When you are learning a foreign language, your ultimate goal would be to sound naturally native. Or at least, get to the point where you won’t get laughed at by the people who speak that language as their mother tongue.
When I see foreigners speaking Japanese, I notice there is an obvious difference between people who sound very Japanese and people who are good but sound somewhat kawaii (as the Japanese people would put it) .
But you would want to speak like a native Japanese right? So the question is…
Why does my Japanese does not sound Japanese Japanese?
The answer, my friend, ….is not that simple.. I’m sorry:( !
But there I have some very simple tips you can use right now and you will sound more Japanese in an INSTANT!
So, here are 3 easy tips for you to make you sound a bit more Japanesey.
Start today!
TIP1: Stay monotonous!
The keyword here is…monotone.
Yes, monotone……
Try to be less musical.
The Japanese language, unlike English, is very monotonous in a sense where the first tone of a sentence should be the very highest sound of that entire sentence. English, on the other hand, has it’s ups and downs in a sentence and it sounds more musical.
You can easily compare them by listening to announcers on TV reading news.
Since the Japanese language sounds less mucical and less motional, it has so many different ways in expressing a particular thing. It has similar words with very subtle differences in meaning. It is also famous for having many different onomatopes to describe many different situations.
English language may not have different expressions with subtle differences but to compensate that people tend to use more body gestures and to use different tone of voice to convey their meaning. This is something that’s not emphasized in Japanese communication.
TIP2: Less tension, please
The Japanese language does not require you to move much of your jaws and lips and tongues.
Aw, talk about French!!
I think that is one of the reasons why Japanese poeple like the sound of the French language; because it’s so different from Japanese, in terms of how much power and energy you have to put into in pronouncing the language correctly.
So, unlike French and English, when you are speaking Japanese don’t stress too much on each and every phonetic sound. Rather, say it as it’s flowing like a gentle river. No, seriously. Try it, it really makes a difference.
TIP3: Don’t drop the vowels
The Japanese phonetic sound is a combination of “consonant sound” + “vowel sound”.
Look at the Hiragana chart if you are a newbie to the Japanese language.
Hiragana Katakana charts with Audio…
Meaning, whatever you want to say, it always will contain a vowel sound. And this is one of the reasons why your name pronounced the Japanese way seem somewhat different from what you are being used to be called. Mike may be “Maiku”. Liz may be “Lizu”. See what I mean?
So don’t drop these vowels when you are trying to sound Japanese! These are the little sounds that make you sound like a Japanese.
From Erika
Now you know why your Japanese sound a bit different from Japanese natives. I’m not saying that the Japanese language is monotone and boring. Rather, it possesses a discreet beauty in which each vocabulary and expressions hold a very significant meaning in each of their usage.
So remember, next time you speak in Japanese, don’t go too up and down! And try to pronounce each phonetic sound clearly with a vowel. It should change lots of things.
What’s your favorite Japanese word?
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