English speakers will be familiar with the generalization that adding "o" to the end of any English word produces a Spanish word. This works in some cases (car=carro, stupid=estupido, May=mayo), but in most, it just makes you sound offensive and very gringo.
But this is injaparadise, not mexitopia or spainvana. In my limited experience thus far, which includes Japanese tourists at my job and conversation partners locally, I've found that pronouncing something the katakana way (i.e., with a Japanese accent) actually can really help get your meaning across.
We can talk about why some people (namely, foreigners) are pushing for katakana reform another day. But for me, katakana and loan words are something I dearly love about Japanese. I think it is absolutely fascinating that they believe "hotel" and "hoteru" sound exactly the same. I may have mentioned on Twitter that one of my conversation partners referred to Avril Lavigne as Aburiru Rabiin. As well he should! That is her name over there! I can feel myself getting close to a rant, so I will link here as soon as I've written a post about why Japanese is just fine the way it is.
Anywhoot, my point is that I have made several important exchanges with Japanese people, especially when we're trying to have a conversation in English (because, remember, my Japanese is still not very good!), simply by pronouncing what I was trying to say in English in a Japanese accent. I mean, seriously: especially if their English is not super great, it may not have occurred to them that Aburiru Rabiin's name is anything other than Aburiru Rabiin. Not that I expect you to be having many conversations with Japanese people about pop alt rockers who were cool in the early 2000's.
Not only does it help with the meaning, but also, I don't think the Japanese are quite as easily offended. My experience has shown that Japanese people are super hyped about anyone who's trying to learn their language. It's not exactly a popular choice. So anything you can do in a conversation to communicate with them seems to be appreciated.
Please use this and tell me your stories!
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