Looking for English speakers

[zerojustice315]

I speak english

[laurel]

Hi guys,

Thank you for your posts; at the moment I don't have enough time -- yes, I'll be back to Japan this weekend! (though my dissertation is not finished yet) -- so please wait for a while. I'll answer you from Japan ... maybe eating Sushi and Miso soup?

[fara7]

Originally Posted by laurel

Hi guys,

Thank you for your posts; at the moment I don't have enough time -- yes, I'll be back to Japan this weekend! (though my dissertation is not finished yet) -- so please wait for a while. I'll answer you from Japan ... maybe eating Sushi and Miso soup?

Hope u reach there safly , and and hope u enjoy ur sushi and miso soup.
BTW how many hours does it take from UK to japan?

[laurel]

Hi, Suki-chan!

I read the thread about JapanEx as well; I am sorry that I couldn't see you there, but you don't have to be envious with CPU and other guys. For, whenever you visit Japan, I'll gladly guide you (*ﾟ∀ﾟ)

So when you have just met someone is it politer to call him/her (name)-sama at first?

Yes. Generally, we use "sama" to strangers to show respect; however, if the person is much younger than you, it sounds odd. In such a case, we use "san" instead of "sama". It is quite rare to call someone by his/her first name.

Actually I think knowing loads of grammar isn't that important as long as you can use the language accuratly.

That's the problem with English education in Japan (I taught English a few years ago).
According to the average result of TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), Japanese people achieve good mark in grammar section; but they just know the rules. Most of them can't -- or won't speak English. Maybe their knowledge on English grammar makes them afraid of making mistakes, I guess?

That language you talk about is Catalan (which indeed is spoken only in Catalonia) and it's my mother tongue.

Wow! I thought I was a big fan of Spanish culture; but obviously I don't know so much about Spain ∑(ﾟ□ﾟ)
Catalan and Spanish look similar; if you didn't tell me, I might mistake Catalan as a dialect of Spanish.

By the way, you love Classic Latin! Sweet!! I once tried, but the attempt was not successful -- not at all. In my shelf there lies some Latin text such as "Wheelrock Latin Reader" and "Latin via Ovid"; if you do not mind, can I ask some questions on Classical Latin as well?


I'm sorry for the picture of the soup; I totally forgot that I was not allowed to upload pictures outside.
Well, the picture is in my website:

http://laurel.otogirisou.com/miscellany/spain.html

in the section of "バルセロナ", right below to the picture of The Sacred Family Church.

So, you eat that soup at Christmas? That's so nice, I can have that dish even every day! (￣∀￣*)

In "world history" class, l just learnt about medieval reconquista movement, conflict between Britain during the Renaissance, and Franco's dictatorship. The explanation was rather simple, though.
People say that Almodovar's first movie "Pepi, Luci, Bom" depicts people's life during the rule of Franco, but I can't get that. When you have time, will you tell me about Franco, please? m(._.)m

[laurel]

Hi, Fara-chan!

Thank you for asking; you're so sweet (＾▽＾)/

By the way, did you receive my e-mail with the picture of old Japanese advertisement (letters written from the right side to the left as Arabic language)?

Almost everything is fine to me; but my little niece won't leave me alone all day. Now Japan is 3.30 a.m., and she is sleeping next to me!

BTW how many hours does it take from UK to japan?

If you use direct flight, it takes around 12 hours, I think.
I, however, bought a cheaper ticket; I had to stay at Bangkok and Taiwan. Consequently, it took almost 2 days （ ﾟ ρ ﾟ )

[laurel]

Hello Indojapan1976,

Thank you for your post; next month, after I finish my dissertation, I plan to find some temporary job in Tokyo. That sounds nice to meet you there.

During the language exchange, may I ask some question about Rajinikanth, one of my favourite actor? (〃＾▽＾〃)

Anyway, I'll e-mail you soon. Wait a moment

[laurel]

Hi zerojustice315,

If you're interested in Japanese language, will you be my language partner?
I would like you to correct mistakes in my English; and surely I'm willing to teach you Japanese.

By the way, you like POT, do you?
If so, do you check the movie?
Last year my friend was excited with it because the actor of Teduka was so handsome. I'm wondering if movie and musical of POT are well-known in the USA as well as Japan.

[fara7]

Originally Posted by laurel

Hi, Fara-chan!

Thank you for asking; you're so sweet (＾▽＾)/

By the way, did you receive my e-mail with the picture of old Japanese advertisement (letters written from the right side to the left as Arabic language)?

Almost everything is fine to me; but my little niece won't leave me alone all day. Now Japan is 3.30 a.m., and she is sleeping next to me!

Hi!
Yah i have received ur e-mail with the Japanese milk advertisement, i liked it, but im reallly sorry for not answering .
Oh there are 6 hours difference between us (kuwait) and Japan, so when u r asleep we're awake and when we're awake ur asleep lol.

[Suki]

Originally Posted by laurel

I read the thread about JapanEx as well; I am sorry that I couldn't see you there, but you don't have to be envious with CPU and other guys. For, whenever you visit Japan, I'll gladly guide you (*ﾟ∀ﾟ)

Will you?! Woah that would be great! But I think it'll take me two more years to save enough money or I might ask my parents to pay for the trip as a birthday present... ^.^

As for the Japan Ex in London, I was only joking. I will go to the one in Barcelona, but that won't be til November. Loads of people here are really fond of Japan, you'd be surprised to see how many.

Originally Posted by laurel

That's the problem with English education in Japan (I taught English a few years ago).
According to the average result of TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), Japanese people achieve good mark in grammar section; but they just know the rules. Most of them can't -- or won't speak English. Maybe their knowledge on English grammar makes them afraid of making mistakes, I guess?

Yeah, same here. But you need to have a good grammar level to be able to speak fluently.

I also think that Japanese is too different from English. I know this two Japanese girls who are studying Spanish at university and they say they find it much easier than English due to pronunciation similarities. Guess it just depens on each person.


LOL don't ever say to a Catalan person that Catalan is an Spanish dialect. I must admit they're rather similar though, but that's just cause they both come from Latin.

And yes, feel free to ask anything you want. I've only been studying Classical Latin for a year so my knowladge on it is quite limited xDD I'm good at doing translations, that's basically all we've been doing all year cause that's what Latin's all about.


WoW I loved your website!! You must have spent a lot of time working on it, good job! And yes, the picture of that soup is the one I was referring to. The reason why we don't usually eat it any other time of the year is because it's a hot dish.

Originally Posted by laurel

People say that Almodovar's first movie "Pepi, Luci, Bom" depicts people's life during the rule of Franco, but I can't get that. When you have time, will you tell me about Franco, please? m(._.)m

I'm afraid I haven't seen that film, sorry.

Next year I'll be taking History of Spain so I'll be able to go deeper into the matter. I don't think I can tall anything you don't already know about Franco... It's a bit of a taboo subject among Catalan people. During his dictatorship, we were not allowed to speak Catalan at all, if someone did they were sent to prison. Also (and that is quite hard to believe) left-handers were forced to write with their right hand cause they were considered to have some illness. Their left hand was tied behind their back so that they would not use it. I think it also had some symbolism involved, as if being left-hander meant being against right-wing ideology.


Hope this was useful ^^

Talk to you soon!



Pd- Thanks for the explanation on -sama/-san.

[Kaicui]

lol i think the whole forum speaks english