Japanese Help Questions/Translations

[silentchaos]

Thanks for the advice tobi13 =] And I don't need a translation, per se on my poem thing, I just need someone to say if I wrote it correctly, if all the grammer is in order and things.

I have a copy of the Hiragana and Katakana charts in my books so i'll be ok with that too. Thanks again though.

[samokan]

Originally Posted by silentchaos

bara wa akai desu.
Murasahi wa aoi desu.
Watashi wa nihongo narou
anata o wakara desu.

You see i was writing a poem in Japanese and.. well yea.


It should say,
Roses are red
Voliets are blue.
I learned japanese to understand you.

interesting... well since this is a poem may i suggest it like this...

aka bara
aoi murasaki
anata wo rikai tame ni nihongo wo benkyou shimaimashita.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Zagato289

Are there any books that teach this male and female words.

They do show up in textbooks, but it isn't anything a student of Japanese should worry too much about. No teacher or textbook would let students say the wrong thing.

And don't think of male-Japanese and female-Japanese as being black vs. white.

It's more like egg-shell vs. cream.

[samokan]

Originally Posted by enyafriend

There is the o-suffix that is preffered by females. It also tends to soften a word or speech.
Eg. o-su (vinegar), o-sato (sugar), o-nimotsu (luggage)

Then, there is the "kashira" as in:
Eg.
I wonder if he will come.
Kare wa kuru kashira. (female)
Kare wa kuru kana. (male)

just some additional comments:

o-suffix is more of a polite way of addressing this things rather than a gender division of the speech.

"kashira" is actually a formal/polite way of "kana" but is commonly used among females.

"kana" is more informal but still a polite , can be used both male and female.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by samokan

just some additional comments:

o-suffix is more of a polite way of addressing this things rather than a gender division of the speech.

"kashira" is actually a formal/polite way of "kana" but is commonly used among females.

"kana" is more informal but still a polite , can be used both male and female.

I 100% agree.

On a side note, I have heard Tokyo friends bothered by the Kansai girls' use of "kana" and "na". In Tokyo "na" is supposedly only used by men (though generally "na" is a Kansai version of "ne"... to REALLY over-simplify).

In Kansai there isn't much difference between men's and women's speech. People are just more direct there...

[samokan]

Originally Posted by MMM

I 100% agree.

On a side note, I have heard Tokyo friends bothered by the Kansai girls' use of "kana" and "na". In Tokyo "na" is supposedly only used by men (though generally "na" is a Kansai version of "ne"... to REALLY over-simplify).

In Kansai there isn't much difference between men's and women's speech. People are just more direct there...

I use "kana" all the time most of the ppl i heard who used "kashira" are those very formal ladies.. most of the time i used "deshou ka" if the need be..

yeah, they actually say whatever comes they like to say. they are more frank than normal Japanese, that is why most Tokyo ppl don't regard Osaka pips as Japanese

am not sure though, I have not personally immersed in the Tokyo life ..

[enyafriend]

As posted by MMM:

In Kansai there isn't much difference between men's and women's speech. People are just more direct there...

As posted by Samokan:

yeah, they actually say whatever comes they like to say. they are more frank than normal Japanese, that is why most Tokyo ppl don't regard Osaka pips as Japanese

That's for sure. But actually, I don't know if it is even appropriate to suggest anything other than the standard Japanese here in forums. Most of the people are here to learn a thing or two. Honestly, the last thing we want is for them to pick up traces of Kansai-ben or any other hougen, for that matter. Otherwise, we might as well talk about Japanese spoken in other regions like Hokkaido, Okinawa, Aomori, etc.

When we talk about standard Japanese, we talk about Japanese spoken in and around Tokyo. Because that is what people learn in the textbooks or from any other learning source. Sometimes, what is the norm or permitted in Kansai, but is totally being avoided in Tokyo. Maybe, it is best to considered that as a no in order not to confused the Japanese beginners. With all due respect, I believed that learners of the language should only be taught the correct way, that is the standard Japanese.

[rachelsweet]

What a nifty thread. :]

[MMM]

Originally Posted by enyafriend

As posted by MMM:


As posted by Samokan:


That's for sure. But actually, I don't know if it is even appropriate to suggest anything other than the standard Japanese here in forums. Most of the people are here to learn a thing or two. Honestly, the last thing we want is for them to pick up traces of Kansai-ben or any other hougen, for that matter. Otherwise, we might as well talk about Japanese spoken in other regions like Hokkaido, Okinawa, Aomori, etc.

When we talk about standard Japanese, we talk about Japanese spoken in and around Tokyo. Because that is what people learn in the textbooks or from any other learning source. Sometimes, what is the norm or permitted in Kansai, but is totally being avoided in Tokyo. Maybe, it is best to considered that as a no in order not to confused the Japanese beginners. With all due respect, I believed that learners of the language should only be taught the correct way, that is the standard Japanese.

Well, we have all levels of learners here, and I don't think it is necessary to dumb it down so that everyone gets it. The question was is there different words that men and women use, and I basically answered that it is a textbook yes, but in reality no, depending where you go in Japan. I don't think my answer was confusing, and I wish there was a site like this when I was studying Japanese, as I when I moved to Kansai I had a lot of trouble understanding what people were saying.

Basically I understand what you are saying, enyafriend, and I would never answer a question in Kansai-dialect, but at the same time I don't want to hold any information back. Are you saying Samokan and my exchange was out of place? I think there is room for all levels here, but naturally questions should be answered in standard Japanese.

[samokan]

Originally Posted by enyafriend

As posted by MMM:


As posted by Samokan:


That's for sure. But actually, I don't know if it is even appropriate to suggest anything other than the standard Japanese here in forums. Most of the people are here to learn a thing or two. Honestly, the last thing we want is for them to pick up traces of Kansai-ben or any other hougen, for that matter. Otherwise, we might as well talk about Japanese spoken in other regions like Hokkaido, Okinawa, Aomori, etc.

When we talk about standard Japanese, we talk about Japanese spoken in and around Tokyo. Because that is what people learn in the textbooks or from any other learning source. Sometimes, what is the norm or permitted in Kansai, but is totally being avoided in Tokyo. Maybe, it is best to considered that as a no in order not to confused the Japanese beginners. With all due respect, I believed that learners of the language should only be taught the correct way, that is the standard Japanese.

I don't think anybody in this thread is not teaching the standard Japanese, unless ask for specific.