--- In [email protected], "kamuininja" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], "ai3131" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > Thank you for the translation. > > You're welcome. > > > Erm, if it does not bother you, how many years have you been > studying > > Japanese? > > I'm Japanese and have been using the language for nearly half a > century.
OK... I thought you were a professor at an American university having taught Japanese for, well, 20 years. Well, that fact opens up a new round of questions. I notice that no foreigner can pass himself off as Japanese just with mastery of Japanese language. Even if the guy LOOKS Japanese, most people like you could tell him apart from natives just by observing even the way he uses language. As I once said before, learning a language isn't just about grammar and vocabulary. One difference that I have seen is that between social situations for English and for Japanese. English is a language that lends itself well to direct answers and the like. The language that a mother uses with her son and that a company worker uses with his company boss is more or less the same in English. However, in Japanese the difference is quite clear. Tell me, throughout the time that you have been involved in teaching Japanese to foreigners, what differences, however subtle, have you noticed between native and foreign Japanese speakers in their use of Japanese? > > I'd like to know just how is the distinction between the usage > > of "polite" and "direct" language is made. > > Could you be a little more specific so that I can answer with > certainty? > > Kamui> I know already that "-masu" verbs are used in polite situations, but also certain pronouns and names of people are used as well. For example, to refer to one's own mother "haha" is used, but another's is referred to as "Okaasan". I notice already that the tendency in Japanese is to speak highly of others and humbly of oneself. This indicates that knowledge of the social relationship between speaker and listener is integral to daily usage of the language. I suppose that one uses humble or even honorific language just to avoid offending the listener, even if by mistake. There are even different levels of honorific speech. I know the kind of language to be used when speaking to, let's say, a government official, but what do Japanese speakers use when speaking to, let's say, a member of the Imperial Household Agency or similar organization? For "to do sthg.", there is "nasaru" as well as "suru", and for "to be", there is "gozaru" as well as "aru" and "iru". Is there any use for these verbs in daily situations? Finally, although a bit off-topic, in Japanese society a foreigner is certainly an "outsider", so I was wondering how this would affect his/her choice of language style. Considering again the social distinction factor, although young children are normally spoken to in direct language, would a foreigner have to use "humble" lanuage in speaking to a child? Or would it suffice to use direct language? Would the same situation apply to a conversation between a middle- aged policeman and the young son of a Member of Parliament? - Arian I. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back! http://us.click.yahoo.com/u8TY5A/tzNLAA/yQLSAA/9rHolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Japanese_Language/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
