How do you know when つ and others hiragana of katakana are silent in a sentence??? - Feed Post by Myles223
How do you know when つ and others hiragana of katakana are silent in a sentence???
posted by Myles223
Comments 8
つ is actually really simple, because the つ you are referring to isn't actually つ but っ. (side by side: っつ). and it indicates a double consonant.
きって = kitte,
きっぷ = kippu
ノック = nokku
it is important to note that they are still pronounced:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVynW7frBig
and the meaning could be quite different if you don't:
きって = ticket
きて = come- Then there is the concept of mute vowels or devoicing in Japanese. (which is not really simple..) meaning you pronounce them without using your voice. devoicing only happens with 'i' and 'u'.
Firstly the u in desu and masu is devoiced, pronouncing those is a dead giveaway of you gaijin status xD
and then as a general rule any 'i' 'u' that is between two unvoiced consonants, which are the consonants k, s, t, h and p MAY (not always) be devoiced. Or at the end of a word in a word with low pitch accent. Devoicing does not occur in the last mora before a drop in pitch accent.
pitch accent? yes, and no don't bother. At least not right now. Just stick with the k, s, t, h and p rule. Or better, imitate how natives say words. - some examples of devoicing:
すこし, the u in suko:
https://forvo.com/word/%E3%81%99%E3%81%93%E3%81%97_%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6_%E3%81%8F%E3%81%A0%E3%81%95%E3%81%84/#ja
くつした, the i in shita:
https://forvo.com/word/%E9%9D%B4%E4%B8%8B/#ja
けんきゅうしつ, the i in shitsu:
https://forvo.com/word/%E3%81%91%E3%82%93%E3%81%8D%E3%82%85%E3%81%86%E3%81%97%E3%81%A4/#ja
and of course, there are exceptions to the general rule (which is why i said, just listen to natives xD):
すごい, the u in sugo:
https://forvo.com/word/%E3%81%99%E3%81%94%E3%81%84/#ja 
Ok thanks, I get everything about the double consonant with っ, but I dont understand the devolving thing
Myles223, there is a hint, the size of the kana. See the difference: つっ.
Example:
いつか いっか
itsuka ikka
五日 一家
And isn't always "silent", is like more like holding the consonant a little time, in kanas with k, ch, t... sounds with a short pause, and in s-sh the consonant sounds a litle more time than without っ before. It's more noticiable when the consonant is an s. If you hear the words with and without っ you can hear the difference.- Ya Ik i understnd that part but Qixzi talked about concept of mute vowels or devoicing in Japanese and I didn’t quite get that part
- Since the question was about silent sounds I thought it might be a good opportunity to talk about this. Contrary to not properly pronouncing the double consonants, not devoicing won't change the meaning of the words. Just be aware of it happening when you listen to Japanese and you will probably pick up on when they do it. It'll make you sound more natural
