Devil's tongue shiratake

Jim McKenney jimmckenney@starpower.net
Mon, 29 Aug 2005 05:16:04 PDT
Lee's post on the Japanese names for konjac seems to provide an answer to
something I've long wondered about. Lee mentioned the Japanese name
konnyaku. I've long wondered if the j in konjac was the "consonantal I" sort
of j or something like the English j. 

The Japanese name suggests that it's the "consonantal I" sound, and if
that's true, then the word konjac sounds just like the word cognac (cognac
as in French brandy). 

I gave a talk awhile back and used the pronunciation kon-yak - it got some
stares. Maybe they thought I was drunk.  : )

Jim McKenney
Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where I'm going to check the
local Asian markets for some of those fruit-flavored candies based on konjac
gel. Maybe I should start a rumor that Japanese children have a high level
of consumption of cognac. 


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