A Welsh friend of mine told me that she was once sharing some travel experiences with a well-travelled Japanese visitor in Cardiff when she asked him where, of all the places in the world he had been, he liked the most. Taken aback by his reply that his favourite place in the whole world was Barry, she double-checked that he meant Barry Island. Yes, he said, Barry Island. Delighted that he should prefer this decidedly unglamourous seaside resort with its funfair in her home country to the many exotic places he had visited, she asked him what it was that he found so appealing about Barry. It was only when he began to describe white sandy beaches, clear blue ocean and palm trees that it dawned on her that his favourite place in the world was not Barry Island in Wales but the island of Bali in Indonesia.
Alright, we all know that the English "R" and "L" sounds pose a problem for Japanese people but how do English-speaking people cope with the equivalent in Japanese - the らりるれろ (ra ri ru re ro) sounds? From my experience in Japanese classes, the answer is that most people learning Japanese just don't seem to grasp the right pronunciation of らりるれろ and end up settling for an English R sound. That's a shame because pronunciation is an important part of any language and correct pronunciation not only makes communication easier but, as a bonus, it also helps to make you sound a bit less... well, foreign, to put it bluntly.
With that in mind, I was pleased to come across a video that claims to teach the correct pronunciation of the Japanese R sound in one short lesson. Here is the video, made by Koichi (who is American, by the way), the founder of the Tofugu web site. I'm quite impressed, but I'd be interested to hear what native Japanese speakers think of this.
Alright, we all know that the English "R" and "L" sounds pose a problem for Japanese people but how do English-speaking people cope with the equivalent in Japanese - the らりるれろ (ra ri ru re ro) sounds? From my experience in Japanese classes, the answer is that most people learning Japanese just don't seem to grasp the right pronunciation of らりるれろ and end up settling for an English R sound. That's a shame because pronunciation is an important part of any language and correct pronunciation not only makes communication easier but, as a bonus, it also helps to make you sound a bit less... well, foreign, to put it bluntly.
With that in mind, I was pleased to come across a video that claims to teach the correct pronunciation of the Japanese R sound in one short lesson. Here is the video, made by Koichi (who is American, by the way), the founder of the Tofugu web site. I'm quite impressed, but I'd be interested to hear what native Japanese speakers think of this.