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Is there a sound difference between イオ and イヨ (I can't hear a difference)?

When asked to spell `baiorin` in katakana I tend to mistake バイオリン with バイヨリン.
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2019-03-04T19:38:34.377
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2019-03-08T01:19:41.427
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question
pronunciation
Pronunciation difference: イオ/イヨ
In slow speech there's a difference, in fast speech there isn't (although some
native speakers will insist otherwise).

One example would be 対応（たいおう）and 太陽（たいよう）. In fast speech they are the same.
Just make sure you don't say たよう. And also remember that in Japanese たい is not
a diphthong.

(As for バイオリン, in fast speech it basically becomes バヨリン. )
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2019-03-04T21:27:17.833
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2019-03-04T21:27:17.833
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answer
As for the case of バイオリン, I don't think many Japanese speakers find it similar
to バイヨリン.

Japanese `i + V` and `i + yV` are indeed an easily confusable pair, especially
in faster speech. For example, I couldn't say with confidence whether a girl's
name is みお or みよ only by listening to a casual chat referring to her. But it's
just like _inpatient_ and _impatient_ , or _dog years_ and _dog ears_ in
English, that is, although the distinction might be blurred in some
circumstances, speech that is a little bit clearer would immediately
disambiguate them (for native speakers) because they are inherently different.

Now, バイオリン is harder to be heard like イヨ because of a `V + i` succession in
バイ. In Standard Japanese, this sequence is so prominent and commonplace that
it almost becomes a kind of diphthong (some scholars think of the //i//
following a vowel as another 特殊拍). It often results in a looser sound on the
//i// part*, **especially in faster speech** , and we are less likely to
mistake it for an utterance that intends バイヨリン, which would have a tighter
//i// because of the next //j//.

* * *

* Be reminded that Romans spelled the diphthong [[aɪ]] _ae_.
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2019-03-05T17:09:38.527
65853
2019-03-08T01:19:41.427
2019-03-08T01:19:41.427
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answer