[sumo] Name Spelling/Pronunciation

[Jack Gartin]

All,

Japanese is governed by a 'rhythmic' pronunciation called 'mora' .  Just tap
a table top as you say the two names Mouri/Mori The elongated names such as
"Mouri" (3 mora or beats) are pronounced differently than the "Mori" (2 mora
or beats).  Of course there's Kaio - Kai-o; and Kaiho - Kai - fou (the "f"
sound is just a light puff of air before you say the "o").  If you say it
wrong, nobody knows who you're talking about.  Thus,  it is important to
know how to pronounce the name in order to spell it properly (or vice
versa).

As Kintamayama points out, a native speaker won't be able to tell who you
mean if you don't pronounce it correctly.  Not a criticism but just the way
it is:  Japanese have a poor to very poor tolerance for variation in
pronunciation of their language.  If you don't say it correctly,
comprehension in most Native speakers of Japanese drops to near zero.  I get
a lot of "eh?" from Japanese I talk to, so I know well what I say here. 8>\

I vote for the spelling system based on the Hiragana spelling of  sekitori
names.

Regards,
Tamagoyama (5 beats or mora)  ;>}}