l6 PRONUNCIATION AND LETTER-CHANGES.
R is the very softest of English /s, and is never rolled or gargled as in French and German.
W shows so strong a tendency to become obsolete after k and gj not only in Tokyo but in most parts of the country excepting the West, that it is optional to write, for in- stance, kwashi or kashi, " cake;" Gwaimusho or Gaimu- sho, " the Foreign Office." In the present work the w has been retained in all such cases, in order to conform to the usage of Dr. Hepburn's dictionary. Note that all such words are derived from the Chinese.
y is always a consonant. Thus the syllable my a in myaku, " the pulse," is pronounced as one syllable, like mia in the English word " amiable." Care must be taken not to confound it with the dissyllable miya in such words as miyako (mi-ya-ko), " a capital city."
Z, when preceding the vowel u, has the sound of dz, and is accordingly so written by many transliterators, as mizu or midzu, " water." We write z in this work, rather than dz, merely in order to conform to the usage of the dictionary.
^T 25. Double consonants must, as in Italian, be carefully distinguished from single ones, thus:
awa, " a nun ;" amma, " a shampooer."
ichi, "one;" itchi, (for ichi-chi) " union."
o/o, " a sound ;" otto, " a husband."
Where, however, no confusion is liable to ensue, the natives of Tokyo often pronounce as double a consonant which is properly single, thus :
atnmdri, for aniari, " too much."
minna, ,, mina, "all."
sakki, ,, saki, "before."
But this is slightly vulgar.
