Dogen posts
Posts: 331
Files: 318
Announcements—Next video and Grading Your Japanese
Good afternoon Patrons, I hope that this post finds you well. This is just a short video explaining a couple of changes / updates that I'm making in the upcoming weeks. If anyone has any questions or concerns feel free to leave a comment below!Thank you for your support and good luck with your Japanese studies,Dōgen
Episode 19.1: Verbs and particles, part I
BibliographyJapanese Phonetics Index PageGood evening Patrons! In this lesson, we begin to explore how particles attach to verbs, primarily heiban verbs.As always, if you have any questions or concerns with regard to this lesson, please don't hesitate to leave a comment below. Thank you very much for your continued support, and good luck with your Japanese studies!Best from Beppu,Dōgen
Japanese Phonetics Episode 80—LIVE!
BibliographyJapanese Phonetics Index PageGood evening Patrons! The eightieth episode of Japanese Phonetics is live! In this lesson we see how four common suffixes affect pitch-accent in everyday speech.Note: Both the 掛け（かけ）and 立て （たて）suffixes in these lessons are often written simply as かけ and たて, as in 読みかけ and 焼きたて, though of course it's also acceptable to use the kanji variants as well, as in 読み掛け and 焼き立て.As always, if you have any questions or concerns with regards to this...
(Read description!) Japanese Phonetics Episode 79—LIVE!
Note: The kanji at 6:55 should be not 起こり, but 怒り. Apologies for this mistake!BibliographyJapanese Phonetics Index PageGood evening Patrons! The seventy-ninth episode of Japanese Phonetics is live! In this lesson we begin to look at pitch-accent in suffixes.As always, if you have any questions or concerns with regards to this lesson, please don't hesitate to leave a comment below. Thank you very much for your continued support, and good luck with your Japanese studies!Best from Beppu,Dogen
Q&A with Matt from the Mass Immersion Approach!
Good afternoon Patrons! The Q&A with Matt from the Mass Immersion Approach is live! I hope that we were able to answer everyone's questions, and that the people who didn't leave questions are able to learn something from this video!Relevant links:Japanese learned English through immersion 1 Japanese learned English through immersion 2As usual, if anyone has any questions or concerns with regards to this video, feel free to leave a comment below!Best from Beppu,Dōgen
Long-term Japanese Road Map with Matt from MattvsJapan!
Japanese Phonetics Index PageGood afternoon Patrons! The newest episode of Japanese phonetics is live! In this lesson, which be listed near the top of the above index page, I talk with Matt from Refold and discuss the most effective long-term study plan for Japanese learners aiming for a very high level of Japanese fluency. Note that this video is rather long (close to two hours!), so if you would like a brief breakdown of the roadmap, please skip to the one hour and twenty-one minute, zero second, mark. The separate Q&A video should be up in a...
Japanese Phonetics Episode 78—Pitch accent in honorifics (part II)
BibliographyJapanese Phonetics Index PageGood evening Patrons! The seventy-eighth episode of Japanese Phonetics is now updated with high-quality native recordings! In this lesson we continue to explore pitch-accent in honorifics. Below is the stand-alone version of the word list from the end of the lesson.Good to know Japanese honorific compoundsAs always, if you have any questions or concerns with regards to this lesson, please don't hesitate to leave a comment below. Thank you very much for your continued support, and good luck with your ...
(Potential) tax changes and lesson revision
Good evening Patrons! I hope that this post finds all of you well. In the above video, I discuss the tax changes Patreon will be making in the near future (which will only affect certain Patrons living in the U.S.), as well as a minor revision related to the previous lesson on honorific pitch-accent. If anyone has any questions or concerns with regards to the above, please don't hesitate to let me know.Best from Beppu,Dōgen
Japanese Phonetics Episode 77—Pitch accent in honorifics
BibliographyJapanese Phonetics Index PageDecember 2022 Update: When updating this lesson with high-quality native recordings, in the section covering the third rule in this lesson (two mora atamadaka words preceded by the honorific お usually maintain their accent), we replaced the examples used to illustrate the exception. This originally used お針が and お鍋が, but お針 is rarely used anymore, and in common usage お鍋 usually follows rule #3 and not the exception. The new examples of お声が and お宿が are more common and fit ...
Podcast with Norm from Tokyo Lens!
Good afternoon Patrons! Just wanted to share a link to the recent video podcast I did with my friend Norm from Tokyo Lens as part of his 'The @ Home Show' series, in which he interviews various Japan-based creators. Most of the stuff we talk about I've covered before in different videos, but hopefully some people still enjoy this!Norm's YouTube channelNorm's PatreonNote: this is an unlisted video; Norm is trying to keep this series exclusive to his Patreon (and to the Patreon accounts of the various people who were interview...
Recent Japanese Phonetics Updates
BibliographyGood morning Patrons! I'm posting this video to explain three revisions / supplementary updates I've recently made to Japanese Phonetics, and to briefly talk about a video I plan on making in the relatively near future. The episodes I talk about in this video can be found at the below links:Episode 29. Sentence level pitch-accent (dealing with emotions and intentions)Episode 33. Introduction to devoicingEpisode 61. Exceptions to the の rule and common words with multiple pitch accent patternsAs always, if you have any quest...
Episode 6.5: Devoicing and pitch & one mora words in isolation
BibliographyJapanese Phonetics Index PageGood evening Patrons! In this lesson we look at devoicing and pitch in rapid, everyday speech, and also compare the pitch of one mora heiban and one mora atamadaka words when there is no following particle.As always, if you have any questions or concerns with regard to this lesson, please don't hesitate to leave a comment below. Thank you very much for your continued support, and good luck with your Japanese studies!Best from Beppu, Dōgen
Episode 6.4: Using Spectrographs to analyze pitch accent, part 2
Note: This video features a slightly different production style as it was recorded during the early days of the pandemic when I was adjusting to sudden changes in work and life circumstances. Thank you for your understanding.BibliographyJapanese Phonetics Index PageGood afternoon Patrons! In this lesson, we continue to use spectrographs to analyze pitch accent. Specifically, we compare odaka and heiban words, and also see whether or not devoicing affects pitch accent in slower, more deliberate speech.As always, if you have any questions or conc...
Episode 6.3: Binary graphics and spectrographs
BibliographyJapanese Phonetics Index PageGood evening, Patrons! This lesson breaks down the differences between binary pitch-accent guides and how they can differ from actual pronunciation by using computer generated spectrographs to look at pitch-accent patterns in spoken Japanese, as well as introducing the "subtle drop in pitch" and the effect it has on words and longer phrases.As always, if you have any questions or concerns with regard to this lesson, please don't hesitate to leave a comment below. Thank you very much for your ...
Interview with Matt from MattvsJapan!
Good evening Patrons!Above is my Patreon exclusive Q&A I recently did with Matt from MattvsJapan. In addition to the above video, we also recorded a video in which I interviewed him regarding AJATT and MIA, and a video in which he interviewed me on how I use Japanese in my comedic series, among other things. I hope that everyone enjoys these videos, and is able to learn something from them! I'd like to do another Q&A with Matt sometime in the future such that we can answer more questions; apologies for not being able to answer everything th...
Q&A with MattvsJapan!
Good afternoon Patrons! I just wanted to let everyone know that in the very near future I'll be doing a Patreon exclusive Q&A video with MattvsJapan, an extremely proficient Japanese speaker who often talks about the All Japanese All the Time study method on his various channels. If you have any questions you'd like me to ask him during our interview, please leave a comment below! Thank you!EDIT: The interview has been shot! We were unable to address all the questions, but I'd like to have another session with Matt in the somewhat n...
Episode 6.2: Effective active listening drills
BibliographyJapanese Phonetics Index PageReading Aloud in JapaneseGood evening Patrons! In this lesson we work on improving our pitch-accent awareness by going through several active-listening drills.As always, if you have any questions or concerns with regards to this lesson, please don't hesitate to leave a comment below. Thank you very much for your continued support, and good luck with your Japanese studies!Best from Beppu,Dōgen
Nasality in Japanese—Important!
Good afternoon Patrons!I recently received a YouTube comment (pinned on this video) from a Japanese speaker which essentially said, "Your Japanese is very good, but sometimes it sounds like you're speaking with slightly too much nasality." In the above video, I address this comment in detail.To be clear—I often speak Japanese in an overly nasal manner in both my comedic videos and in this Patreon series, and this is unnatural. Try to speak from your mouth, rather than your nose.As mentioned in the above video, yesterday I re-recor...
Episode 6.1: Improving pitch-accent awareness
BibliographyJapanese Phonetics Index PageJapanese Phonetics Episode 58Clarification Post mentioned at end of lessonNote:The post mentioned at the end of the lesson has been replaced by Japanese Phonetics #5.1, which covers Japanese voice and speaking style.Good evening Patrons! Episode 6.1 of Japanese Phonetics is live! In this lesson we learn an effective exercise for hearing and pronouncing words from a pitch-accent perspective, as opposed to a stress-accent perspective.As always, if you have any questions or concerns with regards to this les...
Japanese Phonetics #76—Pitch accent in long particle strings
BibliographyJapanese Phonetics Index PageGood evening Patrons! The seventy-sixth episode of Japanese Phonetics is live, now updated with high-quality native recordings! In this lesson, we look at pitch accent in long particle strings.As always, if you have any questions or concerns with regards to this lesson, please don't hesitate to leave a comment below. Thank you very much for your continued support, and good luck with your Japanese studies!Best from Beppu,Dōgen
Episode 5.2: Stress-accent vs. Pitch-accent & the 'R' sounds
Bibliography Japanese Phonetics Index PageGood afternoon Patrons! Recently I have been receiving a fair number of questions regarding the difference between stress-accent and pitch-accent, so I wanted to share this quick, impromptu video I made on said topic. Note that because this isn't a full lesson, I've opted to include patrons in the $5 dollar price tier as well. I hope that this quick video proves to be useful.In other news, earlier today I updated the lesson on the textbook R sounds; the old video had an incorrect citation, and I...
Japanese Phonetics Episode 75—LIVE!
BibliographyJapanese Phonetics Index PageGood evening Patrons! The seventy-fifth episode of Japanese Phonetics is now updated with high-quality native recordings! In this lesson, we look at accent deletion and pre-accenting in long particles.As always, if you have any questions or concerns with regards to this lesson, please don't hesitate to leave a comment below. Thank you very much for your continued support, and good luck with your Japanese studies!Best from Beppu,Dōgen
Google Hangout / Livestream Pause
Good afternoon Patrons! I hope this message finds all of you well. It's been a while since the last Google Hangout or livestream, so I just wanted to take a minute to address this topic. I've talked about it briefly in other posts, but I don't believe I've ever created a post specifically to address things properly.Since the birth of my twin daughters (September 13, 2017), I've had to put the Google Hangouts and livestreams more or less on hold in order to keep regularly releasing phonetic lessons. Please accept my apologies...
Japanese Phonetics #74: Multi-mora particles
BibliographyJapanese Phonetics Index PageGood evening, Patrons! The seventy-fourth episode of Japanese Phonetics is now updated to include high-quality native recordings. In this lesson, we begin to explore pitch accent in long (multi-mora) particles.As always, if you have any questions or concerns with regards to this lesson, please don't hesitate to leave a comment below. Thank you very much for your continued support and good luck with your Japanese studies!Best from Beppu,Dōgen
Winter Break
Good morning Patrons. I hope that this message finds you well. I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be taking two to three days off this month to celebrate the holidays with my wife and kids, and that as a result of this, the next phonetics lesson will be released slightly behind schedule (factoring in the delay, I'm currently aiming for around the 29th). Thank you all for your understanding in this regard, and for your gracious support in 2019. Hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday break!Best from Beppu,Dōgen
Japanese Phonetics Episode 73—Updated with native recordings!
BibliographyJapanese Phonetics Index PageGood evening Patrons! The seventy-third episode of Japanese Phonetics is now updated with high quality native recordings! In this lesson we explore pitch-accent change in adverbial counters.Incidentally, the point I wanted to cover at the end of the video deals with adverbial pitch transformation in the 尾高 variants of the universal counters (二つ、三つ, etc.), as well as the number '10' from this universal counter group (十, read as とお). The academic literature (Labrune 2012, NHK 20...
Japanese Phonetics Episode 72—Updated with native recordings!!
BibliographyJapanese Phonetics Index PageGood afternoon Patrons! The seventy-second episode of Japanese Phonetics is now updated with high quality native recordings! In this lesson we learn about counter related speaker variation, looking at the heiban pronunciations of standard counters and 円, as well as the peculiarities of the number 15.As always, if you have any questions or concerns with regards to this lesson, please don't hesitate to leave a comment below. Thank you very much for your continued support, and good luck with your Japa...
Influenza and Slight Japanese Phonetics 72 delay
Good afternoon Patrons,I hope this post finds you all well. I wanted to let everyone know that I will be releasing Japanese Phonetics #72 three to five days behind the scheduled November 17th release date as I (and my youngest daughter) have come down with the flu, and have thus been completely bedridden for the past several days. I actually wanted to post announcement this in video form, but I haven't showered in three days and am currently far from presentable, so I opted for a short post instead. Please accept my sincerest apologies—wi...
Japanese Phonetics Episode 71—Updated with native recordings!
BibliographyJapanese Phonetics Index PageGood morning Patrons! The seventy-first episode of Japanese Phonetics has been updated with native recordings! In this lesson, we explore the money counter, 円, in detail. We also look at a couple general rules, and this updated video also includes a phonetic shift that has happened in recent years with 千円.As always, if you have any questions or concerns with regards to this lesson, please don't hesitate to leave a comment below. Thank you very much for your continued support, and good luck with...
(Please read description!) Japanese Phonetics Episode 70—now with native recordings!
August 7, 2020 amendment: 十冊（read as either じゅっさつ or じっさつ）and 十匹（read as either じゅっぴき or じっぴき）also form entire odaka compounds, as in juSSATSUha / jiSSATSUha and juPPIKIha / jiPPIKIha, rather than JUssatsuha / JIssatsuha and JUppikiha / JIppikiha. Apologies for not including these with the other exceptions, and thank you to Patron Kent for bringing this to my attention!-----BibliographyJapanese Phonetics Index PagePatrons! The seventieth episode of Japanese Phonetics is now updated with native...
