In Japanese culture, apologizing is often more about politeness than admitting fault, as discussed in ourprevious article. This is whysumimasen is sometimes used to express gratitude, akin to saying, “Thank you for allowing me to inconvenience you.” While arigatou directly translates to “thank ...
Good morning:Ohayou gozaimasu(pronounced: "oh-hi-oh goh-zai-mas") The greeting can be shortened by just sayingohayou(sounds like the way to pronounce the U.S. state of Ohio), however, this is very informal, much as you would offer a simple “morning” to a friend. Good afternoon:Konn...
I grew up with a hard-to-pronounce name. Actually, it wasn’t that hard; it just looked different from what people were used to: Yurkosky. (Kind of rhymes with “Her pots ski,” minus the “t” in pots.) Year after year, it threw everyone off. And the way they approached the ...
At a glance, your article’s title either makes the reader curious to learn more about the information or grabs his attention. He tells the benefits he stands to gain from reading your post. Pronounce an announcement or tell them what interest is in it for him. Take this article title for...
Well, Ronnie, could you teach us (not native speakers) how to pronounce different words with /æ/ and /e/ sounds, please? You know, we don’t have those sounds in Russian, so I just don’t see any difference between them. I pronounce “sad” and “said”, “had” and “head”...
Makgeolli defies easy definition, which is part of the reason why most Americans are just starting to catch on to the ancient, hazy, fizzy Korean rice beverage. But thanks to a young generation of Korean American devotees, makgeolli (drop the g and pronounce it mahk-ol-lee) is now inc...
Some singers pronounce vowel sequences (/ai/ for example) almost like diphthongs. The /u/ sound, especially in /ou/, is pronounced more strongly, and with more lip rounding. Heavier aspiration on /t/. My final warning is that I find that when I get comfortable enough, I can sing along...
Give thought to the uniqueness. Unique names are creative and fun. But, a name that is too unique can be tricky to get through life with. Others may avoid saying it if it is too difficult to spell or pronounce. The child may have to constantly repeat it or spell it out for others....
So once you have a language in mind, make a point to start listening to how it sounds and find out which pieces are difficult for you to either hear or pronounce yourself. Some sounds are so similar we can’t hear the difference at first, and many sounds require us to learn to move...
how to pronounce “ough” in 6 different ways: thought, through, though, cough, plough, enough… The thing about tones is that they’re just less familiar. With each new word you encounter, you simply learn the tone that comes with it. After an initial period of adjustment, learning the...