Quote:
Originally Posted by KyleGoetz
Well, he might see those if he ventures into text written in vernacular. へぇ〜 and such. But point well made.
Also, good finds on the きゃきゅきょ stuff. We do say "y'all" in Texas, but we don't say "think y'all crazy," but rather "think y'all're crazy." But it still works!
"You'd better check yoself before you wreck yoself."
But intra-word I don't think we have them. When I say "Tokyo" with the Japanese きょ while speaking English, it just feels awkward, like I'm slipping out of English. Like if I say "jalapeño" in English but with the unaspirated-p as in Spanish, it feels as if I've slipped out of English. Slightly unnatural.
But point well made.
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Haha, don't get me wrong. We are on the same page here. I agree with what you're saying about those わぁ/へぇ type phrases.
Yea, you're right about the "intra-word" thing. I think that's probably a huge part of it.
Living in Japan, I forget about how Americans say certain Japanese words. Just recently I've made a point of saying Japanese words the American way when speaking English as to not sound like a dork. The "jalepeno" thing is a good example!
I remember growing up thinking that people who spoke foreign words in English with the "true" accents of the words were kinda... (I'll let your imagination choose the adjective). Unfortunately I've become one of those people
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Shinjon, if you have audio clips of how to say those sounds, focus on those.
If you're not understanding what we're talking about, I'll try to put it simply. There is a difference between きよ and きょ, but native English speakers have a hard time hearing that difference. For words that include きょ, they say きよ instead for some reason. So just make sure that you don't become one of those people that messes that up! I think if you do a lot of listening (and recording of your own voice), you'll be fine. I wish I had that kind of recording software/equipment when I first started studying. Nowdays you can get a cheap computer mic and use some free recording software and have a field day as far as language practice goes. Give it a shot if you have the time/means.