I came across the word ケーブルカー, or cable-car.

Based on the pronunciation I have, the ブ and ル are pronounced like one
syllable (like 'brr') instead of two like I expected ('bu ru').

Is this an exception or is the second pronunciation correct (or am I wrong all
together)?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-11T18:26:44.217
65438
2019-02-13T16:03:19.920
32926
question
pronunciation
Are words always pronounced as spelled?
It can't be said clearly which. It doesn't have 2 syllables like it has in
English, but also doesn't ignore both of 2 "u"s.

I think close one for ケーブルカー is [ke-burka-]. Even though, this "r" should be
pronounced with "u" mouth. So even a vowel is actually silent, you need to
shape your mouth for that vowel like whispering. (of course sounding it is
also okay)  
  

Examples

規定 [kite-](rule): first "i" isn't a syllable but mouth has to be shaped い.  
心 [kokoro](heart): first "o" isn't a syllable but mouth has to be shaped お.  
  

In phrases

よろしくお願いします： first し and last す doesn't have vowel sound  
はじめまして: last し doesn't have vowel sound
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-12T14:34:10.897
65451
2019-02-13T16:03:19.920
2019-02-13T16:03:19.920
32244
32244
65438
answer
**(1)** ケーブルカー  
The specific word you mention is pronounced as written. Perhaps what is making
it sound a little different is that the accent in the word occurs on the 4th
mora, on the ル. That naturally gives the 'ru' sound a slight emphasis as the
pitch of the word goes from high to low on that sound. So while it is not the
case that the ブル is pronounced as 'br', there is an accent on the 'ru'.

* * *

**(2)** Kana are not **always** pronounced as spelled but in the majority of
cases they are. There are exceptions, of course. Here are some common ones:

**'Long Vowels'** : So-called 'long vowels' occur in sounds such as とう where
it is pronounced as とー (e.g. おとうさん is pronounced おとーさん rather than おと'u'さん
with a full う sound).

**Polyphonic characters** : Another obvious example is the Hiragana characters
は and へ. When は is a topic marker it is pronounced 'wa' and when へ is a
particle indicating motion it is pronounced as 'e'.

**Devoicing** : Sometimes words contain devoiced sounds such as the す in the
ます verb ending or the す in すき.

I'm sure there are more examples, but my point is that while these exceptions
do exist, the majority of Japanese words are pronounced as they are written.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-13T13:46:18.537
65475
2019-02-13T14:04:42.750
2019-02-13T14:04:42.750
25875
25875
65438
answer