Q; pronouncing "Fukushima"

[Alice Faber]

On 3/28/11 3:19 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
> At 3:08 PM -0400 3/28/11, Joel S. Berson wrote:
>> Is it FOO-koo-SHEE-mah (large accent on SHEE) or foo-Koo-shih-MAH
>> (small or no accent on Koo, larger but still slight on MAH)?  I had
>> heard only the former until once hearing a Brit (perhaps from BBC,
>> perhaps only CNN international) use the latter.
>>
>> (My presumption is that the latter is correct, given what I think I
>> was told once about hi-Roh-shih-MAH.)
>>
>> Joel
>
> The latter may be "correct", but the former is inevitable.  I suppose
> we Americans could manage
> fu-KU-shi-ma if we were asked to, maybe even with secondary stress at
> the end, but fu-ku-shi-MA?  Doubtful.
>

I would want to know, also, whether either of the vowels in the two
first syllables is voiceless.

--
 =============================================================================
Alice Faber                                    faber at haskins.yale.edu
Haskins Laboratories                           tel: (203) 865-6163 x258
New Haven, CT 06511 USA                        fax (203) 865-8963

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org