Lesson 1.4: Mora

For English we use syllables to write, read and pronounce each of our words as well as quickly pick apart any new words(like, say, the newly minted dictionary entry Bromance) or dialects we encounter. By comparison, Japanese pronunciation is much different, and instead of saying their syllables altogether in a constant breath, each one is said distinctly as a mora, or a unit of sound that helps us decide what gets emphasis in the words we say.

Take the word Mora, for example. Instead of pronouncing it as we might've learned from American style English(All a bit slurred together, IE MOR-a), we give each part of the world a bit of heft, pronouncing it a bit more like this (MOH-rah). Think along the lines of the way British English and Spanish is spoken, especially the Spanish rolled R's and you'll get even closer to Japanese style pronunciation.

Side note: Pronouncing Japanese through American style English accent is known in Japan as the 'Gaijin-san' accent, the term loosely translating as 'Mr Foreigner", and often communicates that your main knowledge of Japanese is through the heavily distorted versions seen in pop culture(such as in Banzai & The Karate Kid, no disrespect meant to those who do Wax On & Wax Off). It's viewed much the same way we'd view Japanese people pronouncing English through their accent, and I would assume is NOT something you'd like to be associated with.