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アンカー 1

 Seion vs Dakuon 
Voicing

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What is the difference between A and B? Listen to the audio.
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The difference between A and B is the presence or absence of the mark  ゛ in word-initial position, not in the A, but in the B. They are ぎ, だ, バ. The mark  ゛ is called 濁点 (dakuten, or tenten informally). A and B are one pair; the A without dakuten is called 清音 (seion, literally clear sound), while the B with dakuten is called 濁音 (dakuon, literally muddy sound).

Japanese k, t and p in word-initial position are pronounced to be softer than English k, t and p in the same position. English k, t and p accompany a palpable puff of air upon release, but Japanese ones are quite gentle sounds with only a minimal amount of puff of air. So please be careful not to pronounce them too strong. Japanese g, d and b in word-initial position are very close to English g, d and b in the same position.

The パ行 (Pa-gyō) sounds are called handakuon (half muddy sound). However, the sounds are seion, not dakuon. Native speakers think of Ba-gyō pair as Ha-gyō (ハ行 vs バ行), not Pa-gyō (パ行 vs バ行). The historical sound change  (p -> h) has made Pa-gyō something exceptional. In modern Japanese, the p sound that comes at the beginning of a word is limited to loanwords such as パリ "Paris" or onomatopoeia such as ぺたぺた (sound of a flat surface repeatedly making contact), ぽろぽろ (tears spilling out in large drops).

What is the difference between A and B? Listen to the audio.
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The difference between A and B is the presence or absence of the dakuten in word-medial and -final positions, not in the A, but in the B. They are ぐ, ド, ぼ and じ.

The seion (k, t and p) in word-medial and -final positions are pronounced as voiceless sounds, with no puff of air. They are close to k, t and  p sounds in English that come just after an "s" as in sky, stop and spy. The dakuon (g, d, b and z) in word-medial and -final positions are close to English g, d, b and z in the same positions. They are voiced sounds with the vibration of vocal folds.

How do you know if your vocal cords vibrate? Put your fingers over your vocal folds and make e, m, g, d, b or z sound. You will feel the tremble in your fingers. Your vocal folds are vibrating. On the other hand, when making k, t, p, or s sound, you will not feel the tremble in your fingers because voiceless sounds do not accompany the vibration of the vocal folds.

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The seion and dakuon need to be differentiated clearly; otherwise, one meaning is changed into another. Changing meaning affects communication. So, let's practice.
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