Re: Learning pronunciation
- From: Phil Yff <phil.yff@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 13:55:05 -0400
On Mon, 25 Sep 2006 12:10:05 +0100, Mike Robinson wrote:
Any advice for learning pronunciation? Sound recordings only don't tell
you how to move your mouth, and while I've found written descriptions of
correct mouth position, diagrams or videos would be useful.
A couple of simple observations.
First, try to get access to video of people singing in Japanese. Pay
particular attention to how the lips are shaped when voicing the vowels.
For example, you will see a significant rounding of the lips when voicing
the vowel 'o' much more so than when one does so with the equivalent
English 'o'. Conversely, note the significant lack of rounding when
voicing the vowel 'u' as opposed to an English speaker using approximately
the same sound in English.
Second, pay attention to Japanese who are relatively fluent English
speakers in English but speak with a Japanese accent. For example, an
English speaker would immediately sense an oddity when the Japanese counts
one, two, three. The lack of diphthongs in Japanese causes equivalent
vowels to have a much different sound. Listening to a Japanese speaking
English can give you insight into the intricacies of pronunciation that you
cannot get from simply listening to Japanese speak Japanese. I'm sure you
will be careful not to give offense. The Japanese learning English are in
the same position as you are learning Japanese.
Phil Yff
.
- Prev by Date: Re: Ot: PC vs Mac
- Next by Date: Re: Basic Connections, Making Your Japanese Flow (Kakuko Shoji, 1997)
- Previous by thread: Re: Learning pronunciation
- Next by thread: Re: Learning pronunciation
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
