speaker might divide it into 'dan-dan-dan-', 'and-and-and-'
or 'an-dand-an-dand', and an African language speaker might
divide it into ?nda-nda-nda?. Japanese speakers would probably
just divide it into 'dan-dan-dan'. Syllables are created differently
depending on the language. The Japanese pronunciation system
is not as complicated as that of English and the pronunciation
unit of the Japanese language basically consists of a consonant
followed by a vowel.
In Japanese
there are no such words as the English 'strength'  ,
which has clusters of three or more |
consonants. Hiragana
and katakana are all made up of a consonant + a vowel, except
for あいうえお、ん、and
small っ. In
other words, one kana represents a basic unit of Japanese pronunciation.
This means that even あいうえお(when
used for lengthening), ん
and small っ
are also one unit. This unit is phonological and each unit has
the same length in the perception of Japanese speakers. (Actually,
phonetically there is a clear difference in the length of each
sound.). We call this unit a 'mora' (拍),
and we will use ♪ to
denote one mora. Therefore it is important to master kana in
the early stages of studying Japanese in order to learn the
correct pronunciation and rhythm.
Look at the following English words and consider how they would
be pronounced by a Japanese speaker: |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Why do Japanese
usually pronounce and transcribe these words in this way? Because
the system of Japanese pronunciation does not allow for a series
of consonants, except for んand small っ,
as mentioned above. Japanese speakers feel the need to insert
extra vowels, and they often fail to hear the last voiceless
short consonants like -p, -t, -k, especially at the end of sentences.
Moreover, when Japanese speakers hear a short strong vowel followed
by a consonant such as
 |
they
perceive it as a small っ(doubled consonant) + a vowel.
|
So Japanese speakers
hear one-syllable words in English as three ♪ words.
Next look at the following examples: |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
 |
| |
Consonants
do not occur in clusters except for ん and
small っ, so
they put extra vowels into the series of consonants dr- or str-
in order to keep to the principles of Japanese pronunciation. |
| |
 |
| 1. |
How do Japanese speakers pronounce and write
the following English words which have become
loan words in Japanese? |
| 2. |
How many morae (♪) are there in these words? |
| |
1.
cream _ 2. part
_3. green _4.
straw _5. smoker
_6. corner |
 |
Answers:
1. クリーム(4♪) 2. パート(3♪) 3. グリーン(4♪) 4. ストロー(4♪)
5. スモーカー(5♪) 6. コーナー(4♪) |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
 |
| |
This is a very simple way to develop a feel for the mora unit.
Clap your hands or beat a drum at the same intervals while reading
the
following words. |
| |
|
き・っ・ぷ ♪×3
マ・ッ・ト ♪×3
♪ ♪ ♪ |
(Small
「っ」is also one♪.) |
| |
お・は・よ・う ♪×4
お・と・う・と ♪×4
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ |
( 「よう」is
pronounced [-yoo] in natural conversation.)
( 「とう」is pronounced
[-too] in the same way as「よう」.) |
| |
オ・ー・ス・ト・ラ・リ・ア ♪×7
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
え・い・ご ♪×3
♪ ♪ ♪ |
( 「えい」is
pronounced [ee] in natural conversation.) |
| |
こ・ん・に・ち・は ♪×5
こ・ん・ば・ん・は ♪×5
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ |
( 「ん」is
also one♪. This 「は」is pronounced [wa].) |
| |
きょ・う・と ♪×3
ファ・イ・ル ♪×3 ♪ ♪ ♪ |
(Small
「ゃ, ゅ, ょ, ァ, ィ, ゥ, ェ, ォ」can
not make one♪.
They are always attached to the preceding kana. ) |
| |
ティ・ー・ル・ー・ム ♪×5
♪ -♪ ♪ -♪
♪ |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
| How
many morae (♪)
are there in the following words? |
| |
| 1. ありがとう(
) |
2. かわいい(
) |
| 3. じこしょうかい( ) |
4. しょうがっこう( ) |
| 5. アメリカがっしゅうこく( ) |
6. ちゅうかじんみんきょうわこく( ) |
|
|
(Answers
1. 5♪ 2.
4♪ 3.
6♪ 4.
6♪ 5.
10♪ 6.
12♪
) |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
 |
| |
In Section 1 we talked
about the mora as a phonological unit of Japanese pronunciation.
Here we introduce a new unit, the'foot', which is defined as
the minimum unit of the rhythm of a language. In Japanese, one
foot consists of two♪ and is hence referred to as a ?bimoraic
foot?. There are a number of rules governing how a foot is created.
If we look at a given series of sounds, we fi nd that the following
combinations of two morae always make a foot: long vowel, two
vowels together, consonant mora +ん, consonant mora + small っ.
Examples: |
| |
| コーヒー |
→ |
Both 「コー」 and 「ヒー」 |
| かいぎ |
→ |
「かい」 |
| てんき |
→ |
「てん」 |
| きっぷ |
→ |
「きっ」 |
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
In addition,
「です」and 「ます」are
usually pronounced not [desu][masu] but [des][mas] (This phenomenon
is called devocalization of vowels in Japanese.), so they always
make a foot. All other pairs of morae make feet going from the
beginning of the utterance. Any left over mora makes a half
foot by itself.
In the following examples we indicate a foot with , and a half
foot with the mora indicator ♪. |
| |
|
|
(The
fi rst 「お」 has
no preceding mora, so it remains a half foot.) |
| |
 |
( 「ほん」、「です」are
perfect feet,「や」is
a half foot.) |
| |
 |
(The small
「ゃゅょ」do not
make one mora. They are always attached to preceding letters.
「し」 is a half
foot.) |
| |
 |
(The first
「い」 has no preceding
mora, so it remains a half foot.) |
| |
|
|
| |
|
| Divide the following into feet: |
|
| 1. にちようび |
2. はっぴょうかい |
| 3. しっています |
4. ちゅうがっこう |
| 5. ニュージーランドたいしかん |
6. フランスじんです |
|
| |
Answers:
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
To
develop fl uent Japanese, try to say these Japanese words
and phrases while clapping your hands according to the
notes below.
Once you are able to do it slowly, try to do it faster. |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
This
section written by Kaori Sasaki |
| |
|
| |
Privacy
& Copyright © The Japan Foundation, Sydney - Language
Section 2000 - 2005 |
| |
|
| |
|
