The Phonetics Of Japanese Language

This book is a reference guide to the phonetics of the Japanese language, and it covers the differences between Japanese and European speech sounds. The book was first published in 1931, and it is the first of its kind to focus on Japanese speech sounds. There are only five Japanese vowel elements, compared to 18 in English, 13 in French and 8 in German. There are also 15 Japanese consonants, 26 in English, 22 in French and 23 in German. Because of the limited number of elements, Japanese speech sounds tend to have a wider range than those in other languages.

This book gives true characters of Japanese speech sounds in reference to European speech sounds. When it was first published in 1931, it was the first book of its kind. There are only 5 Japanese vowel elements as opposed to 18 in English, 13 in French and 8 in German. There are 15 Japanese consonants, 26 in English, 22 in French 23 in German. Because of the lesser number of elements, it follows that the wider range in vowels and consonants is heard by Japanese ears, so this volume gives average sounds uttered by Japanese in the twentieth century in relation to the English sounds.