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 Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2005 12:55 am
I was looking at your lessons and particularly those of pronunciation. There are a few things, very minor, that I thought you might want to include, and if you did already, then sorry in advance. All is taken from a book: Easy Japanese by Jack Seward.
"The Whispered Vowels
In Japanese, the vowels i and u are often devoiced or whispered. Sometimes they seem almost lost between any pairs of the following consonants or consonant combinations: ch, f, h, k, p, s, sh, ts, and t. Pronounce them as shown in these examples: kusa (grass) as if it were k'sa, shita (tongue or under) as if it were sh'ta...The devoiced final u is particularly noticeable in desu...and in the respectful verb-ending -masu...With the muted or whispered final u, desu and -masu become almost like dess and -mass."
"The Consonant g
The initial g in Japanese is hard, as in goal, with the exception of the postposition ga, where it is soft.
Within a word, g is softer..."
"H
A h before i or y is something like sh in the English "ship" and sh in German ich."
"n
N is the only consonant in Japanese to stand alone. As a single consonant, it only comes at the end of a syllable (except when it is used as an abbreviation for no, and should be accorded special attention. It has a nasal sound and should be given the force of a single syllable.
The unwary student might be tempted to pronounce San-in...as if it were two syllables, i.e., San and in. It is, instead, four--and this is easier to understand when one sees that San-in is written in kana with four syllables (さんいん), each of which should be pronounced as a seperate syllable.
Before b, m, and p, this n is pronounced as m.
This n before ch, d, j, t, ts, or another n is pronounced with the tongue behind the upper teeth.
Before k or g, this n is pronounced as if it were ng.
When it precedes y or w or any vowel, this n borrows a bit of the sound which follows...Note that when n precedes the vowels i orem a y sound (as in young) is slightly voiced...When the n comes before y it is pronounced like the Spanish n in senor*, with the middle part of the tongue touching the roof of the mouth and the breath passes partly through the mouth and partly thtough the nose.
When the n is at the end of a word, it is pronounced with the tongue near but not quite touching the roof of the mouth. This same pronunciation applies when n precedes f, h, r, s, sh, and z."
"The F in Japanese
In English, the f is made by placing the lower lip against the upper teeth.
The Japanese f, however, is lighter then the f in English. The Japanese don't use the teeth at all. They bring the lips almost together, as if about to whistle, and then blow out with a very slight puff."
*I don't know how to type the n with the squigly, sorry!
I know a lot of it are frivolous details, so it is up to you if you wish to include some or all of these points in your lessons.
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 5:32 am
Doumo arigatou gozaimasu !!
Waouh all this really helps !! And you explain it really well. ^w ^
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Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 6:29 pm
Freakezette i'm a little interested in knowing where all you guys are and if there are Japanese programs near you. Sometimes in surprises me where there are and aren't Japanese classes. I'm in Ft Collins, Colorado and the local k-12 school disctrict doesn't have any Japanese as far as I know. My highschool had the basic French, German and Spanish (I took french) and a Chinese class that from what I understood was pretty much a joke (not that my french class was much better, I couldn't speak it to save my life) My college is kind of the same way, French, Spanish and German are the only 3 languages you can major it. It offers minors in Russian and Japanese, and 2 years worth of classes in italian, chinese, and arabic. I know in Boulder they have a lot of options in Japanese. CU offers it as a degree, and when I went to Japan bowl, probably half of the teams were from Boulder. I live in Indianapolis, Indiana and my school had only Spanish and French, maybe Japanese in paid classes but only other option is colleges. sad If my school taught Japanese I would have taken it, instead I took Spanish for 8 years and French my senior year.
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Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 4:37 pm
Ah...no Japanese for me. Just Spanish, French, Italian. Oh yea, I live in New Jersey.
I have a Chinese friend who studies in a Chinese school. I guess he didn't know Chinese to start with so he's taking classes. He says he's now a 7th grader in Chinese.
He claims to know some Japanese. But he won't teach me.
Oh yea, I borrowed a Learn Japanese book from a friend. I just want to know if these facts are right.
Let's say you have a sentence.
Watashi wa baka desu. (I know what I said...Correct me if I have mistaken though...With any grammatical errors)
Let's say you want to say you're not a baka.
Do you really replace the desu with dewa ari masen?
And if you want to say you were a baka, you'll:
Replace the desu with deshita.
And if you want to say you weren't a baka, you'll:
Replace the desu with dewa are masen deshita?
Is that right for sentences with "Subject, verb, predicate noun?" Or in Japanese case, "Subject, predicate noun, verb"?
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Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 7:35 pm
MistuhFieryCat Ah...no Japanese for me. Just Spanish, French, Italian. Oh yea, I live in New Jersey. I have a Chinese friend who studies in a Chinese school. I guess he didn't know Chinese to start with so he's taking classes. He says he's now a 7th grader in Chinese. He claims to know some Japanese. But he won't teach me. Oh yea, I borrowed a Learn Japanese book from a friend. I just want to know if these facts are right. Let's say you have a sentence. Watashi wa baka desu. (I know what I said...Correct me if I have mistaken though...With any grammatical errors) Let's say you want to say you're not a baka. Do you really replace the desu with dewa ari masen? And if you want to say you were a baka, you'll: Replace the desu with deshita. And if you want to say you weren't a baka, you'll: Replace the desu with dewa are masen deshita? Is that right for sentences with "Subject, verb, predicate noun?" Or in Japanese case, "Subject, predicate noun, verb"? You are correct, sir. Although your sample sentence was strange. smile But your endings are very very polite. If your boss was talking to you about being a baka then maybe that's how you'd answer him (if you don't want to get fired, LOL). Here's some other versions of the endings from polite to informal. desu ---> da deshita ---> datta dewa arimasen ---> dewa nai ---> jyanai ---> jyanee (very rude) dewa arimasen deshita ---> dewa nakatta ---> jyanakatta
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Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 8:24 pm
Thanks!
I paused learning for now. I'll try to memorize some words and try to use them in the sentences.
And...for now, I have no one to test these sentences on. I'll just keep talking to myself.
Ahh...Japanese doesn't seem hard at first....but I have a feeling it will.
I'm also learning Italian in school, so I might confuse them sometimes. Then again, those two languages are very different. (See what I mean by talking to myself? I'm not nuts though...)
Hehe...thanks again
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Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 2:55 pm
xoxonut Well... here are some "essential phrases" for when visiting Japan. blaugh
Ohesotte nani?
What is the meaning of my bellybutton?
Anata no gosenzo sama ni kao o awase rare masuka!
Get ready to meet your ashamed ancestors!
Sozo ijo no mono deshta.
That was different.
Suiteki de atama ni anao akararete iru yona kokoromochi deshta.
It was like drops of water boring into my skull.
Kazoku sorrote no seppuku ga yokatta.
I loved the part where the whole family disemboweled themselves.
Watashi no nozomi dori no shinikata deshta ne.
Their deaths perfectly expressed my deepest desires.
Omawarisan! Chikan o tska-mate!
Police! Arrest this pervert!
Nanashi no nihon no michi no kado ni imasu!
I am at the corner of two nameless streets!
Okikute ugokasenai Fujisan mitai da.
He looks as grand and immobile as Mount Fuji.
(To be used at Sumo contests.)
Ahoka! Sodai gomi!
Shame! Public Humiliation!
(To be shouted at baseball players when they err.)
Nihonshoku o tabesukete inai yabanjin desu.
I am too barbaric to eat a Japanese breakfast.
Osoroshii kangae nimo osoware mas.
I have many evil thoughts.
Ebi no idaina saigo desu!
How honorably shrimp struggle as they choke to death!
Anata wa haru ichiban no sakura no yoni utsukushii.
You are as beautiful as spring's first cherry blossom.
Shijin ga suki desuka?
Which poet is your favourite?
Anata no hiza ni suwattemo yoroshii deshoka?
Do you mind if I sit in your lap?
Sekai ichi no ginko ni otsutome desune.
I see you work for the largest bank on the planet.
lol rofl
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