Lesson 2.5:促音(そくおん)Sokuon

In learning about Japan you've undoubtedly come across things and places with a double vowel in their name(One famous example being Hokkaido). How is that rendered in 仮名(Can't read it?), you may ask? With the help of a small つ 仮名, the term for it being 促音. It signifies a brief pause in speech while saying the word(Much like in the English words Poppa or Rabbit)-the technical term being a Germinate Consonant;the more proficient you are at speaking Japanese, the briefer it'll be  Let's take the name for an archetype in most anime-type stories as an example of how it's written:


つんでれっこ


*what a female is named, when they have a tough outer shell, but a tender inner being, closer to when we call a tough looking person a big softie*

It'll sound different depending on what 仮名 follows it(such as in the words 出席《しゅっせき》-the word for attendance-& ばっちり- used to express when something is done right or is right on the money), but the general principle is the same