|
The English language contains around 3000 syllable sounds, whereas Japanese contains only around 100, so it should be easy to pronounce. Both hiragana and katakana are phonetic scripts so the same symbol normally indicates the same sound, despite this, many students tend to pick up bad habits which can reinforce themselves in the classroom, guided by other students who naturally apply the inflections that are normal with English.
As a general guide-line, all syllables in Japanese have an equally long duration, so long words can be pronounced very easily. Each syllable is stressed equally, but the pitch of syllables rises and falls. Consequently, pronunciation of Japanese words is steady and even compared with English.
A ‘mora’ is the unit of time equivalent to the ordinary or normal short sound or syllable. While any change in mora length might just guide the tempo or rhythm in English, however in Japanese, doing this will probably change the meaning altogether. To break free from the yolk of mispronunciation, you might try the following exercise.
Close the door and ensure you are out of earshot of others. You might imagine you are guided by a robot. Start to read some gaigana phrases with as much monotony as you can muster, giving equal weight and time to each gaigana, particularly the vowels (remember that gaigana u’s are normally silent). You might even use a metronome if you have one handy.
If you overdo this exercise in the company of other students, you may initially be the subject of laughter – however you will get the last laugh as you should avoid the bad habits that so often characterise English speaking students of Japanese. By flattening your speech at an early stage, you will help guide your vocalisation away from the Western rhythms. You will in due course pick up the subtle inflections in Japanese pronunciation.
|
