Nihongojouzu

Speak Japanese Podcast

If you want to hear the Mac speech synthesizer voice called Bruce say things like:

"That's right. I'm perverted, you're perverted, he's perverted, she's perverted, all of the people are perverted, and it makes the world so happy. "

in Japanese, then this podcast is for you, otherwise don't waste your time. It's not that the phrases aren't useful per se, but rather that wonderful as Macs are at reading and writing Japanese they have a crap accent.

Nihongo-Juku Podcast

Another excellent podcast, but this one is aimed at intermediate and advanced students of Japanese. While Learn Japanese mixes wry English commentary with samples of Japanese conversation, Nihongo-Juku is an all Japanese affair. Narrator Rieko discusses common mistakes and areas of improvement garnered from her efforts teaching her American husband to speak Japanese. The material is relevant and practical - for example, how to accept compliments, what pronoun to use when talking about yourself and in my favourite episode Rieko lists the phrases which male learners of Japanese should avoid if they don't want to sound like 16 year old schoolgirls, and even provides the more manly equivalents. Each podcast is short - all are under 6 minutes and most are under 3 - making them perfect for when you (a) don't have a lot of time or (b) can't psych yourself into listening to a 20 minute news segment from the Yomiuri Shinbun. Sound good? There's more - the companion blog has full transcripts of each podcast and for those too lazy or procrastinatory to install rikaichan or LiveDictionary you're in luck - the transcripts come complete with vocab lists of the meatier expressions.

Learning Japanese by hitchhiking

Want to discuss some taboo topics? Enjoy the frankness of conversation that comes from chatting to complete strangers? Allison Julian, a JET based in Hokkaido, has some hints on learning Japanese by hitchhiking:

I studied Japanese at high school and uni, and I am currently living and studying in the inaka. By far the best thing for improving my Japanese was hitchhiking.  I know that you mentioned this briefly last year (Alison is referring to my presentation at the 2004 JET Recontracting Conference - Will), but I've done it twice now and noticed a huge difference each time.  This year a friend and I hitched in a big circle, for a total of 6-7 days.  By aiming to travel for enjoyment rather than to cover distance, we met a huge number of different people.  Different backgrounds, different conversations, different dialects, everything.  We also were able to talk about things that are perhaps socially a bit taboo - since we weren't Japanese and our drivers knew they would never see us again after they dropped us off.  We met a yakuza and a male prostitute - talked heaps with both of those guys, and one was really open about his divorce.  An amazing cultural experience.  The best thing was that my friend and I assigned each other a target word that we had to incorporate into the conversation somehow.  These were usually quite obscure, making it a challenge to work into the conversation, and therefore often made for interesting talk.  They included: fertilizer, divorce stats, Mars, take the lid off, plastic surgery, child obesity, artificial insemination, and heaps more.  By the time both of us got this out, we were half an hour into our drive, the driver had opened up, and natural conversation flowed easily. 

Learn Japanese Podcast

Not only does this podcast have the coolest title image ever it features some of the most laid back yet instantly useful Japanese lessons around. The lessons contain real samples of language as actually used by Japanese people plus commentary by host Alex Brooke, who is obviously having a good time recording the material - a point which makes the whole thing so much easier to listen to. Excellent stuff, available via iTunes or the Learn Japanese blogpage.

J.Test Applications 2006

The next J.TEST Test of Practical of Japanese (J.TEST実用日本語検) is being held on April 16 and the application deadline is March 22.  Perhaps taking a dig at the JLPT the official website explains that the J.TEST  "effectively gauges practical proficiency in Japanese".
The test is not pass/fail. like the JLPT but operates like TOIEC, awarding a grade based on a score out of 1000.

To get the application form contact the J.TEST Office via its website. Most of the site is in Japanese but there is a lone English page which despite uninspiring spelling ("J-TEST Measuring Practical Efficiensy in Japanese") has a decent explanation of what the J.TEST is all about.

The application costs 2,800 yen for the higher A-D Level test and just 2,300 yen for the lower E-F level.

The next two J.TESTs will be held on June 11 and September 10

Learning Japanese in Japan: What can't you say?

First time learning a foreign language? Not sure where to start? No problem – it isn’t rocket science, but it does require you to exercise those grey cells a little. Before you rush off and buy stacks of textbooks you need to ask yourself a question: “What Japanese do I need to know?” Needs will vary depending on where you live - an Assistant Language Teacher in a one horse inaka village probably can’t get by without learning a decent amount of conversational Japanese whereas an expat investment banker may be able to survive with little or none (It is possible to live in Tokyo for decades without speaking any Japanese…).  Textbooks definitely have their uses, but no textbook is written with your specific needs in mind, so lets take a quick look at how to create your own personalised beginners textbook.

Start by getting a notebook and writing down all those situations in which you need Japanese. Start with broad topics – eg talking to your boss, eating out, getting petrol, asking a friend what they did on the weekend, asking someone out. Think of everything you do from when you get up in the morning until you go to bed and write down all the situations in which you need Japanese. Next, get specific. List the exact things you want to say in those situations, eg for eating out your list might look like this:

1. Table for three

2. Non-smoking

3. Does this have meat in it?

4. Five beers please

5. How much is the all-you-can drink?

 

Look at your list of phrases and ask yourself “Can I say this in Japanese?” If you can’t say “Five beers please” (and I know this is unlikely, but bear with me) your mission is to find out how. Phrasebooks are useful – Lonely Planet has a nifty tome for about 800yen – get one, look up the phrases you need and copy them into your personal notebook (which you of course carry everywhere). But what if you need to say something which isn’t in the phrasebook? Time for plan B – ask a Japanese person. Find a Japanese friend who speaks a bit of English, a colleague or perhaps a  person who has accosted you with the aim of practising their English (this is the most satisfying of the three), show them your notebook with for example “I’ve got a crush on Ito Misaki”* and ask “日本語で何と言いますか" Nihongo de nan to iimasu ka” (How do you say this in Japanese?)

Go through all your lists until you have created a personal phrasebook devoted entirely to your language needs. As you gradually learn more and more phrases you will realise how many other things you cannot yet say – write them down too!

1. 三名です。 San mei desu

2. 禁煙お願いします。 Kin en onegaishimasu

3. 肉が入っていますか？ Niku ga haitteimasuka?

4. 生　五つ（お願いします） Nama itsutsu (onegaishimasu)

5. 飲み放題はいくらですか Nomihoudai wa ikura desu ka?

Notes

1. I have used romaji for the benefit of newcomers, but do yourself a favour and learn the kana – if only to be able to read menus. If you plan to be here for longer than a year start writing in your notebook in hiragana from the get go!

2. “Nama” is short for “Nama biiru” – draught beer.

3. *伊東美咲が好きになった　(Ito Misaki ga suki ni natta)

Radical postions by diagram

I toyed with the idea of listing the seven basic radical positions and giving examples but then my teacher sent me this link to a page which uses diagrams to explain the positions,  provides examples and even has mini Flash demos of the stroke order!

Radical positions and Japanese names

Describing kanji radicals (部首) - is straightforward: to the name of the radical you append the name for the position it inhabits. The left hand position has the suffix へん、or べん、so for example when the kanji for person 人　（ひと、にん）appears as a radical on the left hand side, as in 体　（からだ）it is called にんべん。This makes it easy to describe kanji - to describe 体 you can just say "にんべん　に　本”. This method of explanation comes into its own when describing the kanji which make up peoples' names, where there can be numerous kanji combinations for any given name (and even more for personal names). Let's pick Sato (also written Satou or Satoh - it is up to the person and what romaji system they choose to use). This name can be written with a whole swag of kanji, to whit:

佐籐, 左藤 , 佐當, 左刀 , 左東 , 沙藤 , 砂東 , 砂糖 , 邪東 - the first two versions being the most common.

If we look at the first kanji in 佐藤　we see it is made up of 人　in the へん／べん　position, ie にんべん。It is sitting next to the kanji for left, 左　（ひだり). To describe this kanji to someone we would say "にんべん　に　ひだり”. Now some bright spark will say "Couldn't you just describe the first kanji by reference to another kanji combination, eg 佐　is the first kanji in Saga-ken so you could say ”佐賀県　の　さ”. My answer is yes - you sure can - there are many ways to skin a cat. There are also lots of people (Japanese nationals included) who don't know the kanji for each prefecture (try asking someone to write the kanji for Ehime..) and sometimes it is just easier to break the kanji down when describing it.

Trial Japanese Proficiency Exam

I received an email from JET Programme Assistant Language Teacher Brian Futagaki in Chiba the other day, asking me about the trial Japanese Language Proficiency Test in March. What trial? I knew nothing about it and a quick spot of Googling left me none the wiser so here is Brian's account of the trial test:

About two weeks after the 12/4 test I got a small postcard from the Japan Foundation. They said that they will be conducting a practice test for the JLPT in order to more effectively administer it in the future. If you sat for the most recent test, you qualify. You show up at the University of Tokyo, Komaba on March 19 at 10am and take the trial test exactly as you would the real thing, the only difference is you have to take a questionaire afterwards. Upon completion you receive 5,000 yen, which is cool because I would actually pay them for such an opportunity! The registration is super simple. No picture needed, just fill out your name, address, level you want to take and registration number from the last JLPT. This almost messed me up because after I took the 3 kyu I forgot about my test voucher, which is where the number is printed. I finally tracked it down. Definitely important to save that voucher!

It sounds like a fantastic opportunity to have a trial run at the exam and find out how much you still have yet to learn but unfortunately it looks like participants are picked from the pool of last year's test takers only. And I'm guessing that being in Chiba - just a short ride from the test centre - didn't hurt.