Pronunciation Challenge

みなさん、こんにちは。

あっという間（ま）に3月ですね。

3月は、日本では卒業（そつぎょう）シーズンです。

また、桜（さくら）の咲（さ）く季節（きせつ）でもあります。

ということで、今回の発音（はつおん）チャレンジは、桜と、卒業に関連（かんれん）する言葉（ことば）の練習（れんしゅう）をしましょう！

Hello, everyone!Time flies, and it's already March.

In Japan, March is the graduation season. It is also the time when cherry blossoms start to bloom.

So, for this pronunciation challenge, we’ll focus on words related to cherry blossoms and graduation and such!

How to Participate:

Choose either the beginner, intermediate, advanced, or proficient level, record it, and upload it on the Forum as a reply to the announcement. Please read through the points and practice with a guide audio file and a PDF for pitch accent and intonation.

The deadline is Saturday, March 22nd, at 11:00 PM. JST.

Feedback: I will provide feedback via video on Saturday, March 29th on the Forum.

Sentences to Read: Here are the sentences you’ll read. Please choose one, record, and upload it. I added points for you to be careful with, but if there are any other points you want me to check, please let me know.

【Beginner　初級（しょきゅう）】

わたしはさくらをみたことがあります／ありません

（I have seen cherry blossoms./ I have never seen cherry blossoms.）

Please choose あります or ありません based on your own experience.

Points:

・The pitch accent of わたしは.　It’s a Heiban word, so the pitch rises and does not fall. 

・The pitch accent of さくらを. It’s also a Heiban word. If you say it with an Atamadaka accent, it sounds like a person’s name rather than the flower. 

・The intonation of みたことがあります. あります should be lower than みたことが. However, when you say ありません, it’s not necessarily as low as あります.

【Intermediate　中級（しょきゅう）】

1．私は桜を見たことがあります。とてもきれいでした。

2．私は桜を見たことがありません。いつか見てみたいです。

（I have seen cherry blossoms. They were beautiful./ I have never seen cherry blossoms before. I’d like to see them someday）

Please choose 1 or 2 based on your own experience.

Points:

・The pitch accent of わたしは.　It’s a Heiban word, so the pitch rises and does not fall. 

・The pitch accent of さくらを. It’s also a Heiban word. If you say it with an Atamadaka accent, it sounds like a person’s name rather than the flower. 

・The intonation of きれいでした. It gradually goes down.　Also, please say きれえ instead of きれい.

・The intonation of みてみたいです. It gradually goes down.

【Advanced　 上級（じょうきゅう）】

「立つ鳥跡を濁さず」、ということわざがあります。異動や退職、卒業、または旅行先から帰るときなどに、自分のいた場所を元通りにきれいにして出発する、という意味です。この季節によく使われることわざです。

　（There is a Japanese proverb: "立つ鳥跡を濁さず, Tatsu tori ato wo nigosazu.”

It means that when leaving a place—whether it's due to a transfer, resignation, graduation, or returning from a trip—one should leave it clean and in its original state. This proverb is often used during this season.）

Points:

・The pitch accent of 異動（いどう）、退職（たいしょく）、卒業（そつぎょう）、旅行（りょこう）、出発（しゅっぱつ）. They are Heiban words.

・ The pronunciation of りょこう.   「りょ」 has one mora.  If you say it as  りよ, it will become two mora.

【Proficient】

読みたいもの、言いたいことを5〜10文で録音してください。

自分のよく使う表現を練習してもいいかもしれません。

Please record in 5 to 10 sentences what you want to read or say. It might be a good idea to practice expressions you commonly use.

みなさんのチャレンジ、お待（ま）ちしてます！！

I can't wait to hear your recordings!