Goro Hata became fluent in esophageal speech and spoke in a loud voice.
One day, he answered the phone with, "Yes, our name Hata," but the person on the other end reacted with "Ata? What? Must be a wrong number," and hung up. This was not the first time, either.
Hata realized that he was not successful in producing the "ha" in "Hata," but he was determined and, through repeated practice, made it at last.
"Finally! Just one mention of my name on the phone and the caller understood," Hata said, his face wreathed in a smile.
Mr. Furukawa also makes it clear to the listener that his name is "Furukawa," not "Urukawa."
These examples show that practice makes perfect.
Some people give up on the "ha" sounds before they start saying they are too difficult to pronounce, or are a waste of time to practice. This is not recommended.
Many people in the Ginrei-Kai are good at pronouncing "ha" sounds. Chairman Nakamura is one of them.
