The audio sounds like せんど instead of せんろ。
Sounds normal to me. The R row will always have a little bit of a D sound in them based on the position of the tongue.
First, which person are you talking about, Kyoko or Kenichi?
Second, I agree with athomasm that they both sound like せんろ to me. The らりるれろ sounds are often said to sound kind of like “d” sounds in English.
I would probably guess they mean Kyoko. That’s the one that to me at least has the bit of a D sound in it.
Me too, but you can never be sure what people are hearing. What a sound in another language sounds like to you can be impacted by your native language, so it’s possible other people would hear it the other way.
This Tofugu article might also help explain the phenomenon a bit more.
Even comes with a video of Koichi explaining how to make the sounds.
Essentially your tongue will tap a spot that is sort of in-between the English R and D. That’s how you get that bit of English D sound in the pronunciation.
Right it was Kyoko. Funny thing is that when I say them, the D doesnt come out.
Hopefully you’re not saying it too wrong.
Does your version of 線路 sound more like Kenichi or completely different from both of them?
When I try to put my tongue in the space he suggests, I end up trilling my Rs like I would when speaking spanish.
Okay… after adjusting, I’m a bit off…
Thanks all for your help
That’s interesting. I can’t roll my Rs without doing so intentionally. ![]()
When pronouncing the ん in 線路, move the tongue a bit further back along the roof of your mouth. Hold it there through the ん sound and then flick it down when saying the ろ part.
I’ll have to practice more…now I’m seeing the difficulty. Even a slight movement ends up in a D sound.
Purse your lips a bit when saying it, like you’re kissing. It’ll come out with more of an ‘R’ sound. ![]()
But, yeah, the more you listen the more you pick up nuances and the harder it can be to imitate them.
I can’t do it. Period. Best I can come up with is the trill using the back of my throat. lol
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