Jul 7 2006
Survival Japanese – Hiragana
There are five vowels in the Japanese language (similar to English). The sounds are::
- "a" that sounds like AH as in Father
- "i" that sounds like EE as in Week
- "u" that sounds like OO as in Google
- "e" that sounds like AY as in Day
- "o" that sounds like OH as in Nose
When words have two vowels together each vowel should be pronounced by itself, such as in the word "いえ" (which means house)it is pronounced "ee-ay". When two of the same vowels are together then you hold the sound longer. For example in the word "いいえ" (which means no) the "ee" sound is held longer, where as in the word"いえ" both sounds have the same length.
Jul 8 2006
New Books on/from Japan Reviews Added
I have just recently added a couple of new book reviews to the Book Review area.
The first one is “The Japan Journals” by which is a collection of journal entries by Donald Richie (longtime resident of Tokyo, film critic and write) spanning from 1947 to 2004.
The second book is “The Japan We Never Knew” by David Suzuki and Keibo Oiwa. This book covers the pilgrimage of David and Keibo to the side of Japan few people know about; the environmentalists, the artists, the Okinawans, the Ainu, the Burakumin, The Koreans. The Japan We Never Knew is an excellent book that I am sure you will enjoy too!
By Craig "hachiroku" Mercer • Books on Japan •