The word gogo ‘p.m., afternoon’ shows both kinds: [go-ngo].
Another sound that may cause you trouble is ts. Unlike Japanese t (dental!), this sound usually starts at the alveolar ridge like an English t. It normally occurs only before the vowel u, and between the t and the u there is a slight hiss represented by the s. This sound does not occur initially in English, except for a few rare words like tsetse fly. However, you sometimes hear it in rapid speech: ts cool today (for it is cool today), ts all right with me (for it is all right with me). You may tend to slide over the t and only pronounce the s; this will cause confusion, because tsu and su distinguish a number of words, for example:
[cue 01-15]
s
ts
隅 sumi inside corner, angle
罪 tsumi guilt
する suru does
釣る tsuru fishes
住む sumu resides
つむ tsumu to pile up
粕 kasu dregs
勝つ katsu wins
すずき suzuki sea bass
つづき tsuzuki continuing; sequel
Notice that the vowel u gets unvoiced or dropped when there is a following voiceless consonant:
[cue 01-16]
s
ts
好き suki [s-ki] likable
月 tsuki [ts-ki] moon
進む susumu [s-su-mu] advances
包む tsutsumu [ts-tsu-mu] wraps up
すすき susuki [s-su-ki] pampas grass
つつき tsutsuki [ts-tsu-ki] pecking, biting
After you have practiced on the difference between tsu and su for a while, you might try these tongue-twisters:
[cue 01-17]
すすみつづけました
susumi-tsuzukemashita
continued to advance
つつみつづけました
tsutsumi tsuzukemashita
continued to wrap up
The thing to remember about the syllable tsu is: DON’T OMIT THE t.
In addition to the simple consonants are the combinations ky, gy, py, by, my, ny, and hy. (There is also ry, for which see below, 1.8.) These are pronounced somewhat as are the corresponding English sounds in cute, gew-gaw or regular, rebuke, music, and Hugh, provided you distinguish Hugh from you). In English, these combinations are usually followed by a vowel corresponding to Japanese u, but in Japanese they are also followed by a and o. For example, byōin [byo-o-i-n] ‘hospital’ and biyōin [bi-yo-o-i-n] ‘beauty shop’ sound similar but differ in that the former has the combination of b and y whereas these consonants are in separate syllables in the latter. Here are some examples:
[cue 01-18]
客車 kyakusha [kya-ku-sha]
passenger car
郵便局 yūbinkyoku [yu-u-bi-ng-kyo-ku]
post office
急行 kyūkō [kyu-u-ko-o]
express (train)
逆 gyaku [gya-ku]
reverse
実業家 jitsugyōka [ji-tsu-gyo-o-ka]
businessman
牛肉 gyūniku [gyu-u-ni-ku]
beef
八百 happyaku [ha-p-pya-ku]
eight hundred
発表 happyō [ha-p-pyo-o]
presentation
ピューと pyū to [pyu-u-to]
with a hiss (like a bullet)
三百 sanbyaku [sa-m-bya-ku]
three hundred
病気 byōki [byo-o-ki]
ill
ビューロー byūrō [byu-u-ro-o]
bureau
山脈 sanmyaku [sa-m-mya-ku]
mountain range
明晩 myōban [myo-o-ba-N]
tomorrow evening
ミューズ myūzu [myu-u-zu]
muse
ニャー nyā [nya-a]
meow
尿 nyō [nyo-o]
urine
牛乳 gyūnyū [gyu-u-nyu-u]
milk
百 hyaku [hya-ku]
hundred
標準 hyōjun [hyo-o-ju-N]
standard
ヒューズ hyūzu [hyu-u-zu]
fuse
1.8. Flapped r
The sound that seems to cause Americans most distress is the Japanese r. This is a sound called a flap. You make it by lifting the tip of the tongue backwards, then quickly and decisively bringing it down with a brief flick against the alveolar ridge (behind the teeth). Many Americans have this sound in the middle of words like Betty, letter, latter, and cottage. Some Englishmen use this sound for the r in very, merry, and berry so that the Englishman’s berry often sounds like the American Betty. This r will sound a little bit like a d to you. The differences between the Japanese r and d are primarily two: length—the r is brief, the d somewhat longer; and position of contact—the r is against the alveolar ridge with the very tip of the tongue, but the d is against the teeth with somewhat more of the tongue. You might begin to practice this sound in medial position, being careful not to make it like an American r—nor to trill it lengthily like an Italian r—and at the same time keep it distinct from the Japanese d:
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