Lena Torres
Japanese phonology refers to the system of sounds used in the pronunciation of the Japanese language. Japanese has 5 distinct vowels and at least 12 consonants, with some analyses suggesting up to 21. The language does not have a native th sound, and the Japanese t is pronounced with the tongue closer to the back teeth than in English. Japanese also has a pitch accent system, where the position or absence of a pitch drop can change the meaning of a word.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of distinct consonants | 12 (as many as 21 in some analyses) |
| Number of vowels | 5 |
| Japanese /t/ | Unaspirated, denti-alveolar, laminal |
| Japanese /t/ pronunciation | Tongue touches teeth |
| Japanese /t/ sound | Similar to the 'ta' in 'tac' |
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What You'll Learn
Japanese T and D sounds are denti-alveolar
Japanese phonology refers to the system of sounds used in the Japanese language. It includes at least 12 distinct consonants and 5 distinct vowels: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/. Japanese /t and /d are technically very slightly aspirated, at least at the beginning of a word, but the aspiration is slight enough that linguists refer to it as unaspirated.
Japanese /t and /d are denti-alveolar, meaning they are articulated with a flat tongue against the alveolar ridge and the upper teeth. In other words, the tongue touches the top of the back teeth. This is slightly different from English's alveolar /t/ and /d/, although any difference in how they sound is negligible.
The Japanese /d has a dakuten (the sign ゛) indicating that it is voiced. When pronouncing /d, the tongue should be away from the teeth and curled backward, and you should feel a vibration. The Japanese /t and /d produce less air than the English /t/ and /d/.
Japanese /t and /d are also laminal, which means they are produced by obstructing the air passage with the blade of the tongue (the flat top front surface just behind the tip of the tongue on the top). This contrasts with apical consonants, which are produced by creating an obstruction with the tongue apex (tongue tip) only.
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![Handbook of Japanese Phonetics and Phonology (Handbooks of Japanese Language and Linguistics [HJLL] 2)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61d8OYtnjOL._AC_UY218_.jpg)
Japanese T is unvoiced
Japanese has a variety of mimetic words that use sound symbolism to serve an expressive function. Japanese phonology refers to the system of sounds used in the language's pronunciation. While there is no consensus on the number of contrastive sounds (phonemes), common approaches recognize at least 12 distinct consonants (up to 21 in some analyses) and 5 distinct vowels: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/.
Japanese /t/ is technically very slightly aspirated, at least at the beginning of a word. However, the aspiration is so slight that linguists refer to it as unaspirated. The Japanese /t/ is denti-alveolar, meaning the tongue touches the top of the teeth when pronouncing it. This is slightly different from English's alveolar /t/, but any difference in sound is negligible.
When pronouncing the Japanese /t/, the tongue touches the teeth, and you'll notice that it's unvoiced. In comparison, the tongue should be away from the teeth when pronouncing /d/, and you'll feel a vibration. The Japanese /t/ also doesn't produce as much air as the English /t/ or /d/.
Japanese is a mora-timed language, meaning each mora takes up roughly the same amount of time. This gives Japanese a rapid-fire rhythm that is quite easy to learn. Japanese also has a pitch accent system, where the position or absence of a pitch drop can determine the meaning of a word.
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Japanese has fewer sounds than English
Japanese has a reputation for being phonologically impoverished, with a limited phonology. It is said to have fewer sounds than English, and this is true to an extent. Japanese has 10 vowels (5 short and 5 long) and approximately 20 consonants (14 phonemes and 6 allophones). In comparison, English has around 44 phonemes, including 24 consonant sounds and 20 vowel sounds.
Japanese does not allow for consonant clusters, except for a consonant followed by a glide in a syllable onset, and the sound <ŋ>, written as ん・ン, as the only consonant in a syllable coda. This is in contrast to English, which can have up to three consonants in a cluster at the start of a syllable and up to five consonants in a cluster at the end. For example, the word 'strengths' has a cluster of three consonants at the start and five at the end.
However, Japanese has a pitch accent system, where the position or absence of a pitch drop can determine the meaning of a word. For example, /haꜜsiɡa/ (箸が) means 'chopsticks', while /hasiꜜɡa/ (橋が) means 'bridge', and /hasiɡa/ (端が) means 'edge'. This is a feature that English does not have to the same extent.
Additionally, Japanese has a consistent relationship between spelling and pronunciation, which is not the case in English. In Japanese, each hiragana symbol represents a syllable sound, and the spelling of a word is usually a reliable guide to its pronunciation. In English, the same letter or combination of letters can be pronounced differently in different words, and there are many silent letters. For example, the letter combination 'ough' is pronounced differently in the words 'cough', 'through', 'though', 'rough', 'slough', and 'trough'.
Furthermore, Japanese has a variety of mimetic words that use sound symbolism to serve an expressive function. These words show some phonological peculiarities and are considered a separate layer of Japanese vocabulary.
While Japanese may have fewer sounds than English, it is important to note that the sounds they do have are not always the same as in English. For example, the pronunciation of the letters 'T' and 'D' in Japanese is slightly different from that in English, with the tongue positioned closer to the back teeth.
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Japanese T is slightly aspirated
Japanese phonology refers to the system of sounds used in the pronunciation of the Japanese language. There is no overall consensus on the number of contrastive sounds (phonemes), but common approaches recognize at least 12 distinct consonants (as many as 21 in some analyses) and 5 distinct vowels.
The Japanese language has a variety of mimetic words that make use of sound symbolism to serve an expressive function. These words are of native origin and can be considered part of the Yamato vocabulary.
Japanese /t/ is technically very slightly aspirated, particularly at the beginning of a word. However, the level of aspiration is so slight that linguists classify it as unaspirated. The Japanese /t/ sound is produced by touching the tongue to the back of the frontal teeth, near the gums, using the blade of the tongue. This is in contrast to English, where the tip of the tongue is used to touch the alveolar ridge for the /t/ sound.
The difference in aspiration between the Japanese and English /t/ sounds can be demonstrated through a simple experiment. Hold a piece of paper from the bottom so that the top is near your lips, and say the English words "tore" and "store." The paper will move when you say "tore" due to the aspiration of the /t/ sound, but it will remain still when you say "store," as the /t/ sound is unaspirated in this case.
It is important to note that sounding more native in a language is typically more dependent on prosody and intonation rather than the precise pronunciation of individual sounds. To improve pronunciation, it is recommended to listen to native speakers and repeat the words or phrases, possibly recording oneself for comparison.
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Japanese does not have a native th sound
Japanese phonology refers to the system of sounds used in the pronunciation of the Japanese language. There is no consensus on the number of contrastive sounds (phonemes) in Japanese, but common approaches recognize at least 12 distinct consonants and 5 distinct vowels: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/. Japanese has fewer sounds than languages like English, Mandarin, or Russian.
Japanese does not have a native "th" sound. When Japanese speakers encounter this sound in English words, they often replace it with an "s" or "z" sound. For example, the English word "think" may be pronounced as "sink" in Japanese, and "then" may become "zen." This is because the /θ/ sound in English does not exist in Japanese, and the closest equivalent is the "t" sound.
Japanese also lacks a native "tu" sound, which has been replaced by the "tsu" sound. This is evident in the Okinawan dialect, where the place name "Tumai-ti" is commonly spelled as "Tomari-te." The "tu" sound in Okinawan is believed to have shifted to "ti," as seen in the word pair JA つとめる (Japanese) and RYU チトゥミユン (Okinawan).
Another notable difference in Japanese phonology is the treatment of the English "v" and "f" sounds, which do not exist in Japanese. Speakers often replace these sounds with "b" or "p." For instance, the English word "fan" may be pronounced as "pan" in Japanese, and "van" may become "ban."
Japanese speakers may also struggle with certain vowel sounds in English. The high back rounded vowel /u/ as in 'pool' does not exist in Japanese, so speakers tend to use an unrounded version: /ɯ/. Additionally, the STIR vowel sound in English does not exist in Japanese, leading to substitutions like 'burn' becoming 'barn.'
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Japanese does have a 't' sound. However, it is produced with the tongue closer to the back teeth than in English. It is also slightly aspirated, but only at the beginning of words.
There is no overall consensus on the number of contrastive sounds (phonemes) in Japanese. Common approaches recognize at least 12 distinct consonants, with some analyses identifying up to 21.
To pronounce the 't' sound in Japanese, place your tongue closer to your back teeth than you would in English. The tip of your tongue should touch the back of your teeth.
Yes, pitch is very important in Japanese. While Japanese does not have stress or emphasis like English, nor tones that denote meaning like Mandarin, it is not a "flat" language. Copying the pitch accents of native speakers will help you sound more native-like.
