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Sorry if this has been asked before, but I’m not sure how to search these forums. I am currently learning the hiragana, and I have trouble with one of the vowels. I know え is supposed to sound like the e in edge, but I can’t help but hear a sound closer to ay. Kind of like an e sound that ends with an ay sound. Are my ears just messing with me?
Thanks for any advice you give, and sorry if this has been asked previously.
I can see how you would hear a sound like that. The way I think of the pronunciation is like the “ey” in “hey”. So, yes, it doe have a slight ring of “ay” to it, but not a whole lot. I would practice your hearing it by listening to native speakers, but also to say it yourself. I figured out a lot of my early pronunciation troubles by repeating the syllable to myself multiple times and listening to Japanese spoken recordings.
So, I would listen to it and say it yourself so you get used to not just hearing it that way, but also thinking it that way when you’re saying in in your own speech.
I’ve never understood why people hear “ay”, because it’s never sounded like that to me, unless it’s a Japanese word that’s been stolen by English (like “sake”). Have you had a listen to Koichi’s video here?
I have listened to Koichi’s video, I guess I just need to train my ears to hear it better or something. I have a similar problem with the Ra column. I can’t produce the sounds in Koichi’s video by following his instructions, or at least I can’t produce the sounds I think I hear.
Yah, that’s one of the ones where Koichi’s explanation mystifies me – among other things, even though I’ve seen quite a few people describe it that way, I would not call the sound “partially D”. Koichi describes it as 75/20/5 R, L and D, so firstly, why bring up the D at all if it’s so small a percentage, and secondly, since the R is the vast majority, why would the tongue be between the L and D positions?
I’m no expert (though noone’s ever called me on my ら pronounciation) but maybe try rolling your tongue from the L position to the R position and back again, and find somewhere in the middle. Don’t worry about going “la”, because that moves your tongue out of the way, and you lose the feel. Maybe try saying “real”? What you’re looking for is a tongue shape something like when you’re saying R, but closer to the L position at the front of the mouth
I have been watching multiple videos on the pronunciation of the Ra column and I am just starting to get more stressed out. In almost every video the speaker says it slightly differently. To me Koichi sounds like he is saying da, di, du, de, do. I watched one guy who said it kind of like La, Li, Lu, Le, Lo. Then I watched a native male and female say it, the male sounded like La, Di, Du, De, Lo and the female sounded like La, Li, Lu, De, Do. >_<
I don’t know why I am having such a hard time with this, but it feels like a roadblock I can’t pass. Times like this I wish I had a teacher or someone to listen to me speak and give me pointers. Maybe I will check out the Teamspeak soon and see if someone will listen to me speak.
Don’t stress too much – close enough is generally good enough. Also, keep in mind that recorded versions may be suffering from a bit of degradation, especially if it’s been compressed for uploading.
Unless you’re full-out going “yoloshiku” or “lamen”, noone’s really going to be giving you funny looks.
Yeah, I need to just move on, and come back to it a little later. Maybe I can find some more videos of people speaking to practice with. I have been thinking of trying the JapanesePod101 site to supplement my learning, but they don’t list their prices unless you sign up for a basic account. I think I definitely need to incorporate more listening into my study though.
Thanks for your input, and for your encouragement.
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This reply was modified 12 years ago by
James.
I recorded a wav file of me trying my best to do the whole tongue thing and trying to mimic Koichi. Would anyone be willing to listen to it and give me feedback?
It sounds a bit too much like a “D”. For me, I curl my tongue just behind my teeth to get more of the “L” sound. You could try that, or just trying to get a bit less of a “D” would work also. You also want to drop your tongue very quickly so the sound is softer than an english “D”. In essence, don’t let your tongue linger and block the air stream or you’ll end up with bad “R”‘s.
Sorry for taking so long to respond. I have been practicing, and I got a Japanese friend of mine to help me with my pronunciation. I think I might have it this time. I tried my best to take your advice Sayuri, and I would love to get your feedback again.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bwhbe4nxypj3pvb/Ra%20column%202.wav
No problem, we’ve all got outside lives! :) Your pronunciation has definitely improved. I can tell you’ve got a much better grip on it. No suggestions this time, other than to keep practicing!
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This reply was modified 12 years ago by
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