Informal Japanese

[AnneH]

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a book that would help in learning informal Japanese. I hope to visit Japan this year but a few of my Japanese friends, who I write to, mention that my Japanese is very formal. They say I write to them as if they are my boss! I understand why this is - I'm learning the language largely on my own with a few internet lessons here and there. I'm using the みんなの日本語 textbook and there only seems to be one chapter in there about the plain style and informality - I'm only up to ch.32 in Book 2. I really want to soften my language for when I meet my friends in person. Has anyone any ideas?

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by AnneH

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a book that would help in learning informal Japanese. I hope to visit Japan this year but a few of my Japanese friends, who I write to, mention that my Japanese is very formal. They say I write to them as if they are my boss! I understand why this is - I'm learning the language largely on my own with a few internet lessons here and there. I'm using the みんなの日本語 textbook and there only seems to be one chapter in there about the plain style and informality - I'm only up to ch.32 in Book 2. I really want to soften my language for when I meet my friends in person. Has anyone any ideas?

1. use plain style—avoid 敬語 in all its forms
2. don't use 漢語 too much (you're probably not, already, since kango is not something you probably learn much of in みんなの日本語) (think the difference between 使う and 使用する (the latter is 漢語 and sounds much more formal))
/discussion

It is highly likely your friends say it's too formal because the whole time you're using ます form. Just stop using ます form and you'll be fine.

[AnneH]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

1. use plain style—avoid 敬語 in all its forms
2. don't use 漢語 too much (you're probably not, already, since kango is not something you probably learn much of in みんなの日本語) (think the difference between 使う and 使用する (the latter is 漢語 and sounds much more formal))
/discussion

It is highly likely your friends say it's too formal because the whole time you're using ます form. Just stop using ます form and you'll be fine.

Thank you so much for this. I was expecting there would be so much more to the informality as I have seen a few books on colloquial Japanese but was unsure if these were really for me. I'll have a go at dropping the ます form and see what happens Thanks again
Anne

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by AnneH

Thank you so much for this. I was expecting there would be so much more to the informality as I have seen a few books on colloquial Japanese but was unsure if these were really for me. I'll have a go at dropping the ます form and see what happens Thanks again
Anne

Dropping ます form is sufficient to cease sounding like their boss. There's plenty of other Japanese colloquialisms you could learn.

However, consider this: I say "I believe you are mistaken" to you. You think it sounds like I'm treating you like my boss. You ask me to speak less formally. Now I say "You're wrong." That's acceptable; it sounds like we're friends. I don't need to know the colloquialism "bitch, please" to not make it sound like you're my boss.

Japanese is similar. Drop the ます stuff and it's fine. You don't need to know stuff like てはー＞ちゃ or ければー＞きゃ nor おもしろくねぇよ to sound fine to your friends.

Books on colloquial Japanese tend to be worthless because they teach you words and phrases but not the context in which it's acceptable to use them.

[Artvampire]

I tried learning Japanese with a book, but a friend told me that my pronunciations were all wrong =( I did exactly what the book told me to do too!

[andylaurel]

Go to Japan and get drunk with factory workers!

[Nyororin]

I say that instead of trying to learn informal Japanese and risking screwing up - just use what you have already learned and then take hints from your friends. It will be safe to talk to them as they are talking to you, so listen and learn. This will give you a much more natural sound in the end.

No one will think badly of you for sounding too formal, and it`s likely that they`ll laugh and tell you if it sounds weird. Better this than try to learn slang or the like from a book and end up sounding extremely odd.

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

I say that instead of trying to learn informal Japanese and risking screwing up - just use what you have already learned and then take hints from your friends. It will be safe to talk to them as they are talking to you, so listen and learn. This will give you a much more natural sound in the end.

No one will think badly of you for sounding too formal, and it`s likely that they`ll laugh and tell you if it sounds weird. Better this than try to learn slang or the like from a book and end up sounding extremely odd.

Yeah, I'll never forget the "street slang" book of Japanese that contains phrases such as ざけんなよ and くそしてねろ as slang one ought to learn. Haha! I'd say the first is something you could use occasionally, but holy crap had you better be careful! I can't imagine using the second at all.

[Raiha]

Japanese Street Slang, i actually bought this piece of trash years ago. I actually have it here, lol i forgot everything was in romaji

here's a useful phrase:
omee tanesutte'ru no ka yo?? utta hou ga yoppodo kikun da ze!
you smoke this stuff?? you get more outa shooting it up!

wow this is bad, any requests?

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by Raiha

Japanese Street Slang, i actually bought this piece of trash years ago. I actually have it here, lol i forgot everything was in romaji

here's a useful phrase:
omee tanesutte'ru no ka yo?? utta hou ga yoppodo kikun da ze!
you smoke this stuff?? you get more outa shooting it up!

wow this is bad, any requests?

I request you never visit the Internet. Ever again.

That book is like this evil one: