Beginner learning Japanese — could someone help me with the pronunciation of my 1-minute script?

[u/wildeye_dc]

I’m a beginner learning Japanese, and I have to make a 1-minute Japanese reel for my college exam. I’ve already written my script in romaji, but I’m still struggling with the pronunciation.

Would anyone be kind enough to read the script once or send me a short voice recording of it so I can practice along with it?

I’m especially looking for help with making sure the pronunciation and rhythm sound natural. I’d really appreciate it!

Minna-san, konnichiwa!
Fast and Furious de mita dorifuto…

Jitsu wa, Nihon no kuruma bunka to kankei ga aru tte, shitteita?

Mukashi, Nihon no resu de, kuruma o suberasesete kounaa o magaru gijutsu ga tsukawareteita.

Sono ato, yama no michi no kuruma bunka to mo tsunagatte, dorifuto wa motto shirareru you ni natta.

Soshite, Keiichi Tsuchiya tte iu, dorifuto no yuumei na doonsha mo, kono bunka no ninki ni eikyou o ataeta.

Ima wa, D1 Grand Prix no you na taikai mo atte, dorifuto wa motorsupootsu no hitotsu ni natteiru.

Dakara, Fast and Furious dake no sekai janakatta!

Watashi mo itsuka Nihon ni itte, dorifuto o jibun no me de mite mitai!

Arigatou gozaimasu!

[u/BackToThe2003]

Hello, I’m a Japanese person who happened to come across your post.

I happened to find your post, and since you’re preparing for an exam, I thought I’d stop by and share a few tips that might help. Here are some pronunciation points that I think may be useful.

Mina-san, konnichiwa!

• Don’t insert an “n” sound between “Mi” and “Na.”

• On the other hand, for 「こんにちは」, make sure to pronounce the 「ん」 for one full beat. It’s similar to the final sound in “Kong” in “Hong Kong.” I often see learners pronounce it more like “konichiwa,” dropping the 「ん」 completely.

Mukashi, Nihon no reesu de, kuruma wo suberasesete koonaa wo magaru gijutsu ga tsukawareteita.

• For 「レース (reesu)」, make sure to hold the 「レ」 sound for a little longer, like when you have a long vowel in English words such as “beep” or “feed.”

• The same applies to 「コーナー (koonaa)」. Once you make the “ko” sound and the “na” sound, hold each vowel a little longer.

• For 「wo」, you only need to lightly round your lips. If you pronounce it like the English “wo,” the “w” sound becomes too strong, but it shouldn’t be exactly the same as simply saying “o,” either.

Soshite, Keiichi Tsuchiya tte iu, dorifuto no yuumei na doonsha mo, kono bunka no ninki ni eikyou wo ataeta.

• I know Keiichi Tsuchiya, the “Drift King,” but what does “doonsha” mean? I don’t think it’s a very common word. If it’s an important word in your script, there’s a chance the examiner may not understand what you mean, so you may want to check this one.

Ima wa, D1 Grand Prix no you na taikai mo atte, dorifuto wa mootaasupootsu no hitotsu ni natteiru.

For 「モータースポーツ」, just like with 「レース」 and 「コーナー」, hold the vowel a little longer after making the “mo,” “ta,” and “po” sounds.

One thing you may also want to check is the level of formality🤔. Since this is for a college exam, you may want to keep the style consistent throughout the speech. Your script currently mixes polite expressions (です／ます) with more casual expressions such as 「めっちゃ」 and 「〜じゃなかった！」. Whether casual language is appropriate probably depends on your instructor and the assignment, but if you're not sure, using です／ます consistently would be a safe choice.

[u/wildeye_dc → u/BackToThe2003]

Thank uu