特定の絵文字

 

March 13, 2021

 

I just learnt only certain emjios carry special meaning for Japanese, Such as 💢, is only used when they are angry. I was quite shocked.

The learning language is not only gramma, vocabulary, certainly culture, way of thinking. Learning never ends.  Difficult, but, isn’t that is why fascinating

We should still be careful so that not to create misunderstanding.  Therefore, the environment like Hello Talk, where you don’t have to worry about mistake, and misunderstand, is really helpful.

The other day, I went out with my friend, we walked on the street, I repeated things we could see in Japanese.  My friend hit my head “ You are such ばか!” That was probably only Japanese he knew.　“Ouch!” I cried, but I still like him😊

 

つい最近、特定の絵文字が日本人にとって特別な意味を持っていることを知せられました。例えば、💢

が怒っているときにのみつかられました。本当にびっくりしました。誤解を生まないように気を付けてください

本言をいえば、そんな誤解は山ほどあります。言語学習は、文法など語彙 だけじゃなくで、確かに文化、考え方、やり方なども学ぶ必要があります。学習に終わりはありません。難しい、だから魅力的じやないですか。

そして、Hello Talkのような、間違いや誤解を心配しないて学習できる環境はとても役に立ちます。Thank you Hello Talk!

あの日、友達と出かけて、道を歩きながら、見つけた日本語を読み上げました。面白がっていたのか、おごっていたのか、 彼は私の頭を、「バガだなあ！」と言ってはたきました。

 

それは、多分彼が知っていた唯一日本語でした。“痛い”.でも、彼が好きです。

 

Climbing Mountain

 

17 March, 2021

 

🧗🗻🌄子供の頃、天気が良く, 父の機嫌がいい日は、弟やわたしと一緒に登山に連れて行ってくれることが多かったです。その時、わたしたちはいつもワクワクして楽しみしてました。

ピクニックのために簡単な食べ物持ってきて、私たちは谷に行きました。そこでは、

名前の知らない美しい花、果樹をたくさん見たり。鳥の声を耳にしたりました。

時々、地元の村人に会い、挨拶を交わし、時には牛🐄や羊🐑などの面白いものにも会いました 。私はいつも熊さん🐻に会いたいと思っていましたが、残念ながら、会ったことはありません。

それから、山に登りました。とても長い登りのようでしたが、山に駆け上がって、ようやく頂上にたどり着きました。私たちの疲れのおれつまりもあったのだろう、素晴らしい景色を見ました。遠方を眺めつつ、そんな誇りと幸せな気持ちは言葉で言い表せませんでした。 

ほぼ毎回、父は私たちに詩を教えてくれるのが好きでした。今日まで、私はまだそれらの詩のいくつかを覚えています。 考えてみると、それがきっかけで山に登ったりハイキングをしたりするのが好きだったのかもしれません。

🧗🗻🌄When I was young, if it happened to be good weather, and if my father happened to be in good mood, he often brought me and my brother to climb mountains.  Those were times we were most looking forward.

Packing some simple food for picnic, we marched towards the valley, there were many beautiful flowers and fruit trees, whose names we didn’t know, the birds singing; sometimes, we met local villagers, whom we exchanged greetings and small talks; sometimes we could see cows and ships and other interesting animals.  (I always hoped to meet a bear, but sadly never happened).  From there, we took the way towards the peak.  After seemly very long time, we finally reached to the top of mountain, our tiredness was rewarded by breath taking view…. Looking the view from the top, that feeling of pride and happiness no words could describe.　At those moments, my father always would teach us poems, till today, I could still remember some of poems.  Coming to think about, that was perhaps the reason, after all I like climbing and hiking.

Culture different from language

 

March 13, 2021

 

Culture different from language

It is interesting to observe culture different from language point of view:

Example 1:

In English 🐧“ I miss you”

In Japanese:😸 “きみはいなくてさびしいです。

 

Example 2”

In English  🐧“ I love you”

In Japanese 🐺“ 君のことがすきです。“

 

Notice that in English, the emphasis for both sentences are “I”, the verb “ Love” and “Miss” are active .

In Japanese, the emphasis was not “I”, in fact, “I” often be omitted.  There is no active verb, instead, replaced by adjective, “feel lonely”, “ like”

 If we were to translate both sentence from Japanese into English, it will become:

“Without you, (I) feel lonely”

“Your things, points (whatever ことmeans) (I) like”

Can you see the difference?

 In English context, feeling lone is not equal to “missing you”, there can be thousands reason of feeling lonely; but “ I miss you” is so clear to state “ You, is the one I miss, and now I feel lonely”

 In English, it is clearly said “You, as whole I love” not because of some of your ことs.  Also I love, not only like.  There is big difference of love and like in English.

 In one of Anime, there was script saying “ in Japanese “愛“ is equal to “無関心”, therefore, Japanese only use “好き“ but not “愛”

 I may never really understand 😊

 Anyway, Happy White Day, another unique day, may gentleman in Japan clearly convey their messages to their loved one . It is okay to say “ I love you and I miss you!”

思い出６ どうして日本語を勉強するの？

 6. どうして日本語を勉強するの？

The best thing Takayama sensei did was wakening my sense of shame.

 先生が私に恥を感じさせたのは最高のことだった。

I felt shamed for wasting almost two years. I was attending classes, but not learning; I was studying, but not with heart. 

 2年近くも無駄にしたのが恥ずかしかったです。私はクラスに参加していましたが、学習していなかった。 勉強していましたが、心を込めていませんでした。

Many of us today are the same in other perspectives of life.  。we are busy for the sake of busy, we are doing for the sake of doing.  We live a life of routine, pattern, but without passion and enthusiasm. 

 今の私たちは、人生の他の観点でも同じだろうと思います。私たちは忙しくするために忙しいし、するためにやっています. 私たちは日常的でパターン的な生活を過ごしているのが、情熱や熱意はありません。

 “Why do I study Japanese?”  For the first time, I asked myself.

 「なぜ日本語を勉強するのですか？」 初めて自分に聞きました。

 I am always fascinating about Japan: - not so much about colourful kimono,elaborated tea ceremony, or glorious hanabi, or charming sakura etc, but rather, how Japanese people, as whole, always has kind of calmness, when facing tragic. 

 私はいつも日本に魅了されています：- 色とりどりの着物、精巧な茶道、華やかな花火、夢のような桜など好きであるのみならずと同時に、悲劇的な状況なとき、日本人は常に落ち着きを持っています。

 I had watched some old Japanese movies, unlike today’s movies, many of them had tragic endings, I was always amazed by those the tragic endings, tingled with unspeakable beauty, yet full of hope.  I was attracted and want to know, how Japanese people, just like rising Sun, aware of life in Japan which is of full of unpredictable dangers, yet calmly and wholeheartedly face each day with gentle smile like sakura.

 日本の古い映画を見ました、今日の映画とは違いますが、それらの多くは悲劇的な結末を迎えるものが多く、私はいつもそれらの悲劇的な結末に感動しました。それらは、言えない美しさを帯びていましたが、希望に満ちていました。どうやって日本人は、太陽が昇るのと同じように、予測できない危険にあっても、日本での生活に気づきながら、桜のような優しい笑顔で毎日落ち着いて心を込めて向き合っていることに惹かれのだろうか、知りたいと思いました。

I remembered vividly that I had read the many reports of Tsunami hit Fukushima about 10 years ago, I was moved to see Japanese extreme civilized manner. Despite of shortage of necessaries, there were no looting happened; people took turns orderly to fill the petrol but not to full but a litter so that others might also have…. There were so many examples, to create drastic contrast with other countries.  What makes Japanese people so special?  If their ideology? Up brings? Education?

約10年前に津波が福島を襲ったという多くの記事を読んだことを鮮明に思い出しました。需要品が不足してるのに、店の商品を窃盗せずに、お互いに助け合いました。人々は順番にガソリンを一杯にするために順番に並びましたが、満タンではなく、他の人も入れるのを考慮して一メモリだけ入れようとしていました。私も日本の極端な文明的態度を見て感動しました。他の国との劇的な対比して、そんなの例が山ほどありました。日本人が特別な理由は何ですか？ 彼らのイデオロギーなら？ 育成？ 教育？

That was why I started to learn Japanese.  (I felt I knew it all along, just getting numbed till the day Takayama sensei came), Till today, it is till to be the reason that I am learning Japanese.

 それは私が日本語を勉強したい理由でした。高山先生が来る日までしびれるだけで、ずっと知っていた気がしました。今日まで、その理由のままです。

 その時、頑張って一生懸命勉強しようと決めた。

思い出３お名前は何ですか？

 

3.お名前は何ですか？

 That's perhaps one of first few sentences we learnt in Japanese. But it was not easy to remember Japanese name, do you agree?

I had so much trouble to remember my teacher’s name, worse still, in our Japanese school, not only did we need to know teacher 's name, but also class’s name.  Each class was given a Japanese name, the classroom was　randomly assigned on the day of lesson. Before you could go for lesson, you needed to ask Reception which classroom was assigned for your class.

When I was already very late for class, still had to rush to reception and ask which classroom would my class be.

 

“CLASS名前何でですか?" the lady in Reception asked me

 

".....   ."😓

 

"先生の名前は何ですか?

 

“……”😢😥😰

 

That was most embarrassing moment.

Some classes were easy names like "雪 "," 桜", but my class was named as, (actually, I still don't remember, wait, let me check). Oh, it was called " 野沢菜”, and my teacher’s “下村” haha, finally I remembered her name.😁😂

 

4. 日本人の友達ができるのに、、、、

 Actually I could have lots of opportunities to practice conversional Japanese with Japanese.

I used to have Japanese neighbors who stayed in the same apartment. I also have many

 business partners who are Japanese.

But the conversations with those Japanese were somewhat like this.

Me: “おはようございます”

My Japanese friend: “Good Morning, How do you do?” ( I have no choice but reply “I am fine, thank you!

………I took courage and tried again.

Me: “どこへいくんですが?”

My Japanese friend:” Shopping, and you. ……. あのさ、Robin san,  don't have to be so

formal with me, come on.”

I was like, " Did I just offend him🤔?"

Once, we had a senior Japanese manager been posted in Singapore office.  When I heard

 this news, I was overjoyed. ｙｙｙｖ

"たくさんな日本語を話すしようと思います。"

When I finally met him.

Me: “初めまして、どうぞ、宜しくお願いいたします。わた….ともうします。”

Japanese Manager: “ Robin san, 日本語じようずですね。Nice meeting you, call me Jack!”

 

それから、彼らと日本語おを話すことはありませんでした。

日本人の同僚や友達があるのには知ってのに、日本語の話機会はあまりありません。

Learning Japanese : おもいで

 

⭐思い出２⭐

ごろごろしました
 
One of activities we had to do in class every lesson was group discussion 

"先週何をしまたか。?"

One day, in my group,  there were 4 others students,  some said 買い物、some said 映画、泳ご etc. When come to my turn,  I  totally blanked out, after, "hmmmm", for long time, suddenly,  I remembered a phrase,
 
  "うちでごろごろしました。"
 
"Oh Robin san,すごいね❗" 
 
 
that was first time my teacher praised me. Since then,  for almost next two years,  Whenever we had group sharing 

" 先週何をしました？"
 
My answer was always
 
"うちでごろごろしました。"

Learning Japanese 思い出1: You don't have to speak perfectly to gain understanding.

 

⭐思い出１⭐

 

I started to learn Japanese 5 years ago.　

I attended Japanese school once a week.  At first, my class was at weekdays, from 7.45 pm.to 9.45pm. Because of work, very often I was late for class. I ran to the class panting and  thinking how would I say

 " sorry for being late. I have been caught in traffic jam ...", 

instead all I had uttered was "すみません。車、車、、、".  

Teacher was very understanding.  She said a long sentences of Japanese on my behalf.

Another time was because of meeting,  all I could say was "会議、"、my teacher again understood me perfectly.
 
After class, we usually had some homework,  but I was not good at
submitting on time. So teacher asked,
 

"Robin san 宿題をしますか?" 

My replies were, "仕事、時間、、" 

As usual,  my teacher would fill in gaps and complete into sentences.  

You see, you don't have to speak perfect language to gain understanding. (Not excuse though)