Need name for English-pronunciation website for Japanese learners

October 6, 2008 9:49 AM

Help! Need name for English-pronunciation website for Japanese learners.

The tool is based on speech recognition. The intention is to eventually make it work on mobile devices and also extend it to Korean and Chinese users.

This is for a startup that is based out of Boston and currently attempting to get funding. (I know.)

posted by Dragonness to Education (6 answers total)

Hello English!
posted by mumkin at 10:23 AM on October 6, 2008

Accent Wrangler.

Japanese speakers know the word "accent," and if they're good enough at English to be working on their pronunciation, they'll recognize "wrangler" as an obvious trouble-word. Plus, I think it sounds good and is descriptive. Not so sure about Chinese or Korean speakers.
posted by adamrice at 11:25 AM on October 6, 2008

Off the top of my head, To You, kind of a pun on the Japanese word と言う... not sure if it's catchy enough though.

Maybe Hats On To You? (get it? 発音と言う! It's a laugh riot!)
posted by Ghidorah at 5:30 PM on October 6, 2008 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Wow, I was originally completely stumped, but you actually came up with some spot on suggestions. Hello English! seems great on several levels - but I wonder if it would put off someone like a businessman who wants to practise his pronunciation. Accent Wrangler definitely sounds like a tongue wrangler, which may or may not be a good thing. I don't speak Japanese so can't judge the last one, but will pass it on.

Thanks for your ideas, I really appreciate it.
posted by Dragonness at 7:29 PM on October 6, 2008

Sorry about that, that last suggestion, the first two characters are the word hatsuon, which means pronunciation. In other words, it kind of means, Pronunciation, So to Speak, in Japanese.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:48 PM on October 6, 2008

Response by poster: Very cool, Ghidorah! Thank you!
posted by Dragonness at 7:58 AM on October 7, 2008