The system of abstract sounds (phonemes) used to encode the language, as opposed to the actual technical details of how to produce these sounds.
30
votes
3answers
969 views
What are the rules regarding “mute vowels” (“u” after “s” and “i” after “sh”)?
When you first begin to learn Japanese you are taught that Japanese has no stress and each syllable should be pronounced equally.
You also learn that certain vowels are not pronounced, or only ...
25
votes
4answers
670 views
How did “little tsu” become a lengthener?
How did it come about historically that っ preceding a sound would geminate it? Is it really a little つ or are they just near homomorphs?
22
votes
3answers
2k views
What are the differences between じ and ぢ, and ず and づ?
The Japanese hiragana and katakana syllabaries can mostly be described as phonetic. But there are two exceptions, the two pairs of syllables modified to be voiced with the dakuten diacritic which ...
16
votes
3answers
550 views
How 「えい」 should be pronounced in the words like 英語, 先生, etc?
P.S.: I heard that 「生」 (せい) in the word 先生 can be pronounced either as [sei] or as [see]. If it is so, is there any semantic difference between these variants?
14
votes
3answers
766 views
Why the “H” is pronounced Sh in some cases.
I came from Stack Overflow and new to Japanese language. Happy I found out about this great place.
My first question is about the rules of pronunciation of the letter "H".
Like "Hijutsu" or "Hiyori".
...
14
votes
2answers
578 views
Is Japanese particularly good for punning/spoonerisms? If so, why?
Today I was laughing my heads off reading puns at 言いまつがい, which is a collection of user-contributed accidental puns and other mistakes.
It struck me that I never experienced this kind of ...
14
votes
2answers
340 views
Exceptional compounding forms
There are a number of Japanese words which have distinct compounding forms:
-a/-e alternation: 天・雨、酒、上、風、目 — many examples.
-u/-i alternation: 神（[神]{かむ}[集]{つど}ふ）、月（[月]{つく}[読]{よみ}）
-o/-i alternation: ...
13
votes
1answer
354 views
Sentence level pitch accent for 標準語
I was wondering if anybody had any references (preferably freely available) or insights that explain 標準語 (or should I say 関東語) sentence-level pitch accent.
I already have a dictionary which describes ...
12
votes
1answer
256 views
Why is English “ka” and “ca” sometimes rendered as キャ (kya) instead of カ (ka)?
I sometimes see that English ka and ca are rendered キャ (kya) instead of カ (ka). Why is this?
Do English ka and ca really sound more like kya than ka, at least to Japanese listeners? (I know it ...
12
votes
3answers
662 views
Actual phonetic realization of “devoiced” vowels
Descriptions of Japanese phonology (such as Wikipedia's) usually describe high vowels between voiceless consonants (or word-finally) as "devoiced". For example, the pronunciation of ⟨圧⟩ 'pressure' and ...
11
votes
5answers
348 views
Except for pitch, what are the differences in pronunciation between Kansaiben and Tokyoben?
I have tried to ask people this type of question on many occasions and the answer is always the same, but people are notoriously bad at evaluating their own language, so I ask here:
Apart for pitch, ...
11
votes
2answers
323 views
“y”-sound insertion after intervocalic ん
The pronunciation of intervocalic ん is a topic by itself, with the surrounding vowels tending to become nasalized, and ん itself maybe being pronounced as a nasal vowel. But that's not what I'm asking ...
10
votes
4answers
459 views
Pronunciation of す in です and the end of ます verbs
I've always been curious about the pronunciation of the す in です and at the end of 〜ます verbs. Most commonly the "u" sound is inaudible, but sometimes by some people it's more pronounced, and some ...
9
votes
1answer
117 views
「はは」(母) and ハ行転呼
It occurred to me the other day that if ハ行転呼 had affected all applicable environments without exception, 母 /haha/ (or I guess properly it was /ɸaɸa/, right?)should have become /hawa/.
The Japanese ...
9
votes
1answer
301 views
Is accent position predictable for -i verbs in Osaka/Kansai?
Background
While I'm not especially confident about the reliability of my sources (Wikipedia (0) (1) (2) and some guys' personal websites), and it's possible that I transcribed some of these wrong, ...
8
votes
1answer
416 views
What does こまけー mean?
Does anybody have a clue what こまけー might mean? Below are some sentences for context and the phrase as it's used:
まじめでおカタい感じの女子大生は、やたらとわたしを目を敵にしてきた。わたしが何をやっても文句をつけてくる。「しょうゆの向きは、こうじゃなくてこう！」って こまけー ...
8
votes
1answer
282 views
In which dialects have the sounds “ゐ” (wi) and “ゑ” (we) been preserved, and are their kana still occasionally seen?
In Nate Glenn's answer to bdonlan's qestion "Why were ゐ and ゑ eliminated?" he states:
"Wi" and "we" are still in some dialects, but standard Japanese does not have those sounds.
My question is ...
7
votes
2answers
558 views
Why is the Japanese currency pronounced “yen” in English?
I'm wondering what the reason for the mispronunciation of 円 in English came to be "yen". I can understand how some words like 東京 became "Tokyo", but "en" to "yen" seems strange. On a side note, why is ...
7
votes
2answers
390 views
Are there many words that have the same pronunciation ambiguity as Nihon/Nippon?
Wikipedia says that 日本 can be pronounced either [にっぽん]{nippon} or [にほん]{nihon}.
Does this ambiguity in pronunciation happen with other words? If so, does it only happen with words that originated ...
7
votes
1answer
209 views
Words with metathesis
What common Japanese words underwent metathesis (transposition of sounds)?
Examples.
新{あたら}しい < あらたしい
秋葉原 {あきはばら} < あきばはら
6
votes
2answers
255 views
Utterance initial [ɾ]
According to The sounds of Japanese (Vance 2008):
When /ɾ/ is the first phoneme in an utterance, the tip of the tongue is already resting lightly on the alveolar ridge, and /ɾ/ is produced by ...
6
votes
1answer
143 views
Pronunciation of 対応済
Is the pronunciation of 対応済 たいおうすみ or たいおうずみ ?
Context: Software
Example:
ユーザが押したときに問題が起こらないように対応済
6
votes
2answers
325 views
Rules for emphasizing by lengthening sounds
Sometimes, sounds are lengthened for emphasis. For example, see "とっても versus とても".
What are the rules governing this process?
Are there restrictions on where lengthening can be inserted?
とっても or ...
5
votes
1answer
216 views
しらゆきひめ 'Snow White'
I am trying to understand the title of a tale.
しろ 'white'
ゆき 'snow'
ひめ 'princess'
しらゆきひめ 'Snow White'
If white is しろ, why is 'Snow White' not しろゆきひめ？
5
votes
2answers
1k views
バカヤロウ to バゲロ [mature content]
Note: This question may contain wordings that may be considered rude to some, so proceed with open mind and caution.
One of the legacies of Japanese colonization in my country during WW2 is a rude ...
5
votes
1answer
112 views
Syllable final -t in early modern Japanese?
There is an unsourced claim in the Wikipedia article on Early Modern Japanese that its phonology admitted syllable-final /t/.
This seems unlikely, since to my knowledge all reconstructions going back ...
3
votes
3answers
464 views
How and when to use せや and its variants in Kansai-ben?
Here in Kansai I hear せや, せやねん, and せやな everywhere. I was wondering if anyone could clarify the meaning and usage of these, as well as their equivalent in more standard Japanese?
Additionally, are ...
2
votes
2answers
193 views
Does an international OR standardized phonetic alphabet/notation system exist to depict all the Hiragana/Katakana sounds?
Are there written systems (preferably international & standardized) that you can use to depict how to pronounce any word from Japanese and any language. Something similar to Romaji but one that ...
2
votes
1answer
222 views
やってもた → やってしまった? What is the grammatical rule behind this?
I recently saw 「やってもた」 used in a Japanese conversation, I don't remember the context exactly, it was something like：
久々にやってもた。
After asking my Japanese friend, it turns out to be some kind of ...
2
votes
1answer
93 views
味わわせる vs. 味あわせる
Why is 味わわせる often pronounced as 味あわせる? What makes the former form unnatural, and what is the mechanism that changes it to the latter form? In the first place, what it the -waw- attached to aji ...
2
votes
1answer
112 views
What is the most common way to pronounce 運?
So 運 is spelled うん, but I seem to hear most of my friends pronounce it as あん. My friends and family are 20-60 years of age and come from mostly Tokyo and Ibaraki area. I am living in the US now and so ...
1
vote
1answer
93 views
Pronunciation of ワンマン運転
I hear ワンマン運転 as ワンマウンテン, with the ん of マン dissapearing, or perhaps being very soft.
Here's an example:http://youtu.be/DZnuH1XkE7s?t=49s
Another question shows that there can be something ...
1
vote
1answer
109 views
Contraction of や, the variant of は
In an answer to this question, Tsuyoshi Ito correctly points out that you can sometimes change the consonant や, a variant of は, into a glide but sometimes you cannot.
聞きやしない
聞きゃ(ー)しない
...
-3
votes
1answer
294 views
What does さちゅえい mean?
I can't find this in any dictionary, but it seems to mean something like picture. Is that right?
I don't have an example sentence, because that word was the whole sentence.
