assimilation of numbers and counters

[Languagelearner123456]

So I know that there are excpetions to how counters are pronounced depending on what number they are used with. My question is do the hard pronunciations not change?

Example:isshuu-one week
ichiji-one hour

Doumoarigatougozaimasu

 

[Flaminius]

What do you mean by "hard pronunciation"?

 

[frequency]

isshuu-one week
ichiji-one hour

The difference between them? Irregular. I recommend you memorise a lot of examples, because it's faster than wonder why they're so.
But you know, easier pronunciation is chosen:
Ichi-ko（一個）Ikko
Ichi-shū（一週、一周）isshū

Try speaking "ittuji" （いっじ）, not ichiji. It's got harder conversely.

 

[Nino83]

there are excpetions to how counters are pronounced depending on what number they are used with

It depends on the fact that some numbers end with an unstressed syllable formed by a stop consonant and an "i" or "u". In these cases, when the following counter begins with a voiceless stop or an "s" (note that in Old and Middle Japanese "h" was pronounced "p" [ɸ], so it counts as a stop, and sometimes it has become, intervocalically, w, like in the particle は), the vowel was dropped and the two sounds merged. It happens also with jū (it was pronounced zipu in Middle Japanese). The process is very regular.

h (p in Middle Japanese):
一 => iti + pai > itpai > ippai
六　=> roku + pai > rokpai > roppai
八　=> pati + pai > patpai > happai
十　=> zipu + pai > zippai > jippai
百　=> hyaku + pai > hyakpai > hyappai

with a preceding n it becomes b:
三　=> san + pai > sambai
千　=> sen + pai > sembai
万　=> man + pai > mambai

common counters with h are hai, hon, hiki, hako 杯,匹,本,箱.

w assimilates with 六,　八,　十. A common counter is wa 話 (for example roppa).
w becomes b after 三　千　万. A common counter is wa 話 (for example samba).

Other letters don't change after n.
k assimilates after 一, 六,　八,　十. Common counters are ko, ken, kai 　個,軒,階 (for example ikko).
s assimilates after 一, 六,　八,　十. Common counters are satsu, shū　冊,週 (for example issatsu).

 

[Flaminius]

十　=> zipu + pai > zippai > jippai

The pronunciation was extremely unpopular already in the last century. The assimilated form of jū now is juppai by analogy of more regular numbers such as roku v. rop (as in roppai).

A common counter is wa 話 (for example roppa).

This depends on the vocabulary. While wa written 話 never changes pronunciation, wa witten 把 and 羽 follow the assimilation rule. But the assimilation is not mandatory, at least in some cases; e.g., rokuwa no usagi, or six rabbits, is not unheard of.

 

[Nino83]

Thank you very much, Flaminius.

 

[Nino83]

While wa written 話 never changes pronunciation, wa witten 把 and 羽 follow the assimilation rule.

Hi, Flaminius.
Is the reason why 話　is always pronounced [wa] the fact that this is a kan'yōon reading?
Is it possible that it was never pronounced [ɸa] in Middle Japanese?
Do you know the historical pronunciation of this word and its diachronical changes?

 

[Flaminius]

Pronouncing 話 as [wa] is derived from the standard Middle Chinese pronunciation, which was [ɣwai] or [wai] according to this database. It is safe to say that 話 was pronounced わ from the time it was first introduced to Japanese.

 

[Nino83]

Arigatō gozaimashita, Flaminius!