English speakers will be familiar with the generalization that adding "o" to the end of any English word produces a Spanish word. This works in some cases (car=carro, stupid=estupido, May=mayo), but in most, it just makes you sound offensive and very gringo.
But this is injaparadise, not mexitopia or spainvana. In my limited experience thus far, which includes Japanese tourists at my job and conversation partners locally, I've found that pronouncing something the katakana way (i.e., with a Japanese accent) actually can really help get your meaning across.
We can talk about why some people (namely, foreigners) are pushing for katakana reform another day. But for me, katakana and loan words are something I dearly love about Japanese. I think it is absolutely fascinating that they believe "hotel" and "hoteru" sound exactly the same. I may have mentioned on Twitter that one of my conversation partners referred to Avril Lavigne as Aburiru Rabiin. As well he should! That is her name over there! I can feel myself getting close to a rant, so I will link here as soon as I've written a post about why Japanese is just fine the way it is.
Anywhoot, my point is that I have made several important exchanges with Japanese people, especially when we're trying to have a conversation in English (because, remember, my Japanese is still not very good!), simply by pronouncing what I was trying to say in English in a Japanese accent. I mean, seriously: especially if their English is not super great, it may not have occurred to them that Aburiru Rabiin's name is anything other than Aburiru Rabiin. Not that I expect you to be having many conversations with Japanese people about pop alt rockers who were cool in the early 2000's.
Not only does it help with the meaning, but also, I don't think the Japanese are quite as easily offended. My experience has shown that Japanese people are super hyped about anyone who's trying to learn their language. It's not exactly a popular choice. So anything you can do in a conversation to communicate with them seems to be appreciated.
Please use this and tell me your stories!
Origin of "karaoke"
My teacher taught me something interesting at my lesson this week. I've been noticing that 「カラオケ」(karaoke) is always in katakana. I asked her why this is. "It's a Japanese word, isn't it?" It sure sounds like one...
It turns out it's a hybrid!
The kanji「空」can be read「そら」, which means "sky," and is probably one of the readings we're more familiar with. But it can also be read「から」, which means empty.
Next: 「オケ」. It turns out 「オケ」is actually the first part of 「オーケストラ」. They decided 「カラオーケ」just didn't sounds nice, so they shortened it, which gave us what we now know as 「カラオケ」.
So what does it mean? Yes, you're right: empty orchestra.
It turns out it's a hybrid!
The kanji「空」can be read「そら」, which means "sky," and is probably one of the readings we're more familiar with. But it can also be read「から」, which means empty.
Next: 「オケ」. It turns out 「オケ」is actually the first part of 「オーケストラ」. They decided 「カラオーケ」just didn't sounds nice, so they shortened it, which gave us what we now know as 「カラオケ」.
So what does it mean? Yes, you're right: empty orchestra.
Polite vs. Casual
Every time I talk to a native Japanese person (outside the classroom), it becomes harder and harder to keep speaking politely. My teacher wants me to learn only polite language for now, and I totally understand and respect why. I know that polite language is, by nature, never going to be rude, so it works in every situation. Also, I come into contact with Japanese people at work, and I need to be polite to them because they're customers.
THAT SAID,
I feel so impersonal and removed and stuffy when I'm talking to my friends. I think they understand why, but it still feels like it's a barrier between us. I mean, can you imagine this conversation in English?
A: Hey, girl, wassap?
B: I am having a nice day.
A: That's cool. So what've you been up to?
B: I went to school and enjoyed that. However, today I am tired. We are having nice weather today. And you?
A: Oh man, this asshole came up to me earlier and was all, "Get off the sidewalk!" and I was like, "Man, some people."
B: I am sorry to hear that. That is very strange.
I mean, seriously. From trying to speak Japanese, I know exactly what B's intended words and meanings were, but they just come out so dry and completely devoid of personality. I mean, reading that conversation, would you think they were close? It's hard to tell because their language is entirely different. B sounds like some foreign adult, honestly.
Anyway, is anyone else having this issue?
My survival plan is to be exposed to casual lingo (like, I'll have my conversation partner teach me both the polite and casual version of things), but I'll only write down or really pay attention to the polite one since that has to do with the studying I'm actually paying for help in. I figure if I keep hearing it, I'll be able to compartmentalize everything soon. For instance, I know "chou" is the casual of "totemo." And I've started picking up on verbs--they straight up just don't conjugate them most of the time, so that's easy to remember.
Let me know if you've run into this problem. Any solutions?
THAT SAID,
I feel so impersonal and removed and stuffy when I'm talking to my friends. I think they understand why, but it still feels like it's a barrier between us. I mean, can you imagine this conversation in English?
A: Hey, girl, wassap?
B: I am having a nice day.
A: That's cool. So what've you been up to?
B: I went to school and enjoyed that. However, today I am tired. We are having nice weather today. And you?
A: Oh man, this asshole came up to me earlier and was all, "Get off the sidewalk!" and I was like, "Man, some people."
B: I am sorry to hear that. That is very strange.
I mean, seriously. From trying to speak Japanese, I know exactly what B's intended words and meanings were, but they just come out so dry and completely devoid of personality. I mean, reading that conversation, would you think they were close? It's hard to tell because their language is entirely different. B sounds like some foreign adult, honestly.
Anyway, is anyone else having this issue?
My survival plan is to be exposed to casual lingo (like, I'll have my conversation partner teach me both the polite and casual version of things), but I'll only write down or really pay attention to the polite one since that has to do with the studying I'm actually paying for help in. I figure if I keep hearing it, I'll be able to compartmentalize everything soon. For instance, I know "chou" is the casual of "totemo." And I've started picking up on verbs--they straight up just don't conjugate them most of the time, so that's easy to remember.
Let me know if you've run into this problem. Any solutions?
The "Lingual Double-take"
For my own purposes, I've coined this idiom. Maybe you've experienced this, too, and you can use it now. It is:
"The lingual double-take."
Let me explain:
When you're first learning a language, hearing it usually just sounds like a bunch of noise. Imagine, if you will, a sea of bubbles. Maybe there's a bubble machine somewhere, and all the bubbles are floating past you. This is the "noise" of language. Every once in a while, a purple bubble goes by. This is the one word you understood. But in a sea of bubbles, it doesn't really stand out, and in a moment it's gone.
A lingual double-take happens when, after you've gotten used to seeing bubbles and bubbles and bubbles, a big bunch of colorful balloons drifts by. Your mind, which was expecting only bubbles, has to take a moment to double check, and then you realize: holy shit, those were balloons! This is the lingual double-take: it's when, after all but tuning out the "noise," your mind says, "Hold on a second;" you pause to let your mind process, and you realize you understood something. Then everything is just bubbles again.
This happened to be a while ago when I was listening to the NHK Radio News. One day, just like every other, I heard them say, "NHK11になりました (NHK juu-ichi ni narimashita)." They say this every day, and I'd tuned it out like anything else. But on this particular day, something made me pause and I thought, "Wait: narimasu... I know that verb." I also know that the NHK news team is NHK 11. And that's when I started dying of laughter, because what they've been saying this whole time is:
"We have become the NHK 11 News."
It just sounds like they're a bunch of mild-mannered Japanese people by day, but at night they become... The NHK News Team (!!!) like a bunch of superheroes. I thought it was hilarious.
So I guess what I'm saying is: just when you thought you'd give up and zone out, your mind will prove to you how much you've been learning. Soon, we'll all be surrounded by balloons.
"The lingual double-take."
Let me explain:
When you're first learning a language, hearing it usually just sounds like a bunch of noise. Imagine, if you will, a sea of bubbles. Maybe there's a bubble machine somewhere, and all the bubbles are floating past you. This is the "noise" of language. Every once in a while, a purple bubble goes by. This is the one word you understood. But in a sea of bubbles, it doesn't really stand out, and in a moment it's gone.
A lingual double-take happens when, after you've gotten used to seeing bubbles and bubbles and bubbles, a big bunch of colorful balloons drifts by. Your mind, which was expecting only bubbles, has to take a moment to double check, and then you realize: holy shit, those were balloons! This is the lingual double-take: it's when, after all but tuning out the "noise," your mind says, "Hold on a second;" you pause to let your mind process, and you realize you understood something. Then everything is just bubbles again.
This happened to be a while ago when I was listening to the NHK Radio News. One day, just like every other, I heard them say, "NHK11になりました (NHK juu-ichi ni narimashita)." They say this every day, and I'd tuned it out like anything else. But on this particular day, something made me pause and I thought, "Wait: narimasu... I know that verb." I also know that the NHK news team is NHK 11. And that's when I started dying of laughter, because what they've been saying this whole time is:
"We have become the NHK 11 News."
It just sounds like they're a bunch of mild-mannered Japanese people by day, but at night they become... The NHK News Team (!!!) like a bunch of superheroes. I thought it was hilarious.
So I guess what I'm saying is: just when you thought you'd give up and zone out, your mind will prove to you how much you've been learning. Soon, we'll all be surrounded by balloons.
Female Japanese Video Bloggers
I realized today that, of all the J-vloggers I watch, the only women are foreigners (with the exception of Chika, who grew up in America but is Japanese). I am going to end up sounding like a boy! Can anyone recommend any girl video bloggers? Are the women there too shy? Or are they just on a different site? I've heard that vlogging on YouTube didn't really take in Japan until a few years ago.
*EDIT*
I meant to also mention that I tried searching for female videobloggers in Japanese, and I just got a whole mess of pervy stuff. Ewwwwww
*EDIT*
I meant to also mention that I tried searching for female videobloggers in Japanese, and I just got a whole mess of pervy stuff. Ewwwwww
Little Tokyo Short Story Contest! リテル東京のショートストーリーコンテスト
Check out this contest! Due January 31 next year. I hope to enter!
一番ワースト会話のパートナー
昨夜友達会いました。日本語と英語で話しました。いつもがんばります！！友達になんバカをおしえます：
「Hey, ladies. You want tickets to the gun show?」
どんなに話すできます。。。みたいこの彼は、たくさん大きい筋肉あります。英語で「ガンズ」を話します。じゃ、日本語の言葉多分：
「ネーーかのじょら、ガンズショのチケットが欲しいか。」
チョウバカ
どうしてこれが彼に教えましたか？
The Moment of Fluency
Hi guys.
I had an important realization today.
I have the great fortune of working with people from all over the world on a daily basis. As an actor, this has been most excellent research. And as a student of Japanese, this has been great to challenge myself to try and communicate when Japanese guests come into my office.
We had some guests in my department today who had lost a bag. It had cash, their passports, and a whole bunch else. I wasn't the one directly helping them, so I just eavesdropped to hear them talk in Japanese. After my coworker walked away after helping them, they seemed unclear, so I asked them (in English) if they understood. They just stared a little. So I asked, ”わかりました？” One of them said, ”えぇぇぇぇぇぇ？” (I love when they do that). So, even though, I hardly spoke any more Japanese with them (they luckily spoke much more English than I do Japanese), I still feel I established a connection they were grateful for.
Anyway, the point is this: after this conversation, I was feeling upset I couldn't help them more in Japanese. And I started realizing that I dream about this finite point in the future when I'll suddenly be able to speak fluently with no problems... and it occurred to me how ridiculous that is. There is no time when, suddenly, a switch gets flipped and I can magically communicate with no flaws. And what it came down to is that it's these experiences, these short times when I force myself to say even just a few words, that are going to culminate in my overall comprehension of the language, eventually.
That was a tough realization. And I think that this magical point in the future is a trap lots of us fall into without realizing it. And that same magic point in the future is often, subconsciously, why we feel frustrated things aren't moving: because we're relying on this switch to be flipped one day. But anything worth learning is worth working hard for and learning well. And what better pursuit could there be than language? There's a quote, that when you speak to a man in his second language, you're speaking to his brain; when you speak to a man in his mother tongue, you're speaking to his heart. There truly is no other way to really communicate some things unless you're speaking the same language. And it's beautiful.
And that's the thought for today.
I had an important realization today.
I have the great fortune of working with people from all over the world on a daily basis. As an actor, this has been most excellent research. And as a student of Japanese, this has been great to challenge myself to try and communicate when Japanese guests come into my office.
We had some guests in my department today who had lost a bag. It had cash, their passports, and a whole bunch else. I wasn't the one directly helping them, so I just eavesdropped to hear them talk in Japanese. After my coworker walked away after helping them, they seemed unclear, so I asked them (in English) if they understood. They just stared a little. So I asked, ”わかりました？” One of them said, ”えぇぇぇぇぇぇ？” (I love when they do that). So, even though, I hardly spoke any more Japanese with them (they luckily spoke much more English than I do Japanese), I still feel I established a connection they were grateful for.
Anyway, the point is this: after this conversation, I was feeling upset I couldn't help them more in Japanese. And I started realizing that I dream about this finite point in the future when I'll suddenly be able to speak fluently with no problems... and it occurred to me how ridiculous that is. There is no time when, suddenly, a switch gets flipped and I can magically communicate with no flaws. And what it came down to is that it's these experiences, these short times when I force myself to say even just a few words, that are going to culminate in my overall comprehension of the language, eventually.
That was a tough realization. And I think that this magical point in the future is a trap lots of us fall into without realizing it. And that same magic point in the future is often, subconsciously, why we feel frustrated things aren't moving: because we're relying on this switch to be flipped one day. But anything worth learning is worth working hard for and learning well. And what better pursuit could there be than language? There's a quote, that when you speak to a man in his second language, you're speaking to his brain; when you speak to a man in his mother tongue, you're speaking to his heart. There truly is no other way to really communicate some things unless you're speaking the same language. And it's beautiful.
And that's the thought for today.
Weekly Practice 1
I need to practice (and yes, I forgot the verb ending for "need to." Is it 「と」?), so I think I'll force myself to at least write a little paragraph every week and try to use what I'm learning.
今私は図書館に勉強をします。この図書館はあまりきれいが便利です。実際に図書館が好きです。どんどん習います。うれしいです。キャリパミュパミュが好きです。キャリのふくは面白いです。多分高い、思います。キャリと音楽はとてもかわいいですよね。私の週は、どうですか？ちょっと難しい週です。私の自動車は問題ありました。私のメカニックにお金をあげました。今夜リテル東京に晩ご飯を食べます。ラメン、たぶん。私はたくさん仕事をありますががんばってね！いつも日本語の時間がありますよね。
今私は図書館に勉強をします。この図書館はあまりきれいが便利です。実際に図書館が好きです。どんどん習います。うれしいです。キャリパミュパミュが好きです。キャリのふくは面白いです。多分高い、思います。キャリと音楽はとてもかわいいですよね。私の週は、どうですか？ちょっと難しい週です。私の自動車は問題ありました。私のメカニックにお金をあげました。今夜リテル東京に晩ご飯を食べます。ラメン、たぶん。私はたくさん仕事をありますががんばってね！いつも日本語の時間がありますよね。
Tips on Learning Japanese: ganbatte!
Hey, guys. Japanese can seem overwhelming: it has relatively no ties to English, the structure is different, and it uses totally different characters. But if you want to do it, nothing can stop you. You just have to keep a few things in mind!
English speakers commonly learn languages like French, Spanish, and German because a) the languages are widely spoken, and b) the structure is very similar to English and a lot of the words are similar or come from the same roots. We're spoiled by both of these factors. Think about it: the only big structural adjustment we have to make is "put the adjectives after the nouns," and then there are so many words we already know or only have to make small adjustments to (like happy-->felicity-->feliz; green-->verdant-->vert/verde). So yeah, if this has been our expectation when learning a language, then yes: we're gonna feel overwhelmed when we try to attack a language like Japanese. If you're aware if this expectation and can combat it before you get too frustrated with Japanese, then you'll see that Japanese is actually quite simple.
First of all, anything you put your mind to, you can do. For instance, I spent years learning Spanish, and could easily have been fluent by this time, but I never had a strong, personal connection to the language, so I was never motivated to move forward. On the other hand, I've been rapidly improving on my Japanese and will soon surpass my Spanish after just a year of study. Heck yeah, it can definitely be overwhelming working on a language that doesn't even use a Roman alphabet. Even with Danish, you or I could at least pretend we know how to pronounce the words by reading them phonetically. But in Japanese to even sound out the words, without even knowing their meaning, we have to learn, bare minimum, 46 characters and their sounds. But let me tell you that it is so rewarding when you start doing it. When I first started learning hiragana, I took out the first volume of the Sailor Moon manga. I'd look up phrases occasionally, but I was mostly just sounding out the characters for practice. I remember the first time I recognized a word. I sounded out "to-mo-da... tomodachi! Tomodachi! FRIEND!" I was so excited. It is times like these when you can choose to have a self-celebratory (and very un-Japanese) prideful moment where you feel very superior over all those people who never leave their sacred Roman alphabet.
Once you get past these two factors I mentioned (the structure and vocabulary similarities) you might actually start to notice that some of Japanese is really quite easy. For instance, with Spanish, I'm not sure I ever actually got far enough to talk about what I "will" do, and I hardly learned past tense. In Japanese, you can learn this all in one day: masu and mashita. Boom. Done. You can now talk about today, yesterday, and tomorrow. You're welcome. Japanese also has a lot of excellent phrases that I really recommend you listen to instead of try to translate. That's how you know a phrase is great: when you can't translate it easily. Phrases like, "douzo," "yoroshiku," "itadakimasu," and even "sou."
My recommendation is to start learning Japanese with no expectations. If you don't expect shortcuts to be there, you'll save yourself a lot of frustration. And, again, you might just notice that there are quite a lot of shortcuts available to you. Last thought: feel luck that you're learning Japanese from an English perspective because, yes, there are a lot of loan words. Think about someone whose native language is something other than English; those loan words (like "chansu (opportunity)," "shouto hea (short hair)," and even "haato (heart)" will be just that many more words for them to learn. Ganbatte!
English speakers commonly learn languages like French, Spanish, and German because a) the languages are widely spoken, and b) the structure is very similar to English and a lot of the words are similar or come from the same roots. We're spoiled by both of these factors. Think about it: the only big structural adjustment we have to make is "put the adjectives after the nouns," and then there are so many words we already know or only have to make small adjustments to (like happy-->felicity-->feliz; green-->verdant-->vert/verde). So yeah, if this has been our expectation when learning a language, then yes: we're gonna feel overwhelmed when we try to attack a language like Japanese. If you're aware if this expectation and can combat it before you get too frustrated with Japanese, then you'll see that Japanese is actually quite simple.
First of all, anything you put your mind to, you can do. For instance, I spent years learning Spanish, and could easily have been fluent by this time, but I never had a strong, personal connection to the language, so I was never motivated to move forward. On the other hand, I've been rapidly improving on my Japanese and will soon surpass my Spanish after just a year of study. Heck yeah, it can definitely be overwhelming working on a language that doesn't even use a Roman alphabet. Even with Danish, you or I could at least pretend we know how to pronounce the words by reading them phonetically. But in Japanese to even sound out the words, without even knowing their meaning, we have to learn, bare minimum, 46 characters and their sounds. But let me tell you that it is so rewarding when you start doing it. When I first started learning hiragana, I took out the first volume of the Sailor Moon manga. I'd look up phrases occasionally, but I was mostly just sounding out the characters for practice. I remember the first time I recognized a word. I sounded out "to-mo-da... tomodachi! Tomodachi! FRIEND!" I was so excited. It is times like these when you can choose to have a self-celebratory (and very un-Japanese) prideful moment where you feel very superior over all those people who never leave their sacred Roman alphabet.
Once you get past these two factors I mentioned (the structure and vocabulary similarities) you might actually start to notice that some of Japanese is really quite easy. For instance, with Spanish, I'm not sure I ever actually got far enough to talk about what I "will" do, and I hardly learned past tense. In Japanese, you can learn this all in one day: masu and mashita. Boom. Done. You can now talk about today, yesterday, and tomorrow. You're welcome. Japanese also has a lot of excellent phrases that I really recommend you listen to instead of try to translate. That's how you know a phrase is great: when you can't translate it easily. Phrases like, "douzo," "yoroshiku," "itadakimasu," and even "sou."
My recommendation is to start learning Japanese with no expectations. If you don't expect shortcuts to be there, you'll save yourself a lot of frustration. And, again, you might just notice that there are quite a lot of shortcuts available to you. Last thought: feel luck that you're learning Japanese from an English perspective because, yes, there are a lot of loan words. Think about someone whose native language is something other than English; those loan words (like "chansu (opportunity)," "shouto hea (short hair)," and even "haato (heart)" will be just that many more words for them to learn. Ganbatte!
How to Practice: Conversation Partner
Okay, so obviously, a key component to learning anything is practice. With learning a language, there's a lot you can do on your own as far as writing, reading, grammar, and general study goes. But by definition, a language exists so we can communicate. So how can you possibly exercise that when you're always by yourself?
Enter: OTHER HUMAN BEINGS. Generally, the most advantageous option is actually speaking with a native. Practicing with others learning the same language is helpful in its own way because you'll most likely find the same things strange or difficult, and you can share strategies, mnemonics, etc.
However, speaking with a native, you have little chance of learning things the wrong way, and you'll understand how people actually talk in that language. You'll hear colloquialisms, and it's really helpful to hear all the things you've been learning put to use. But what if you don't know anyone who speaks the language you're learning?
Enter: LANGUAGE PARTNER PROGRAMS!
In this blog, I'll be talking about Conversation Exchange.com. I can't say it's the best because I haven't tried any others. However, the fact that I haven't had to try any other services should speak for itself. CS is very straightforward, simple to use, and (most importantly) FREE! You can even search for partners without making an account.
The way CS works is simple:
- Choose your first language (in my case, English)
- Choose the language you're learning (Japanese)
If you do get the chance to actually meet up with someone or Skype, please take the opportunity. It's scary and we all feel insecure about our language abilities, but if you don't start speaking now, your studies will go nowhere. It's easy for me to fall in the habit of, "Oh, well, they want to practice their English, and my Japanese sucks, so I'll just help them practice." But what's the point? My recommendation is that you designate time so that you both must practice and hold each other accountable. Even if your time is only 5 or 10 minutes. Try to make at least 80% of the words out of your mouth in that language. And the more you do it, the easier it gets.
I've met two people off of CS so far, and it's been great! (Just met a new friend tonight--see below!) Even if I haven't practiced or tried to speak Japanese as much as I wish I would have, it's still super nice to have native Japanese friends because I can ask them questions, get recommendations for TV shows, movies, and music, and I can text/Facebook them, which is a lot less pressure than talking face-to-face.
One last thing about conversation partners: having people you write to, whether it's in text, email, Facebook, or whatever, is helpful, too, and here's why: if I don't know how to say what I want to say, I can go on my computer or phone or get a book to look it up, and this forces me to learn new words, phrases, and grammar. It also helps with kanji comprehension.
A side note: CS doesn't allow user photos. You can choose an image from amongst options like trees, clouds, etc., but you can't have a personal photo. In a way, this is nice because you can't judge by appearances, but I think a lot of people feel safer when there's a photo. I don't really have an opinion.
All in all, I'm super happy with Conversation Exchange, and I'm looking forward to connecting with more people! Let me know if you try it!
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