はじめまして、わたしはダンです。いま大学のがくせいです。にじゅねんごのわたしは大学のきょうしです。わたしはアメリカじんですがいま中国にいます。わたしの生活はとてもおもしろいです。月曜日から金曜日まで大学でしごとをします。わたしは中国じんの学生にえいごをおします。中国の生活になれました。中国のりょうりやおながくが好きです。わたしはいぬがいます。わたしはつまが いませんがさびしくないです。どぞよろしくおねがいします。
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Katakana Analysis Final
The first word I found is アフリカ (Africa). It was part of the title of an academic journal I saw in the library. It is a loan word. Since all the textbooks tell us that one of the primary functions of Katakana is to write foreign names and loan words, I thought this was a nice example--the name of a foreign place coming into the Japanese language based on an English pronunciation. It made me wonder what the process (historic, linguistic, political) is for a loanword to become standardized in Japanese. For example, why isn't the katakana for "Africa" based on a German, French, Chinese or some other pronunciation? As for the question of why Hiragana or Kanji is not used here, it seems that just the use of Katakana signals to the reader that the word or concept is not native to Japanese in a way that the other scripts do not do. Writing the name of a foreign country is a good example of the intended effect of Katakana--to highlight a word or mark it as something slightly out of the ordinary of the Japanese everyday experience. Katakana has this effect because by using it the writer sends a clear signal to his reader that the word (in this case the name of a place) is not of Japanese origin. Even if someone didn't know what アフリカ was, the use of Katakana has the effect of making clear to the reader that it is not something "Japanese" since that is one of the primary functions of the katakana writing system.
The next word I found also could be considered a loan word, but I think it is rather different than the first. "メジヤーリーグベースーボール" means Major League Baseball. There is no question as to where this word comes from, it is a proper noun, a brand name and a loan word all at once. What I found interesting about this however, is that in lesson 9 we learn a way to write baseball using hiragana, and yet that word is not used in "Major League Baseball." In this case, the use of katakana seems to be a deliberate choice to emphasize or reinforce the foreign, and specifically American, origin of the word and brand name--there hasn't been an attempt to localize the word or the brand. Katakana in this instance allows the Japanese language to absorb foreign words, brands and ideas without fully assimilating them. By using Katakana instead of Kanji or Hiragana, it is immediately clear to the audience that the word is representing a foreign brand, and in particular a brand from the West. Katakana has this particular effect because both its shape and general usage is much different than the other two writing systems in Japanese. The sharper lines and angles not only make the words stick out from the curves of Hiragana, but the simplicity of the letters also marks a sharp contrast from the more complicated strokes of Kanji. Katakana therefore signals both in its form and usage that the word or idea being represented is meant to stand out from the rest of the sentence or whatever larger context that it is found in. In this case, メジヤーリーグベースーボール as both an imported idea and product is therefore written using Katakana.
Clearly Katakana has many uses and there is no simple or short answer as to how, when and why it should be used. In writing a textbook then, how is an author supposed to decide how to explain Katakana? In an introductory text, the primary objective of the author is most likely to present a broad overview without delving into exceptional cases or other instances in which general rules about Katakana might not apply. I think that's why most books stick to explaining Katakana usage in terms of loan words, onomatopoeia and a few other large categories. The degree to which books explain Katakana differently is probably due to a decision made by its authors as to just how much information is appropriate to present to a student just starting to learn Japanese. Certainly the authors of the texts, as native speakers with training in Japanese pedagogy, would personally have more nuanced and complete ideas about Katakana usage--an introductory textbook probably just isn't the right place to dive into that type of discussion. Once the textbook presents that general framework of Katakana, students who progress in their studies will inevitably discover that the rules set forth do not always hold and that the picture is more complicated than they originally thought. In that sense, the different explanations of Katakana usage in our textbooks can be explained not in terms of different understandings of Katakana, but rather in terms of differing views on the appropriate way in which to introduce Katakana to students of Japanese.
The next word I found also could be considered a loan word, but I think it is rather different than the first. "メジヤーリーグベースーボール" means Major League Baseball. There is no question as to where this word comes from, it is a proper noun, a brand name and a loan word all at once. What I found interesting about this however, is that in lesson 9 we learn a way to write baseball using hiragana, and yet that word is not used in "Major League Baseball." In this case, the use of katakana seems to be a deliberate choice to emphasize or reinforce the foreign, and specifically American, origin of the word and brand name--there hasn't been an attempt to localize the word or the brand. Katakana in this instance allows the Japanese language to absorb foreign words, brands and ideas without fully assimilating them. By using Katakana instead of Kanji or Hiragana, it is immediately clear to the audience that the word is representing a foreign brand, and in particular a brand from the West. Katakana has this particular effect because both its shape and general usage is much different than the other two writing systems in Japanese. The sharper lines and angles not only make the words stick out from the curves of Hiragana, but the simplicity of the letters also marks a sharp contrast from the more complicated strokes of Kanji. Katakana therefore signals both in its form and usage that the word or idea being represented is meant to stand out from the rest of the sentence or whatever larger context that it is found in. In this case, メジヤーリーグベースーボール as both an imported idea and product is therefore written using Katakana.
Clearly Katakana has many uses and there is no simple or short answer as to how, when and why it should be used. In writing a textbook then, how is an author supposed to decide how to explain Katakana? In an introductory text, the primary objective of the author is most likely to present a broad overview without delving into exceptional cases or other instances in which general rules about Katakana might not apply. I think that's why most books stick to explaining Katakana usage in terms of loan words, onomatopoeia and a few other large categories. The degree to which books explain Katakana differently is probably due to a decision made by its authors as to just how much information is appropriate to present to a student just starting to learn Japanese. Certainly the authors of the texts, as native speakers with training in Japanese pedagogy, would personally have more nuanced and complete ideas about Katakana usage--an introductory textbook probably just isn't the right place to dive into that type of discussion. Once the textbook presents that general framework of Katakana, students who progress in their studies will inevitably discover that the rules set forth do not always hold and that the picture is more complicated than they originally thought. In that sense, the different explanations of Katakana usage in our textbooks can be explained not in terms of different understandings of Katakana, but rather in terms of differing views on the appropriate way in which to introduce Katakana to students of Japanese.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
感謝祭です！
明日は感謝祭です！私は家族と飛行機でルイジアナ州へいきます。私の父の弟さんルイジアナ州がいます。私は感謝祭がとても好きです。休日の中で感謝祭が一番楽しいです。家族にあいますから。そしておいしい食べ物が食べます。たとえばパンプキンパイやサヤインゲンや七面鳥。感謝祭にいつもフットボールをします。わたしの家族の中で母が一番上手です。でも父の料理は母の料理よりおいしいです。
じゃまた来週 ！
じゃまた来週 ！
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Composition 2
やまださんへはじめまして。わたしはダンです。にじゅごさいです。コルンビアだいがくのがくせいです。がくせいのせいかつわとてもたのしいです。いずがしいですがおもしろいです。まいにちごぜんくじからごごくじまで便居します。わたしはえいがをみます我すきです。わたしはろくがつここのこににほんへいきます。どぞよろしくおねがいします。
Katakana Literary Work
Below are the three poems that I wrote for the Katakana literary work. It seems that Senryu is a fairly flexible form of poetry as the number of syllables is not necessarily fixed. Each poem below represents a different season and the things that I associate with it. However, the specific season is never stated and readers are free to conjure their own thoughts about the relationship between the words. While the poems certainly direct the reader's thoughts to a particular season, each particular word might provoke its own association that is independent or the rest of the poem.
サンタン
スウィミング
バカンス
Suntan
Swimming
Vacation
シードル
トルコ
フットボール
Cider
Turkey
Football
クリスマス
バリ
ホットチョコレート
Christmas
Burr
Hot Chocolate
サンタン
スウィミング
バカンス
Suntan
Swimming
Vacation
シードル
トルコ
フットボール
Cider
Turkey
Football
クリスマス
バリ
ホットチョコレート
Christmas
Burr
Hot Chocolate
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Katakana Analysis Draft
The first word I found is アフリカ (Africa). It was part of the title of an academic journal I saw in the Library. It is a loan word. Since all the textbooks tell us that one of the primary functions of Katakana is to write foreign names and loan words, I thought this was a nice example--the name of a foreign place coming into the Japanese language based on an English pronunciation. It made me wonder what the process (historic, linguistic, political) is for a loanword to become standardized in Japanese. For example, why isn't the katakana for "Africa" based on a German, French, Chinese or some other pronunciation? As for the question of why Hiragana or Kanji is not used here, it seems that just the use of Katakana signals to the reader that the word or concept is not native to Japanese in a way that the other scripts do not do. The name of a foreign country is a good example of that idea.
The next word I found is also a loan word, but in a slightly different way than the first. "メジヤーリーグベースーボール" means Major League Baseball. There is no question as to where this word comes from, it is a proper noun, a brand name and a loan word all at once. What I found interesting about this however, is that in lesson 9 we learn a way to write baseball using hiragana, and yet that word is not used in "Major League Baseball." In this case, the use of katakana seems to be a deliberate choice to emphasize or reinforce the foreign, and specifically American, origin of the word and brand name--there hasn't been an attempt to localize the word or the brand. Katakana in this instance allows the Japanese language to absorb foreign words, brands and ideas without fully assimilating them. By using Katakana instead of Kanji or Hiragana, it is immediately clear to the audience that the word is representing a foreign brand, and in particular a brand from the West.
The next word I found is also a loan word, but in a slightly different way than the first. "メジヤーリーグベースーボール" means Major League Baseball. There is no question as to where this word comes from, it is a proper noun, a brand name and a loan word all at once. What I found interesting about this however, is that in lesson 9 we learn a way to write baseball using hiragana, and yet that word is not used in "Major League Baseball." In this case, the use of katakana seems to be a deliberate choice to emphasize or reinforce the foreign, and specifically American, origin of the word and brand name--there hasn't been an attempt to localize the word or the brand. Katakana in this instance allows the Japanese language to absorb foreign words, brands and ideas without fully assimilating them. By using Katakana instead of Kanji or Hiragana, it is immediately clear to the audience that the word is representing a foreign brand, and in particular a brand from the West.
Monday, October 11, 2010
あるいて！
I love to walk around and explore new areas. Whenever I go to a new city for the first time I walk around until I am either completely lost or totally exhausted--it's really the best way to get a feel for a place! I avoid the 地下鉄 as much as possible because you have no chance to see what's around you when you ride underground! In that sense I would much rather ride a 自転車 than a飛行機 because as long as I'm in control I can stop to しゃしんをとります. Maybe one day I will be able to 友達と自転車で日本へいきます。 Haha, that would be pretty cool, right? I guess it's impossible though, oh well.
If you want to see the places I have explored in the past and some of my しゃしん, you can go to http://picasaweb.google.com/dan.barish and 見ます！
じゃ、またあした
If you want to see the places I have explored in the past and some of my しゃしん, you can go to http://picasaweb.google.com/dan.barish and 見ます！
じゃ、またあした
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
たいへんまです？Just kidding, life is good!
So, we are almost a month into the new semester, summer weather is behind us and everyone is settling down into their school routines, what a perfect time to learn how to talk about our daily schedule using 日本語！Actually, one of my favorite things about being a がくせいis that my schedule is different everyday. Each day is its own little world, with tasks and goals that I can (hopefully) check off as having accomplished each night。 おわります。 But, in general, and of course in order to practice my 日本語, here is my schedule:
わたしは まいばん ろくじ に おきます。ごぜんはちじ から ごごじゅじ まで べんきょうしますです。 ごぜんいちじ なます。Of course in that time I also やすみます、including ひるやすみ。 I also like to try to get some exercise, so when としょかんやすみますI either take advantage of the opportunity to exercise, or, perhaps in reality more often, ねます。
I have really enjoyed the last few weeks getting to know people in the class and I look forward to many more sessions of helping each other in our 日本語の学習.
ありがとうございました。
わたしは まいばん ろくじ に おきます。ごぜんはちじ から ごごじゅじ まで べんきょうしますです。 ごぜんいちじ なます。Of course in that time I also やすみます、including ひるやすみ。 I also like to try to get some exercise, so when としょかんやすみますI either take advantage of the opportunity to exercise, or, perhaps in reality more often, ねます。
I have really enjoyed the last few weeks getting to know people in the class and I look forward to many more sessions of helping each other in our 日本語の学習.
ありがとうございました。
Monday, September 20, 2010
こんにちは
はじめまして、わたしはDanです, あめりかじんです、にじゅごさいです、ころんびあだいがくのがくせいです。どぞよろしく。
Hi everybody, nice to meet you. My name is Dan, I'm American, 25 years old and a student at Columbia University. Why am I studying Japanese? Well, I am a graduate student in Chinese history, and scholars in Japan have, over the past many years, produced much groundbreaking research in the field. I am studying Japanese to, hopefully at some point, read their work. So far, I am finding studying Japanese to be a difficult, yet rewarding, adventure. Memorizing Hiragana has brought back memories of the many many pads of paper I went through as an undergraduate when I first began to learn Chinese. The pace and immersion style learning of the Japanese language program here has been a bit of a shock, but something that I am sure will in the end be of great benefit. I look forward to the continued struggles, and hopefully a few successes, of first-year Japanese.
Hi everybody, nice to meet you. My name is Dan, I'm American, 25 years old and a student at Columbia University. Why am I studying Japanese? Well, I am a graduate student in Chinese history, and scholars in Japan have, over the past many years, produced much groundbreaking research in the field. I am studying Japanese to, hopefully at some point, read their work. So far, I am finding studying Japanese to be a difficult, yet rewarding, adventure. Memorizing Hiragana has brought back memories of the many many pads of paper I went through as an undergraduate when I first began to learn Chinese. The pace and immersion style learning of the Japanese language program here has been a bit of a shock, but something that I am sure will in the end be of great benefit. I look forward to the continued struggles, and hopefully a few successes, of first-year Japanese.
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