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I am working on じゃありません (It Is Not) right now and after I watched the YouTube video posted in the lesson (http://youtu.be/B1f9bPB6qvU), I am left with a couple questions.
1. Is it correct that the pronunciation should be JYA-A-RI-MA-SE-N and not JYAAA-RI-MA-SE-N? Meaning, however subtle, there should be a slight break between JYA and A, exactly as it is laid out in hiragana, correct?
2. When working in Season 1 with hiragana, we worked with long vowels. Depending on the answer of the first question, why isn’t じゃあ a long vowel? Maybe I misunderstood this section of Season 1?? (I.E. If it is JYA-A-RI-MA-SE-N, why ISN’T the あ a long vowel? If it is JYAAA-RI-MA-SE-N, then the long vowel makes sense.)
Just want to make sure I am practicing the correct pronunciation and understand it as well.
Thank you!
It’s really just “jaarimasen” making sure to extend that “ah” sound.
ありません is its own word, so it doesn’t take a long vowel.
But luckily for you, you’re going to be using じゃない a lot more in real conversation anyway ;)
You’re learning a fairly polite version right now. I don’t know if じゃありません is quite keigo but it’s damn close. Don’t get too attached to it, anyway.I haz a blog http://maninjapanchannel.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLQzB-1u-dgIt’s not a long vowel because it’s two words next to each other. じゃ is an abbreviation of では ( = particle で plus particle は) and, as Jusin said, ありません is its own word (polite negative of ある). When we were learning at uni, the lecturer made a point of separating the two words when she said it – じゃ―ありません – but in natural speech, they’re not going to be that distinct.
From memory, though, じゃありません is used more often in writing – in speaking, you usually say じゃないです.
Thank you both for responding.
This was my takeaway… I hope I understood you both correctly.
Justin’s post tells me it should be said as じゃりません (essentially). However, ありません is it’s own word in the statement. There will be a more common way to say this later.
Joel’s post tells me the statement is two words (aforementioned by Justin). However in Uni, was taught じゃ―ありません spaced out (vocally).
These two posts are informative (I thank you!) but perceived to differ at the part where I am concerned.
Justin’s post makes me think that the pronunciation should be an extended Jaaa sound.
Joel’s post makes me think that since it is two words, there is no long vowel here. Therefore the Ja and a should be pronounced separately (though there may be minimal distinction between the sounds) as dramatically instructed by his uni teacher.
I am going to listen to the YouTube video again and see if I can make it out clearer. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I promise I am not trying to over complicate this! I just want to make sure I understand it correctly the FIRST time as to not have to unlearn something later.
As Joel said the words were separated but in normal conversation they wouldn’t be as distinct.
Okay, this example may be entirely regionally dependant, so if it doesn’t work for you I’m sorry lol. But think of it like saying “silly yeti” in a regularly paced conversation. You kind of drag that “ee” sound between the words. At least I do. They’re separate words, but you don’t pause between them because THAT would sound weird, right? Ja arimasen (sorry, no Japanese keyboard on my phone lol) will work generally the same way – it doesn’t function the same as, say, the “u” in “sou” where you extend the vowel, it’s just two “ah” sounds beside each other that kind of melt into each other.
I don’t feel like I’m helping lol. Maybe just watch the YouTube thing a few more times haha.
I haz a blog http://maninjapanchannel.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLQzB-1u-dgJustin,
First, in what regularly paced conversation would you ever use “silly yeti”??? LOL.
Second, this all makes great sense. Thank you. I was thinking that the sound would drag out like in 大きい. Using the English phrase above helps immensely. I would definitely would not say “silly | yeti” with a break. However, when I say the two, I carry the ee sound as well but still say the “y” in yeti (otherwise to me it sounds like “silly Eddie”).
Watching the YouTube video only confirms what you are saying. Since the sound isn’t a long vowel but the sound carries between words, there is a tiny pause (voice fluctuation?) in the “a” sound that denotes the change.
Thank you for your help!! I’m probably paying too close attention to this but it’s what I do! Haha.
Well clearly we have very different conversations. Almost all of mine are about yetis.
Whew, glad you understood! I was out of ideas I’d you didn’t haha. And hey there’s nothing wrong taking time to understand something.
I haz a blog http://maninjapanchannel.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLQzB-1u-dg
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