An Approach to Mastering American English Pronunciation in Contrast to Japanese Pronunciation

Abstract

This article proposes a possible method for native speakers of Japanese to master American English pronunciation, putting a special emphasis on phonetic and phonological differences between American English and Japanese. First, the article presents American English consonant and vowel charts in contrast to Japanese ones. Next, as a first step toward mastering American English pronunciation, the article elucidates the difference between English stress accent and Japanese pitch accent, and then the difference between English irregular moras and Japanese regular haku (the Japanese word for mora). As a second step, together with aspirates and tense and lax vowels, some examples of phonological rules, such as vowel reduction, tapping (or flapping), and unreleased rules, are presented. The article finally suggests seven minimum, but probably sufficient, rules that native speakers of Japanese should follow in speaking American English.