Bunpro Audio - January 26, 2021 Update!

Bunpro
#1

Greetings!

As some of you may have noticed, we have begun adding new audio to Bunpro! These new audio recordings are being voiced and recorded by Haruna Oka and provided by @Asher, her partner.

Here are some of the grammar points that use the newly recorded audio:
のに・べき・ほど

Asher and Haruna are currently recording audio for N2. Eventually, they will also replace the audio that is currently available in N5 and N4.

The older recordings will still play during your review sessions.

Both Haruna and @Asher have decided to generously provide these audio recordings to Bunpro with only one request:

You can download N3 audio files here and N2 files here.

Note: If you hear any discrepancies or abnormalities (weird background sounds, clipping, etc.) in the audio recordings, please report them here. These reports will help us improve the recordings for everyone.

Cheers!

76 Likes
Audio coming soon ..... really?
Default to Male Voice?
Bunpro Changelog
N5/4 Voice actress
Bunpro Changelog
#2

Big thank you to BP and @Asher to making this happen! I’ve been hearing some of the new audio and it’s really good and will help a lot. Some samples were a buggy on 込む2 earlier (repeat phrases) but figured it’s a work in progress.

9 Likes
#3

We are happy to help! Hope people find them useful! I guess if anyone notices anything (sound wise) really weird about any of them, feel free to tag me and we will re-record it if there is a problem. Enjoy!

Also thanks to BP for accepting them! Happy to work together for everybody’s benefit :blush:

33 Likes
#4

Thank you BP and @Asher + partner!

This is one of the reasons I love BP, always listening and accepting and using smart solutions from users. :orange_heart:

10 Likes
#5

Woah, that’s awesome! Happy to have more audio while reviewing soon \o/

I hope the sound balancing wont take too long. The volume levels of the old recordings are all over the place, too. :stuck_out_tongue:

5 Likes
#6

Whoa, this is huge for me. :open_mouth: Thank you so much to Haruna and @Asher for requesting this be available; I will definitely be downloading these when they’re available!

3 Likes
#7

Any chance this bulk download could come with an excel sheet of the sentences next to the corresponding file name? This would save a ton of time for people making flashcards!

1 Like
#8

The audio files have the sentence text as the file name. But as for an excel file you’d have to make that one yourself.

1 Like
#9

Amazing news! Especially looking forward to the bulk downloads, that’s a fantastic idea! Also love the new audio! Thanks to everyone involved!

1 Like
#10

Thank you!!
This is welcomed by many.
I don’t wish to sound ungrateful considering all the efforts put into bringing these recordings out, that said are you aware of the persistent and distracting click which occurs at the end of each and everyone of these new recordings?
I wouldn’t say it’s enough to drive one mad, but, after a while …

#11

This will be very useful indeed … great thinking.

1 Like
#12

I appreciate the new audio! It makes remembering the grammar much easier. Plus the voice is really calm :smile:

3 Likes
#13

Yep, aware of it but that is due to the microphone being switched off. Considering I would have to edit each file individually to get rid of it, it would take a ridiculous amount of time. If someone wants to edit the files after the downloads become available, that is by no means a problem. But for something that is almost unnoticeable, I am not willing to spend a ridiculous amount of time editing them.

(That being said, I am trying to make it as quiet as possible, its due to a physical button on the recording device)

p.s: once you download the files, you may actually find that tiny click very helpful. If you are listening to them on shuffle, sometimes one sentence rolls into another and it is the only thing letting you know that you’re on a new sentence

p.s.s: actually I am a bit of a perfectionist and to be honest, if I can find an easy way to do this, I will try to. I may be able to mass edit them in Audacity or something without it taking forever. So long as the files don′t lose an audio quality in the process

6 Likes
#14

Oh. thanks @Asher, bunpro and Haruna-san.

Sorry for the weird question but is Haruna-san from shizuoka ?

She has that very distinct S pronunciation that most Shizuoka girl have. But Some Tokyo people also have it. Just curious.

Not a critic. The recording is very clear. The speed feels natural and It’s a very soothing voice so no complaints, just curiosity.

@Jake do you plan on adding a male voice someday ?

Thanks for your hard work and I just noticed the TaeKim’s path. Nice touch!

3 Likes
#15

Yo, Haruna is from Saitama (basically Tokyo) but her grandparents are from Osaka… as for the accent, I have lived in Tokyo for about 6 months now and honestly think 9 out of 10 peoples accents are vastly different.

As for the male voice I have no idea, that would be a question for the creators… although I don’t actually think it would be all that helpful in the long run. It would open the flood gates of ‘how about someone from kansai’, ‘how about someone from hokkaido’, etc etc etc. Granted everybody learns differently, but I think the point of audio for me was to gain confidence that ‘yes, I can understand this sentence’, and confidence is a big thing that holds people back from diving into native material. I think if you can understand most of the N3 audio, you should realistically be listening to everything in Japanese. Because by that point you should be able to at least decipher most of what is being said, allowing you to start learning the same way a native person would.

4 Likes
#16

Hey, thanks for the prompt reply @Asher.

I see. I have not thought about the dialect part at all haha!

I was thinking about the parts supposedly used typically by men. Like だろう (N4), for example.

But your argument also make sense.

I hear だろう used by men all the time in my immersion so you are right.

So provided that someone immerse frequently, it should not be necessary to add a male voice.
Plus, bunpro always clearly write in the presentation if it’s exclusively used by male or female.

Thanks again! お疲れ様です。

3 Likes
#17

Yep! This is exactly what I mean. If you are already noticing だろう in a natural setting, then this is exactly what Bunpro is useful for. Once you are confident ‘noticing’ the grammar points then that is how you start learning naturally. What I recommend is, once the full packs of audio become available, play an N-level on shuffle, can you ‘notice’ which grammar point controls the mood of the sentence? if the answer is yes, make your playlist two whole N-levels on shuffle, can you still notice which grammar points are controlling the sentence? If the answer is yes and you are on N3 or even N2, then guess what, you are as good as a native at ‘recognizing’ grammar. All you need to do after that point is immerse immerse immerse. That way the grammar will take on new flavors, like who uses it most often, what are the emotions behind it, etc.

6 Likes
#18

Big thank you to all of you who made this possible! The download option is really interesting too; shuffling the sentences randomly sounds like a good listening exercise.

5 Likes
#19

A big THANK YOU to Asher, his partner, and Bunpro for making this happen!!

3 Likes
#20

CURRENT FEMALE RECORDINGS
I hear what you say about the effort that may be required to record the audio tracks correctly without the click at the end … maybe there would be a way to batch re-record them because they all basically need the same shaving of a couple milliseconds off the end of each track.

Anyway, that’s a matter for the creators of Bunpro and yourselves to mull over and fix … I doubt that I’ll be the last one to complain about this in time so you might want to save yourselves the extra rerecording time down the line and nip this in the bud now. Just my two cents.

MALE RECORDINGS
I am going to bump the request for male recordings.
I came to Japan almost 30 years ago after graduation and people still tell me that I speak so 優しそう … and if they want to have a laugh about it 女性っぽい or おかまっぽい (and that’s coming from someone with a rough London accent LOL).
Of-course to speak the language (the grammar) it’s not so important as you pointed out however if you wish to speak Japanese naturally as a male speaker then it is essential.
WaniKani have recognised the importance of this and have given their users the option to select.
Male recordings please.