Comments on: Japanese Name Pronounciation

Question: Japanese Name Pronounciation

garius — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 09:07:58 -0800

I'm giving a talk tomorrow where I will be covering the work of typographer Eiichi Kono. So my question is pretty simple: how does one best pronounce his name?

By: empath

empath — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 09:14:33 -0800

Here.

By: CancerMan

CancerMan — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 09:14:36 -0800

Eh-ee-chee Koh-noh. As best as I can describe.

"Eh" as in, bed.
"ee" as in, bee.
"chee" as in, chocolate + bee.

Koh rhymes with no.
Noh as in, no.

By: specialagentwebb

specialagentwebb — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 09:22:35 -0800

You can hear how another Eiichi introduces himself here. The "e" ("eh") and the ii ("ee") parts combine to sound a lot like the American long "a", but with a longer "ee" sound on it. Like "ayyyyy".

By: 0bvious

0bvious — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 09:40:25 -0800

@CancerMan got those vowel sounds down to a tee. As a Yorkshireman with a slightly guttural English accent, I was always commended on my Japanese pronunciation. Think short, sharp, dropped syllables, leading into each other, and you'll be fine.

By: pikeandshield

pikeandshield — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 09:40:40 -0800

It'll be clearer if you separate the ei and the ichi rather than run them on, as they would each represent different characters. So "ay" "itch-ee".

"Ko" is shorter, more like the first sound of "con" rather than rhyming with "no". "No" you can more or less pronounce like the English word "no".

By: Tanizaki

Tanizaki — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 09:47:57 -0800

Empath's link is the one for Eiichi. For Kono, you know Yoko Ono? "Kono" rhymes with Ono.

In general, if you can pronounce Spanish or Italian, you can do pretty well with Japanese vowels.

I was always commended on my Japanese pronunciation

日本人に「日本語上手ですね！」って言われると。。。

By: garius

garius — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 12:04:15 -0800

Perfect! Thanks all!