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Nagoyankee (Offline)
中庸を得るのだ~
 
Posts: 2,119
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Tokyo, Japan
10-09-2009, 02:34 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by IcewindDude View Post
Strangely, as much as I've seen this, I've never actually looked these up.

Would it be correct to say that in these examples, the っ makes the word end more abruptly? Almost as if you hold your breath in the middle of the last sound. Sorta hard to explain...
It's hard for me to explain, too, but "abruptly" seems to capture the feeling.
You sort of hold your breath for a fraction of a second and then quickly let it explode.

The majority of the non-Japanese I talk to in my area of Tokyo are English- and Chinese-speakers. When they produce this っ sound, well over half of them fail and end up just elongating the preceding syllable.
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