Читать книгу Outrageous Japanese - Jack Seward - Страница 7
ОглавлениеGuide to Pronunciation
Japanese vowels are always pronounced the same:
a like the a in f a ther
e like the e in e gg
i like the e in m e
o like the o in o h
u like the first u in Z u lu
You will find macrons (lines) over some vowels. Differentiating between “long” and “short” vowels is important. Saying kuso 糞 instead of kusō 苦僧 or komon 顧問 instead of kōmon 肛門 will evince laughter, incomprehension, or embarrassment.
There are only two other sounds that may require some effort to master:
| tsu | Place the tip of your tongue behind your upper front teeth and say the girl’s name “Sue.” |
| r | This is a lightly tapped r which lies between the English r and d . |
Although there is a slight pitch in Japanese, you should utter all your Japanese words and sentences in an even tone like the tick-tock-tick-tock of a metronome. The final u う in the –masu ます form of verbs and desu です is usually silent.
