top of page
アンカー 1
アンカー 1

 Prominence 

JP説明.png

If you pronounce a certain part of the sentence strongly and highly to emphasize, the message will be delivered to listeners much easier because the part you emphasize is prominent aurally. To pronounce a certain part strongly and highly to emphasize is called "Prominence."  

Try to speak Japanese, which is easily understood by others, by placing prominence on the part you consider important and want to convey the most.

​Listen to the audio and find where the prominence is.

プロミネンス説明1.png
The prominence is placed on the word in red and  .
Listen carefully to the audio and try to imitate it.
Q1 いつ東京に行きますか。
A1 あした東京に行きます。
Q2 あしたどこに行きますか。
A2 あした東京に行きます。
Q3 あした東京に本当に行きますか。
A3 あした東京に行きます。
Listen and compare A1, A2 and A3.
​Listen to the audio and find where the prominence is.
プロミネンス説明2.png
The prominence is placed on the word in red and  .
Listen carefully to the audio and try to imitate it.
Q1 いつ京都に行きましたか。
A1 去年京都に行きました。
Q2 去年どこに行きましたか。
A2 去年京都に行きました。
Listen and compare the A1 and A2.
Look at the next example. ​Listen to the audio and find where the prominence is.
Listen and compare A1 and A2 above.
プロミネンス説明3.png
The prominence is placed on the word in red and  .
Listen carefully to the audio and try to imitate it.
Q1 これはどんな飲み物ですか。
A1 それは辛い飲み物です。
Q2 これも辛い飲み物ですか。
A2 それは甘い飲み物です。
Listen and compare A1 and A2.

The prominence is put on からい "spicy" and あまい "sweet" respectively. The からい of the second-mora accent sounds more prominent than the あまい of no accent. You may feel it is easier to pronounce からい than あまい. When prominence is placed on あまい, due to no accent there, it may be difficult not only to speak it but to notice the location of the prominence within the sentence. So, more practice is needed.
Look at another example. ​Listen to the audio and find where the prominence is.
プロミネンス説明4.png
The prominence is placed on the word in red and  .
Listen carefully to the audio and try to imitate it.
Q1 これは熱い飲み物ですか。
A1 それは冷たい飲み物です。
Q2 これも冷たい飲み物ですか。
A2 それは冷たい食べ物です。
Listen and compare A1 and A2 above.

In A1, つめたい "cold" sounds higher than のみもの "drinks." In A2, たべもの "food" sounds higher than つめたい "cold." This difference in pitch is not accent, but prominence.


Words with prominence are pronounced strongly and highly throughout the word, while words with accents vary in pitch within the word.
See
"Accent" in the menu for details.

Others

The location of the prominence can make the meaning of the sentence change.

For example, きれいじゃない "not pretty" has a negative meaning, but it is sometimes used in conversation with prominence on きれい, meaning "very pretty."

Visit the site blow for details.

つたえるはつおん.png
All rights reserved
© 2021-2024 JP-lab
bottom of page