Japanese spoken language
Spoken Japanese, like English, contains slang and contractions, which I recommend learning naturally through exposure to conversation and native material. Many words and phrases are gender-specific. If your friends or instructors are not the same gender as you, be wary of mimicking their speech patterns. In particular, Japanese has a large number of first-person pronouns and each carries unique connotations—be careful. For example, men generally don’t say atashi.
Unlike English, Japanese has several regional dialects that have different conjugation, slang, and pitch accent. Two of the most popular are the Tokyo dialect and the Kansai (southwest) dialect. The Tokyo dialect, often called Standard Japanese, is used by the government and the vast majority of textbooks. You do not need to specifically study non-standard dialects unless you plan on visiting rural areas and want to fit in, since pretty much all Japanese people will understand the Tokyo dialect.
Some notes:
- Shadowing is the process of speaking words at the same time as a character in a movie or cartoon, and helps to improve intonation, pitch, and pacing.
- Tokyo is actually Tōkyō. Learn to tell the difference between long and short vowels.
- Pitch accent (the rising and falling pitch of your voice as you speak) distinguishes between homophones in the spoken language as different kanji do in writing.
- The r sound in ra ri ru re ro is not an English r. Instead, it has been described as a mix of r, d, and l. Touch the tip of your tongue to the alveolar ridge (behind your top front teeth) very quickly.
- The pronunciation of fu is not as in the English word “fool.” It is a mix of the English f and h sounds.
- Aidzuchi are short phrases indicating acknowledgement and understanding during conversion. Japanese people use them frequently, and you should too.