Gaijin accents

[komitsuki]

Japanese syllable structure is closely link to mora.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mora_(linguistics)

But non-Japanese speakers have unusually difficult time to understand Japanese syllable structure.

[SaintKat]

It's pretty similar to Te Reo Maori, so the pronounciation is pretty straightforward. The characters on the other hand tie me up in knots lol.

[komitsuki]

The "w" prounciation in Japanese is unrounded.

Ergo it's only a compressed velar approximate ("w" like pronouciation without any interference of your lips; sort of like a slight panting sound when you are exhausted).

[yuujirou]

eh.... in my middle school years...
i kinda taught myself japanese by reading through a japanese textbook that i got from some one and looking through dictionaries x.x''

when i finally got a job at a japanese owned/run restaurant in my senior year of high school...
i was told that i pronounced everything very much like a native japanese would...
and that my only problem was.. eh... how do you call it... >.<''
like... the difference in hana (nose) and hana (flower)
>.>''
really lost at the proper word... x.x'''
but ..... yeah, that's the only thing that makes me sound non-native when i speak in japanese (that and my lack of proper grammar and limited repertoire of verbs... )

hope i made sense x.x'''

[Firebird]

Well if youve met some Japanese speaking english than you will know how most gaijin will sound speaking japanese. Meaning that even if your pronounciation is not to good, if they try hard enough they will understand you.
You should raise your voice at the end of a question (raise at the "ka").

I also think its good to use a recording to practice you speaking because otherwise you might learn something wrong and than its hard to correct later. Actually hearing alot of Japanese, as in subtiteled animes will help you. This might sound weird, but you get used to the language and after a while you get around even pronouncing words you didnt hear before.

And after all, like stated above, Japanese is pretty straightforward, so if someone doesnt understand you, you can pronounce it syllable by syllable. Korean or Chinese are much more difficult because they are more tonal languages.

[Nyororin]

I would say that 99% of the time, it`s obvious when a non-native speaker is speaking Japanese. When there is someone who truly has no accent I am very impressed.

However, accent does not equal unintelligibility. Even with an accent, unless you are completely ignoring any of the rules of pronunciation, most everyone is going to understand you. But, yes, they`re going to know without looking that you`re not Japanese.

As far as I know, I don`t have an accent in Japanese. I can talk to people on the phone and over the intercom, then have them do a double take when we meet face to face... Occasionally even as far as asking in poor English for me to call the Japanese person they were just speaking to. (Happens quite a lot with utilities, deliveries, etc.) People tell me that I sound perfectly normal, but I consider direct proof with phone and intercom a lot more trustworthy.

I think a lot of it has to do with your age when you acquire the language more than actual study method or language skill. Obviously, that won`t HURT, but there are very skilled non-native Japanese speakers who have been in Japan a very very long time and still have a strong accent.

Personally, I would be most concerned about learning the basic rules of pronunciation and trying to imitate as closely as possible than worry deeply about accent. Accept it as a given, and if you do acquire a very natural accent consider yourself very lucky.

[seiki]

I was just wondering if a native speaker would be less likely to talk with you if you had a strong foreign accent? I am just learning japanese and do not believe i have an accent but it is highly possible that i could.

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by seiki

I was just wondering if a native speaker would be less likely to talk with you if you had a strong foreign accent? I am just learning japanese and do not believe i have an accent but it is highly possible that i could.

Chances are - you do have a strong accent.
I would say that it might not have a strong effect on their willingness to talk to you... But it will most likely have an effect on the level of conversation and what they will discuss with you. Even if your Japanese is very good, if you have a strong accent they will likely judge your level as below what it really is. In what I`ve observed, they cut down the difficulty level and speak in the sort of way you would talk with a gradeschooler...
And, well, to be honest this seems to be what happens to most everyone with a strong accent no matter what country they`re in and what language they are speaking.

But even before any of that, unless you`re Asian and look very Japanese, you`re already going to have people figuring you don`t speak Japanese and wary of starting a conversation.

[MMM]

I am one who, too, has been blessed with a pretty accent-free Japanese. I don't know if being raised on the generic-American accent West Coast had anything to do with it, but I am sure 1) being taught by native speakers and 2) living in Japan had everything to do with it.

I am not sure that I am accent-free now, as I haven't lived there in a few years, but I was able to fool people on the phone.

On the other hand, it is not often I hear a native Japanese with accent-less English...

[KyleGoetz]

I have been told by Japanese that I have only a slight American accent when speaking Japanese (I've been told the same about my Chinese, but my Spanish accent is very gringo). I think you should absolutely work toward removing traces of foreign-ness in your speech patterns.

In my opinion, American-accented Japanese is hideous and sounds awful. I mean, can you imagine being friends with SOMEone WHO talks LIKE this ALL the TIME? Because that's what American-accented Japanese sounds like. Japanese is pitch-based accent, while English is stress-based accent. Americans (I imagine other native Anglophones as well? I didn't know enough over there to notice) use the stress way too much in Japanese, and it hurts to even my ears, and having learned Japanese stateside initially, I'm more used to it.

If you're ever going to do anything business-wise with the language, I'd suggest losing the accent as much as possible. When I lived in Japan, my university actually offered a class on this for foreigners.