Nihongojouzu

Remembering the Kanji 2 and 3 reprinted

Volumes 2 and 3 of Remembering the Kanji are now available for pre-ordering on Amazon or direct from the publisher, University of Hawai'i Press. Copies of the earlier edition of Volume 2, which deals with the readings for the kanji set out in Volume 1, are still available in shops and online, but Volume 3 has been out of print for a while. Remembering the Kanji 3: Writing and Reading Japanese Characters for Upper-level Proficiency covers an additional 1000 kanji based on the primitives described in Volume 1, and adds a few bonus primitive elements. It is also possible to place an order through Nanzan University, where James Heisig teaches. Hardcore paperless people can always opt for the e-book version of RTK3.

New General Use Kanji from 2010

What do the following kanji have in common?

「奈」「岡」「熊」「梨」「阜」「埼」「茨」「栃」「鹿」「阪」「媛」

If you guessed that they all belong to the names of prefectures, you'd be right.

「奈良」「岡山」「熊本」「山梨」「鹿児島」「大阪」

「岐阜」「埼玉」「茨城」「栃木」「愛媛」

But that's not all they have in common - none of these kanji belong to the official General Use or Joyo kanji. Despite the fact that these kanji are widely known and commonly used they have managed to escape inclusion in the official list of kanji that you simply have to know. The Nihon Keizai Shinbun reports that the Council for Cultural Affairs has finally caught on, and from 2010 these 11 kanji will be included in a new, revised version of the Joyo kanji. In practical terms this means that schoolchildren will have to not only be able to read the "new" kanji, they will have to learn to write them - there goes my party trick whereby I challenge people to write the kanji for Ehime...

Original article: NikkeiNet

Kanji extensions for internet domains: .日本 from 2009

The Asahi Shimbun had an article this morning about the introduction of non-alphabet internet domain extensions. In response to demands from countries where the roman alphabet is not used, ICANN decided in November last year on a policy allowing non-alphabetic extensions. The example given in the article was kanji: from 2009 it will be possible to have a URL which looks like this:

http://OOOOOOO.日本

Since 2001 it has been possible to use non-alphabetic characters for domains, eg:

http://日本.com

So from 2009 this will be possible:

http://日本.日本

The details of the policy will be hammered out this year. Though the article focused on Japanese, naturally these changes will also allow the use of Arabic, Devanagari etc.

NB According to the TV news, Japanese seniors will find the changes helpful, as they haven't really taken to those newfangled roman letters.

Facebook: Kanji Box

Users of social networking wunderapp Facebook know that not only is the site a great way to waste whole days throwing sheep and zombie-biting people but you can also keep tabs on all of your friends. I spend more than enough time online and ignore anything on Facebook except messages (so if you have been wondering why your ninja invitation lies unanswered - now you know!) but I am only human, and when I noticed an app called Kanji Box my curiosity was piqued. Kanji Box is a simple quiz application which operates within Facebook. It allows you to choose an ability level (grasshopper through to JLPT Level 1) and then test yourself on kana, kanji and vocabulary. Once you have trained up via the drill function you can sit a quiz and then get feedback in the form of stats: having a score is a great motivation because it gives you a clear target to beat next time you sit the quiz. The stats page also shows your progress in terms of both JLPT level and 常用漢字 - General Use kanji (plus the 人名用漢字 - kanji used in personal names). I gave the quiz function a try. Fast, straightforward and fun - if you are going to blow off some time online at least with Kanji Box you are learning something (not that zombie-fighting isn't a useful skill......). The best part is the social networking aspect - you can invite friends and compare scores. Nothing quite like the motivational factor of "OMGWTF! - Tom scored 1076 points on JLPT Level 1! My score is pathetic - better start drilling." (cue Rocky theme song)

Since we are all wont to visit Facebook at some time or other I recommend Kanji Box as a way to harness the power of constructive procrastination. The only downside - at some point your concentration will waver and you will start seaching for that girl who used to sit next to you in kindergarten. And it's a minor bugbear, but I like kanji for either the singular or plural - "kanjis" sounds like a type of fruit or a venereal disease.

(I'm off to see if I can match Tom's score.)

Google Docs, rikaichan and translating anywhere

I have been playing around with Google Docs and I am impressed. No longer do I have to email myself files or carry around a USB drive if I am going to be working on multiple computers - Google Docs lets me access a translation from wherever I am. I can even let clients review documents online. Normally if I had to translate a document on some anonymous Windows box I would have to download the Word file and then go through the rigmarole of cutting and pasting any unknown terms into ALC or GLOVA - time-consuming and frustrating. Uploading a document to Google Docs means that you are working within the browser, so browser tools like rikaichan and Moji are available. Well, at least rikaichan works  - Google Docs takes command of the mouse right-click commands, so the function "LookUp Word in Moji"  is no longer available, and for Moji you are reduced to cutting and pasting. However the rikaichan mouseover function (see image) works normally, and if you select a word or character it is still possible to search using the rikaichan toolbar. Naturally this will never replace my beloved combination of Mac PowerBook and JEDict, but it is a nifty hack for those times when you find yourself without your familiar translating toolkit.

All Japanese All The Time

Sorry for the post paucity - I have translating coming out of my ears. Here is something to keep you going in the meantime - All Japanese All The Time - the blog of a fellow styling himself Khatzumoto, whose learning approach focuses on three basic techniques:

1. Learn how to write the 2000 or so basic use kanji (yep - Heisig time)
2. Learn to read by learning words/kanji in context, ie in SENTENCES, using spaced repetition
3. Do EVERYTHING in Japanese ALL THE TIME.

I think Khatzumoto's approach to maximising and repeating input is spot on, and when I think of my halcyon days as a JET, with no cable, no Amazon Japan, no Google, and no other gaijin, I was fortunate enough to have, and make use of, the "all Japanese all the time" environment. Although I picked up speaking and listening to a decent level, I definitely didn't apply myself as well as Khatzumoto, whose approach is not only characterised by sheer dedication but also by wit and refreshing honesty. Reading AJAAT will not only give you some great tools for learning Japanese, it will give you a gentle kick in the arse and make you WANT to learn:

No one is saying you’re going to be amazing at it on your first day, or even your first month or even your first year. But you know what? The surest way to fail is to quit doing it. If you can’t skate, or program, or speak a language, it’s not because a supernatural white ball of gas in outer space doesn’t want you to. It’s not because of your parents — leave them out of it. And it’s not because of the task itself — don’t be a wusspot. It’s because you haven’t done it enough.

A lot of times we say someone is “good” at something. I think this is inaccurate. It would be more correct to say she is “accustomed” to it. We don’t get good at something so much as we get used to it. So, I’m not “good” at Japanese, I’m just accustomed to it. I’ve seen those kanji before, I’ve heard those words arranged in that sequence before, I’ve seen that sentence pattern a zillion times. When you’re “bad” at something, it’s not so much that you’re bad at it as it is that you aren’t used to it. And the way to get used to it — to get good at it — is simply to do more of it.

 

Office Japanese - the Telephone: Part Four

Answering the phone and transferring a call is straightforward, but when you have to take a message it becomes a little trickier. Here are the basics.

Part Four    Answering the Phone and Taking a Message

１。名乗る

はい、XXでございます。

２。相手を確認する、あいさつをする

YYのZZでいらっしゃいますね。
いつもお世話になっております。

-Same as the beginning of Part Three

３。名指人を確認、おわび

AAでございますね。
申し訳ございません、あいにくAAは…[and continue in 4.]

４。情報提供する、理由・予定

出かけておりますが４時頃には戻る予定でございます。

Or:

出張しておりますが、木曜日には出社いたします。

-Don’t just say “She’s out at the moment” – provide the caller with additional information before they ask for it
-Don’t however say WHERE the person is (they might be at a competitor’s office!)
-And then immediately make a suggestion for a course of action, as per 5.

５。意向を伺う

（戻りましたら）お電話を差し上げるようにいたしましょうか。

Is the person in a hurry?

お急ぎでいらっしゃいますか。

Perhaps you, or someone else, can deal with it:

よろしければ用件を承りますが。

-Volunteer to call the person back – don’t wait for them to ask
-Don’t forget to get the caller’s phone number:

念のためお電話番号をお願いします。

６。復唱確認する

復唱させていただきます。
（電話番号）、YYのZZでいらっしゃいますね。

-Repeat the message to make sure you have the details correct, and to reassure the caller of the same (Name, Phone Number, Concerning What?)

７。名前を告げる

かしこまりました。私BBと申します。

-Let the caller know who they are talking to so they have the information for future reference

８。処置について確認する

AAが戻りましたらお電話を差し上げるよう申し伝えます。

AAが戻りましたらYYのZZ様からお電話いただきましたことを申し伝えます。

９。終わりのあいさつをする

失礼いたします。

ありがとうございました。

Part Five will feature a whole bunch of set phrases not covered in Part One, Part Two, Part Three or Part Four.

Office Japanese - the Telephone: Part Three

Part One and Part Two dealt with making a call. Today we deal with handling an incoming call, or you can think of it as what the person at the other end of the line was saying in Part One.

Part Three    Answering the Phone and Transferring the Call

１.名乗る

(phone rings - pick it up within 3 rings)

お電話ありがとうございます。XXでございます。

-Before 10am you can start with:

おはようございます。XXでございます。

-If the phone rings more than 3 times you should say:

お待たせいたしました。XXでございます。

-Saying thank you at the beginning has two purposes: (1) if you dive into announcing your company/division etc the caller may not be ready, and miss what you say; (2) saying thank you acts as a buffer and starts proceedings on a friendly note.
-Answer the phone as quickly as possible - within 3 rings is OK, but 2 is better.
-Always have pen and paper ready to take a message. Don't just have them sitting on your desk somewhere, when you pick up the phone you should also grab a pen and be ready to write.
-Speak cheerfully and clearly

2. 相手を確認する

(the caller gives their name and company)

YYのZZ様でいらっしゃいますね。

-If the caller doesn't announce themselves:

恐れ入れますが、どちら様でいらっしゃいますか？

-Make sure you confirm whom the caller is - it is sloppy if you just put the call through and say "It's someone from Toyota"  and means that the next person has to ask again.
-You already have a pen in your hand - use it.  Get into the habit of writing down the caller's name and company every time

３．あいさつをする

いつもお世話になっております。

-Say it with feeling!
-It doesn't matter if you have never done business with this company before - just use the set phrase! (you don't actually mean "God be with you" when you say goodbye in English - same principle)

４．名指人*を確認

AAでございますね。かしこまりました、少々お待ちくださいませ。

-If there are two people in your company with the same name, confirm which of them its is by offering the personal name of the most likely candidate:

鈴木由香でございますね。

５．取次ぎ

AAさん、YYのZZ様からお電話です。

-Hit the 保留　button
-Stay in polite mode when transferring - the last thing you want is to screw up the transfer and have the caller hear you say "鈴木さん、NTTのやつだよ“

Tomorrow - Part Four -  dealing with the caller when the person requested isn't  available.

*名指人 (なざしにん)

Office Japanese - the Telephone: Part Two

Yesterday I posted an introductory piece on the fine art of placing a business phone call in Japanese.

As you will recall, we left proceedings at the point where you, the caller, had just given your name and company name and had asked to be put through to someone.

Part Two    Being Put Through to the Other Party

１．相手を確認する

XX様でいらっしゃいますね。

-Necessary if the person coming to the phone simply says "はい”, or if you don't catch what they say, but not required if they announce themselves clearly.

 

２．名乗る

私、YY社のZZでございます。

-note that 私 in this context has the super formal reading わたくし

３．あいさつをする

先日お忙しいところありがとうございました。

If you don’t have a specific event to refer to (for example, when you last met) you can offer a more generic greeting:

いつもお世話になっております。

およびたてして、申し訳ございません。

-Obviously if you have had some interaction with the other party it is a good idea to mention it and give the call some context. Other possible greetings:

この度は、弊社の○○をご購入いただき、誠にありがとうございます
先ほどはお問い合わせありがとうございました

-Politeness and brevity are key
-呼び立てる　means to ask a person to come, or in this case, to call someone to the phone

４．用件を伝える

今、お時間をいただいてよろしいでしょうか。

早速ですが＿＿＿＿の件につきましてご連絡いたしました。

If you think the matter will take a while, forewarn the other person and give them the option of dealing with it later:

お時間長くなりますが、ただ今よろしいでしょうか？

What follows is the meat of the phone call and while equally polite it won’t necessarily be as formulaic. I’ll keep things simple for the moment, skip to the end of the call, and provide some useful phrases in a later article.

５．相手の理解を確認する

以上、＿＿＿＿＿で、よろしいでしょうか。

Equally you could say:

もう一度、要点だけ、繰り返させていただきます。

(and then summarise the details)

Two examples:

では、来週の金曜日にお見積もりを提出させていただきます

 

以上、予定していた打合せですが今回はキャンセル、後日ご連絡ということで、よろしいでしょうか？

６．終わりのあいさつをする

どうぞ、よろしくお願いいたします。

 Just before hanging up: 失礼いたしました. And it wouldn't be out of place to have ありがとうございました in there too.

-Pause a moment before gently replacing the receiver – don’t just clunk it back into place.

OK - you know what to say when placing a call - what about when the phone rings? We'll look at that next week in Part Three - Receiving Calls.

Office Japanese - the Telephone: Part One

Good phone manner is an essential part of working in a Japanese office, and handling phone calls is one of the testing grounds of your Japanese skills – you can no longer rely on the gestures and facial expressions you may use in face-to-face interactions, and your listening skills are paramount because you don’t have the luxury of visual context. On the flip side, work phone calls usually fall into patterns which you can practice (though you obviously can’t meet every contingency) and unlike in-person conversation, you can write out what you want to say in advance.

Today’s post is the first in a series of articles on practical office Japanese based around language samples taken from an actual office etiquette　manual (yes, I have one in my possession, and you too can learn the secret rituals of the Japanese office!).  Even Japanese people can have trouble adjusting to the change in politeness required for office phone calls, but remember, it is just a matter of practice, so find a Japanese speaking friend and practice! (But you’ll have to wait for Part Three of the series or the call will be very one-sided…..)

Part One    Calling and asking for someone

１．自分の名前を名乗る

XX社のYYと申します。

-Speak slowly and clearly
-Put a smile in your voice
-Be prepared to spell out your name slowly , e.g. 「ジャ・ス・プ・リ・ザ」
-Just as Japanese people “spell” their names by reference to other kanji, e.g. for the name 加地　（かじ）：　「加えるの加に地方のち」, there may be occasions when you need to do the same, for example when the connection is bad. When required, I say the following: 「忍者のジャ、寿司のス、プリンのプ、理解のリ、正座のザ」. Be careful which kanji you choose – when spelling out the name Banner for example, 「馬鹿のバ」would not be a wise choice.

２．あいさつをする

いつもお世話になっております。

-Use a sincere tone - don't jut throw it out
-If it is before 10am you can throw in おはようございます before いつもお世話になっております。

３．名指人の取次ぎを依頼する

恐れ入れますが、ZZ課のBB様をお願いいたします

When you don’t know the name of the person you are after, state your business and ask for the person in charge:

恐れ入れますが、XXについてお聞きしたいのですが、係の方お願いいたします。

Just a short lesson today – Part Two will cover calling a person directly, Part Three will be receiving and forwarding a call and Part Four will deal with explaining that the person asked for is not available.