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Lesson 3

When learning Katakana, the first thing we have to do is get used to the basic syllables.
The vowels are the same as in Western languages ("a", "e", "i", "o", "u"), although, for traditional reasons (linguistic, not cultural traditions), their order in Japanese is rather "a", "i", "u", "e" and "o".

The basic syllables

	a	i	u	e	o
k	ka	ki	ku	ke	ko
s	sa	shi	su	se	so
t	ta	chi	tsu	te	to
n	na	ni	nu	ne	no
h	ha	hi	fu	he	ho
m	ma	mi	mu	me	mo
y	ya		yu		yo
r	ra	ri	ru	re	ro
w	wa	wi		we	wo
n / m	n / m

Comments:

1. The nasal sound "n", the only "syllable" (which wouldn't actually by considered a "syllable" by us Westerners) without a vocalic ending, double-serves as an "m" before bilabial sounds, i.e., "m," "b" and "p." In these cases, it's easier to slur it into an "m" sound than keep it separate as an "n". This can also be a cause for "Engrish" ("Komboy" instead of "Convoy"), together with the previously noted "r/l" and "b/v" problems.

2. As stated above in the pronunciation guide, the "fu" doesn't actually sound like an "f". It's only used for transliteration, but it's more like the "h" in "Houdini".

3. The symbols for (wi) and (we - pronounced like "wet" without the "t") were made obsolete by the Japanese Ministry of Education in 1946 as part of its language reforms.

So, we can now start with our first Transformers names, right? The one thing to remember is that reading English words written in kana will usually (but not always) require dropping/slurring the middle vowels or pronouncing them like schwas (e.g. the "e" in "women", the "o" in "lemon", or the second "a" in "animal"). For example, the first "i" in "MEKiSHIKO" gets dropped, and you'll get "Mexico". You should never have to drop an "a" or "e" this way, and never for any extended vowel. Hmm... It's difficult to find a Transformer's name that only consists of basic syllables, but here's some I found:

Examples:

We start off with an easy one: . Can you read this? Just try it syllable by syllable. It's "Ho-I-Su-To". Speak it out aloud. Now do it faster. Keep the "Ho", but try to contract the "Su" and the "To". Got it? That's Hoist.

We increase the difficulty level a bit: . Again, first of all, read it syllable by syllable. "Su-To-Re-I-Fu". Try it faster, contract the "Su", the "To" and the "Fu". You should now have "Streif". Now, keep in mind that Katakana is a literal transliteration of sounds. How does a Japanese "ei" sound? Like a long English "a" as in "tale". That should give you "Straaf". Now, all you need a little imagination and you should come to the conclusion that this sounds exactly like Strafe.

Can you also read longer names? How about ? Once again, read it syllable by syllable first. "A-Su-To-Ro-To-Re-I-N". Shouldn't be all that difficult now once you understand how it works. Speak it out aloud, contract the "Su" and the two "To"s. What does it sound like now? "Astrotrein". Remember how the Japanese pronounce the "ei", and you'll get Astrotrain.

Admittedly, not all cases are that easy. Sometimes it takes a little more imagination. How about ? Can you read this? It's "Ku-Ri-Fu". Speak it out aloud, contract the "Ku" and the "fu", and you'll get "Krif". Remember what I said above about the Japanese phonetical system and the "l"/"r" problem? "Krif" could also mean "Klif". Now all you need a little more imagination to replace the "k" with a "c", and you'll end up with "Clif", and with even more imagination you should finally have Cliff. And that, as some of you might already know, is the Japanese name of G1 Cliffjumper.

The English "th" is unkown in Japanese (and in all other non-English languages too, for that matter). Like all other people whose native language isn't English, the Japanese also try to approximate it with an "s". With that in mind, you should hopefully be able to decypher the following name: . First of all, the easy part, i.e. directly transliterating the name into Romaji: "Su-Ra-Su-To". Contract the two "Su"s and the "To", and you'll get "Srast". Now, remember the thing I just said about the "th", and you'll end up with "Thrast". Finally, remember what I said about the Japanese phonetical system, and you'll realize that an English "u" often tends to be pronounced like a Japanese "a", and "Thrast" becomes Thrust.

Another example just to train you a little more: . "Sa-I-Ku-Ro-Na-Su". After the obligatory contraction game, you should end up with "Saikronas". Replace the "r" with an "l": "Saiklonas". Now, keep in mind that the Japanese don't know the "c" as in "city", and therefore they approximate it (again) with an "s". "Caiklonas". You see where this is heading for? I hope you won't mind if I spare you the last two steps and just assure you that the end result is indeed Cyclonus.

Last example before we move on to the more complex stuff: . "Ta-N-To-Ra-Mu". A few contractions later, and you have "Tantram". Or Tantrum.


Click here for lesson 4.

- Nevermore

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