Quote:
Originally Posted by MMM
Nagoyankee, I looked over your word list, and I suppose I can hear a slightly softer tone in words like 以外 or サイゴン, but I have never heard anything close to an N or M sound associated with が sounds.
I looked on YouTube, but didn't see anything, but that doesn't mean there isn't something there.
You learn something new every day...
|
Well, it wasn't me who said it was close to an N or M sound. I used my own vague term "soft G". In Japanese, it's called 鼻濁音（びだくおん）. When we explain this sound to small kids, we use a pharse like 「強く’が’と言わないで、鼻から音を抜くような感じ で柔らかく言いなさい。」. So it's like a nasal "nga".
I'm watching the 2 o'clock news on Fuji TV now and I do hear two G sounds very clearly probably because it's a professional announcer reading the news. So maybe it's regional as you said. I'll be listening carefully when I watch some Kansai comedians tonight.