kono supiikaa wa chiisai desu ga, oto ga ii desu.

topic particle

Breakdown of kono supiikaa wa chiisai desu ga, oto ga ii desu.

• です: to be
• 小ちいさい: small
• が: subject particle

Questions & Answers about kono supiikaa wa chiisai desu ga, oto ga ii desu.

Why is この used before スピーカー? Why not これ?

この must be followed by a noun, so この スピーカー means this speaker.

By contrast:

• これ = this one / this
• この = this + noun

So:

• これは 小さいです。 = This is small.
• この スピーカーは 小さいです。 = This speaker is small.

Why is スピーカー written in katakana?

スピーカー is a loanword from English speaker, so it is normally written in katakana, which is often used for foreign-derived words.

Its pronunciation is closer to supiikaa than to the English pronunciation of speaker.

In Japanese, スピーカー usually refers to an audio speaker, not a person giving a speech.

Why is there は after スピーカー?

The particle は marks the topic of the sentence.

So この スピーカーは means something like:

• As for this speaker, ...
• This speaker, ...

The rest of the sentence gives information about that topic:

• 小さいですが、音がいいです。
• It is small, but the sound is good.

So the sentence structure is basically:

• Topic: this speaker
• Comment about it: it is small, but its sound is good