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Hey, everyone!
I was going through the first chapter in the second season, on asking questions, and I noticed something that I want to be sure to get down NOW if it is important.
When asking a question, Koichi’s voice seems to be inflected first high, then low, and then a bit higher at the end. On the other hand, when I ask a question in English, I tend to inflect increasingly higher throughout the end of the sentence.
Is this inflection something that I should strive to solidify in the way I speak, or is it simply different with all speakers?
Umm... I have no idea what to put here. So, yeah.Inflection was mentioned a few times during early lessons at uni, but then never again. Ever. Sooo… yeah.
So long as you finish your questions with an upwards inflection, people will get that you’re asking a question. Don’t, though, do what some people do where they start high and just keep getting higher and higher as the question wears on, until by the end of it they can shatter glass. =P It’s more of an upwards flick right at the end.
Alright! Thanks a bunch.
Umm... I have no idea what to put here. So, yeah.@Joel:
Also, maybe inflection *is* important but your uni just likes to gloss over things ;)
@Chris: Koichi’s not a native speaker so don’t rely too heavily on how he pronounces stuff.
Also, maybe inflection *is* important but your uni just likes to gloss over things ;)
They did say it was important. Devoted half a lecture to it, all about the inflection patterns of words, and syllabic emphasis and whatnot. For example, 山 is “ya-MA” not “YA-ma” (though, in my researches on Hiroshima and Osaka dialects, I’ve found that emphasis might be fairly dialectical…)
They just never brought it up again, except for one time when we were discussing the nuances of the sentence-final particle ね.
The only big one I’m aware of is Ima and iMA.
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