Difference between a small kana and ー
  • lilinolilino
    So as far as I know【ー】is used only with katakana, unless it's casual speech with hiragana, correct?

    But what would be the difference (in terms meaning I guess?) between

    サァ＆サー
    シィ＆シー
    スゥ＆スー
    セェ＆セー
    ソォ＆ソー

    for example.

    Also according to the infamous Google Translate, サァ sounded very much like サ and so on.

    I'm just a bit confused on the pronunciation of these kana+small kana combos and when to use them.
  • TobberothTobberoth
    Do you have any example of words using small katakana like this? I can't come up with any examples.

    Generally, small katakana are used to change pronunciations, for example, Sweden (スウェーデン) uses the small e after the u because its a "we" sound, not a "u" sound.
  • megasean3000megasean3000
    The small Katakana would suggest a longer running sound that's not meant to be, either impulsively or for playful banter.

    The ー is actually used to make letters longer, for example, DVD in Japanese Katakana is "ディーブイディー" notice that the "ディ" has a ー next to it to make it longer.
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