An Analysis of the Pronunciation of Gairaigo in Chokai-Kaiwa Course Videos by Japanese Language Education Students at UNNES

Abstract

The widespread use of gairaigo (foreign loanwords) in Japanese presents pronunciation challenges for non-native learners, particularly Indonesian students, due to differences in phonological systems. This study analyzes the types and forms of gairaigo pronunciation errors found in Choukai-Kaiwa class videos of 2021 cohort students at Universitas Negeri Semarang. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the data were collected through observation of mid-term exam videos and analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The findings show that 90.16% of the 61 gairaigo utterances analyzed contained pronunciation errors. The most common type was vowel length errors (54.55%), followed by vowel-consonant errors, mora count mistakes, geminate consonant omission, and word-level mispronunciations. These errors are attributed to negative L1 (Indonesian) transfer and limited phonological awareness. The study underscores the need for targeted phonetic instruction in Japanese language learning.