For instance if I’m saying arigatou, should I say it in my American way like arri-gato or say it how they do, more like adi-gato. Similarly, when saying certain words they’ll end them with an ‘oh’ sound. Like my name, for instance, is David—should I say namae wa David or David-doh. Sorry if that doesn’t make a lot of sense, it’s hard to put something I’d usually say out loud into words and describing it that way. Thanks for the help 🙂
4 comments
Yes, when speaking Japanese you should try to pronounce properly as to the best of your ability.
Yes, you may have an accent, but you should at least try.
I don’t understand the context of the question. If you’re speaking in Japanese with other Japanese speakers, then try and pronounce it properly. I routinely use the Japanese pronunciation of my name when I’m speaking Japanese. (Or sometimes both, “Sukotto/Scott to moshimasu”). If you’re speaking English, pronounce English words (like your name) in English. If you’re mostly speaking in English and happen to use a Japanese word (like sayonara, arigato, honcho, etc.) it depends a lot of context. Insisting on Japanese pronunciation for words that are essentially adopted into English can often make you look weird. But it depends on the people.
The point of learning the language is to communicate with native speakers, so you should pronounce it like the native speakers. Otherwise they might not understand you. Ever spoke to anyone in English who had a thick, almost unintelligible accent? That’s what you would sound like to Japanese people if you spoke in your American accent like your friends. Japanese and American English have completely different sound systems, so it doesn’t make sense to mix them up.
I don’t speak Japanese, but I do speak Korean, and it is polite to introduce yourself using the sound system of your target language. It shows that you are trying to integrate yourself in the culture. I think you would appreciate it too if someone from another country Americanized their name so that you knew what to call them, instead of just saying their name in their native language that you might not understand how to pronounce.
So I’m going to assume that you’re worried about it seeming like you’re making fun of the accent. I’m guessing that you’re American, and that you’ve had it drilled into you from a young age that mimicking accents = making fun of them, and that you shouldn’t do it.
The thing is, when it comes to speaking a foreign language, you actually can (and should) try to copy the way they speak. But it can be a bit of an adjustment if you’re not used to it; when I first started learning foreign languages, trying to speak with a specific accent made me feel like I was doing something wrong and ‘making fun’ of their accent, even though I wasn’t.
And to take it a step further, if you’re talking to someone in their native accent and you don’t even try to speak with a correct accent, it can come across as lazy. (Or else like you just don’t know what you’re doing.)
So basically: yes it’s gonna feel weird at first, but while you’re speaking in Japanese, try to use the native pronunciation, etc… (Also if you watch people on tv it can be helpful to notice how they position their mouths, which can make a big difference for how things sound.)