Pronunciation of names (including IPA spelling)
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 7:53 am
Since the question comes up quite regularly, I thought I’d provide a comprehensive guide to the pronunciation of the names in Katawa Shoujo.
I realize there already is a thread for that, but there the correct pronunciations are mixed in with just as many (if not more) wrong ones, and it’s quite hard to tell them apart.
Trying to write English phonetically is a moot effort as nearly every writing is ambiguous one way or the other, so I tried to give a phonetic example of each syllable in addition to the official IPA writing (see links below).
I do not claim that everything in this thread is 100% correct – especially where there are no exact English equivalents – but I will edit any corrections, improvements as well as additional helpful links into the OP so the current version will always be easy to find. I also might add surnames later.
For those who want to learn more here are a few relevant links:
The International Phonetic Alphabet
Hiragana and their pronunciation
Audio version of Hiragana pronunciation
Hisao - IPA: /çisao/
(“Hi” as in “hero”, “sa” as in “Saturday” and “o” as in “oxygen”)
Emi - IPA: /emɪ/
(“E” as in “element” and “mi” as in “mineral”)
Hanako - IPA: /hanako/
(“Ha” as in “hard”, “na” as in “nasty” and “ko” as in “compound”)
Lilly - IPA: /lɪli/
Rin - IPA: /ɽin/
(“Rin” as in “rinse”)
Shizune - IPA: /ɕizu͍ne/
(“Shi” as in “ship”, “zu” as in “soup” and “ne” as in “negative”)
Shiina - IPA: /ɕi:na/
(“Shi” as in “ship” (with a long "I", “na” as in “nasty”)
Kenji - IPA: /kend͡ʑi/
(“Ken” as in “Kent”and “ji” as in “gelatin, only with i instead of e”)
Mutou - IPA: /mu͍toː/
(“Mu” as in “muslim”and “tou” as in “Tokyo”)
Yuuko - IPA: /ju͍ːko/
(“Yuu” as in “jurisdiction (only long)” and “ko” as in “compound”)
Meiko - IPA: /meiko/
(“Mei” (almost) as in “maybe” and “ko” as in “compound”)
Akira - IPA: /akiɽa/
(“A” as in “America”; “ki” as in “king” and “ra” as in “bra”)
Sae - IPA: /sae/
(“Sa” as in “Saturday” and “e” as in “element”)
Nomiya – IPA: /nomija/
(“No” as in “November”, “mi” as in “mirror” and “ya” as in “yak”)
Hideaki - IPA: /çideaki/
(“Hi” as in “hero”, “de” as in “Denver”, “a” as in “America” and “ki” as in “king”)
Jigoro - IPA: /d͡ʑiɡoɽo/
(“Ji” as in “gelatin, only with i instead of e”; “go” as in “golf” and “ro” as in “rock”)
I realize there already is a thread for that, but there the correct pronunciations are mixed in with just as many (if not more) wrong ones, and it’s quite hard to tell them apart.
Trying to write English phonetically is a moot effort as nearly every writing is ambiguous one way or the other, so I tried to give a phonetic example of each syllable in addition to the official IPA writing (see links below).
I do not claim that everything in this thread is 100% correct – especially where there are no exact English equivalents – but I will edit any corrections, improvements as well as additional helpful links into the OP so the current version will always be easy to find. I also might add surnames later.
For those who want to learn more here are a few relevant links:
The International Phonetic Alphabet
Hiragana and their pronunciation
Audio version of Hiragana pronunciation
Hisao - IPA: /çisao/
(“Hi” as in “hero”, “sa” as in “Saturday” and “o” as in “oxygen”)
Emi - IPA: /emɪ/
(“E” as in “element” and “mi” as in “mineral”)
Hanako - IPA: /hanako/
(“Ha” as in “hard”, “na” as in “nasty” and “ko” as in “compound”)
Lilly - IPA: /lɪli/
Rin - IPA: /ɽin/
(“Rin” as in “rinse”)
Shizune - IPA: /ɕizu͍ne/
(“Shi” as in “ship”, “zu” as in “soup” and “ne” as in “negative”)
Shiina - IPA: /ɕi:na/
(“Shi” as in “ship” (with a long "I", “na” as in “nasty”)
Kenji - IPA: /kend͡ʑi/
(“Ken” as in “Kent”and “ji” as in “gelatin, only with i instead of e”)
Mutou - IPA: /mu͍toː/
(“Mu” as in “muslim”and “tou” as in “Tokyo”)
Yuuko - IPA: /ju͍ːko/
(“Yuu” as in “jurisdiction (only long)” and “ko” as in “compound”)
Meiko - IPA: /meiko/
(“Mei” (almost) as in “maybe” and “ko” as in “compound”)
Akira - IPA: /akiɽa/
(“A” as in “America”; “ki” as in “king” and “ra” as in “bra”)
Sae - IPA: /sae/
(“Sa” as in “Saturday” and “e” as in “element”)
Nomiya – IPA: /nomija/
(“No” as in “November”, “mi” as in “mirror” and “ya” as in “yak”)
Hideaki - IPA: /çideaki/
(“Hi” as in “hero”, “de” as in “Denver”, “a” as in “America” and “ki” as in “king”)
Jigoro - IPA: /d͡ʑiɡoɽo/
(“Ji” as in “gelatin, only with i instead of e”; “go” as in “golf” and “ro” as in “rock”)