Japanese Accent 101

That Japanese Man Yuta

17 Sept 201910:15

Summary

TLDRIn this educational video, Yuta teaches viewers how to speak English with a Japanese accent by highlighting two key points: the consonant-vowel structure and the differences in consonant and vowel sounds between the two languages. He explains how Japanese speakers tend to add vowels after consonants, like 'Catto' for 'Cut', and how certain consonants like 'F' are replaced with 'H'. Yuta also discusses the simplification of English diphthongs into single vowels in Japanese. The lesson is wrapped up with a fun exercise translating a sentence into Japanese-accented English, encouraging viewers to apply what they've learned.

Takeaways

🗣️ The Japanese accent in English is influenced by the phonetic systems of the Japanese language.
🔊 Consonant-vowel structure in Japanese accent often adds vowels after consonants, like 'Cut' becoming 'Catto'.
🌐 Japanese has fewer consonants and vowels than English, leading to replacements such as 'See' becoming 'Shee'.
🚫 Japanese lacks the 'F' sound, replacing it with an 'H' sound, as in 'Wife' becoming 'Waihu'.
🔤 The Japanese language only has five vowels: 'a', 'i', 'u', 'e', 'o', affecting pronunciation of English words.
🔁 The 'R' sound in Japanese is a softened version of 'L', making 'Right' and 'Light' sound like 'Raito'.
🔄 Japanese often replaces English diphthongs with single long vowels, but not always, as seen in 'Wife' remaining 'Waifu'.
📚 Learning the differences in consonants and vowels is crucial for mimicking a Japanese accent in English.
📝 Practice sentences like 'Hello, my name is Yuta, my wife is beautiful. How about yours?' can help in mastering the accent.
💌 For learning authentic Japanese, the speaker offers free lessons through an email subscription.

Q & A

What is the main focus of Yuta's lesson on speaking English with a Japanese accent?
-The main focus of Yuta's lesson is to teach how to convert English sounds based on the Japanese phonetic systems, emphasizing the consonant-vowel structure and the replacement of certain consonants and vowels due to differences between the two languages.
Why does the word 'Cut' become 'Catto' in a Japanese accent?
-In a Japanese accent, 'Cut' becomes 'Catto' because of the tendency to add a vowel after a consonant due to the Japanese phonetic system.
How does the Japanese language handle the absence of certain English consonants?
-The Japanese language replaces certain English consonants that it lacks, such as 'f' becoming 'h' and 'l' becoming 'r', which is a softer version of 'l'.
What is the significance of the word 'Wife' in the context of the lesson?
-The word 'Wife' is significant because it illustrates how the 'f' sound is replaced with an 'h' sound in Japanese, resulting in 'Waifu'.
How does the Japanese language handle the English 'er' sound that it doesn't have?
-In Japanese, the 'er' sound is replaced with 'a', so a word like 'word' would be pronounced as 'Waado'.
What is the difference between the Japanese 'R' and the English 'L' or 'R' sounds?
-The Japanese 'R' is somewhere between the English 'L' and 'R', and it is a softer version of 'L'. So, 'Right' and 'Light' become 'Raito' in Japanese.
How does the Japanese language handle English diphthongs?
-Sometimes Japanese replaces English diphthongs with a single long vowel, but not always. For example, 'table' becomes 'Teeburu', but 'wife' keeps the diphthong sound 'Ai'.
What is the correct Japanese accent pronunciation for the word 'Truck'?
-In Japanese accent, 'Truck' would be pronounced as 'Torakku', since Japanese only has the 'A' sound and replaces both 'Ah' and 'Eh' with 'A'.
How does Yuta suggest practicing the Japanese accent in English?
-Yuta suggests practicing by slowly pronouncing sentences like 'Hello, my name is Yuta, my wife is beautiful. How about yours?' while applying the rules of Japanese phonetic systems.
What offer does Yuta make at the end of the lesson?
-At the end of the lesson, Yuta offers free lessons on real Japanese by email for those interested in learning the language as spoken by native speakers.
What is the cultural reference made by using the word 'waifu' in the lesson?
-The word 'waifu' is used as a cultural reference to a term popular in certain English-speaking communities, indicating a person's favorite fictional female character, often from anime.

Outlines

00:00

🗣️ English with a Japanese Accent

Yuta introduces a lesson on how to speak English with a Japanese accent. He explains that the Japanese accent is formed by converting English sounds based on the phonetic systems of the Japanese language. The first key point is the consonant-vowel structure, where consonants are typically followed by vowels, as seen in words like 'Cut' becoming 'Catto'. The second point is the replacement of certain consonants and vowels due to the limited set in Japanese. For example, 'See' and 'She' become 'Shee' because Japanese lacks the 'Si' sound. Additionally, 'F' sounds are replaced with 'H', and 'Er' sounds are replaced with 'A'. Yuta also discusses how 'L' and 'R' sounds are both pronounced as 'R' in Japanese, which is softer and more relaxed. He provides several examples to illustrate these points.

05:02

🌐 Japanese Phonetics in English Words

In the second paragraph, Yuta continues to explain the nuances of the Japanese accent in English. He addresses how Japanese speakers handle diphthongs, often replacing them with a single long vowel, as in 'Table' becoming 'Teeburu'. However, he notes that this is not always the case, as seen with the word 'Wife', which retains the diphthong 'Ai'. Yuta also provides more examples of words like 'Track' and 'Truck', which become 'Torakku' due to the Japanese phonetic limitations. He then demonstrates how to construct sentences with a Japanese accent, such as 'Hello, my name is Yuta, my wife is beautiful. How about yours?', and encourages the audience to practice. Yuta concludes the lesson by offering free lessons for those interested in learning real Japanese and invites them to subscribe to his email group.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Japanese accent

The Japanese accent refers to the way English words are pronounced with the phonetic patterns and rules of the Japanese language. In the video, this is illustrated by how English words like 'Cut' are pronounced as 'Catto' and 'Ball' as 'Borru', reflecting the Japanese phonetic system's tendency to add vowels after consonants.

💡Consonant-vowel structure

The consonant-vowel structure is a key aspect of the Japanese language's phonetics, where consonants are typically followed by vowels. The video uses this concept to explain the transformation of English words into the Japanese accent, such as turning 'Cut' into 'Catto' and emphasizing the addition of vowels after consonants.

💡Phonetic systems

Phonetic systems are the set of rules and symbols that represent the sounds of a language. The video discusses how the Japanese phonetic system influences the pronunciation of English words, leading to a distinct Japanese accent when speaking English.

💡Consonant replacement

Consonant replacement is a strategy used in the Japanese accent where certain English consonants, such as 'f' in 'wife', are replaced with sounds that exist in Japanese, like 'h'. The video illustrates this by showing how 'wife' becomes 'waifu', reflecting the absence of certain consonants in the Japanese language.

💡Vowel replacement

Vowel replacement involves changing English vowels to those that are present in Japanese. The video explains that Japanese has fewer vowels than English, so sounds like 'er' in 'word' are replaced with 'a', turning 'word' into 'waado'.

💡Diphthongs

Diphthongs are complex vowel sounds that begin with one vowel sound and end with another, like in the word 'table'. The video discusses how diphthongs are often simplified to single vowels in the Japanese accent, such as 'table' becoming 'teeburu'.

💡R and L sounds

The distinction between 'r' and 'l' sounds does not exist in Japanese; both are pronounced as 'r'. The video uses examples like 'right' becoming 'raito' to demonstrate how this affects the pronunciation of English words in a Japanese accent.

💡Free lessons

Free lessons refer to the offer made at the end of the video to receive additional educational content via email subscription. This is a call to action for viewers interested in learning more about the Japanese language and accent.

💡Ciao

Ciao, an Italian word meaning both 'hello' and 'goodbye', is used by the speaker at the end of the video as a playful and informal sign-off. It adds a touch of humor and cultural blend to the video's conclusion.

💡Japanese with Yuta

Japanese with Yuta appears to be the name of the educational program or series that the speaker is promoting. The video's content is part of this series, which aims to teach Japanese language and accent to English speakers.

💡Pronunciation

Pronunciation is the focus of the video, as it teaches how to speak English with a Japanese accent. The term is central to understanding the video's purpose, which is to guide viewers on how Japanese speakers can pronounce English words.

Highlights

Teaching English with a perfect Japanese accent

Consonant-vowel structure in Japanese accent

Adding a vowel after a consonant in Japanese

Examples of words with adapted Japanese phonetics

Replacing English consonants with Japanese equivalents

Pronunciation of 'See' and 'She' in Japanese

Common mistake with 'Sit' and 'Shit' pronunciation

Absence of 'F' sound in Japanese

Limited vowel sounds in Japanese

Replacing 'Er' sound with 'A' in Japanese

Confusion with 'L' and 'R' sounds in Japanese

Examples of words with 'L' becoming 'R' in Japanese

Pronunciation of 'World' with Japanese 'R'

Differences in English and Japanese diphthongs

Adapting diphthongs in words like 'Table'

Keeping diphthongs in words like 'Wife'

Pronunciation of 'Boat' in Japanese

Practical sentences for practicing Japanese accent

Offer for free lessons in real Japanese

Closing and sign-off for the lesson