DAL & LUNA’s BILINGUAL MANGA
★ Learning Japanese through MANGA ☆
★ JAPANESE AUDIO Available for Listening Comprehension ☆
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1. Bilingual MANGA
2. LUNA’s Japanese Audio
3. DAL’s Little Tips of Learning Japanese
PRONUNCIATION TROUBLE, R or L?
When I am tired, I always get a sickness called “Can’t Speak English Anymore.”
I tried my best to speak English all the time when we were dating, but it became harder after we got married and started living together…
One day, finally a Japanese word came out of my mouth without realizing it.
LUNA: Feeling dull～～～(Da Lu I ). I am sooo tired…
DAL: Whaaaat? (Husband speaking in English)
LUNA: Aaarrghh! I’m done… Feeling duuuull (Da Lu I ).
DAL: Did you call meeee?
LUNA: No, I didn’t…
DAL: Didn’t you call “Dal” just now?
LUNA: What?! Did it sound like “Dal” to you when I said “Feeling dull (Da Lu I )”?
Well, it may be true that “Da Lu I “ might sound like “Dal” because we don’t strongly pronounce the “I ” at the end of “Da Lu I .”
LUNA’s
Japanese Audio
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“DAL! DAL! DAL! Da-Ru-I !!!
Or is it Da-Lu-I ?!”
Oh Boy, I really thought that I was in big trouble!!! All I kept hearing was her calling out, “DAL! DAL! DAL!” in a way that sounded like I must’ve said or did something wrong. But when I asked if she was OK, she said that it was not about me, so I thought, “Then why do you keep calling me like you’re upset at me?”
「だるい”Da-Ru-I”」here is pronounced “Da-Lu-I.” Because of the Hepburn Romanization system or “Roma-ji,” 「らりるれろ」are all written as “Ra, Ri, Ru, Re, Ro” in Japan. Before learning that there is no pronunciation of “R” in the Japanese language, even though everything was written with “R” for foreigners or “Gai-jin” to read Japanese words, I kept saying “NaRa” when we visited the city of Nara. Then I noticed she kept saying, “NaLa” instead. Later I corrected my pronunciation for Lamen (Ramen) and Lyokan (Ryokan). So remember, the Japanese pronounce “Roma-ji” as “Loma-ji.”
Interestingly, my name is written as 「ダル”Da-Ru”」, but it’s pronounced “Da-Lu,” which sounds close enough to DAL. 「だるい“Da-Lu-I”」means dull in Japanese, which may not be a far-fetched characterization of myself.
BTW, there is no pronunciation of “V” in Japan either. The English words with “V” are usually pronounced with “B.” One of my fond memories is of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final back in 2011 when the Japanese team won. Of course I rejoiced with my wife for their “B”ictory.
