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Japanese

Kanashii vs Sabishii: The Untranslatability of Nuance

Well, here’s an interesting one I pulled out of my “things to write about” hat, which is growing larger and larger. In Japanese, there are multiple words for “sad”.  I’m not going to pretend “kanashii”, and “sabishii” are the only ones.  They might be, they might not be.  But they are the words I know.  And they cause no end of grief for watching subtitled anime. The word translated as “sad” in Sound! Euphonium is “sabishii”.  That isn’t a word that directly means sad. In the tenth episode of the… Read More »Kanashii vs Sabishii: The Untranslatability of Nuance

The Roman Alphabet in Japanese

One thing that really puzzled me, even from the beginning of my studies, is how Japanese tends to integrate the roman alphabet.  Sometimes in ways that are obvious, sometimes not, but they seem to be very aware of the alphabet and they use it in some case.  There are a few letters they’ve integrated into Japanese words – T, S, M, L, and H. (I seem to recall P too, but I can’t remember exactly how). I think partly they think it’s cool, and partly it’s just easier to use… Read More »The Roman Alphabet in Japanese

Can You Learn Japanese from Anime?

Well, back to some posts about what this blog was originally about.  The last few were pretty personal, and I don’t mind that, but you gotta counter the carbs with some meat, I guess.  Don’t worry, the personal posts will be back, I just have some stuff to mull over and process on my own before posting it here.  This blog is a lot of things, but it’s not really therapy, and it shouldn’t be, either. The question of the day:  Can you learn Japanese from anime? My answer has… Read More »Can You Learn Japanese from Anime?

Why I Hate Anime Dubs

I hate anime dubs.  I mean I really can’t stand them.  I’ve tried to watch one or two, and I always end up dropping it after a few episodes.  Subtitles are far better in my opinion. Is this because I’m an elitist who thinks that the anime is only good in its native language? Well… that’s true, but that’s not why I hate anime dubs.  It’s close, but not really. Is it because I’m upset at the localizers for fucking up the dubs? Well, I am, but that’s not why… Read More »Why I Hate Anime Dubs

Why Japanese Was, and Wasn’t, a Waste of Time.

So a couple of things before I start this post. Thing #1:  This is a post where I take advantage of the fact that no one reads this.  If this post were to somehow, by some miracle, go viral, I will probably remove it. Thing #2: This post is a statement on how things are, not how they should be.  The distinction is very important here, and I’d appreciate it if you, the reader, would keep it in mind. I am a very intelligent person.  In fact, I’d go so far as to say… Read More »Why Japanese Was, and Wasn’t, a Waste of Time.

Liminal

This blog is nearly six years old now. And tonight I came very close to shutting it down.  I’ve talked about doing that before, and I talked myself out of it, and the primary reason is, I’d just end up spinning another one up anyway.  I can’t stop writing.  I’ve never been able to stop writing. I started learning Japanese in 2018.  The first post here is March, 2018.  It is almost March, 2024.  I started learning Japanese at around the time (give or take) that I started this blog,… Read More »Liminal

Japan

Before I work today, I have a post I need to make.  I’m making this post because I need to make it.  The only real choice I have, really, is whether I post it privately, or publicly, and for now I chose publicly. Japan hurts, and I don’t know why. When I first started learning Japanese, I did so because I felt a strong attraction to the language, country, and people.  I don’t have this feeling about any other country.  There are countries I absolutely loathe (Russia, North Korea), countries I… Read More »Japan

A Rare Mea Culpa

Anyone who knows me, knows that I don’t apologize.  For almost anything.  Even if I’m wrong, I take it as a learning experience and consider that I was making the best judgement, decision, or what-not that I could have made at the time.  Apologizing only seems to feed the monster these days, so I just don’t do it.  Even if I’m wrong, I don’t do it. But I’m going to come a bit closer than usual, today. I have a weakness, or a flaw.  Okay, I have plenty, but this… Read More »A Rare Mea Culpa

Nobody Cares Anymore

I have a confession to make.  Well, is it a confession?  I guess it’s something you didn’t know that you will in a few seconds. I hate misspelling, mispronunciation (with caveats), and bad grammar. What I particularly hate is that no one seems to even care about misspelling, mispronunciation, and bad grammar.  To the point where it’s to be found quite regularly in YouTube thumbnails and ad copy.  It’s like no one bothers to do proofreading anymore. In fact, one time I had the absolute temerity to correct someone’s Japanese pronunciation… Read More »Nobody Cares Anymore

Fluency in Language and Music

One things that people don’t know about me is that I am – or at least was at one time – a pretty accomplished pianist.  I’ve played professionally.  Specifically, in the community theater productions of a small town in Iowa.  Long story. But last night I was just playing around on the piano – I’ve given up practicing and performing a while ago – and I realized that being proficient at the piano is not that much different than being proficient at a language, such as Japanese.  You put in… Read More »Fluency in Language and Music