二十ねんごの わたし （Ｍｅ， ２０ ｙｅａｒｓ ｆｒｏｍ ｎｏｗ）

 　　二十ねんごの　わたし　は　にほん　の　いしかわ　県　に　います。いしかわ 県　は、　きれいな　県です。　　となりはうみです。　びじょつかん　や　こおえん　や　コンサート　が　あります。　にぎやきです。人　は、とても　しんせつです。　いつ　も　いい　てんきです。　ニューヨーク　の　せいがつ　は　おもしろいです　が目まぐるしい。　にほん　の　せいがつ　は、　たのしいです。　そして　かんたんです。　

      わたし　は　かぞく　が　います。　　おっと　と　こども　が　います。うち　に　いめ　と ねこ　が　います。うち　の　ちかく　に　わたし　の　ふたご　の　いもと　が　います。　　

      月曜日　から　土曜日　まで、　はたらきます。たのしいこどもです。　たのしいひと　と　はたらきます。　

     一じゅうかん　かいものします。　たべぼの　を　かいます。 たくさん　やさいや　ごはん　や　まねなつ　飼いま。　 

  わたし　の　せいかつ　は、　とても　すてきな　せいかつです。

　　20 years from now, I will live in Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan.  Ishikawa is a beautiful prefecture.  It is next to the ocean.  They have art museums and parks and concerts.  It is lively.  The people are very kind.  The weather is always nice. Life in new York is interesting but hectic. Japanese life is enjoyable.  And easy.  

　　I will have a family.  I will have a husband and children. A dog and a cat are in the house.  My twin sister will live near the home.  

　　Monday through Saturday I will work. It will be enjoyable.  I will work with enjoyably people.       

　　Once a week I will shop.  I will buy food.  Lots of vegetables and rice and beans and so one. 

    My life will be a very enjoyable life. 

Katakana Analysis (final)

1. loan word, オーレド　ボーイ、Old boy, manga (comic book)

The title of the manga, "old boy," is written in romaji and in katakana. Why might the author have written the title with both alphabets?  Why did he write in Katakana instead of the Japanese translation in hiragana?  

This is a US edition of an originally Japanese comic book is (http://www.mania.com/old-boy_mangaseries_1038.html). This particular cover is the cover of the English edition.  So, the title is in English, large.  However, keeping the transliteration in Katakana, helps the comic relate back to its Japanese roots.  Katakana helps to bridge the gap between English and Japanese. 

2. coinage term/loanword, ユニコロ, uniqlo, advertisement

-"Uniqlo is a word made up by the company.  It borrows words from English, yet is a contraction of them.  It is a contraction of "unique clothing" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniqlo).

-"ユニコロ" is Aesthetically pleasing and simple. Every letter is square-like.

Uniqlo prides itself on its simple, high quality clothes. On the companies website, they describe themselves as "a new-style Japanese firm making good casual clothes available for all to wear....our reputation for high-quality, basic casual wear is growing steadily year by year"(Uniqlo website). The katakana characters mimic the company's clothing style.  They are simple, because they are geometric.  To a person who lives in New York, the geometric letters seem more straightforward than curly hiragana.  The brand name is useful because it has a catchy name, Seeing this logo, consumers get an over all feel for the style of this company.

The textbooks may be sure to describe Katakana's proper use to maintain the integrity of its original usage, and the use of Hiragana and Kanji as is properly systematized by the language. Katakana is used so often in popular culture, even in the US to some extent, like with the UNIQLO signs, that people may mistake it for "Japanese." Teaching the language, the textbooks are sure to explicitly describe their proper purpose.



http://www.fastretailing.com/eng/ir/direction/message.html

カタカナ Project: みっつ はいくです。 （three Haikus)

ひと　が　おおいです。
ひとりで　が　います。
ニューヨーク　ですね。

There are may people.
He is alone.
It is New york、isn't it.

きの したに
いめ　に　ならいます。
ワンワン　いってます。


Under the tree
I learn from the dog
He goes "woof woof"

サッカー　は　スポーツ　
です　か。　ダンス　です　か。　
どちらも　です。

Is soccer a sport?
A dance?
It is both.

さくぷん ２ (Composition 2)

やまたさん　へ、　
わたし　は　アインスタイン　です。カナダ　の　トロント　と　アメリカ　の　ミズーリー　きました。　いま　ニューヨーク　で　べんきょします。コロンベア　だいがく　の　がくせいです。　さん　ねんせい　です。　ニューヨーク　の　せいがつ　は、とても　いぞがし　が   とても　たのしです。　まいにち、　ごぜん　しちじはんん　を　おきます。　　げつようび　と　きにょうび　の　ごぜん　こえん　で　ワオーク　を　します、それから　あさごはん　お　たべます。　　まいん　いち、くじ　に　クラス　を　いきます。　クラス　は
おもしろいです。　　ともだち　と　せんせい　は　たのしです。　　いちじ　じゅうごふん　に　へるごはん　を　たべばす。　　それから　としょかん　で　べんきょします。　　しゅいようび　と　きにょうべ、にじじゅう　に　から　さん　じゅうごふん　まで　ダンス　を　します。　　

ろくがつ　よっか　に　ひこき　で　にほん　へ　いきます。

よろしく　おねがいします。

ｱｲﾝｽﾀｲﾝ

Katakana Analysis Draft

1. loan word, オーレド　ボーイ、Old boy, manga (comic book)

The title of the comic book is written in katakana because its title is "old boy," an english word.  Reading it in Katakana, the reader understands that the word is not Japanese.  Reading characters used to for foreign words, he is primed to go into the fantasy of a world unfamiliar to his own.  

2. brand name, ユニコロ, uniqlo, advertisement

-"Uniqlo is a Loan word made up by the company.  It is a contraction of "unique clothing" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniqlo).

-"ユニコロ" is Aesthetically pleasing and simple.  Every letter is square-like.

Uniqlo prides itself on its simple, high quality clothes.  On the companies website, they describe themselves as "a new-style Japanese firm making good casual clothes available for all to wear....our reputation for high-quality, basic casual wear is growing steadily year by year"(Uniqlo website). The katakana characters, simple yet useful in terms of its catchy name, mimic the company's clothing style.  Seeing this logo, consumers get an over all feel for the style of this company.  

The textbooks may be sure to describe Katakana's proper use to maintain the integrity of its original usage, and the use of Hiragana and Kanji as is properly systematized by the language.  Katakana is used so often in popular culture, even in the US to some extent, like with the UNIQLO signs, that people may mistake it for "Japanese." Teaching the language, the textbooks are sure to explicitly describe their proper purpose.

http://www.fastretailing.com/eng/ir/direction/message.html

Blog post #4: October Travels

こんげつ、　りょこう　たくさん　あります。せんしゅう　の どよび　に　かぞくと　ひこうき　で　ロセンゼルス　へ　いきました。　ひこき　で　にほんご　を　べんきょします。 "Readings on zorochrastianism" をよみます。　こんしゅのきょうび　に　りょうこ　を　します。　ひこきで　Salt Lake まち　へ　いきます。 やま　を　みます　それから　バルミテズヴァ　の　アサ　へ　いきます。 まち　は　ゆうめいです。　まち　の　やま　は　かれいな　やまです。　とてもおおきい と たかいです。　　かそく　は　とても　たのしいです。

にちよび　に　ひこきで　かえります。　

This month, I travel a lot.  On Saturday last week I went to Los Angeles with my family by plane.  I studied Japanese on the plane.  I [also] read "Readings on Zorochrastiansism." 　On Friday this week I will travel.  I am going to Salt Lake city by plane. I will look at the mountains and then go to Asa's Barmitzvah. [Asa is my cousin].  [Salt Lake City's] mountains are famous.  The city's mountains are beautiful mountains.  Really big and tall.  My family is very enjoyable. On Sunday I will return home.  

A note on vocabulary and an example using time

Ohayo gozaimasu!

  

I find it interesting that we are now on lesson 5, and this vocabulary list is the first one to list off words for relationships.  Within the first lessons we learned ちち , ("chichi") which means father and "chan" which means child, but now we have ひと(person), ともでち(friend), かん(he/boyfriend/lover), かのじょ(she/girlfriend/lover), かぞく(family), and ひとりで(alone).  

Perhaps this stood out to me because learning spanish, the words for familial relationships were one of the very first lessons.  

     Right now we are learning how to talk about time.  In Japanese, the verb always comes at the end of the sentence.  Here's an example of a sentence dealing with time.  My computer won't allow me to type the hiragana right now, so I will figure out why and try later to re-type these words in Hiragana.

kanban, benkyo-shimashita.  Ju-ji ni  nemasendeshita.  11ji yoji pun ni nemashita. kesa, watashi wa gozen nana-han ni okimashita.  Kyo, gogo 2ji:45 fun ni kara gogo 5:45ji ni made benkyoshimashita.  keiban,  watashi wa dance rehearsal  6 ji kara 9ji made desu. 

これ　は (This is)the paragraph in hiragana, with corrections and the translation, because we discussed in class that blog with translations is easier to follow(10/10/11).  I also found that writing the translation helped me to evaluate my work.

かんばん　べんきょしました。 ごぜんじゅじに　ねませんでした。 きのう　の　けさ 　わたし　は　ごぜん　ごぜんななはんに　おきます。きょう　ごご　じによじゅいごふんに　から　ごじよじゅごふん　まで　べんきょします。　ごごごじごじゅうぷん　dance rehearsal  へ　いきます。　Contemporary の　Dance 　を　します。ごごじゅういちよぷん　に　ねます。

This evening I studied.  I went to bed at 12:00am.  Tomorrow morning at 7:30am I will wake up. Today I will study from 12:45 to 5:50.  At 5:55 I will go to Dance rehearsal.  I will dance contemporary. I will go to bed at 11:45pm.

As maybe you can tell, there is a lot to keep track of. However, the language has a clear structure so far, and as long as the connections are kept in mind, the sentence lays itself out.  Also, the more I practice, the more natural the layout feels, and it doesn't feel like there is as much to keep track of.  

Arigato, Sayonara!

Why I Chose to Study Japanese

    I have studied French and some Spanish, but I want to learn an entirely new kind of language.  I chose to study Japanese because I am fascinated by Japanese culture, language, and philosophy.  I believe that the language is both a result of and provocation for the culture, that is to say that the culture is a result of the language and the language is a result of the culture.  Through learning and speaking the language I expect to gain valuable and intimate insights into the Japanese way of life.  By observing, interacting with, and reading people, art, scientific papers, and books of Japanese origin, I find common threads that I already find exhibited in and/or enabled by the language.  Some of these characteristics are: Clarity, seriousness, thoughtfulness, efficacy, naturalness, activeness, respect, play, joy, and care.  I think that engaging with the Japanese language will only reinforce my understanding of these characteristics and how they can be part of a way of life.  I hope to visit Japan, and to engage with the people in their native language.  You might say that I am asking for unrealistic results and insights from an elementary language class.  Even in 2 years, how can I expect so much?  However, I already see the common traits that I listed imbued in both the language and in the way that it is taught. I read that the Columbia Japanese department is fantastic, and all impressions thus far verify the reviews. I cannot think of any better time or way to learn the language.
     I believe that the challenge will inform my study techniques, and that the memorization will make easier my everyday life and my ability to pick up dance choreography.  I really like the sounds and visual presentation of Japanese. Learning the artful, unified characters will leave nice impressions on my mind. Finally, I like being challenged consistently, especially when that dedication leads to positive, enlightening results. 

    So far, I have found it difficult to learn the Hiragana in such a short time period, especially given that I have been a little over- committed at this beginning of the school year. In particular I have had trouble distinguishing Hiragana that look  similar to each other.  This, I believe, will become easier the more I expose myself to the characters and study them carefully.  The pneumatics are still helping me, especially with certain characters.  I also find that as I build up my vocabulary, I sometimes mix up certain words or halves of words.  I think that this will be resolved the more I practice speaking and use words in context. I really look forward to continuing to learn this language.

Introduction

こんにちわ。はじめまして、　わたし　は　Tracyです。  わたし　は　Columbia　 だいがく　の　がくせいです。　さん　せんせい。　あめりかじんです。　はたち　です。どぞよるしく。