I have been coming to Japan every year for the last 11 years and am currently living in Saitama (wife is Japanese). Now I am not sure if dialects are different from place to place because I have never actually heard anyone say Sumimasen. What I mean by that is the locals do not pronounce it the way I have heard in the lessons. The way it is pronounced (here anyway) is "See-moo-sen" It was one of the first words I ever learned years ago and my wife quickly pointed that out to me. Loving this course by the way. I have put all of the lessons on my MP3 player and listen to it as i ride through the streets of Saitama on my Japanese bicycle. What could be better :-)

Milo-san Konnichiwa! The word "Sumimasen" written すみません is often pronounced "Suimasen" or すいません. The second version, "Su-i-ma-se-n," is a commonly heard colloquial contraction of the basic apology "Su-mi-ma-se-n". For a number of reasons, sounds of words used in conversation undergo many changes in Japanese. In the case of "Sumimasen" it is done by dropping off a sound. The "m" in "mi" is dropped off, and only the 'i' is pronounced. :P