Japanese phonology

Japanese phonology is the system governing the sounds and sound patterns of Japanese, including mora timing, pitch accent, and restricted syllable structures.

Mora: A unit of phonological timing that can contribute to a language’s rhythm and poetic meter. Japanese timing counts morae, so a long vowel or final nasal can occupy an extra beat.
Japanese phoneme inventory: The set of contrastive consonant and vowel sounds used in Japanese. The inventory establishes which sound differences can distinguish Japanese words.
Lexical stress: The use of word-level prominence, often involving loudness, duration, or pitch, to distinguish words. Japanese pitch accent contrasts with systems that locate prominence through lexical stress.
Japanese phonetic transcription: The representation of Japanese speech sounds using phonetic symbols or pronunciation guides. Transcription records distinctions such as vowel length and pitch that ordinary spelling may obscure.
Japanese pitch accent: A system in which pitch falls at particular positions in a word, distinguishing some Japanese words. Pitch placement supplies lexical contrasts without using the stress pattern typical of English.
Japanese consonant system: The consonant categories and contrasts used in Japanese. Its consonants include contrasts shaped by place, manner, and context-sensitive realization.
Tone language: A language in which pitch patterns distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning across syllables or morae. Japanese pitch accent has restricted word-level pitch patterns rather than unrestricted tone on each syllable.
Japanese loanword phonology: The sound adaptations that reshape borrowed words to fit Japanese phonological patterns. Loanwords reveal how Japanese constraints handle consonant clusters and unfamiliar sounds.
Japanese syllable structure: The patterns of consonants and vowels that can form syllables in Japanese. Its restricted patterns help explain why most syllables end in vowels.
Japanese vowel system: The five-vowel system and its phonetic patterns in Japanese. Japanese vowels participate in length contrasts and predictable devoicing.

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