English pronunciation for Japanese speakers
Japanese has one liquid sound where English has two (making l/r the canonical challenge) and its strict consonant-vowel syllables invite a helper vowel after English finals (strike → sutoraiku). Cutting those extra vowels and separating l/r are the two big wins.
- 6 sounds to fix, in order
- Every sound read aloud
- A listening game for each contrast
Your sounds, in order
- l
1
l as in light
l and r merge into the Japanese tap: 'light'/'right', 'glass'/'grass' are identical
Fix: Touch your tongue tip firmly to the ridge behind your top teeth.
- r
2
r as in red
the same merger from the other side: the English r needs a floating, non-touching tongue
Fix: Curl your tongue tip up and slightly back; it must NOT touch anything.
- v
3
v as in very
/v/ becomes /b/: 'very' → 'berry', 'vote' → 'boat'
Fix: Touch your top teeth to your bottom lip, same position as /f/.
- s
4
s as in see
/s/ before /iː/ palatalises to 'sh': 'sea' → 'she', 'sit' → 'shit(!)': high-stakes fix
Fix: Bring your tongue close to the ridge behind your top teeth without touching.
- ɪ
5
i as in sit
length-only vowel habits: /ɪ/ vs /iː/ and /ʊ/ vs /uː/ need quality changes, not just length
Fix: Relax your lips and jaw, no smile.
- θ
6
th as in think
/θ/ → /s/: 'think' → 'sink' (noticeable, lower priority)
Fix: Place the tip of your tongue lightly between your top and bottom teeth.
Stress and rhythm
- Kill the helper vowels: 'and' is one syllable, not 'an-do'; final consonants end WITHOUT a vowel.
- Japanese pitch-accent realises stress as pitch only; add LENGTH and LOUDNESS to stressed syllables too.
- Mora-timing makes every syllable equal; practise squeezing unstressed syllables (choc-late, cam-ra).
Start this week
- Whispered finals: say 'cat', 'big', 'stop' ending in pure silence: no 'o' or 'u' after.
- l/r perception first: 10 minimal pairs daily (hear, then say): light/right, collect/correct.
- s-drill before ee: 'see, seat, sea-side' with the tongue tip forward, no 'sh'.