十一月十八日にボブデイランのコンサートへいきました。ともだちといきました。コンサートはたのしいでした。わたしはとてもうれしかったです。コンサートはおわりましたから、かなしかったです（ToT).
ボブデイランのおんがくがだいすきです。いま、ボブデイランは六十八さいです。あまりわかくないですよ。
Monday, November 30, 2009
ボブデイランのコンサート
十一月十八日にボブデイランのコンサートへいきました。ともだちといきました。コンサートはたのしいでした。わたしはとてもうれしかったです。コンサートはおわりましたから、かなしかったです（ToT).
ボブデイランのおんがくがだいすきです。いま、ボブデイランは六十八さいです。あまりわかくないですよ。
Monday, November 16, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
LETTER TO YAMADA
山田さん、
はじめまして。わたしのなまえはユージンです。じゅうはっさいです。かんこくのソウルからきました。
ニューヨークのバーナードだいがくのいちねんせいです。バーナードだいがくはちさいですが、いいだいがくです。だいがくのせいかつはたいへんですよ。まいにちしゆくだいとしけんがたくさんありますから、いつもいそがしいです。
いま、コロンビアだいがくでにほんごのべんきょうをします。月曜日から木曜日までクラスがあります。にほんごクラスはむすかしですが、とてもおもしろいです。山田さのだいがくはどうですか。むずかしですか。なにをべんきょうしますか。
りょうにすんでいます。りょうはあまりよくないです。おてあらいはきれいじゃありません。そして、へやはちいさいです。でも、ルームメートはしんせつなひとです。
まだニューヨークのせいかつになれません。とてもにぎやかなところです。でも、たのしいです。そしてちかてつはべんりです。山田さんのまちはどんなまちですか。しずかですか。
わたしは八月四日ににほんへいきます。
よろしくおねがいします！
ユージン
山田さん、
はじめまして。わたしのなまえはユージンです。じゅうはっさいです。かんこくのソウルからきました。
ニューヨークのバーナードだいがくのいちねんせいです。バーナードだいがくはちさいですが、いいだいがくです。だいがくのせいかつはたいへんですよ。まいにちしゆくだいとしけんがたくさんありますから、いつもいそがしいです。
いま、コロンビアだいがくでにほんごのべんきょうをします。月曜日から木曜日までクラスがあります。にほんごクラスはむすかしですが、とてもおもしろいです。山田さのだいがくはどうですか。むずかしですか。なにをべんきょうしますか。
りょうにすんでいます。りょうはあまりよくないです。おてあらいはきれいじゃありません。そして、へやはちいさいです。でも、ルームメートはしんせつなひとです。
まだニューヨークのせいかつになれません。とてもにぎやかなところです。でも、たのしいです。そしてちかてつはべんりです。山田さんのまちはどんなまちですか。しずかですか。
わたしは八月四日ににほんへいきます。
よろしくおねがいします！
ユージン
Monday, October 26, 2009
KATAKANA ANALYSIS
ザケンナヨ
I found this Katakana expression in a Japanese cartoon series about a restaurant that opens from 12 A.M. to 7 A.M. It was used by a yakuza member who was yelling at the restaurant owner. I was told that "ザケンナヨ" is a negative slang term meaning something along the lines of "Don't fool around!", thus I categorized the expression under slang. Although "ザケンナヨ" is a Japanese term and not trying to imitate a foreign word, it is still written in Katakana. Upon research I found that many Japanese slang terms are also expressed in Katakana. For example, キモイ is a Japanese slang term for cool. Perhaps it is because slang terms are relatively new Japanese expressions, they are expressed in Katakana.
キレイ
I was surprised to find that きれいな has a Katakana equivalent. Melissa from my Japanese class brought in clippings of a Japanese cartoon where they described the character who is made of bread as キレイパン. I learned that the word for beauty is commonly expressed in Katakana to draw attention. きれいな was expressed in Katakana to establish emphasis. Apparently, Katakana for beauty is frequently used by women's magazines for emphasis with sayings like ”メイビリンガキレイのヒモツ”.
As for textbooks, I found that their explanations for Katana usage were overall consistent with one another. They focused mainly on loan words, onomatopoeia and emphasis. I would imagine that they focused on these three categories because they are the main reasons for Katakana usage in Japanese. However, through collecting Katakana phrases, I learned there were more complex motives for Katakana use. One T.A. explained to me that sometimes Katakana is used because it is trendier, or more "fashionable," to express something in English. I also found that relatively new Japanese terms were expressed in Katakana instead of being written in hiragana and/or given a Japanese equivalent.
I found this Katakana expression in a Japanese cartoon series about a restaurant that opens from 12 A.M. to 7 A.M. It was used by a yakuza member who was yelling at the restaurant owner. I was told that "ザケンナヨ" is a negative slang term meaning something along the lines of "Don't fool around!", thus I categorized the expression under slang. Although "ザケンナヨ" is a Japanese term and not trying to imitate a foreign word, it is still written in Katakana. Upon research I found that many Japanese slang terms are also expressed in Katakana. For example, キモイ is a Japanese slang term for cool. Perhaps it is because slang terms are relatively new Japanese expressions, they are expressed in Katakana.
キレイ
I was surprised to find that きれいな has a Katakana equivalent. Melissa from my Japanese class brought in clippings of a Japanese cartoon where they described the character who is made of bread as キレイパン. I learned that the word for beauty is commonly expressed in Katakana to draw attention. きれいな was expressed in Katakana to establish emphasis. Apparently, Katakana for beauty is frequently used by women's magazines for emphasis with sayings like ”メイビリンガキレイのヒモツ”.
As for textbooks, I found that their explanations for Katana usage were overall consistent with one another. They focused mainly on loan words, onomatopoeia and emphasis. I would imagine that they focused on these three categories because they are the main reasons for Katakana usage in Japanese. However, through collecting Katakana phrases, I learned there were more complex motives for Katakana use. One T.A. explained to me that sometimes Katakana is used because it is trendier, or more "fashionable," to express something in English. I also found that relatively new Japanese terms were expressed in Katakana instead of being written in hiragana and/or given a Japanese equivalent.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Why I Chose to Study Japanese...
When I tell people I was born in Japan, a common question that comes up is whether I can speak Japanese. Even though I was only a baby when living in Japan, I always feel weird when I say no, I do not speak Japanese. My hope is that one day I'll be able to answer differently and be able to speak the language of the country in which I was born.
And now that I'm living in Korea, Japan is less than two hours away by plane. My family and friends like to visit Japan often whether it's to go skiing in Sapporo or to eat ramen in Tokyo. Being able to speak Japanese, I think, would make the trips more interesting as I would be able to interact with the locals through their own language rather than awkward gestures and broken English.
It would also be nice to watch Japanese movies without the subtitles. I would feel quite accomplished.
So far, what's made the class a challenge besides having to memorize vocab and learn hiragana is the grammar. Knowing Korean helps because of the similar grammar rules, but all the particles give me a headache. I guess I'm going to have to get used to it though. I'm also scared to start learning kanji.
When I tell people I was born in Japan, a common question that comes up is whether I can speak Japanese. Even though I was only a baby when living in Japan, I always feel weird when I say no, I do not speak Japanese. My hope is that one day I'll be able to answer differently and be able to speak the language of the country in which I was born.
And now that I'm living in Korea, Japan is less than two hours away by plane. My family and friends like to visit Japan often whether it's to go skiing in Sapporo or to eat ramen in Tokyo. Being able to speak Japanese, I think, would make the trips more interesting as I would be able to interact with the locals through their own language rather than awkward gestures and broken English.
It would also be nice to watch Japanese movies without the subtitles. I would feel quite accomplished.
So far, what's made the class a challenge besides having to memorize vocab and learn hiragana is the grammar. Knowing Korean helps because of the similar grammar rules, but all the particles give me a headache. I guess I'm going to have to get used to it though. I'm also scared to start learning kanji.
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