Constitutional Imperialism in Japan/Pronunciation

by Ernest Wilson Clement

Pronunciation of Japanese words.

a

like

a

in

father

ai

as

in

aisle

e

like

e

in

men

ei

as

in

weigh

i

like

i

in

pin

au

$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$

as

o

in

bone

o

like

o

in

pony

ō

u

like

oo

in

book

ū

as

oo

in

moon

i in the middle of a word and in the middle or at the end of a word are sometimes almost inaudible.

The consonants are all sounded, as in English: g, however, has only the hard sound, as in give, although the nasal ng is often heard; ch and s are always soft, as in check and sin; and z before u has the sound of dz. In the case of double consonants, each one must be given its full sound.

There are as many syllables as vowels. There is practically no accent; but care must be taken to distinguish between o and ō, u and ū, of which the second is more prolonged than the first.

Be sure to avoid the flat sound of a, which is always pronounced ah.

Japanese words, especially names, should almost always be divided into syllables with a vowel at the end of each syllable. The principal exception is in the case of double consonants; there the syllabic division is made between the two consonants: n may also close a syllable.