Hildreth's "Japan as It Was and Is": A Handbook of Old Japan, Volume 1 (of 2)

Chapter 7: JAPANESE PRONUNCIATION

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About This Book

The volume compiles European eyewitness and historical accounts of Japan from earliest contacts through periods of missionary activity and feudal consolidation. It interleaves travel narratives, mission reports, and official documents to describe political structures, religious beliefs, social customs, arts, and material culture, and traces the arrival and influence of European visitors, the establishment and spread of Christian missions, growth of ports such as Nagasaki, and subsequent restrictions. Chapters provide detailed observations of daily life, architecture, ceremonies, legal practices, and maritime commerce, supplemented by illustrations, maps, and documentary excerpts that chart evolving foreign relations and internal power shifts.

JAPANESE PRONUNCIATION

a	like	a	in	father
e	”	e	”	men
i	”	i	”	pin
o	”	o	”	pony
u	”	oo	”	book
ai	as in			aisle
ei	”			weigh
au ō	as	o in bone
ū	as	oo in moon

i in the middle of a word and u in the middle or at the end of a word are sometimes almost inaudible.

The consonants are all sounded, as in English: g, however, has only the hard sound, as in give, although the nasal ng is often heard; ch and s are always soft, as in check and sin; and z before u has the sound of dz. In the case of double consonants, each one must be given its full sound.

There are as many syllables as vowels. There is practically no accent; but care must be taken to distinguish between o and ō, u and ū, of which the second is more prolonged than the first.

Be sure to avoid the flat sound of a, which is always pronounced ah.