Those who study Japanese should know that its sounds do not change like in Portuguese, which is full of accents or with the crazy changes of S to Z sounds, etc. However, in reality, Japanese does have changes in the reading or pronunciation of phonemes depending on the occasion. It is not exactly known whether these are rules or just Japanese custom, since there is no stress in Japanese.
In this article, we will not talk about the peculiarities or rules of the Japanese language, such as the pronunciation of each hiragana or anything like that. Therefore, we recommend having a basic knowledge of Hiragana, Katakana, and their pronunciation. We will only discuss tips and how the reading and pronunciation of phonemes are in everyday Japanese. We recorded a video explaining and giving examples of how to read some words that you can see below:
The video does not have much explanation, it is just examples. The audio is not good, but we have already changed the microphone for other videos. Besides the video, I think it is good to highlight some points related to Japanese pronunciation that can help you when conversing or reading. For this, we recommend the article peculiarities of the Japanese language.
Checklist of Reading and Pronunciation Rules
- Each syllable has the same length and strength;
- The vowel is elongated when: aa / ei / ii / oo / ou / uu;
- The sound of u is usually short;
- There are differences in accent, region, dialects, etc;
- Two consonants together prolong the sound of the previous vowel along with it (っ);
Although it is a bit complicated to follow these rules, remember that much of this was a natural adaptation in speech; some things you will only get used to pronouncing like a Japanese person through experience. Don’t expect to start speaking like them, considering that even they have difficulty with English.
Read other articles related to pronunciation:
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