JSL
romanization (JSL stands for
Japanese: The Spoken Language, a textbook by Eleanor H. Jorden, Yale University Press, 1987) is unusual in the fact that it records
Japanese pitch with
diacritical marks
(for more info about Japanese pitch, see:
Japanese accent), while other romanizations usually don't record this information.
The
acute (´) marks the first
mora with a high pitch tone, and the
grave (`) marks the last
mora with a high pitch tone. When a high pitch lasts for only one mora, the
circumflex (ˆ) is used.
Examples:
- hâsi - chopsticks.
- hasî - 橋 bridge, or 端 edge.
- âme - rain.
- amê - candy.
- kâmi - Shinto god. (see: kami)
- kamî - paper.
- hêeki - weapon.
- heékì - doing well, being without troubles.
- yâkusya - translator.
- yakúsyà - actor.
- tôosan - father.
- toósàn - bankruptcy.
Japanese intonation is actually a bit more complicated than so far stated because there are two kinds of high pitches that can come at the end of a word. One kind causes a particle word that follows it to become a high pitch, the other doesn't.