Pronunciation Challenge

みなさん、こんにちは！　お元気（げんき）でしたか？ 

It's already December, and it's time for the final challenge of the year!

Time flies!

December is the busiest month for Japanese people. The reason is explained in the Advanced-level sentences. 😄 I'm sure you're also busy at this time of year, but I hope you'll take this opportunity to improve your Japanese Pronunciation!

How to Participate:

1. 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.

2. The deadline is Saturday, December 21st, at 11:00 PM. JST.

Feedback: I will provide feedback via video on Wednesday, December 25th on my website.

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）】

みなさん、こんにちは。

（Your name）ともうします。

よろしくおねがいします。

Hello, everyone.

I’m [your name].

Nice to meet you.

Points

・The pitch accent of みなさん. Only な is high.

・The pitch accent of こんにちは and the length of ん.

・The pitch accent ofよろしくおねがいします.

*「～ともうします」is a polite way to say your name, often used in business situations.

If you're not sure how to say your name in Japanese, feel free to ask me in the comments here.

【Intermediate　中級（ちゅうきゅう）】

もう12月だなんて信じられないです。

光陰矢の如しですね。

（もうじゅうにがつだなんてしんじられないです。こういんやのごとしですね。）

I can’t believe it’s already December.

Time flies like an arrow, doesn’t it?

Points

・The pronunciation and the pitch accent of しんじられない. ないです is low.

・The length of the longvowel in こういん. The pronunciation is こおいん

*"こういんやのごとし(光陰矢の如し)" is a proverb that serves as a metaphor for how quickly time passes. "こういん (光陰)", meaning "light and shadow," is a metaphor for "months and days,"used only in this saying.  "や(矢)" means "arrow," and "～のごとし(～の如し) " is an old way of saying "is like ～" or "as if it were～."

【Advanced　上級（じょうきゅう）】

12月の昔の呼び名は、師走、です。この「師」はお坊さんのことで、「落ち着いているはずのお坊さんですら走りまわるほど忙しい月」ということです。実際、12月は、忘年会があったり、大掃除やお正月の準備をしたりと、忙しい月です。

（じゅうにがつのむかしのよびなは、しわす、です。この「し」はおぼうさんのことで、おちついているはずのおぼうさんですらはしりまわるほどいそがしいつき、ということです。じっさい、じゅうにがつは、ぼうねんかいがあったり、おおそうじやおしょうがつのじゅんびをしたりと、いそがしいつきです。）

The old name for December is "師走(しわす)“. The "師" in this case refers to Buddhist monks. Even monks, who are usually calm and composed, are said to run around busily during this month. Indeed, December is a hectic month, with year-end parties, big cleanups, and New Year preparations to take care of.

Points

・The pitch accent of しわす.

・Vowel devoicing in おちついている, つき.  

 （→Watch "Mastering Phonetics Part 1-6, Devoicing of vowels.")

・The length of the longvowels: おぼうさん、いそがしい、ぼうねんかい、おおそうじ、おしょうがつ.     

*In Japanese, the months have alternative traditional names.

If you’re curious about names other than "師走(しわす)," check out this short video!

https://youtube.com/shorts/14O1YDfMWUE

【Proficient】

読みたいもの、言いたいことを３〜５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 3 to 5 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!

Have a wonderful day, full of Japanese!!

Fumi