Typical Japanese Speaker Problems

1 · Pronunciation

L and R

Japanese has just one liquid sound: a quick tap of the tongue tip that lands somewhere between English l and r. So you use it for both, and your listener cannot tell light from right.

• “We walked along the liver.” (you meant river)“We walked along the river.”
• “Please collect the answer.” (you meant correct)“Please correct the answer.”
• “The grass is very green.” said as “The glass is very green.”“The grass is very green.”
• “It is a long way, but the load is good.” (you meant road)“It is a long way, but the road is good.”

How to make it

1. For /l/, press the tip of your tongue on the ridge just behind your top teeth and keep it there.
2. Keep your voice on and let the sound flow past the sides of your tongue.
3. For /r/, pull the tongue back and up, but touch nothing. Round your lips a little.
4. Say “la la la”, then “ra ra ra”. Feel the tongue touch in the first, and float in the second.

Say it after me

light, right, river, liver, glass, grass, road, load

2 · Pronunciation

Extra vowels after consonants

Japanese syllables are a consonant plus a vowel, so English clusters get a vowel pushed in between, and words that end in a consonant get a vowel on the end (katakana style). School becomes su-ku-u-ru, and hand becomes ha-n-do.

• “su-ku-u-ru” (for school)“school” (one syllable)
• “su-pu-ri-n-gu” (for spring)“spring” (one syllable)
• “gu-ra-su” (for glass)“glass” (one syllable)
• “ha-n-do” (for hand)“hand” (one syllable)

How to make it

1. Get your tongue ready for the next consonant while you are still saying the first. Do not stop to put a vowel in.
2. For the start of street, hold the hiss /s/, tap /t/ and slide into /r/ in one smooth movement.
3. At the end of a word, stop the sound with your tongue or lips and keep your mouth almost closed. No o, no u.
4. Clap once for each syllable: stopped gets one clap, wanted gets two.

Say it after me

school, spring, glass, hand, street, stopped, wanted, strong

3 · Grammar

a, an, the: an article for every noun

Japanese has no a, an or the, so a noun can stand alone. English wants a small word in front of almost every singular noun.

• We rented small flat near station.We rented a small flat near the station.
• I bought a laptop. Laptop was expensive.I bought a laptop. The laptop was expensive.
• She is teacher.She is a teacher.
• The life is hard for the old people.Life is hard for old people.

4 · Grammar

Plural -s and uncountable nouns

Japanese nouns do not change for one or many, and there is no count/mass split. So plural -s is easy to forget, and words like information feel countable.

• I have two brother.I have two brothers.
• She gave me many informations.She gave me a lot of information.
• The traffics are heavy in my city.The traffic is heavy in my city.
• Furnitures are expensive here.Furniture is expensive here.

5 · Grammar

Missing subjects and objects

In Japanese you can leave out I, he, it and they when the meaning is clear. A verb can be a whole sentence. English needs a subject (and often an object) every time.

• Finished the report and sent it to my manager.I finished the report and sent it to my manager.
• Is very crowded on Fridays.It is very crowded on Fridays.
• I bought a phone, but broke after a week.I bought a phone, but it broke after a week.
• Did you call the bank? Yes, called this morning.Did you call the bank? Yes, I called them this morning.

6 · Grammar

Don't forget be and the third-person -s

Japanese adjectives work like verbs, so there is no be. Verbs also do not change for he, she or it.

• My town very quiet.My town is very quiet.
• This soup delicious.This soup is delicious.
• She work in a bank.She works in a bank.
• Everyone know the answer.Everyone knows the answer.

7 · Grammar

Questions: do / does / did, word order and tags

A Japanese question is the statement plus ka, with the same word order. A tag usually becomes one fixed form.

• You need a ticket?Do you need a ticket?
• Where you live?Where do you live?
• Where does he lives?Where does he live?
• Your brother plays tennis, isn't it?Your brother plays tennis, doesn't he?

8 · Pronunciation

Sentence stress and rhythm

Japanese gives each beat (mora) about the same time, so every word gets equal weight. English rhythm works differently: the stressed words come at roughly regular beats, and the small words in between are squashed to fit.

• “MY. SIS. TER. IS. STUD. Y. ING.” (every syllable equal)“my SISter is STUDying”
• “I. HAVE. A. LOT. OF. WORK. TO. DO.”“I have a LOT of WORK to DO.”
• “CAN. YOU. TELL. ME. THE. WAY. TO. THE. STA. TION?”“can you TELL me the WAY to the STAtion?”

How to make it

1. Tap the table on each stressed word. Keep the taps at an even speed.
2. Say the small words quickly in the gaps. More small words means faster, not slower.
3. Make the stressed words a little louder, longer and clearer. Say the little words with a relaxed jaw.
4. To answer a question, put the biggest stress on the new information.

Say it after me

My parents live near the station., I have a lot of work to do., Can you tell me the way?

9 · Pronunciation

The th sounds

Japanese has no th. You replace it with the nearest sounds you know: s or z (sink for think, zis for this), and sometimes d for the voiced th.

• “I sink it is a good plan.”“I think it is a good plan.”
• “We have sree lessons a week.”“We have three lessons a week.”
• “Zey live in a small village.”“They live in a small village.”
• “It was a sick fog this morning.”“It was a thick fog this morning.”

How to make it

1. Touch the back of your top front teeth with the tip of your tongue. When you practise slowly, you can let the tip show a little between your teeth.
2. For /θ/, blow air over the tongue. No voice: it is a soft hiss.
3. For /ð/, do the same and switch your voice on. You will feel a buzz on the tongue.
4. Pull the tongue back inside to say the next sound. Do not leave it out.

Say it after me

think, sink, three, tree, this, that, mouth, mouse

10 · Pronunciation

B and V

Japanese has no /v/. You reach for the nearest sound you have, /b/, so very sounds like berry and vote like boat.

• “I have a bery good idea.”“I have a very good idea.”
• “My sister works as a bet.” (you meant vet)“My sister works as a vet.”
• “I will boat for the new mayor.”“I will vote for the new mayor.”
• “The ocean wabe was huge.”“The ocean wave was huge.”

How to make it

1. For /v/, lift your bottom lip up to touch your top teeth, gently.
2. Push air through the gap and switch your voice on. You should feel a buzz on your lip.
3. For /b/, press both lips together, then let them pop apart.
4. Say “fff” first, then add voice to turn it into “vvv”.

Say it after me

van, ban, very, berry, vote, boat, vest, best

11 · Pronunciation

Vowels: lack / luck, boat / bought, turn / torn

Japanese has five vowels, so some English vowels collapse into the nearest one: the wide and the relaxed vowels in cat and cup both become a; the vowels in coat and caught both become a long o; and the vowel in bird is replaced by a long a. Short ones like the vowel in ship can also end up too tense or too weak, so ship and sheep are heard as the same.

• “Good lack with your exam!”“Good luck with your exam!”
• “I boat a new phone last week.”“I bought a new phone last week.”
• “There are fifty ship on the hill.”“There are fifty sheep on the hill.”
• “The tarn is on the left.” (you meant turn)“The turn is on the left.”

How to make it

1. For /æ/, open your jaw wide and spread your lips, as if you are smiling at the dentist.
2. For /ʌ/, let the jaw drop only a little and relax. The sound is short and low in the throat.
3. For /ɜː/, keep your lips loose and slightly spread, and hold the sound long. Do not open to “ah”.
4. Hold the long vowels (/iː/, /ɑː/, /ɔː/, /ɜː/) for a count of two. Keep the short ones to a count of one.

Say it after me

lack, luck, bought, boat, ship, sheep, turn, torn

12 · Pronunciation

Word stress: longer and louder, not pitch alone

Japanese words have a pitch pattern: one beat is higher, but all beats have the same length and strength. English stress is loudness, length and a clear vowel, and the other vowels get weak. Words borrowed into Japanese keep Japanese accent, so computer goes in with the wrong stress.

• “KON-pyu-ta” (Japanese accent)“com-PU-ter”
• “BA-na-na”“ba-NA-na”
• “ED-u-ca-tion”“ed-u-CA-tion”
• “e-NER-gy”“EN-er-gy”

How to make it

1. Find the strong syllable and say it louder. Make it clearly longer than the others.
2. Open your mouth for the strong vowel. Say the other vowels fast and small: /ə/.
3. Pitch alone is not enough. Make the strong syllable longer and louder too, and let the other vowels shrink.
4. Tap the table on the strong syllable as you say the word.

Say it after me

banana, computer, education, energy, economy, technology, university, photograph

13 · Grammar

Relative clauses: who, which, that, where

Japanese puts the whole description before the noun and has no relative words. So learners either avoid clauses or build them the Japanese way.

• I know a teacher lives in Spain.I know a teacher who lives in Spain.
• The film which I saw it was long.The film which I saw was long.
• The woman which taught me was kind.The woman who taught me was kind.
• That is the café I met my husband in it.That is the café where I met my husband.

14 · Pronunciation

Small words: weak forms, contractions and linking

Japanese has no weak forms, so you say to, of, can and was with full vowels. You also separate each word, and add a vowel after a final consonant. English listeners then hear a choppy stream, and you cannot hear the weak words when others speak.

• “I want TOO go home.” (to said in full, /tuː/)“I want /tə/ go home.” (to is weak)
• “turn, off, the, light” (a gap between each word)“tur-noff the light” (linked)
• “Did, you, see, it?” (four separate words)“di-jou see it?” (did you → /dɪdʒə/)
• “I will wait” said with a full “will” every time“I’ll wait” (/aɪl/)

How to make it

1. Keep small words short and relaxed. The jaw barely moves, and the vowel is a lazy /ə/.
2. When a word ends in a consonant and the next one starts with a vowel, slide the consonant over: tur-n_off.
3. Do not add a vowel after the final consonant. Stop on it: turn, not turn-u.
4. Practise with a beat: tap on the strong words and fit the weak words into the gaps.

Say it after me

can, can’t, I’d like, a cup of tea, turn off, did you

15 · Pronunciation

F and H

The Japanese sound in fu is a soft breath blown between the lips, and it is the only place Japanese has an f-like sound. Your h before the u sound turns into it, so who comes out like “foo” and huge like “fuge”. Before i, Japanese h is also pushed forward towards a hiss, so he can sound close to she.

• “Foo is that man?”“Who is that man?”
• “It is a fuge city.” (you meant huge)“It is a huge city.”
• “I could not fear the music at the back.”“I could not hear the music at the back.”
• “Every fuman needs sleep.” (you meant human)“Every human needs sleep.”

How to make it

1. For /h/, open your mouth as if you are about to say the next vowel and breathe out like fogging a mirror.
2. Keep your lips and tongue away from everything. Your teeth do not touch your lip.
3. For /f/, put your top teeth on your bottom lip and push air through. No voice.
4. Say “hhh, ee” (he), then “fff, ee” (fee) and feel the teeth appear only for f.

Say it after me

hat, fat, heel, feel, who, hair, fair, hour

16 · Pronunciation

si, ti, di, tu: sounds that change before i and u

In Japanese, the sounds change when i or u follows: si is said shi, ti is chi, di is ji, and tu is tsu. You carry that habit into English, so seat becomes sheet and tea becomes chee.

• “Please take a sheet near the window.” (you meant seat)“Please take a seat near the window.”
• “The waiter gave me a good chip.” (you meant tip)“The waiter gave me a good tip.”
• “The river is very jeep here.”“The river is very deep here.”
• “I have tsoo sisters.”“I have two sisters.”

How to make it

1. For /s/, put the tip of your tongue close to the ridge behind your top teeth and hiss. The tongue stays flat and forward.
2. For /ʃ/ (shi), the tongue pulls back and the lips round. Notice that you do not need that movement for /s/.
3. For /t/ and /d/, tap the tongue tip on the ridge and release at once. Do not let a hiss follow.
4. Say “see, she, see, she” slowly, so the tongue moves forward and back.

Say it after me

seat, sheet, tip, chip, deep, jeep, two, see

17 · Grammar

Because, so and although: one complete sentence

Japanese conjunctions sit at the end of a clause like particles, so learners start a new sentence with Because or So and leave it as a fragment.

• We cancelled the picnic. Because it was too windy.We cancelled the picnic because it was too windy.
• Because the road was closed. We took the train.Because the road was closed, we took the train.
• Although the room was small, but it was comfortable.Although the room was small, it was comfortable.

18 · Grammar

The passive: be + past participle

A Japanese passive often shows that a person is affected by something (a “suffering” passive), and things are often described with an active verb. So English passives of things can feel odd, and the affected-person pattern gets copied into English.

• The house build in 1990.The house was built in 1990.
• Her cat was died last week.Her cat died last week.
• I was lost my keys.I lost my keys.
• English speaks in many countries.English is spoken in many countries.

19 · Grammar

Prepositions and phrasal verbs

Japanese joins verbs and nouns with particles, so English verb + preposition pairs are easy to drop or mix up. In a phrasal verb, a pronoun object also tends to go in the wrong place.

• We waited the bus for an hour.We waited for the bus for an hour.
• I'm good in drawing.I'm good at drawing.
• He turned off it before he left.He turned it off before he left.

20 · Pronunciation

Intonation: questions, lists and sounding interested

In Japanese a question is marked by the little word ka at the end, and attitude is shown by extra words. English puts the meaning in the movement of your voice, so a flat voice in English sounds bored or cold, even when your words are friendly.

• “Where do you live?” said in a flat voice, “live” stays level“Where do you live?” (the voice falls on live)
• “Do you like cooking?” said with the voice falling“Do you like cooking?” (the voice rises on cooking)
• “I like tea. Coffee. And milk.” (all fall)“tea, coffee and milk” (rise, rise, fall)

How to make it

1. Find the most important word in the phrase. Your voice jumps up or down on its stressed syllable.
2. For a wh- question or a statement, let the voice glide down and finish low.
3. For a yes/no question, glide up at the end. Think of a little hill.
4. To show interest, open your pitch wide: go higher on key words, and lower at the end.

Say it after me

Where do you live?, Do you like cooking?, That’s a great idea!, apples, oranges and bread

21 · Grammar

If, future plans and reported tenses

Japanese uses nearly the same form for real and unreal if, the plain present can talk about the future, and reported speech keeps the original tense.

• If I have enough money, I would buy a house.If I had enough money, I would buy a house.
• I think it rains tomorrow.I think it will rain tomorrow.
• He told me he can't swim.He told me he couldn't swim.
• If she studied harder last year, she would have passed.If she had studied harder last year, she would have passed.

22 · Speaking style

Short, vague or silent answers

In Japan a short, careful answer, a pause or a soft opinion is polite, and fluent talk is not always admired. Giving a personal opinion at length may not be something you practised at school.

• “Do you like your job?” “Yes.”“Yes, I do. I enjoy meeting people, and every day is different.”
• “Is your city a good place to live?” “Maybe, perhaps, a little good, I think.”“Yes, I think it is, because it is safe and the trains are on time.”
• “Why did you choose this subject?” “Hmm... difficult...”“That is an interesting question. I chose it because I want to work in a hospital.”

23 · Speaking style

Yes or no to a negative question

In Japanese, hai means “what you said is right”. So “You don't like fish?” gets hai when the answer is “right, I don't”.

• “Don't you have a car?” “Yes, I don't.”“Don't you have a car?” “No, I don't.”
• “Aren't you tired?” “No, I'm tired.”“Aren't you tired?” “Yes, I am.”
• “You haven't finished yet?” “Yes, I haven't.”“You haven't finished yet?” “No, I haven't.”