Blog - Japanese
by David Ockey Learning Japanese on your own can seem like a daunting task. But it is possible. I know, because starting in 2003, that’s exactly what I did. I had taken Japanese classes at California State Universtiy – Fresno, but they didn’t do it for me, so I had . . .
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Why would you want to? For people who have an interest in Japan, learning Japanese is a dream. But learning Japanese is hard. Truthfully, textbooks and typical courses don’t prepare you for learning to communicate in Japanese. One of the biggest points is that they push the “proper” or polite . . .
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No way! When I was first studying Japanese in college, my professor told us about the JET program. It was a way for people to go to Japan to live and teach English. I thought, “No way!” I’d never live in a foreign country! (I’ve been here for almost 13 . . .
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When Japanese people learn English, they are taught to say, “Could you repeat that please?” or “Could you speak more slowly, please?” Consequently, when we learn Japanese, we are taught to say the same kind of things. Sounds like a good idea, but there’s just one problem: it doesn’t work. . . .
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5 day weekend! One of the many things that surprised me after coming to Japan was the large number of national holidays. Like most Americans, I had a very strong stereotypical image of Japanese people. Work was everything and your own pursuits don’t matter. To be honest, that is . . .
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Spring has sprung In earlier posts, I mentioned that the new year (fiscal, school, etc.) begins in April. I guess it’s a habit from the Lunar calendar. April is also the time for one of the most exciting (to Japanese people) events of the year. Ummm, they’re just . . .
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A Simple Explanation (Video) Particle Explanation は (HA) (pronounced WA) is the topic marker. It tells you what the sentence is about. There is no English equivalent. 私 は(topic) アメリカ 人 です。 Watashi WA amerika jeen dess. (I am an American.)[literally: I America person is.) が (GA) is the subject . . .
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