Shocking Japanese Pronunciation

[bousozoku]

Being around Japanese and various other languages all my life, it's always interesting to hear how dangerous mistakes in other languages can be.

Most everyone knows how Spanish can change quickly when talking incorrectly about a year. In various western languages, your lover can change quickly due to an ending.

The following article is from the Yomiuri newspaper in Japan: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20040615wob3.htm

[Doctor Q]

Sure, Japanese and Spanish have quirks. But I'm not sure "shocking" is the appropriate word. At least pronunciation is fairly consistent. On the other hand, English is such a messy and inconsistent language that I feel sorry for anybody who has to learn it as an adult. Shame on us for having our language evolve this way. We should all switch to Hawaiian.

[[Beta Code]]

LOL I've also heard many people from Germany especially, since many of my friends are german. Pronounce words as bad or worse than Japanese people do. :eek:

[madoka]

Man, if that article was "shocking" to you, I can't even imagine what sort of life you must lead! :D

[bousozoku]

']LOL I've also heard many people from Germany especially, since many of my friends are german. Pronounce words as bad or worse than Japanese people do. :eek:

The sounds in German and Japanese aren't all so different. In fact, someone once said to me "I take it that you're a German." because of my accent at the time. (It gets me into problems.)

I also remember reading about an visiting minister in Japan who ended up saying turtle saves! rather than god saves! which got some confused looks. ;) Of course, there are always the usual karaoke and hara kiri--how they are always butchered here! :D I also remember someone trying to ask me about root beer. He had to say it three times before I got it. :(

I wonder what the most mis-pronounced language is.

[dermeister]

The sounds in German and Japanese aren't all so different. In fact, someone once said to me "I take it that you're a German." because of my accent at the time. (It gets me into problems.)

I also remember reading about an visiting minister in Japan who ended up saying turtle saves! rather than god saves! which got some confused looks. ;) Of course, there are always the usual karaoke and hara kiri--how they are always butchered here! :D I also remember someone trying to ask me about root beer. He had to say it three times before I got it. :(

I wonder what the most mis-pronounced language is.

Probably cantonese or mandarin. With ~7 pitch variations on any given word, I'm guessing it'l win the title:p

[bousozoku]

Probably cantonese or mandarin. With ~7 pitch variations on any given word, I'm guessing it'l win the title:p

Those would be good guesses. Vietnamese should be pretty easy for westerners to pronounce since the transliteration is French-like because it was designed by the French.

Latin would be very difficult since there's only one little community somewhere in Switzerland that was recently found to be speaking Latin. I suppose you could derive something from Italian but that's stretching it.

[Maayan]

Hah-ha! My friend Eugene and his sister Asako love to bastardize Japanese words. Take the word "chinchin no ke" (penis hair) -- when they were little and hyper, they'd march around singing, "Chinchinok, nokety nok, nokety nok nok nok (pause, and repeat)..." :D

[takao]

Latin would be very difficult since there's only one little community somewhere in Switzerland that was recently found to be speaking Latin.

thats news to me
but it looks like you are revering to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romansh
which is the fourth 'national' language after swiss german("schwitzerdütsch"),french and italian...

[bousozoku]

thats news to me
but it looks like you are revering to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romansh
which is the fourth 'national' language after swiss german("schwitzerdütsch"),french and italian...

Not at all--this was Latin. I learned of this in my Latin class in the 1970s. They were likely the descendents of some group that had been stranded during the time of Julius Caesar, possibly while they were chasing Vercingetorix through the Alps.

It's as unusual as the people in the Appallachian Mountains in the U.S.A. who were still speaking Middle English.

[musicpyrite]

']LOL I've also heard many people from Germany especially, since many of my friends are german. Pronounce words as bad or worse than Japanese people do. :eek:

Yes, thats very true. I know a German couple, and almost every day they have a slew of words they ask me how to spell or say. On that stick out in my mind is the word "cow." One day they heard the word cow, and wondered how to spell it...kou? cou?

I hate English, I'd much rather speak in binary or something similar. ;)