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japanese

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

Good Riddance to Bad Localizers

Or, I finally found a reason to learn Japanese. One thing I’ve noticed as I study Japanese is that the translators often aren’t very good.  They tend to make choices that seem designed to water down the message the mangaka is trying to send half the time. For example, one of the first animes I watched was “Sound! Euphonium” which was a great anime, one of the best.  At one point there was an interaction between Kumiko and Asuka.  Kumiko says something translated correctly as “Welcome back” or some such. … Read More »Good Riddance to Bad Localizers

The Three Japanese Cultures

Hi!  It’s been a while since I posted here, so I have a lot to say.  Truth be told, I don’t really think I’m fond of the blogging method of expressing myself, but I haven’t come up with anything better yet.  I’m working on it, though!  First, an update. The Lily project (https://lovelylilylives.com, in case you didn’t know) is almost a year old now!  In that time, the story has progressed from a sweet but confused girl who didn’t know who she was, to a sweet but confused girl who… Read More »The Three Japanese Cultures

Japanese: a Failed Experiment – Part Deux

I attempted to write this post previously but it took on a tone I didn’t like, so I’m going to try to redo it.  Last time I talked about why I consider learning Japanese a personal failure.  Now I want to talk about why I don’t think it is. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I failed at Japanese.  But it did serve a very important purpose, and I may yet pursue it for other reasons or considerations. I remember when I first truly became interested in learning Japanese.  I don’t… Read More »Japanese: a Failed Experiment – Part Deux

Japanese: a Failed Experiment (But Not Entirely)

Ever since I began this blog, there have been a few ongoing themes.  The one that really permeated the entire blog was the following question:  Why am I bothering?  Over the last few years, it’s perhaps the most important question, and the one I had the most difficulty answering. I think I might have the answer.  And it ties together nearly all of the threads that have been weaving this blog from the very beginning.  So let me start. The first thread was:  why I started to learn Japanese.  Something… Read More »Japanese: a Failed Experiment (But Not Entirely)

Hentaigana, and the Frustration of Learning Japanese

While I was doing research for another project I was doing, I went down a bit of a rabbithole.  I was trying to explain (and make sure I understood) the uses of voiced vs. unvoiced consonants.  I found a bunch of interesting things.  One was that there are some kana that are not well known and aren’t taught.  Another is that there are specific origins for hiragana, and some of them went down some rather odd roads before settling on their current form. Now, Japanese teaching and learning is a… Read More »Hentaigana, and the Frustration of Learning Japanese

I am Ashamed of this Blog

 So, as a part of moving over to this new host, I’ve been going through old posts (starting from the beginning), and categorizing them.  Some of them I’ve put in a “hidden” category – they still exist, but will not show up on any listing page (or I think search), and I may get rid of them at some point in the future.  This is reserved for posts that are no longer timely or interesting, or posts that Texihabara now or will be a better fit for.  Though I trashed… Read More »I am Ashamed of this Blog

Silly Japanese Dream

Last night I had a dream about Japanese. I was sitting across from a bunch of idols. Don’t ask how it happened, it was a dream, dreams don’t have to make any sense at all. I didn’t think any of them spoke English, and my (now dead) father was sitting next to me. I was struggling to put together even a basic sentence, so I said something like “watashi no haha chotto baka desu”. Of course, in my waking state, there’s so much wrong with that sentence. In my dream… Read More »Silly Japanese Dream

My Most Embarrassing Japanese Mistake

So ready for a laugh at my expense? Here ya go. Back when I was first starting to learn Japanese, I was trying to find all of the Japanese stuff I could. I found a World Market at the local mall, and they had a litle stuffed toy – it was a hamster holding a waffle. The cutest, most kawaii thing ever. I knew enough Japanese to read some of the stuff on the tag, but not quite enough to really read it. Of course, that didn’t stop me. On… Read More »My Most Embarrassing Japanese Mistake

Nihongo de posuto

You know, in all my years of posting, I think I’ve done one post in Japanese. It’s time for another. おはようございます、皆さん。日本語お話しできます!びっくりですか?私も。私の日本語はよくないですけど、話しできます。恥ずかしい、でも頑張ります。 だけど、問題があります。 日本が大好きです。日本はたくさん綺麗な山と綺麗な町と優しい人があります。そのうち日本に滞在をしたい。だけど、オースチンに日本人ありません。も、私に日本人が優しいじゃないです。 だから、日本語は難しいです。勉強しますけど、練習できません。 時々日本語を止めたかった。でも、頑張ります。 今朝テキサスに、天気は曇りです。昨日雨が降りました。この月、天気は暑いですけど、今年が去年の方が涼しいよりです。よくテキサスはよくとても暑い、だからテキサス人は嬉しいです。 私の日本語はいいですか? 知りない。でも、がんばりました。またね! I guess it’s improved. Oh well.