accentuation

[givemesomebeer]

when is u skipped, in which words?(desu.... but not in sumimasein?)

and how to emphasize fukushima?(where to find rules about emphasis)

[RobinMask]

Originally Posted by givemesomebeer

when is u skipped, in which words?(desu.... but not in sumimasein?)

and how to emphasize fukushima?(where to find rules about emphasis)

To my knowledge the 'u' in 'desu' is not "skipped", merely is less pronounced. It's still there when you say 'desu', unless you're pronouncing it as 'dess', which I don't think is accurate . . .

As for empthasis. I believe every syllable receives equal stress when pronouncing. I've heard non-native speakers pronounce names ever so strangely, like 'ta-kar-da', elongating the 'ka' sound in 'Takada', but when it comes to saying words you don't have to empthasise any particular syllable. Fukushima is simply 'fu-ku-shi-ma'.

Hope this helps?

[JohnBraden]

After countless newscasts on NHK I've seen about the nuclear crisis there, the newscasters, who are most likely native speakers, pronounce it Fukushima. But only with a slight accentuation on the shi.

[givemesomebeer]

Originally Posted by JohnBraden

After countless newscasts on NHK I've seen about the nuclear crisis there, the newscasters, who are most likely native speakers, pronounce it Fukushima. But only with a slight accentuation on the shi.

i already thought that it must be emphasized on shi in most cases of all words which have shi in it(but i also heard on nhk they pronounce it as fukúshima)

i also thought back then that almost all words have to be emphasized on O until i heard that they pronounce it hiroshi not hiroshi


would it be wrong to say smimasen instead of sumimasen? or kasumi instead of kasmi(<its what most people pronounce)

[JohnBraden]

Even if you were to pronounce it smimasen there still is a very faint u sound present. I've heard Tokyoites say something akin to "konchiwa"....

[givemesomebeer]

and what japanese say to this

i also thought back then that almost all words have to be emphasized on O until i heard that they pronounce it hiroshí not hiróshi