Subway are currently running TV commercials for their "wagoo" sub. That's "wa" as in "wag" and "goo" as in yucky stuff. Doesn't sound very appetising.
The text in the commercial shows that the sub actually contains "wagyu" (和牛, わぎゅう, wa-gyu-u), literally Japanese style cow, which is a very flavoursome and expensive type of beef. Subway have paid what I imagine is not an inconsiderable amount of money to an advertising agency to produce a commercial in which the person doing the voice over doesn't pronounce the name of their premium ingredient anywhere near correctly.
In my first blog entry I commented on the GKR "official" pronunciation of "taikyoku" as "tay-ig-yo-koo" as being mind bogglingly wrong. At least this pronunciation isn't being aired at GKR's expense in prime time on national television. English speakers seem to struggle with Japanese words that contain yōon (拗音), or contracted sounds, which are a type of dipthong. Sometimes these are referred to as a glide. Examples of these are the "gyu" (ぎゅ) in "wagyu" and the "kyo" (きょ) in "taikyoku" (太極, たいきょく, ta-i-kyo-ku). "Kyo" is a "ki" and a "yo" that glide together and have the voiced length of a single syllable. This is quite different to the English pronunciation in Tokyo and Kyoto where a definite "ki" followed by a "yō" is heard. Compare your English pronunciation with the Japanese pronunciation of Tōkyō (東京, とうきょう, to-u-kyo-u), that's East Capital
, and
Kyōto
(京都, きょうと, kyo-u-to). Similarly "gyu" is a "gi" and a "yu" that glide
together. Another word people seem to struggle with in the dojo is "gyaku"
(逆, ぎゃく, gya-ku), meaning reverse, where "gya" is a "gi" and a "ya" that
glide together. It shouldn't be pronounced "yaku" or, even worse, "yaka".
The "White Belt Techniques and Japanese Terminology" on the back of the GKR welcome letter I received when I completed my first GKR class is the only place that I have seen first kata spelt correctly as "Taikyoku Shodan". On all other GKR documentation I have seen since and on the kata DVD's I purchased "taikyoku" is incorrectly spelt as "taigyoku". The substitution of a "g" for a "k" is even in the pronunciation guide that accompanies the correct spelling. In an earlier blog entry I talked about rendaku in Japanese. This is where a "k" sound is changed to a "g" sound so that, put very simply, words roll off the tongue better. Say "taigyoku" and then say "taikyoku". Which one rolls off the tongue better?
I have actually heard Taikyoku Shodan pronounced as Tokyo Shodan in the dojo which is probably closer to the correct pronunciation than "tay-ig-yo-koo".
