How often do you do it?

こんにちは！

Recently, our class learned another extremely helpful structure using adverbs of frequency.

(Topicは)　(adverb) (other) (verb--Present tense)

So, again, I think this can be a fun and educational way to use substitution to make a number of interesting sentences.

わたしは。。。(I...)

• 。。。よくいっしょうします。　(...often smile.)
• 。。。よくきっさてんにいきます。 (...often go to the cafe.)
• 。。。ときどき うそをつきます。　(...sometimes lie.)
• 。。。ときどきクラスでねます。 (...sometimes sleep in class.)
• 。。。あまりせいにくをたべません。 (...don't really eat raw meat.)
• 。。。あまりにほんごべんきょしません。 (...don't study Japanese much.)

What do you like to do? How often do you do it?

Please leave your sentences in the comments! 

さよなら！

Leap of Faith

こんにちは！

Being a novice language user, especially in the classroom environment, one easily forgets how playful language can be--and how useful basic structures are for learning.

The first sentence structure learned was:

      わたしはだがくいんせいです。

1st.sing-Topic  graduate student  [copula].

    I  am a grad student.

So what does that really teach me? Well, Chomskyites will tell you that this is an opening to infinite sentences. By knowing a basic structure, we can fill in that noun phrase with whatever noun we want. I have made a quick list for myself...I hope there aren't many mistakes.

What am I?    (わたしはなんですか。)

I am...

• a Japanese student.  にほんごのがくせいです。
• a teacher.　せんせいです。
• a man.　おとこです。＊
• a father.　ちちおやです。＊
• a writer.　さっかです。＊
• a scientist.　かがくしゃです。＊
• a daydreamer.　くうそうかです。＊＊
• a king.　おうです。＊
• a superstar.　スーパースターです。＊
• a genius.　てんさいです。＊
• a loser.　ずくなしです。＊
• a friend.　ともだちです。

＊　used Jisho.org and Google translate to choose the best term

＊＊ lit. "visionary", selected by Google translate and reviewed in Jisho.org

So, what nouns would you use to describe yourself? Leave sentences and translations in the comments!

さよなら！

Listening Practice

こんにちは！

I've been spending way too much time practicing listening recently. Listening is the most enjoyable of langauge skills, in my opinion. However, I am one of the few aural learners--students who prefer to learn via listening. Most students are visual learners (Felder & Solomon). Although this theory is currently being debated. Nonetheless--I have a natural affinity to sound...Maybe I should really get into phonology...

When learning Chinese, I focused on the lyrics of artists like Faye Wong, Karen Mok, and Tanya Chua. Hopefully, you can see why I enjoyed their music so.

I have also been a huge fan of the Korean rock band Jaurim.

But I sadly know nothing about Japanese music--PLEASE help! Give some links and suggestions in the comments section.

In the meantime, I am going back to a childhood love--anime. If you want to really listen to people talk in Japanese, this is an enjoyable way to do it. I currently suggest the site: http://www.crunchyroll.com

I've already completed all the episodes for 進撃の巨人 (Attack on Titan) and 魔法少女まどか☆マギカ (Puella Magi Madoka Magica). I am also very near to finishing ソードアート・オンライン (Sword Art Online). I would highly suggest these to anyone who prefers darker and thoughtful fiction, and Sword Art Online really hits me in my aging geek heart--as someone who was a level 50 Paladin on an old MUD (MultiUser Dungeon), circa 1996--I can relate to the MMO theme. Any other suggestions along these lines would be greatly appreciated. Sadly, I can only find カウボーイビバップ (Cowboy Bebop) and 黒の契約者 (Darker than Black) in English dubbed versions--which does not help me with my listening ability.

One lesson I have quickly garnered from this enjoyable form of studying is that the canned reply そですか ("Is that so?") has a wide range of variation. Often, I noted the use being more similar to そで or even そだ (the vowel is reduced in quality, similar to a schwa sound /ə/). Also, other times, I notice that the characters only say そか. I have yet to hear the full reply. One day I hope to perform a pragmatic/discourse analysis of this phrase and its usage.

Until then, さよなら！

Handy Resources for Writing

こんにちは！

If you wish to practice writing in Japanese, here are two resources that you might find helpful.

This .pdf can be printed for practice handwriting.

This .doc file can be used for typing on your computer or printed for handwriting.

If you are learning Japanese, too. まいにち　ぺんきょうする！

さよなら！

Conjugation Aggrevation

こんにちは！

Chinese has spoiled me. Sure there are challenges in learning a tonal language (the fact that "shi" can mean many things from the number 10 to poop to the copula [be-verb] to affair depending on the context and pronunciation). With all that complexity--there is a simplicity in the grammar that means I never need to change a word to fit the tense (time/aspect). All that I needed to do was add a word to the sentence (过 guo and 了le for past tenses, and ［正］在 [zheng]zai for the immediate time, i.e. progressive). It is much easier to remember a limited set of characters to add to a sentence than it is to remember a system of conjugations.

Yesterday, I learned about Japanese present tense conjugations. Apparently there are three types of verbs (as far as my professor has taught us).

• る-verbs (みる to see/look at、ねる to sleep)
• To create present tense: -る +ます
• みる-->みます
• ねる-->ねます
• う-verbs (のむ to drink、はなす to speak)
• To create present tense: change -_u to -_i +ます
• のむ-->のみます
• はなす-->はなします
• Irregular verbs (for another post....)

The problem I have is that かえる is considered an う-verb and not a る-verb. Why?  I will need to investigate this more as I learn. For now, just remember that it is かえります for the present tense.

Also here is a link for more information about Japanese verbs including more examples, exceptions, and tenses: Quick-How-to Japanese Verb Conjugation.

While I think I have raised more questions than answers, this is what it is like to be a beginner...Please feel free to comment, add information, and help me and my readers better understand the basics of verb conjugation.

さよなら！

P.S. I am looking to link with other blogger in the areas of linguistics, Asian languages, Asian culture, and language acquistion. Please email me at mcalister.thom@gmail.com to share links!

By Any Other Name...

こんにちは！

Today, I have my second Japanese test. One of the questions that we have been forwarned about is: "Write your full name in katakana." And this got me thinking about the concept of names.

When asked about the meaning of one's name, most English speakers will tell you that it is just a name. Most people tell me that English names don't mean anything. I consider this a bit of a lie. While names are not normally used in the average conversation for an everyday meaning, names are always meaningful. Don't believe me? Google baby-naming sites and find your name.

My full name is:

James  -->  "supplanter, usurper"
Thomas  -->  "twin"
McAlister  -->  "son of Alister (Alexander)"

So, obviously, my name means something...but it is sorta difficult to summize the real meaning of such a name and the impetus for such a combination of meanings--however, in English speaking cultures, heritage naming is common (James from my father; Thomas from my maternal grandfather). Why they had those names, I cannot be sure.

So, in about an hour, I am going to sit down and handwrite: トム　マカリスター

Phonetic translation just seems kinda bland though. In Spanish class, I was Tómas. In Russian class, I was вадим (Vadim) -- if I remember correctly. But, by far, my favorite name has been the Chinese name (which my wife gave me): 逸君 (YiJun). I love this name because the character 逸 has two variant meanings: 1) relaxed, or 2) runaway/escape. 君 is simply "gentlemen" in most contexts. The 逸, I felt, was a perfect descriptor because I like to have a relaxed attitude most of the time. However, I left all that I knew in America to try to make a life in Asia--I was escaping a life I did not enjoy, and I am better off for it today.

But, now that leaves me with a rather bland and meaningless name...トム. What name should I use to mold a new "language ego", my persona. In Chinese, I am much bolder and brasher yet modest. I was unsuccessful at translating my Chinese name to Japanese...it came back as "亦 - 6月"...whatever that means...

Any ideas on good names? I have long been a fan of Toshiro Mifune and the director, Akira Kurosawa...Akira was also one of my first animé experiences....Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions!

さよなら！

The Power of Context

こんにちは！

Now that I am in the throes of learning katakana, I wanted to update the learning proposal that I made earlier. I feel like I took a wrong turn. So, here is what I want to share with you.

When learning hiragana, I came up with an assortment of tricks to relate the shape to the sound. For example, ら　/ra/ was "ra?" (imagine a Scooby Doo voice making this question intonated sound). I view the shape as an upside down question mark. Another example is ひ /hi/, which reminds me of a large smile. And then there is ち /chi/ which reminds me of an open mouth--I relate this to the Chinese 吃 (chi) which means to eat.

With the katakana, I wanted to connect the letters to the hirigana. This has proven to be a challenging method of learning. Most likely, as I was reminded by my wonderful boss (who is also a linguist with experience in Japanese), my problem stemmed from a lack of context. She mentioned that it was easier for her to learn katakana because, in Japan, many of the signs were written in katakana. That contextual and visual input helped reinforce the learning.

Therefore, I have gone through the list of words that I have learned in katakana--which I was writing in hiragana for ease. These words give me a context of sound-to-character association.

Here are a list of words:
アメリカ　America
イギリス     England              
スウエーデん   Sweden
オーストラリア   Australia
Tシャツ   T-shirt
トイレ    toilet
ハンバーガー   hamburger
アイスクリーム   ice cream

Now, these are just a sample of words, but they help me remember the /a/, /i/, /u/, /e/, and /o/ and the difference between /shi/ シ　and /tsu/　ツ. This, as my boss reminded me, is similar to "A is for Apple". This context will aid me in the future. It is a lesson that I should never forget.

さよなら！

Particle Man, Particle Man, Can do anything that a particle can...

こんにちは！

Particles have long been an interesting aspect of languages for me. Particles are what you can call "discourse markers"--sounds that have implied meaning, if you are competent in the language. My first real noticable encounter was through Chinese. While 吗 (ma) was provided as a question particle, I originally saw it as being more similar to the WH-words that we use in English.

How are you?          你好吗？ (ni hao ma?) [lit. you good (question)]

Have you eaten?      吃饭了吗？(chi le ma?) [lit. eat food/rice (perfectiv) (question)]

However, it was learning the particle 吧 (ba) that really opened my eyes. This one sound placed at the end of a sentence shows the listener that you are encouraging the action. It's like adding "Let's do it" or "please, please, please" or "come on, you know you want to..." at the end of a sentence.

Eat up!             吃吧！   (chi ba) [lit. eat (emphatic)]
Go with me!    跟我出去吧！(gen wo chu qu ba) [lit. with me outward go (emphatic)]

My love of particles became more pronounced when I researched particles used in Singapore English. This again has been influenced by the mixing of Chinese languages (Mandarin and Hokkien). Again these sounds added at the end of a sentence can truly add flavor to what you are saying.

Particle	Tone	Example	Usage
Ah	Sharply Rising	“Never listen ah!”	Show displeasure
Ah	Falling	“He won ah!”	Surprise
Ah	Sharply Falling	“This belongs to him ah?”	Yes/No Questions
Ah	Rising	“Where is Gordon ah?”	WH-Questions
La	Mid-Rising	“Try this la. It’s nice.”	Persuasion
La	Falling	“So you didn’t do it la.”	Annoyance
La	Low	“Not now la”	Objection
Wut	Low	“You told me to wait here wut!”	Confusion
Meh	High	“You don’t know meh?”	Confirmation
Figure 1. Particles of Singapore English Adapted from Platt, Weber, & Ho 1984:142 and Wong 2004

Now in Japanese, I am learning more about particles. While we had already learned か (ka) as a question particle, よ (yo) and ね (ne) are more intriguing examples that I am currently focusing on. ね is the much easier of the two because I had noticed it before we ever learned about it. This particle is placed at the end to seek agreement.

Isn't that delicious! おいしいね！(oishii ne!)  [lit. delicious (agreement-seeking)]

よ, on the other hand, has a very different meaning. It is used to indicate new information. In some ways I see it as being translated as "you know", "trust me", or "I'm telling you".

Trust me, it is delicious! おいしいよ！ (oishii yo!) [lit. delicious (new fact)]

So, what about English, are there particles in English? Yes, some are more particle like than others. Japanese ね could easily be translated as "..., right?" and Chinese 呗 (bei) which I like to translate as "..., duh!" However, sometimes in English we like to use longer phrases, "isn't that correct?" "You know," this comparison tells us one thing: particles are words. While they pack a lot of meaning into a little sound, they are still words nonetheless.

さよなら！

Platt, J., Weber, H., & Ho, M. L. (1984). The New Englishes. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Wong, J. (2004). The particles of Singapore English: a semantic and cultural interpretation. Journal of Pragmatics, 36, 739-793.