From: Ryo <furufuru@...>
Date: 2006-11-12T22:35:05+09:00
Subject: Re: the name of Matz

Yukihiro Matsumoto wrote:
[. . .]
> In message "Re: [OT] the name of Matz"
>     on Wed, 8 Nov 2006 15:10:43 +0900, Devin Mullins <twifkak@comcast.net> writes:
>
> |> Just call me Matz.
> |Question: When spoken, should it be 'a' as in "hats" or 'a' as in "blah"
> |(or, oh, say, "Matsumoto")?
>
> Ah, I was asked same question at the last RubyConf.  The official
> answer is "I don't care" (note: Japanese has only 5 vowels). English
> speakers seem to use the former.

If anybody is curious, I think the closest sound you find in English to
the Japanese "a" sound is the standard (RP) British "u" as in "cut".
Among the "standard" American sounds (if there are such things),
"a" in "father" is closer (to my native-Japanese ear) than "a" in
"hat".  The American "u" in "cut" is too narrow.  I'm not talking
about how "Matz" should be pronounced, by the way.

Regards,
Ryo