Sign up to my free newsletter, I might be sending out some pitch accent tips and tricks in the future! mattvsjapan.com​ If you're interested in learning pitch accent, I recommend Dogen's pronunciation course: patreon.com/dogen

You want to know if your pitch accent is bad? Spend some time with kids. I work in a Japanese junior high school and let me tell you.. those kids will absolutely let you know if you're pronouncing something weird. They of course don't know about concepts like pitch accent, but they have no problem making fun of you for the way you pronounce something.

We’re happy when western ppl speak good Japanese, very true. We will never correct any kind of mistakes unless we know its appreciated. The more you’re correct with pitch accents the more impressed we are. FACT.

I'm a native Japanese. And what you said is 100% true, in every respect! Your insight is actually amazing....

The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner. Now, *I* am the master. -Matt

7:31 “The real value in studying pitch accent is not to try to use the rules in real time. It’s that it allows you to unlock your perception.” Hit the nail on the head with that one. I appreciate how concisely you put it into words. As a native Cantonese speaker, I can’t stress how true this is. Great video. I love the way you speak in general and hope that it will help me improve my speaking skills too.

The fact that pitch accent in Japanese is equivalent to stress accent in English should make it clear how important it is for proper pronunciation. Edit: Never said your pronunciation has to be perfect.

I agree with both of you. To use a metaphor, you are trying to train people to be professional chefs and George is trying to teach people to be home cooks. What someone wants to become is really up to them. Some will find all the gratification they need in just being able to cook something that they think tastes good, others will want to learn to cook well enough to impress other chefs. I think that's what the whole pitch accent debate comes down to.

Matt bro stop I NEED TO immerse but your content is too good 😭😭😭😭😭

I discovered pitch accent because in a conversation I meant to say one thing and it sounded like something completely unrelated because of the pitch I used, and a Japanese person pointed it out to me. So yes, pitch accent might not be the be all, end all of Japanese language learning, but if you dismiss it as "unimportant" I would conclude you just don't know what you're talking about.

I've watched both videos, it has been interesting listening to both sides of this discussion. George made a really interesting point in his video that wasn't brought up here. "Language is a tool to communicate, not an art to perfect." Having thought about this, I disagree with George's take. I think language can be both a tool and an art. Each person has different goals when learning a language. Some just want to become communicative (a tool) while others strive to master their second language (an art). It might be worthwhile for people consider whether their second language's value is as a tool, an art, or both.

I don't understand people who denigrate others who try to be good at something. It happens in every pursuit not just language pursuits, but it's an attitude I often see in native English speakers who study other languages. Trying to learn good pronunciation isn't the same as trying to be perfect and it's not a waste of time.

I love that despite you and George not exactly agreeing and sharing same ideas that you guys can collaborate in some kind of different ways and still produce constructive content for the community

I really enjoy both yours and George's respectful discussion on this and I think you are both correct, the difference is in the subtlety of the learner. All learners should know the basics of pitch accent which allows them the opportunity to unlock how much focus they place on it during their studies. Knowing the basics can aide in imitation early when listening, however getting it wrong doesn't impede understanding so shouldn't be a concern as you can still be fluent without it.

Hello, from Portland, Oregon! Thank you so much for advocating pitch accent. In all 6 years of Japanese study in school and on my own, never once did I encounter the idea of pitch accent, until I discovered Dogen last month. I went from 100% confident in my Japanese accent to 0%, but it needed to happen for me to improve! Thanks again 🙏

Nailed it! Started studying pitch accent around two years back when you first mentioned it. Still working on hearing it all but this helped a ton!

Your videos are so much on point - very satisfying to listen to! Keep up this great work Matt!

When worlds collide, you can run, but no can hide.

Halfway through the video, As much as I love George I believe that every point you are making is extremely valid. I love that you pointed out that it is good enough and will be understood by most people because I think that is generally the vibe that George aims for with his learning curriculum whereas I think that your methods are more pointed towards perfectionism which isn't necessarily a bad thing but may not be everybody's goal

Damn, the channel is almost with 100k, congrats Matt this is amazing...

As a beginner in Japanese I am very grateful for these videos from George and Matt, they really care about creating relevant content for people studying Japanese. They both care about teaching in their own way and are willing to create constructive content, not just bland content to attack the other, but instead discuss important points regarding the art of studying japanese. Thank you guys for all you do :)!

This really relates to every language when you think about it. When I hear someone speaking Spanish I can tell almost instantly that they aren’t a native speaker by their pronunciation. As you said, the message is still getting across but hearing mistakes over and over can be distracting when you’re having a long conversation.

omg a 4k video. Thanks Matt! :D

Very informative. I'm glad I watched this now at the beginning of my Japanese journey. This will save me time by getting it right from the beginning before trying to fix bad habits later.

Don't neglect phonology when learning languages in general.

I mean when I learned English at some point I realized how important intonation and pronunciation in the language are, so I suppose in Japanese it's the same. Like the word "record" used as a noun has different stress than used as a verb.

I had came across pitch accents when I acquired a book by Gene Nishi. It felt a little much for me while trying to learn a few sentence structures. Now that I’m studying it even more to make up for lost time, I’m doing my best to incorporate some pitch accents on words I already know. I’m grateful for this content and to do my best to notice it more. It also gives me a new goal to work towards as well. Keep up the great work.

I watched that pitch accent video; it was one of the first I came across from your channel. I loved it. Would like to see more of those.

It's funny, because George is still speaking as an English speaker with stress-accenting words. When he said "えいご" it was like saying, "Therefore" where we stress the first syllable, like he was trying to put emphasis in the word "English" to make a point.

I think you both have very good points. I think George is guiding us through the summit of the mountain, getting us more familiar with the terrain. While you're basically a pro climber who comes down off the cliff to show us the stuff you've found at the top. Like, yeah, it's interesting and important, but it's just not something very early beginners should be concerning themselves with until they have more of a grasp on what they're actually learning.

Thanks for pointing this out. I have been learning for 6 - 8 months. I would like to try and improve my pitch accent now thank you so much.

As always, great video.

I was literally watching that video when I got the notification for this one 🤣

I was waiting for this.

I like your point that the most important thing is to learn to hear it. I'm musically-trained so that's not too hard for me. I also enjoy putting words in OJAD and pressing the button that plays the accent for all the conjugations.

Recently, I've been considering the importance of pitch accent to fluency, and I guess I have complicated ideas about it. I have done very little "book learning" of Japanese in favor of learning primarily from participating in real-life conversations (whether spoken or over text). Being a pretty good mimic and having a habit of repeating what I hear, I have long been at a point where I get specific compliments on my intonation and fluency, but I am also aware that I have a limited ear for pitch. When you reach this level of fluency though, it can and does come up in conversation because as you mentioned, native Japanese speakers frequently catch themselves and each other making mistakes in pitch or intonation. Often it's a side effect of regional dialects having different patterns, but the fact is that it's noticeable enough that you can often tell someone's "not from around here" just from those "mistakes." So while I recognize that it is definitely an important element to real fluency and getting closer to native-level Japanese, the fact that even native speakers often disagree on pitch patterns gives me a good excuse to continue avoiding that kind of sit-down studying that I really don't enjoy.

I think you both make good points about pitch accent. It seems that your priorities in terms of Japanese speaking are different so your opinions will always clash. George is concerned with being able to communicate, to hold a conversation. While your priority is to reach a native level of speaking. For people learning the language, I do think that George is a good place to start, because If you focus on accent right from the beginning I do think you will become discouraged along with the thousands of kanji that your trying to remember.

Why do pitch accents matter? Try to distinguish between おじいさん(nakadaka) and おじさん (heiban). Japanese long vowel in actual conversation only extends the preceding vowel duration by ~50%, not 100%, making it not a reliable way to distinguish phrases.

I like your content Matt, but I side with George on this. 1. you don't actually appear to be addressing his actual point. Instead you're misrepresenting what his position on this it. a. George isn't saying PA isn't important. If a beginner wants to spend time studying PA then they can. George's point is that studying PA isn't necessary. ie: not studying PA doesn't necessarily entail a person will be 'bad' at Japanese speaking to the point where they are not easily understood. 2. George's argument is exactly in line with my own personal experiences - I spent 0 hours studying PA and it hasn't hampered my experience talking with Japanese people; especially my Japanese relatives (my wife's side). 3. Your own responses actually refute your own position and prove George's. a. George isn't saying PA isn't important to Japanese people, and the clip you included shows that *even native Japanese make PA mistakes. And these aren't beginner foreigners. ie: PA isn't necessary for a beginner to study, because even native Japanese who have studied it still make errors that need correcting. b. You even acknowledge/concede that you can understand what George is saying in that clip *despite the PA errors you point out. Which is George's point: one doesn't necessarily need accurate PA to be able to speak Japanese that can be understood. 4. I asked my wife to listen to some of your own videos of you speaking Japanese and she could tell that you are not a native Japanese - she picked up on the fact that you're a foreigner. So despite your studies with PA it doesn't appear to have yielded you a native sound. In summery: George and I are saying that if a beginner wants to also add PA to their studies as they start out then they can, but it's not a necessary aspect. A beginner is still capable of speaking comprehensible Japanese without having to study PA.

When I was in college I learnt Japanese for two years, pitch accent was never mentioned. So I'm really not sure how important the pitch accent is. Then again, I still consider myself a beginner. Thinking about this logically, imagine the number of foreigners who come to the United States and speak English with an accent. When the person speaks, do we focus on their accent or do we focus on the conversation we're having? I've met so many people with an extremely high level of English and they still had an accent, yet our conversation were very fun and intriguing. To my understanding, language is a tool you use to communicate with people. Therefore it's probably not necessary for someone to stress themselves out over sharpening it like a knife. Lastly, I hope people are not discouraged to start learning Japanese from all this talk on pitch accent. The language is already quite challenging (for native speakers of English) as it is. What's the point of adding another layer to that?

Basic intermediate level learner here: I can't speak from expertise, but it seems to me that the most efficient way to learn any language is to make sure you don't pick up any mistakes early that you then have to 'unlearn'. Get things right first, and you'll learn quicker and more efficiently. This is why listening and reading 'natural' Japanese is so much better than using simplified teaching guides. Dogans pitch accent courses are way beyond my personal needs but just understanding what pitch accent is and when and how to use it has been a big help for me in learning how to 'hear' Japanese and in the importance in following natural rhythms when talking. Incidentally, on the point of Japanese people and pitch, non of my Japanese friends seem to know much about pitch, but then again, how many English speakers know what a stress accent is?

My favorite part was how quickly this video was released since I saw that initial tweet on this subject

Great video. 👍 After Chinese Mandarin I thought I wouldn't have to worry anymore about accents/tones....well here we are again 😂. The example you made with the English sentence at the beginning of the video is really good.

If something seems difficult to learn, your mind will always try to tell you that you do not really need to improve in this specific area and that your life will be more or less the same with or without this additional skill. So it’s good to have some other sources beside your own thought patterns.

Even if one is not looking for perfection/mastery learning at least the basic pitch accent will always be worth it. You don’t even have to learn everything about pitch accents which may be hard but at least some basic ideas to be able to distinguish between similar sounds. I think the point that Matt is trying to make is that, you don’t lose a lot by learning a little bit of pitch accent but you have so much to gain, so why not.

すご…こんな感じで音程を一つ一つ勉強してるんや…私の英語のモチベーションになるわ、今のレベルに満足せず細かいところまで習得します！

Matt, I love your calm and collected response to what was a very energetic and polarising video that could easily be interpreted as a direct insult.

school is finishing, i just finished rrtk and getting through tae kim and considering tango my summer is gonna be lit with immersion

12:11 That really hit me. 3 years ago my channel used to be called KouttVsJapan because of this community. That's UNTIL I noticed all the ego and all the "red pill; blue pill" thing there was going around on the discord server (when it used to cost like 1-3usd to get into). I immediately got out and changed my name and went on my own with the learning (to be honest was a bit lonely). I'm glad you guys changed that and seems to be a little bit more modest and friendly now.

Great video ! Spot on ^^

That blue font on the thumbnail looks awfully familiar

Love the Dogen merch

Excellent video! I’d like to also point out something you missed that further strengthens your argument. The mistakes he makes aren’t on even remotely rare words. The mistakes are on some of the most common words in the entire Japanese language. He will have heard them literally tens of thousands of times and yet he still gets them wrong, so clearly imitation without foundational pitch accent knowledge is never going to work. It would be a different story if he only messed up on rare words….

repping the Dogen merch for a pitch accent video, nice

Yooo I've never been so early, awesome vid as always!

Pitch-accents vary according to dialects. When learners of Japanese speak Japanese, I often find myself trying to detect which dialect they are familiar with and based on. Some of them might have stayed somewhere in Japan and have friends that speak a dialect among them. I don't think it's necessary to follow a specific set of the 'correct' pitch accent, that is, a specific dialect including the standard Japanese, because all the speakers I've come across so far are quite intelligible as long as they don't try to speak very very quickly. On the other hand, you are much easier to listen to, when following a specific set of pitch-accent. So I think it's up to learners.

I'm Japanese and I think it's important to set a clear goal. If you just want to communicate with Japanese people, you unironically don't have to go out of your way to be a linguistics nerd. But if you want to sound natural and completely fit in, you have to because if you're not a child anymore you can't learn everything just by immersion and you're gonna need additional information about concepts such as pitch accent. To be completely honest, listening to someone like George is like I'm listening to some dialect of Japanese I've never come across. I can totally understand what he's saying, but it always feels kind of off. But Japanese me can't point that out. 😓

matt , when do you recommend learning pitch accent? personally, im glad i saw this near the beginning of my studies. i think noticing pitch accent early on will be a huge benefit rather than learning it after im at a semi fluent level, like most ppl are saying one should do... i dont want to relearn words and phrases a second time after i become "comfortable" with them. good video thx

I'm fluent in English, and having problems on the accent. I didn't expect that I would go back to sharpen my accent while learning Japanese from your videos.

I'm a native and I've learnt how important pitch accent is. Thank you!

fluency first, then pitch accent. learning japanese is hard enough as it is, it's considered one of the hardest on the rosetta stone ranking up there with arabic. It's hard enough learning non-latin characters, different syntax, etc to tell people to learn pitch accent on top.

I agree with you that pitch accent is important. The classic example is the difference between hashi as in chopsticks (箸) and hashi as in bridge (橋). It would be difficult to think of a time where you would be misunderstood because of this due to context, but it's still a good idea to speak correctly as much as you can. I have noticed in practice though that some Japanese people pronounce the same word with a different pitch accent. As a result, I've started to pronounce some words differently than the average person as well. An example is sushi. Anyone else had this experience?

I think George's main point is he doesn't want new learners to get overwhelmed and think about quitting and that they should only learn pitch accent if they're very enthusiastic about the language, and I think that's the fair point to make.

Are you wearing the ヒラガナ shirt from Dogen’s website? 😍🤣 I’ve been wanting one!

すごい誕生日プレゼントです🎁🎊 ありがとございます

Yo Matt there's also a really interesting point to be made about how your native language is structured, like I heard in anothe video, I think it was about the origin of colors, more like the etymology of words related to colors, and it showed that speakers of language that didn't had a word for blue as an exemple would have more trouble identifying it as blue instead of something like light black, I think it was the case with japanese where "ao" could be used booth for green and blue. In a way I think that the case is similar for the change in pitch on languages, so i supose people who speak romance languages would have an easier time noticyn pitch accent.

My 2 cents: when learning another language, be sure to understand what level you're trying to achieve. I'm Italian, English is my second language and I took French in high school. While I studied a lot more about English and the immense variety of pronunciation differences, I wasn't very good with French (I can read it, write it but speaking is much harder). I still think I achieved what I was looking for (a good level of English to visit or watch English related countries/content and a good enough level of French to be able to read French literature or news). I wouldn't go that far like George and say "this is useless"; when I hear a foreigner speaking Italian, I can clearly identify whether they're at a native level or not. I wouldn't know why it wouldn't be the same for another person.

I'm learning Finnish but I still watch all your videos fully

Hi, how are you I hope you are safe and healthy 🙂🙂 I have a question about shadowing and imitation, which is better shadowing or imitation l mean when you listen to a sentence and pause and then repeat OR listen to a speaker and repeat at the same time No pauses ( which is difficult) and when l wanna imitate a speaker should l choose a person with the same gender or it doesn't matter in English language do american men and women speak differently like in Japanese as you said that they do and you have to choose a person with the same gender, please answer my question cause l trust your opinion and l know that you have experienced acquiring a foreign accent and your Japanese is ABSOLUTELY perfect.

I love how I have been watching these on both sides 😂

Sounded so french Canadian when messing up the English pitch accent haha.

I think you a d George are both somewhat right. I think you're right that you shouldn't completely ignore pitch accent but I think you shouldn't spend a long time actively studying it. My tutor basically tells me that I shouldn't concentrate on pitch accent beyond immitating. When reading, she will correct my accent only when it breaks my flow ( yes correct accent usually makes pronounciation somewhat easier) or when she thinks it sounds cringe to her.

I have done this. When I first learned English I would say thermomemeter as thermo-meter

almost at 100K, subscriber count to the moon

I'm Japanese and I hope Matt will see this comment. I like watching your videos on language acquisition and they are extremely helpful but when It comes to pitch accent I can't disagree more. Pitch accent in Japanese isn't like the English stress or Chinese tone at all. The reason is that Japanese pitch accent greatly varies across regions in Japan, so the way George says えいご can be common in some places out of Tokyo, despite the word length, vowel and consonant which are basically the same in every part of Japan . English stress is like the opposite; where you put stress in a word "about" for instance is basically the same in English speaking countries despite the vowels that can be different across regions and countries. So the Japanese pitch accent is rather more like English vowel and it can be more flexible and variable. If you say that the way George says えいご is wrong because it's supposed to be pronounced "え↑いご(いご with higher tone", it's just like you're saying "People in Canada and UK pronounce a word "about" wrongly in its vowels" but it's obviously nonsensical. I'm sad that majority of Japanese people feel ashamed about their own non-Tokyo accents and this Tokyo-centralized view is getting dominant in Japan. I hope Japanese learners won't be so obsessed with the Tokyo pitch accent unless you aim to acquire perfect Tokyo accent. Japan is not only Tokyo or Kanto area.

damn, im so glad i found this video. now my only problem is resources. any books, videos or stuff you can recommend matt?

7:38- 7:50 I really loved that philosophy about pitch accent to learn all kind of languages

I have definitely been pointed out pitch accent mistakes even in a non-learning environment. For example, I meant to say "plate" (sara), but they thought I was talking about someone named Sarah, so they had to pause me and ask for clarification.

Did you get a new editor? or learn some new tricks? The quality of your videos has gone up 10 fold. Awesome content keep it up. I want to see more

Training to 'hear' pitch is definitely important. In learning tonal languages like Thai or Chinese, where tone changes the word entirely, it is often a strong stumbling block for beginners who just can't hear the difference between certain words. But after time paying attention to the differences carefully, you do train your ear/brain to perceive this difference. It’s like a barrier that you break through. When your brain tunes in, you’ve got it. If it was really that hard, it would make learning these languages impossible - but it just isn't. Japanese is for sure trickier than Thai (for a native English speaker), despite Thai's 5 tones. It's also a good tool to use if you want to learn other languages. Tonal languages like those above you'd get a head start, but both intonation and pitch is important in most languages (in English used to indicated emphasis, questions, subject etc).

As someone who speaks another Asian pitch accent language, Cebuano, I can attest that we do hear all the pitch errors when a foreigner speaks. We definitely notice, but we're nice about it, since it's uncommon for people to learn Cebuano, and we can understand what the person is saying. If they really want to improve their pronunciation, they can ask for help. For example, the difference between afternoon and Japan in Cebuano is a high pitch on one syllable. First syllable pitch is afternoon (hápon), second syllable pitch is Japan (hapón). Cebuano also has many Non pitch words, which makes it pretty hard for speakers of any language where there's almost always a pitch somewhere, often accompanying the stressed syllable. Coming from another pitch language, I think the first point is applicable, where I can get by on what I hear cause it's pretty distinct to me. For most other speakers, I would definitely recommend practicing to hear pitch and learning to separate it from stress, which is also where most of the mistakes George makes are. He stressed the Ei in えいご and pitched it that way, and the same with にほんご, and many other words. In English the pitch comes with the stress, so it's not something that's ever talked about, which makes it seem like English is not a pitch language, but it does have pitch. It's like the difference between the noun and verb form of progress: /'proh-gress/ vs /pruh-'gress/ The verb form starts with a low pitch and rises on the stressed syllable. Learning to hear and separate pitch from stress will help in both hearing and speaking Japanese better.

Well said. I can't say that I'm good at all at pitch accent, or Japanese in general. However, I understand that it makes one sound fluent. And that's basically it. Most adults who learn a new language...maybe moving to another country in the process...NEVER speak with a natural local accent. George Trombley is like that, and that's fine. Just like a French or Japanese or Mexican person who moved to America will almost undoubtedly not sound American, neither will most foreigners who live in Japan. So in one way, it's not all that important if you can listen to an immigrant with no problems. But if you want to sound natural, then it's a must. It just comes down to how much you actually want to sound natural. At any rate, listening out for local pronunciations is worthwhile, even if you can never mimic it. Heck, I can't even speak like an Australian or British person except in (largely stereotypical) pre-memorized phrases.

I think these are fair points, and I as a native Swedish speaker feel much more comfortable listening to another native Swedish speaker. I have to put a little bit more effort in to listening to a non native speaker. With that being said, I have worked with foreign co-workers who spoke with an accent and I got used to it after a while and it doesn't feel taxing after some time has passed

I think they both make good points in their own way, but I also feel like Matt isn't fully comprehending George's basic argument. Go watch George's video, and then watch this one again and you'll see what I mean. For another perspective, Steve Kaufmann also has a video about this topic called "Pitch Accent: Is It Important?" in which he basically agrees with George.

honestly, I am pretty new to Japanese, but what you said about pitch accent and how someone needs to have an ear for it in order to improve his own pitch accent, is kind of like the sport that I play (Volleyball). If you only play without practising and not watching the top players play, you will only get better at playing with bad technique and you won't even know it.

so I previously did think I could just do a near-infinite amount of shadowing and automatically get to near-perfect on pitch accent eventually. Now that you mentioned, maybe the ear is oblivious to what it's oblivious to haha. With that said though, you hadn't mentioned any resources on the "how" to sort of say, unlock that part so the ear can start hearing it more clearly? I saw that you have shown Dogen's video on there a few times, I guess that might be a good start? If some resources could be recommended on how you began noticing the pitch accent and improving on it that would be awesome. Anyways thanks for this video, good reminder of "you don't know what you don't know".

My mother tongue is a pitch accent language and some of the leaders in church are Americans. I internally scream/correct them when they preach with the wrong pitch-accent. There's something alienating about it, even though I can understand what he's going for haha. Bad pitch accent slows the flow of the conversation (having to consider what they might be saying/making them repeat themselves), changes the meaning of words and makes you sound a bit "challenged" tbh. But I agree with George's philosophy of not over-complicating language learning. Throwing oneself into the challenge with bravery is much better than being anxious because of pitch-accent.

What is the best time to start learning pitch accent? Should we start when we are very comfortable with reading novels and listening native language or we can start early?

Hey, pitch accent is a totally new concept for me, and I have a question. When would you recommend to learn about pitch accent (for a new japaneese learner)?

Holy shit Matt, did you just shift the pitch on the BGM right as you're saying "If you can't perceive the subtle differences in sound, you aren't gonna be able to imitate it". That was a based move. Edit: It happens between 9:10 and 9:40 if you're interested Edit2: not so sure about this anymore

i guess hearing pitch accent is like hearing the long vowels. When i started learning japanese i had no clue how to difference a long vowels from a short one. everytime i tried to wright a word i hear in kana i always made mistakes. But i trained my ears and listen a lot to be able to hear it well Now i can say where there's a long vowels on new words without fail. I guess it's not that hard as the pitch accent, but when i was a begginers it bugged me a lot :d

I know you made a video on foreign speakers not being able to acquire pitch accent, but what about if they train to perceive pitch accent at the beginning of their Japanese study? Do you think if you were able to perceive the pitch of Japanese words before you immersed so much, do you think you would've acquired it as well?

For me, pitch accent was worth it to learn besides just improving pronunciation. 1. It helped me greatly with my listening skills. When you learn pitch accent, you naturally pay closer attention to what the other person is saying. 2. It's not an endless pursuit like vocabulary or grammar. While there might always be a word/grammar point you don't know about, after you learn how to hear pitch and the rules of pitch accent (particles, verbs, adjectives, compounds, etc) you can just pick up accent from audio alone. I'm still going to learn all the rules because I'm a nerd, lol 3. My teachers start pitch from lesson 1 in the textbook so that you don't have to correct your mistakes later. Bad habits die hard after all. 4. It just feels good to speak proper Japanese with the right intonation. I love learning Japanese even more now.

Pitch accent is only important if you’re an obsessed perfectionist like Matt which is not the way to go in most cases. There’s no need to work your ass off to sound exactly like a native, as long as you speak fluently and coherently.

I'm not learning Japanese but I want to learn different language on near perfection level as you did with Japanese. I can tell you if you want to be really good you can't ignore any part of that language.

FYI In Cantonese, there are 6 pitches, but in English and Japanese, there are only two.... so ... what's the fuss abt it lol

You raise some fair points. It is good to be exposed to a lot of details in the language and to at least learn the basics. I have had people misunderstood what I've said because I pitched the word incorrectly. I still find myself agreeing more with George on this front. He might not have the most perfect pronunciation, but I still like the sound and flow of his language better than others who have mastered pitch accent. It feels that some are trying too hard and it shows. To be fair, I have only studied the basics of pitch accents so perhaps my opinions is not well-informed. I am open to change down the road. That said, I have never devoted much time to studying stress (or the IPA) in English. Do I sound like a native speaker? No, nor do I want to. The world would be less fun if everyone sounded like movie Americans. I suppose that Japanese, being the language of a homogeneous nation, is decidedly less flexible. The nature of the language also demands more accuracy. In the end, I agree that worshiping personalities and idolizing them is stupid. No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. Thanks for taking the time to making a video. I find the discussion intriguing.

確かに標準語でも、発音、イントネーション間違えてたら勘違いされる場合が多い。その上、他の言語と同じく、pitch accentと人々の独特な発音によって大体どこら辺から育てられて来たのか分かることが多いのでそれももう一つの大切なところだと思った。いつも面白い動画を作ってくれてありがとう～日本に住んでいるハーフから(人''▽｀)

i think whether or not you want to ignore pitch accent is entirely up to what level of fluency you want to reach. if you only wish to be able to communicate to get your ideas across fluidly then yeah pitch accent won't matter to you so much but if you're trying to really sound like a native then it's definitely important. it's all down to your own goals in learning japanese

It's the 80:20 rule in play, I learn 20& of dogen's pitch accent stuff and I bet it gave me 80% of benefits when interacting with Japanese people!