Pronounciation help: "du" and "zu"
 

I am asking this for a friend.

My friend asked me if the pronnounciation for づ and ず were the same.

Obviously, I didn't know, so I thought I'd ask here.

Anyone know? (I'm pretty sure a lot of people here do, but it sounded polite to ask)

They sound exactly the same. :)

Ive never seen anyone use づ　before??! dont do this to me now wtf..

It's possible to use it, I've just never done it.

Knock yourself out

so its interchangable with ず　basicly?

Don't do that to me dude.. scared the crap outta me.

Oh, I remember now.

づ used to sound like "dzu". The pronunciation is now "zu", but it's still "dzu" in some places such as Osaka.

ありがとう Keaton

Oh, and he also wants to know what character brackets are 「like this」

Honestly, I don't know what they're used for either.

Anytime, Pink. And those brackets are quotation marks

Again, things Keaton ^^

Oops, double post and mistyped. Check above!

So.....they're.....quotations? Seems that's what you said before you edited your post. O.o

Edit: Okay, I see your edit now. I'll be sure to let him know (cause he's too lazy to come on here and ask himself) Thanks Keaton (third time, FTW!)

Yep, they're quote marks. For some reason I wrote that they were parentheses, then I double posted :D

I enunciate the "ddzzz" sound more in づ rather that just plain "zu" with ず. Hahah, it's hard to explain. Hearing it is even difficult to catch. My entire Japanese class in high school, including the teacher just pronounced both as "zu."

In which case i ask for a word containing づ and an example sentence please.

Kanji -> Kana -> Romaji -> English please. This looks like an interesting point for discussion and I want everyone to be included.

Im going to bed now.. ill be back in about 8 hours.. hopefully longer but it depends what time my dog decides to come pounce on me in the morning..

おやすみ

漬け -> づけ -> Dzuke -> Pickled

付く -> づく -> Dzuku -> To become (such as tired, healthy, ill)

詰め -> づめ -> Dzume -> 1) Stuffing, packaging 2) The end of a bridge

付き -> づき -> Dzuki -> To be furnished with. アパアトは、ソファを付きています (I think)

Well, I wouldn't say づ is pronounced the same as ず in standard Tokyo dialect. For example, if you pronounced 続く as つずく, I think people would say you're mispronouncing it.

The "d" sound is there in つづく to the best of my knowledge. That's what I hear, anyways. Tsudzuku. Not Tsuzuku. But maybe it's like the difference between the various が pronunciations depending on where it appears in a sentence. The が in 学校 is technically pronounced differently than the が in 背が高い. It separates commoner Japanese from newscaster Japanese.

My Japanese professor in college couldn't even make the distinction, but I could! I remember asking her one time, and she told me she couldn't even make the newscaster が sound. It's like the "ng" in "sing" + "a."

Yeah, like okange. My girlfriend can't even tell the difference but I noticed it :D

And from what I've heard, Tokyo dialect doesn't distinguish between ず and づ

its different in different places in japan.
this map shows where
File:Yotsugana.png - Wikimedia Commons

Is your girlfriend Japanese Keaton?
thanks for the examples, this is a complete new one on me... im shocked... i feel like im right back at the beggining..

another one i can think of is
近づく　chikadzuku to approach

Why is there 2 ji's?

じ that one and ぢ. Is it similar to the づ and ず thing?

Yes she is.

Well np man, I didn't know until a couple of hours ago. I'd always been saying it Zu...

Misa I'll ask her about that next chance I get

Ahh.. well.. that explains alot. I dont feel so behind now :p

Correct. See Wikipedia's page on Yotsugana. Yotsugana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I apparently have been too anal in my distinguishing of them. I've been observing Kagoshima pronunciation while speaking the Hyoujungo variety. Of course, my academic knowledge of Japanese is higher than my speaking ability. :)