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Hi,
I know that the r column is either l/r pronunciation–sometimes can even sound like a cross between an r and d? I mostly pronounce ら, り, る, れ, ろ using l when going through the table but I sometimes switch the sounds between l/r depending on the word–ex. はいる(hairu) but in とり(tori) I hear it/pronounce it with l so it sounds like toli.
So…I have been listening to the sound clips in Season 2 and for これ I am hearing more of an r over l so it sounds like kore.. more smooth sounding into korewa (これは). For それ and あれ, I hear it pronounced more as an l (very quick l before going into は), solewa(それは) and alewa (あれは)–please disregard the actual spelling of the romaji as I am typing the sound as an actual l for emphasis that I am not hearing it as an r.
Any advice on what これ, それ, あれ are always suppose to sound like? or can someone provide a clarification on if this is correct to switch back and forth being the r/l sound depending on the word?
Thanks.
れ, り, る, れ, and ろ should sound like like れ, り, る, れ, and ろ. I understand that that’s not particularly helpful, but you should try not to think about English equivalents, since there aren’t any. To get a hang of pronunciation, just listen a lot and try shadowing native material.
Ok… I haven’t gotten around to listening to various sources of material aside from what’s on this site. I think it will help later on once I start venturing outside to some native material/books on tape/movies with subtitles so I can hear common words spoken by a variety of people. Hopefully the correct way to say things will eventually sink in.
I went back to review some of the hiragana pronunciation guide from Season 1 and saw this:
“The Japanese “ra, ri, ru, re, ro” is kind of a mystery for a lot of people, and here’s why. The Ra-column is made up of multiple sounds. It’s part R (I’d say around 75%), part L (I’d say about 20%) and strangely enough, part D (I’d give this about 5%). Combine these together and you have the “Japanese R.” By doing the exercises above, you should be able to get the R & L sounds. The subtle “D” sound should come naturally with those things, though it’s not as important as the R & L.”So I guess the variation I am hearing within これ, それ, あれ is normal.
Thanks for your suggestion!
Frankly, I’ve never, ever been able to hear any “D” sounds in the ら-line characters.
The way I do it is this: try saying “R” and feel the position of your tongue in your mouth. Then try saying “L”. Now try for a tongue position that’s somewhere in between those two. The edges of your tongue touch the roof of your mouth (or the inside of your teeth) – but not the tip, or you get an L (assuming any sound comes out at all).
Haha@ any sound comes out at all… I think I got the tongue position correct now–it touches the inside of my teeth. It’s a very soft “L” sound that can pass for an r. Almost like it starts off as an L and finishes off as an R. Thanks!
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This reply was modified 10 years, 9 months ago by
prismcolour.
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This reply was modified 10 years, 9 months ago by
Whether the ra ri ru re ro sound like an l or r depends on what comes before / after it, and who is saying them.
One of my teachers is from tokyo, and one is from osaka and they have different ways of pronunciating them.
Really, its not a big deal, the more you speak and listen, the better you’ll get at saying them. If you are a beginner, accept the fact you are a beginner, you can’t be perfect right away.
Just keep learning, and practicing.
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This reply was modified 10 years, 9 months ago by
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