I am an English teacher working in a Japanese elementary school, and I find the current system of Romanization extremely frustrating. For pronunciation purposes it would make so much more sense if there was one standardised form of Romaji that all the students used. Preferably one that sounds the way it is spelt e.g.
つ should be pronounced "tsu" not "tu"
し should be pronounced "shi" not "si"
じ should be pronounced "ji" not "zi"
It makes no sense to me why the government would use a romanized system of mispronunciation?! This makes it very difficult for tasks so simple as getting a student to write their name in Romaji. Because if they use the current system, their name will always be mispronounced by English speakers.
Very frustrating indeed, and another impractical system that contributes to the fact that Japan is lagging far behind the rest of Asia when it comes to English ability. Oh well...がんばります！
I am an English teacher
I am an English teacher working in a Japanese elementary school, and I find the current system of Romanization extremely frustrating. For pronunciation purposes it would make so much more sense if there was one standardised form of Romaji that all the students used. Preferably one that sounds the way it is spelt e.g.
つ should be pronounced "tsu" not "tu"
し should be pronounced "shi" not "si"
じ should be pronounced "ji" not "zi"
It makes no sense to me why the government would use a romanized system of mispronunciation?! This makes it very difficult for tasks so simple as getting a student to write their name in Romaji. Because if they use the current system, their name will always be mispronounced by English speakers.
Very frustrating indeed, and another impractical system that contributes to the fact that Japan is lagging far behind the rest of Asia when it comes to English ability. Oh well...がんばります！