Manga, how do you pronounce it?

[Treefingers]

Mah-nga. I pronounce it the proper Japanese way since I actually learnt some Japanese in school. Non-jap speakers tend to say the 'a' sound as in the a in tangy. A sharp sound. Whereas it literally sounds like "ah" when you say "ah..that's how you say it". It frustrates me when people say it wrong, since unlike English, there is one AND ONLY ONE way to pronounce vowels.

This.

I generally try to pronounce it in the proper Japanese way, though I occasionally get lazy and slip back to whatever else.

 

[mikeysnakes]

I don't understand how these threads continue to exist now that we have audio dictionaries.

Click here to hear the correct pronunciation. [http://www.merriam-webster.com/audio.php?file=manga01v&word=manga&text=\%3Cspan%20class%3D%22unicode%22%3E%CB%88%3C%2Fspan%3Em%C3%A4%C5%8B-g%C9%99\]

It's not manga like mango with an a on the end, though I admit that's how I read and pronounced it before I looked it up.

Actually that pronunciation is a little anglicized. But it's hell of a lot closer than what some people would say.

Mang-guh, with the tone rising at the last syllable. I'm Swedish.
IN all fairness, how many English-speaking people pronounce words like "spaghetti," "café" "Jesus," "sushi," "IKEA" and "Björk" correctly? Bad pronunciation of foreign phrases is pretty much how you're spupposed to do it if you're an English-speaker.

Those are different, those are what would be called borrowed words, there were no other ways to describe these things in the English language, especially Bjork (~_^). But manga has an english counterpart: Comic.

I see your point, but I'd say that manga is a borrowed word like the others, since people saying "manga" don't mean the same thing that they mean when they use the word "comics." The word has another meaning when English-speakers use it. Lke how the English word "brat" means "young man aged about 18-26 whose rich dad pays for everything" whn we Swedes use it.

You have a point there, but an important point I forgot is that when borrowed words vowels or consonants are changed, it's usually because the language borrowing doesn't have the sound. Like how english speakers say Bach since we don't have the same consonant at the end. Spaghetti's geminate t is turned into a flap (usually), because english doesn't actually pronounce geminate ts. Sushi's u is not the same placement as any english u-like vowels, and shit, I only know the Italian way to pronounce Ikea, which I'm sure is wrong.

It can get into a gray area, but flipping it to the other side, if a Japanese person belligerently said to an english speaker "KOMMIKU" (Comic), most english speakers would think they were doing it to be a dick. At least, that's what I see. Also in a linguistic analysis, Manga is not a part of the english language because it wouldn't be mutually intelligible with a large percentage of english speakers.

In the end though, it does come to what the speaker wants to associate themselves as, but if they truly do like "manga" then I wouldn't see why they wouldn't pronounce it correctly.

 

[joshuaayt]

Man Gah. As with all words that don't tend to frequent classic English Lit. lectures, I don't bother myself with the *correct* pronunciation, but rather the one that I heard first and prefer. Granted, usually I'm on the right side, but I'm willing to let this one go.

Besides, I don't have much time for manga with my busy gaming schedule- I can barely fit the odd anime in alongside the really important stuff, like sealing off Nyx for the eighteenth time.

EDIT: I'm not afraid to refer to them as comic books, either. If I were to wave a hand at my Death Note+X-Men box (It's technically my misc box, but that's not important) I'd say that it was full of 'comics'.

 

[ninjapenguin981]

Sometimes Mon-gah, sometimes Man-gah. It really depends on what I feel like saying.

 

[Saltyk]

I don't even know anymore. I'm trying to pronounce it like I normally do, but now that I'm actually paying attention I'm not sure that I'm saying it like normal. Damn me and my over thinking of things.

I think I usually pronounce it as Man-ga. But I'm not certain that I don't pronounce it as Mon-ga. Maybe I do both? Sorry it's not really something that comes up as I think everyone I know that reads manga pronounces it the same. Now, how people pronounce anime seems to differ a bit.

 

[Queen Michael]

I don't understand how these threads continue to exist now that we have audio dictionaries.

Click here to hear the correct pronunciation. [http://www.merriam-webster.com/audio.php?file=manga01v&word=manga&text=\%3Cspan%20class%3D%22unicode%22%3E%CB%88%3C%2Fspan%3Em%C3%A4%C5%8B-g%C9%99\]

It's not manga like mango with an a on the end, though I admit that's how I read and pronounced it before I looked it up.

Actually that pronunciation is a little anglicized. But it's hell of a lot closer than what some people would say.

Mang-guh, with the tone rising at the last syllable. I'm Swedish.
IN all fairness, how many English-speaking people pronounce words like "spaghetti," "café" "Jesus," "sushi," "IKEA" and "Björk" correctly? Bad pronunciation of foreign phrases is pretty much how you're spupposed to do it if you're an English-speaker.

Those are different, those are what would be called borrowed words, there were no other ways to describe these things in the English language, especially Bjork (~_^). But manga has an english counterpart: Comic.

I see your point, but I'd say that manga is a borrowed word like the others, since people saying "manga" don't mean the same thing that they mean when they use the word "comics." The word has another meaning when English-speakers use it. Lke how the English word "brat" means "young man aged about 18-26 whose rich dad pays for everything" whn we Swedes use it.

You have a point there, but an important point I forgot is that when borrowed words vowels or consonants are changed, it's usually because the language borrowing doesn't have the sound. Like how english speakers say Bach since we don't have the same consonant at the end. Spaghetti's geminate t is turned into a flap (usually), because english doesn't actually pronounce geminate ts. Sushi's u is not the same placement as any english u-like vowels, and shit, I only know the Italian way to pronounce Ikea, which I'm sure is wrong.

It can get into a gray area, but flipping it to the other side, if a Japanese person belligerently said to an english speaker "KOMMIKU" (Comic), most english speakers would think they were doing it to be a dick. At least, that's what I see. Also in a linguistic analysis, Manga is not a part of the english language because it wouldn't be mutually intelligible with a large percentage of english speakers.

In the end though, it does come to what the speaker wants to associate themselves as, but if they truly do like "manga" then I wouldn't see why they wouldn't pronounce it correctly.

I see your " Also in a linguistic analysis, Manga is not a part of the english language because it wouldn't be mutually intelligible with a large percentage of english speakers." and raise you one pre-Phineas & Ferb "aglet." As in, that's true about that word as well.

 

[Gothproxy]

I use "mahn-ga", only because when I said "man-ga" while working at a sushi restaurant I got schooled by one of the sushi chefs, and you don't argue with a 65 year old woman with a knife.

 

[snave]

I say "man-ga" in English and "mahn-gah" in Japanese. Same as how the pronunciation of sushi varies as it gets bastardised into a trochee via English phonics.

Arguably though, it should be "mahn-gah" in English, and "man-ga" in American English. As an Aussie, I flip flop on the pronunciation of an a before an n.

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

Pretty much Man-ga and sometimes i have to try to correct some of my American friends because they call it Mon-ga because it sounds like there is no "A" in the word not that it irks me i just feel the need to correct.

Except it's a Japanese word and would be pronounce "mon-guh" not matter what you'd prefer. Japanese pronunciation of syllables is quite fixed, so there's not really a way to dispute it.

 

[snave]

It's not spelled "Monga" for a reason.

Incorrect. I mean, correct, but not in the way you're thinking. N is the only final vowel sound in Japanese. Romanisation ignores the effect this has (much like how bamboo gets romanised as "take" instead of "ta-ke"), and works with consistency and simplicity in mind. The thing is, when this romainsation gets introduced to English as a loanword, people are inclined to interpret it using the local phonetic rules and conventions.

Regardless, its not pronounced "monga" in Japanese, it'd be closer to "munga".

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

I like others before me pronounce it as comic books, because that is essentially the meaning of the word in English.
And anime is still cartoons.

 

[snave]

I like others before me pronounce it as comic books, because that is essentially the meaning of the word in English.
And anime is still cartoons.

I deem it a genre, as it essentially defines an art style nowadays. Same as anime. Genres of comics (or visual novels for those who get offended) and cartoons respectively.

 

[mikeysnakes]

I don't understand how these threads continue to exist now that we have audio dictionaries.

Click here to hear the correct pronunciation. [http://www.merriam-webster.com/audio.php?file=manga01v&word=manga&text=\%3Cspan%20class%3D%22unicode%22%3E%CB%88%3C%2Fspan%3Em%C3%A4%C5%8B-g%C9%99\]

It's not manga like mango with an a on the end, though I admit that's how I read and pronounced it before I looked it up.

Actually that pronunciation is a little anglicized. But it's hell of a lot closer than what some people would say.

Mang-guh, with the tone rising at the last syllable. I'm Swedish.
IN all fairness, how many English-speaking people pronounce words like "spaghetti," "café" "Jesus," "sushi," "IKEA" and "Björk" correctly? Bad pronunciation of foreign phrases is pretty much how you're spupposed to do it if you're an English-speaker.

Those are different, those are what would be called borrowed words, there were no other ways to describe these things in the English language, especially Bjork (~_^). But manga has an english counterpart: Comic.

I see your point, but I'd say that manga is a borrowed word like the others, since people saying "manga" don't mean the same thing that they mean when they use the word "comics." The word has another meaning when English-speakers use it. Lke how the English word "brat" means "young man aged about 18-26 whose rich dad pays for everything" whn we Swedes use it.

You have a point there, but an important point I forgot is that when borrowed words vowels or consonants are changed, it's usually because the language borrowing doesn't have the sound. Like how english speakers say Bach since we don't have the same consonant at the end. Spaghetti's geminate t is turned into a flap (usually), because english doesn't actually pronounce geminate ts. Sushi's u is not the same placement as any english u-like vowels, and shit, I only know the Italian way to pronounce Ikea, which I'm sure is wrong.

It can get into a gray area, but flipping it to the other side, if a Japanese person belligerently said to an english speaker "KOMMIKU" (Comic), most english speakers would think they were doing it to be a dick. At least, that's what I see. Also in a linguistic analysis, Manga is not a part of the english language because it wouldn't be mutually intelligible with a large percentage of english speakers.

In the end though, it does come to what the speaker wants to associate themselves as, but if they truly do like "manga" then I wouldn't see why they wouldn't pronounce it correctly.

I see your " Also in a linguistic analysis, Manga is not a part of the english language because it wouldn't be mutually intelligible with a large percentage of english speakers." and raise you one pre-Phineas & Ferb "aglet." As in, that's true about that word as well.

Well Linguistics and Dictionaries never really agree anyway, the only possible reply I can have is that you can understand "aglet" by breaking it down. Considering you're a master of etymology.

 

[Woodsey]

Mang-gah.

I don't really see how you think its so open to interpretation.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

There is only one way of saying it correctly and it's "ma-n-ga".

Silly Westerners and their inability to speak correctly.

You know, people from different countries speak differently. I don't see why someone is considered incapable if they don't pronounce something properly. I don't mock chinese people who speak with horrible english accents, so why the hell should people be offended if I don't speak their language with their accents perfectly?

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Mang-guh although I really don't care how you say it. We all know we're talking about Japanese comics so no need to get angry over it :3

Then your question is answered. There are no other ways to pronounce for it.

 

[Quesa]

Magma, because I always process it wrong on first glance.

 

[Charli]

The correct pronunciation for the word is "mon-guh." Two years in Japanese studies taught me that really quick.

I tend to cringe a bit when I hear it pronounced the other way.

Yep my math teacher who had taught in Japan for nearly 7 years clarified that for me when I was 15. Je suis glad.

 

[Gottesstrafe]

Eh, 'mahng-guh'. My mom is Japanese though, so I spent most of my childhood being drilled how to pronounce Japanese "correctly" (still do in fact, makes it hard talking to her on the phone or when I stop over for a visit). To this day I still cringe when I hear the way my mainland friends pronounce karaoke and teriyaki.

To be fair, I still get a chuckle out of the way she pronounces Hawaiian words (try pronouncing Keahole and Waikiki) despite the fact that we've lived here for over 20 years...

 

[Zeekar]

I generally pronounce it 'comic books' because I love winding manga fans up.

Then again I'm the guy who goes to Magic booster drafts and incessantly refers to it as a 'children's card game'.

Haha, I risk incurring moderator wrath, but I can't help it. I couldn't possibly say anything more relevant than this.