How good is my japanese?

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by yuriyuri

It appears I totally forgot to write out that one extra line in my last post that would have made some difference to what I was saying.

Speaking in monotone was basically my way of learning to control my voice. To learn about pitch accents I went to places like iKnow (I think its now smartFm) and copied the voice actors on there.

I think it's called shadowing?

Sorry for any confusion.

I figured that's what you meant, yuriyuri: that the monotone was just a phase to help on your way to gaining a better accent. I just wanted to clarify for OP that you didn't literally mean "monotone is the correct Japanese accent." Although I do suppose it is possible to speak with monotone and have the English stress accent. But it's not as natural as a monotone non-stress. It's possible to say "i am GOing TO the STORE" in a single pitch, but it's more natural to say "i am going to the store" with a single pitch.

I learned to roll my r's in Spanish similarly: by making an extremely forceful "t" sound until my tongue would flap around a bit in my mouth. Then I learned to control that flapping, which eventually became my nice rolling "r."

[SceptileMaster]

I was getting worried for a minute when I thought that I was supposed to be speaking monotone. I try to copy the variations in pitch I hear in dramas and such, I just hope I'm doing it right (probably not but all I can do is try my best).

The one where you spoke Japanese with a stress accent was funny because it sounded like alot of the people in my Japanese class. Alot of them don't seem to realise the pronouncing い like the 'i' in the english word 'fit' probably does not sound like the same vowel to a Japanese person.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

I learned to roll my r's in Spanish similarly: by making an extremely forceful "t" sound until my tongue would flap around a bit in my mouth. Then I learned to control that flapping, which eventually became my nice rolling "r."

It's strange. I moved from Scotland to England when I was 8 and can roll my r's very easily but since my brother was 5 when he moved he can't. I wonder how long it takes for different nuances in accents to develop.

[yuriyuri]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

I figured that's what you meant, yuriyuri: that the monotone was just a phase to help on your way to gaining a better accent. I just wanted to clarify for OP that you didn't literally mean "monotone is the correct Japanese accent."

Ah ok

Anyway, like you said in one of your recordings it's quite a difficult subject to explain through text, so I was quite glad that you put up both of your recordings, they were quite interesting to listen to, even for someone who already knows about pitch accents

Also, I have to agree with SceptileMaster on the stress accent one you did.
It cracked me up

It's been so long since I heard anyone speak Japanese like that, that I forgot how awful it can sound.
It just reminds me of those people who go on through their entire Japanese learning adventure completely ignoring pronounciation and accent. Sometimes it can make things so difficult to understand.

Anyway, thanks for putting up those recordings, good stuff

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by SceptileMaster

I was getting worried for a minute when I thought that I was supposed to be speaking monotone. I try to copy the variations in pitch I hear in dramas and such, I just hope I'm doing it right (probably not but all I can do is try my best).

The one where you spoke Japanese with a stress accent was funny because it sounded like alot of the people in my Japanese class. Alot of them don't seem to realise the pronouncing い like the 'i' in the english word 'fit' probably does not sound like the same vowel to a Japanese person.

EDIT:



It's strange. I moved from Scotland to England when I was 8 and can roll my r's very easily but since my brother was 5 when he moved he can't. I wonder how long it takes for different nuances in accents to develop.

Just thought I'd clarify my native language is not Spanish.

In any case, you'll still pick up an accent by living somewhere long enough. It's funny when you listen to some actors who live in England and the US. When they move back and forth, in interviews they have hints of the other accent still on their voice.

[BenBullock]

Originally Posted by RaimiiChan

I just made a youtube video of me speaking japanese but now im over come with nerves because im not sure if someone a native japanese person or even someone who just speaks japanese can understand me. Im a begginer in learning the language so i know i have an american accent but im not sure if im even gramatically correct half of the time. So if you speak japanese please tell me if im making a fool of myself...

The recording is quite bizarre, with very loud and tinny sounding music at the beginning over some shots of a girl making faces, then very badly recorded speech at a much lower volume for the rest of the video. My impression of the voice was that it was a native speaker deliberately speaking broken Japanese.

[Sashimister]

I just had my son and three of his friends (all native Tokyoites and HS seniors) listen to your video with the subs hidden. On the average, they understood about 30% of what was said.

I myself got around 60% but that might be because I was looking at the subs, too. Another reason would be that I'm more used to communicating with non-Japanese people than those high schoolers.

Good luck with your studies.

(Wonder where you learned to say わたし with such a big accent on the た syllable? That's how a Japanese comedian says it when playing the part of a foreign person.)

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by Sashimister

I just had my son and three of his friends (all native Tokyoites and HS seniors) listen to your video with the subs hidden. On the average, they understood about 30% of what was said.

I myself got around 60% but that might be because I was looking at the subs, too. Another reason would be that I'm more used to communicating with non-Japanese people than those high schoolers.

Good luck with your studies.

(Wonder where you learned to say わたし with such a big accent on the た syllable? That's how a Japanese comedian says it when playing the part of a foreign person.)

Were "watashi" (again, for some reason, my hiragana IME doesn't work...) an English word, the stress would be on the "ta." This is most likely why she does that.

[SHAD0W]

You just proved how awful that game is.

[RaimiiChan]

Originally Posted by Sashimister

I just had my son and three of his friends (all native Tokyoites and HS seniors) listen to your video with the subs hidden. On the average, they understood about 30% of what was said.

I myself got around 60% but that might be because I was looking at the subs, too. Another reason would be that I'm more used to communicating with non-Japanese people than those high schoolers.

Good luck with your studies.

(Wonder where you learned to say わたし with such a big accent on the た syllable? That's how a Japanese comedian says it when playing the part of a foreign person.)

Thank you so much for your help. I guess i have alot of work to do on my japanese. I was trying to be really dramatic in the video so thats probably why i put so much stress on the ta in watashi. It was really nice getting this type of feedback. thanks! =D

[RaimiiChan]

Originally Posted by SHAD0W

You just proved how awful that game is.

haha i know right =P cant wait till i get to college so i can learn it the proper way. lol =]