[steven]

Decimus, I think I have a pretty good idea of where you stand and I respect your position. As I'm sure you can tell, I have a different opinion. Whether you meant it or not, I felt that you've had a very condescending tone towards me throughout this discussion and frankly I'm tired of it. There's no point in arguing with you about this because you will always be right in your mind.

Pandaman101, if one were to look at "ai" written on paper and say it, I think it would come out as two syllables. In practice, however, I think it can be said as one syllable. I notice this when people speak very quickly or in less formal situations. On paper, sure, it's two syllables. To pronounce it always as one syllable is certainly incorrect. To pronounce it always as two syllables is also incorrect. I'm sure the "it's two syllables" point of view is more official though. To be clear, I'm not just talking about "ai" as a single word, but also as a sound within words. Again though, I think that there is a lot of gray area when looking at Japanese with syllables in mind.