pronunciation of ei and ou

[Scar504]

I've heard before that えい　and おう are synonymous with えー　and おー. Is this true? Should せんせい　be pronounced like se, n, se, i or like se, n, seh?


Also, are the answers to this question posted on Yahoo Answers correct? http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090822142118AAEAsok

I'm under the impression that eiga would be pronounced eh, i, ga. Not aye, ga.

 

[frequency]

When a kid lazily calls his teacher, せんせい sounds really せんせえ. Moreover, せんせい（先生） tends to be せんせえ on a regular basis. But the point is that either is enough understandable. Then, how about 先制・せんせい? I feel like this tends to be せんせい. This could be due to intonation a bit.

Some might say e i ga correctly, but some might say e e (or long e) ga. The second one is easier to pronounce and I don't think I always pronounce it as e i ga. I wonder if that varies from person to person?

An easy solution could be that you pronounce according to how hiragana spells. But tell me if you have any exceptions.

 

[Scar504]

Thanks for your reply, Frequency. So would it be correct to say that えい can be pronounced as either え -> い or えー? If so, is one more common or formal than the other, and can the same be said of おう?

 

[frequency]

So would it be correct to say that えい can be pronounced as either え -> い or えー? If so, is one more common or formal than the other, and can the same be said of おう?

Well, either is OK, in the cases えい→ええ（えー） in せんせい and ええ（えー） in えいが.
Why this happens? People want to select easier pronunciation unintentionally. Say えーが and えいが―I bet you'll find easier one.

In case of おう？This is as well. おお is easier than おう. Definitely always? I'm not sure though..maybe in most cases. I recommend you to consult a dictionary or any source.

 

[Schokolade]

I've heard before that えい and おう are synonymous with えー and おー. Is this true?

Yes. Here're some audio clips:
http://ja.forvo.com/word/先生/#ja　(Click the blue triangles before "発音したユーザ..." )

Should せんせい be pronounced like se, n, se, i or like se, n, seh?

We normally pronounce it as the latter, but you'll be understood either way.

Also, are the answers to this question posted on Yahoo Answers correct? http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090822142118AAEAsok

I think they're wrong. See how many downvotes they've got.

I'm under the impression that eiga would be pronounced eh, i, ga. Not aye, ga.

I think you're right. http://ja.forvo.com/search/映画/ (Click the blue triangles.)　

This page might be some help.
http://japanese.stackexchange.com/q...uld-be-pronounced-in-the-words-like-英語-先生-etc

 

[Schokolade]

can the same be said of おう?

Yeah, 東京(とうきょう) is written/read as Tokyo or Tōkyō, rather than Toukyou, no matter how politely you say it ^^

http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/3939/how-does-one-transcribe-the-romaji-ō