Page 61 - Basic Japanese

‘as for the book,’ the N sounds like a nasalized w,

anticipating the following, non-nasal w. Before i or e, the
syllabic nasal may also sound like a nasalized y: Nihon e [ni-

ho-N-e] ‘to Japan,’ ten-in [te-N-i-N] ‘clerk.’ Here are some

more examples:

[cue 01-26]

pan’ya [pa-N-ya] bakery, bakeshop

kon’yaku [ko-N-ya- engagement (to be

ku] married)

shinwa [shi-N-wa] myth

denwa [de-N-wa] telephone

kin’en [ki-N-e-N] No Smoking

sen-en [se-N-e-N] 1000 yen

kin’iro [ki-N-i-ro] gold color

tan’i [ta-N-i] unit

nan’ō [na-N-o-o] Southern Europe

1.10. Accent

In English, accent refers to the way in which stress levels

occur. In Japanese, the accent is the way in which PITCH
LEVELS occur. When the vibrating vocal cords are drawn out
long and tight, the pitch is high. When they are relaxed and

shortened, the pitch is low. In English we use different pitch
levels to indicate certain general types of phrases—like