2 ee Japanese IT Table of Contents (continued) Unit 19 Unit 20 Unit 21 Unit 22 honw at a Train Station . Jim san no kuruma wa? Unit 23 Unit 24 zuibun isogashi The Weekend in Japan Unit 25 edo Unit 26 Geography of Japan Unit 27. Public Transportati Unit 28 jaa, mata itsuka.. go and 0 as Polite Pr 29. osokunatte sumimasen Unit 30 Gift Giving shitsurei shimasu / ojama shimas Introduction to Reading Japanese ..... Kanji, The Chinese Characters Katakana and Hiragana Reading Japanese .... Japanese Tt Notes on Japanese Culture and Communication The objective of Pimsleur’s Japanese II is to introduce you to the language and culture of another country primarily through your ears, and only secondarily through your eyes. This approach is based upon the fact that more than 95 percent of our lives is tening and talking — and less than five percent in reading and writing. The most effective and productive way to begin acquiring these necessary communication skills is by actually working with the “language in use,” as demonstrated by native speakers of the language being leamed. Efficiency is greatly increased when what you learn first is the most-frequently-used structures and vocabulary, so that you practice with the basic core-language” keeps you focused entirely on the vocabulary and structures you need for daily cor cation, ‘This is self-motivating because you will begin to speak immediately and successfully. As you lear the language you are absorbing the culture. Language and culture are so closely intertwined that leaming them separately can make you literally “culturally-deprived” and unable to produce appropriateJapanese Notes (continued) and meaningful language. For this reason you must carefully notice the different (read Japanese “act” in the various ‘iously in your native tongue — you is same sense of “awareness” as you gain proficiency in your new language. Your success in working with Japanese will depend upon how sensitive you become to the accumulated heritage that is Japan. 5 ‘Japanese II Unit 1 shirimasen vs. wakarimasen / saa it One, you learned two ways to say “I don’t know”: shirimayen and wakarimasen. While both mean “T don’t know,” they differ from each other in nuance; if you use them inappropriately in conversation, you risk offending the person you are speaking to and have no information about, or knowledge of, the matter being discussed and therefore have no way of knowing how to answer the question and are unable to comment. the fact that you have information. For example, if you are asked whether you like beer or wi like both of them, i occasion. If you answered shirimasen, it would sound rude and might hurt the other person’s feelings, as it could be interpreted as your unwillingness to respond to or even consider the question. It is equivalent to the English, “How should I know?” or “Who cares!” Until you are comfortable with the difference between these two words for “know,” a safe rule is to respond using6 ——— Japanese IT Unit 1 (continued) the same form the speaker used in the question addressed to you. You will notice that Japanese people often respond to your questions by saying wakarimasen or with a The Japanese prefer to leave their intentions and opinions ambiguous and indirect, especially in situations where there is the possibility for two or more different ideas or points of view. You may be frustrated over the frequent use of wakarimasen or saa, even when the answer appears us to you. This is a Japanese strategy to leave room for imagination interpretation. The Japanese use extra caution not to hurt another individual's feelings, causing the other person to lose face; consequently, they avoid losing face themselves. Japanese TT Unit 2 Introductions Suppose you werean American named y , Bill 1 mooshimas, This means “(1 am) called literally it says, “L say myself Bi a humble fashion, This expression there may be between you and the other pe Japanese are very much concerned about hierarchical human relationships, and moashimasu is a safe way 10 identify yourself when meeting someone whose position you do not know, You identify yourself humbly, clevating the status of the other person. In social situations Americans almost always automatically introduce strangers to one another. However, many Japanese are not accustomed to doing 80, and you may sometimes nced to take the initiative and introduce yourself. Do not feel offended if you are not introduced, since your Japanese host is probably unaware of the Western custom of introduction.g aE Sy eee ees Japanese Ir 7 syne Unit 2 (continued) ‘The Japanese, on the other hand, will customarily exchange business cards when they meet someone for the first time. When you receive a card, it’s considered polite to study the card long enough to understand and appreciate all the information on it, such as the person's name, title, company s/he is working for, ete. You can use some of this information as initial topics of your cor |. If you intend to conduct business in Japan, it will be very important to always carry your own business cards with you. 9 = : Japanese IT Unit3 Coffee Shops ‘You will find many coffee shops in Japan. The as Rend ing the ambiance of the shop. Th a “coffee shop” you can have not only coffee, tea, fruit juice, and other assorted drinks, but also light meals such as sandwiches, spaghetti. and pilaf. The price for a cup of coffee is higher than and there are usually no free re paying for the of the shop's space and time. Japanese people sometimes spend hours in a coffee shop, talking to friends, having informal business discussions, or simply reading magazines and newspapers, but you are really0 —————— 1 ——— Japanese IT Unit 4 ocha wa doo desu ka? In this unit you heard, ocha wa deo desu ka? (“Pow about some tea”) While ocha literally means “tea. which is normally green tea in Japan, this expression is used for a variety of drinks, such as coffee. brown tea, and even many kinds of soft drinks. By saying ocha wa doo desie ka, the person is suggesting not so much that you have tea, but that you take a break and have something to drink to relax. When visiting someone's house or office. you are usually offered a cup of tea before you ask fori, You may find that itis too bitter for ‘you, but it’s considered mpolite to add cream or sugar. It’s also in poor taste to ask for a different beverage, as this i puplies criticism of the host or hostess” chosen offer: ng, If your host or hostess notices you are not drinl ing and asks if you Would prefer another kind of drink, you could ask. for instance, kohi wa arias ka (“Do you have any coffee?) Japanese Tl Unit 5 kohi ga hoshii u desu ga. In this unit you learned how to ask for coffee by ying, kohi ga hoshii n desu ga. The ga at the end literally means “but,” and it is added to soften your request and make it less direct. It implies, “7 would like some coffee, but I don’t went to put you to any trouble, and if it is too much trouble for you, that is all ight.” It shows your modesty and respect for the other person’s time and cffort. Unit 6 Riding a Bus in Japan Inthi the American man tock a bus to Shinjuke Buses are a very common means of pablic transporia- tion in Japan. There are both local buses and long distance express buses that connect large cities such as Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka. When using Japanese buses, you will need to know the routes that @ local bus system serves, the fares, and also whether to pay when yon get on or when you get off. On Tokyo buses, for instance, there is generally one flat rate and you pay when you get on. in addition, you are12 Japanese TI Unit 6 (continued) tequired to have the exact change. Just ask a person waiting at the bus stop, ikura desu ka? (“How much is " Prepaid Cards ‘You can avoid the difficulty of always having to have the exact change when you get on a bus, or when you make a telephone call, by using the “prepaid cards” which are widely available in Japan. They are quite handy and economical. These are a kind of credit card, with a limited amount of credit equal to the price of the card. Most prepaid cards are designed for one type of transaction and are available at many stores or vending machines. A telephone card, for example, is a plastic card with a magnetic strip that can be inserted in 2 green public telephone to pay for a phone call. Each telephone card costs 1,000 yen and credits you with 105 units. After each use, the card records the number of units spent on the call and subtracts them from the original value. You will find the card convenient when making long distance or even international calls. Japanese I Unit 6 (continued) There are many types of prepaid cards, among them bus cards, highway cards, train cards, and cards designed for use in various department or convenience stores. Prepaid cards have rapidly become popular in Japan, and they can be very convenient for an American visitor. Unit 7 gaijin ‘You have learned how to identify yourself by you nationality, for example, watashi wa amerika-jin (kanada-jin, chugoku-jin) dest. Most foreigners in Japan, however, particularly those from Wester countries, a people from outside” As an is Japanese were a self-contained society cultural politically for many years, with only i with the rest of the world, More recently, Japan has become ai active member of the global bi unique and independent character is continucd tod You may be pointed at and called gaijin as you walk down the street, especially by children in small citiesia Japanese IT Unit 7 (continued) unused to sccing many foreign visitors. but it is a matter of curiosity and is not meant to be disrespectful. Unit 8 Japanese speakers say 0 same meuning as the En; used even by Japanese 5 very fluent. You too can use some very simple En- glish words and phrases, such as OK, yes, no, all right, excuse me, etc. An important tip, however, is that these expressions do not always carry exactly the same meanings and nuances as they do in English. You will notice that although a Japanese person often says ok when conversing with you, s/he may not be indicating to you that s/he understands or agrees with what you are saying. “Yes” may mean only “Yes, Lam listening to you,” rather than “Yes, | agree with you and accept what you are saying.” 15 Tapanese II Unit 8 (continued) Tf-you stay in Japan for an extended period o} doing SESS rather than simply ttavel) drink”) or, more politely, t you go for a drink?") coffee, tea, may have heard bars after 5:00 p.m. communicate your pe conduct business more s extending over several hours. Japan ortant in social as well as business functions.16. a Japanese TT Unit 9 Days of the Week ‘You've been introduced to the Japanese words for uesday is mokuyoobi, kinyoobi, notice that they all y of the may simply say, gersu, ka, sui, etc Words and Phrases Indicating Time ‘There are many words and phrases that indicate time in Japanese. One ct characteristic in Japanese, however, is that these words are Us placed at the beginning of a sentence instead of end, as in English. Forexample, “Are you busy today?” is kyo wa isogashii desu ka? literally translated as, “As for today busy is?” kayobi wa tenki ga warukatta desu is “As for Tuesday, weather bad was.” Japanese people tend to continue to place these words and phrases in the beginning of a sentence when they speak and write English. You will notice that many of them say, “Today, 17 Japanese IT Unit 9 (continued) what shall we do?” or “Last Monday we went to Disneyland,” keeping the pattern of putting the time words first, Unit 10 Politeness: imasu ka? vs. irasshaimasu ka? ‘The significance of observing the appropriate levels of politeness when you speak to Japanese people, especially those whose social status is apparenily different from yours, cannot be overstressed. Although as a foreign speaker you are not always expected to know subtle nuances, if you wish (o get ahead in business, for instance, having some knowledge concerning the levels of politeness and actu practicing them in your communication wi help you in your attempt to attain your personal and professional goals In this unit you leamed imasu ka? and irasshaimasu ka? They-both mean “Is ... here?” The latter is far more polite than the former. If you are telephoning to a close friend’s home, and you ask another person in the family for your friend, you may safely ask .. wa18 Japanese IT Unit 10 (continued) imasu ka? When speaking to a business associate, however, you would generally use irasshaimasu ka? ‘You will find it necessary to make a distine tween the way you address your close friend and your business associate, or even your friend’s family mem- expressions to convey different levels of politeness difficult to understand and remember. But stop and think for a moment about your regular English usage. While you may use the same words or phrases in different situations, you express your politeness by subtle changes in your tone, your intonation, or even sometimes your voice. You do not say, “How are you?” in exactly the same way when you see your friend, your grandmother, or when you greet an extremely important guest to your company or family. Japanese IT Unit 11 didesune When you say ii des response to som ng to eat at a rest ‘Tha ii desu in response to @ at a restaurant,” it means, “No, thank you. I'll pass?” Whether you put the ne at the end or not tums the meaning around completely, so you need to be careful, especially when you are offered something.20 —— Japanese IT Unit 11 (continued) chotto chotto as in choto hima ga arimasu ka? (“Do you hhaye a little time?") literally means “a and you can use it in much the same way as its English coun- ‘ou can use chotto before little hot”), chotto nagai (a te heavy”), etc. Depending on the context and the way you say it, however, chotio carries a very different meaning. When used alone in response to someone's request, chotto may show the speaker's reluctance, You hear Japanese people say chowto in respot invitation, implying that they cammot accept further that they do h to be asked why. this way, chotio is a \direct way of saying, “No, thanks.” Here’s an example. Takeko: issho ni bangohan o tabemasen ka? (“Won't you have dinner with me’) Kenji: kyo wachotto. (As for today, a little”) 2 Japanese TT Unit 11 (continued) Literally, Kenji’s response may not make much sense in English, but by answering chotto, in a soft and hesitant tone, he’s saying that for some unstated reason he can’t make it, Don’t pursue the matter further. Unit 12 tsumetai and samut Tn this unit you heard, rst This is used to describe food, etc. When you visi home, you may be asked wi (hot tea”) or tsumetai och served most of the time, but during the sur tea that is made from roasted barley or cold Chinese oolong tea may be served. You can also use tswmetai for a person who is cold- hearted. You may hear some Japanese people say tsumetai hito (“a cold person”). Depending on the context it may be a joke or a serious accusation. If you want to talk about cold weather, on the other hand, you must say samui instead of tsumetai.23 Despite Japan's small size, the climate varies dramatically since it stretches lengthwise (some 1,500 iniles) from North to South. When visiting, you must be careful to plan what kind of clothes you will need, depending on which part of the country you will be visiting. In Hokkaido, the northemmost island, and the northern and mountain areas of Honshu, for example, it gets quite cold. In fact, the winter Olympics Sapporo in 1974 and held a: Nagano in central Japan in 1998. If you are in Okinawa, the southernmost part of the country, you will find a sub- ‘tropical climate. Except for these extreme climates, the rest of the country has four distinct seasons. Get Japan gets fair amount of ran every year during the rainy mid-July. The rain is of course indispensable to rice, the nation’s staple dict. The summer in Japan is generally hot and humid. If you are traveling to Japan for pleasure, you should plan to be there either in the spring or fal, if possible. Japanese I Unit 14 English Newspapers and Magazines Keeping abreast of what is happening in your home country is an important concem, particularly if you duct business for extensive periods of time abroad. wspapers and mag: 2 papers and give you i occurring in Japan and your focal community. And major hotels you can watch TV news trom over ten different countries in their original languages. Unit 15 musume and musuko We have stressed that showing your politeness is important in Japanese communication. The words used to describe family members change in a rather24 Japanese II Unit 15 (continued) complex manner, depending on whether you are speaking of your own family or the family of the person you are speaking to. In this unit you heard musume (“daughter”) and rmusuko (“son”). These words can be used when you refer to your own children. ‘You use different sets of words when you talk about other people’s ren, with differing levels of Politeness. Since this is complex, you are not expected to be able to use all of them correctly. If you are to stay in Japan for a long time, however, you will find such knowledge in politeness quite useful. Unit 16 kaisha Kaisha, but it is used in vari refers to a physical setting, including the bu office space where people go to work. It also symbolizes a so it with which many people identify and to which they feel loyalty. When Japanese people look for jobs, many of them consider it more important to find the “right” organization for them, where they feel secure about their jobs, with steady Japanese II Unit 16 (continued) promotions and pay raises, rather than to find a place where they can grow rapidly as individuals through many challenges. If you ask a young Japanese boy, for instance, what his father does, he is likely to say, “My father works at a kaisha” When you ask him what his father’s kaisha he may say itis Mitsubishi, Sony, Toyota, etc. You have no idea whether his father is the president of the company or a chauffeur. What he does for the company is not as important as what company or kaisha he works for. Even though life-long employment is no longera common practice in many companies, people’s commitment and loyalty to their organization is highly valued. Unit 17 Gasoline and Gas Stations by the gallon. One liter is a little more than @ quarter of a gallon, and the price ranges from approximately 110 yen to 125 yen per liter. These prices translate26, es Japanese IT Unit 17 (continued) 2 Tapanese IT Unit 18 roughly to $1.00 to $1,15 per liter or approximately $3.80 to $4.40 per gallon. The price varies depending on whether you are ina large city or ina small and remote village. Other than the price of gas, the services provided at a gas station in Japan are quite different. The gas tations are, indeed, “full service.” You will seldom, ever, pump gas. Most gas stations have a number of attendants on dut gas for you, but also clean the windows, empty the ashtray, dispose of any other garbage you may have in the car, and even stop the traffic for you to pull out of the gas station. Even More Ways to Avoid Saying “No” In this unit you heard the shopkeeper say kitte desu ka? sumimasen, kittew answer to the inquiry as to whether he has stamps at the store. This response is literally translated as “Stamps. is it? I'm sorry, stamps.” This person is trying to imply that he cannot accommodate the other person’s request by obscuring the end of the st rather than clearly ending it We have repeatedly stressed that the Japanese tend to be indirect in their communication. A major reason for this is their great dislike of having any direct confrontation that may lead to the other's loss of face, which will consequently result in damaged human relations. Whatever the reason may be, you will find Japanese speakers making ambiguous statements far more ofien than people in the U.S. Vaguely finishing a statement is just one such example.28 29 Japanese IT a a Japanese II Unit 19 Unit 20 Hospitals and Clinics in Japan Drugstores Whenever you travel to a foreign iergency Rooms operate in much the s: way in the two countries. Should you necd an ambulance, you call 119, which is the number for a fire station all across Japan, You must be able to you. Here are so. ), kibun ga warui ¢ onake ga itai is “Thave an abdominal pain”; and as ga itai is “my legs hurt.” Aside from large hospitals, you will find many small clinics with doctors whose spec ly identified: internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics, gynecology, dermatology, etc. You can simply walk into these clinics without an appointment. Though to a limited extent, many Japanese doctors have a minimal working knowledge of English. Drugstores in Japan are much the same as those in the U.S., except that they are less spacious and therefore the variety of merchandise available is limited. In most drugstores, you can purchase over- the-counter as well as prescription drugs: items such as soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, and toothpaste; and some household goods such as detergents and pesticides. ‘You will also find small drugstores many clinics. These drugstores usually only supply medicines prescribed by the doctors in the clinics. While you are likely to find most of the common cold and stomach medicines that you see in the U.S., you 'y Want {0 pack certain brands that you find especially effective when you travel to Japan.30, a Japanese Il Japanese II Unit 21 Unit 21 (continued) desu ne Trains in Japan As you have heard frequently in the units, and as, you will hear in actual conversations, people very of- ten end their sentences with ... desw ‘of the Japanese tentative attitude toward others. By adding desu ne at the end of a sentence, the Japanese try to reduce the degree of their assertiveness. You may even hear someone say ne not only at the end of a sentence, but in the middle and / or the beginning as well. kyo desu ne (“As for today, right?”), watashi war desu ne ("I, right?”), netsu ga atie desu ne (“have a fever, right”). Many Japanese speakers do not seem to pay much attention to how frequently they use ne, or desu ne in their conversation since it has become habitual. You may not wish to imitate blindly what the native speakers say, but if you can leam to use ne in an appropriate manner, it will facilitate your communica- tion in Japanese. Japan is known for its well-developed, efficient railroad system. Most cities are connected by the Japanese Railways (JR). ‘There are several classes of trains, determined by the number of stops that they They are, in ascending order, fiuisic or “Regular Train” which provides local service and will make every stop on a line. After that you have the haisoku, or “Limited Express Train,” which makes fewer stops and runs primarily for commuters. The kyuukoo, or “Express Train,” and the fokkyuu, or “Super Express make successively limited stops, And at the top of the line, you have the shinkansen “Bullet Trains” which usually run from one end of the line to the other with no stops in between. They run in the northern part of Japan between Morioka and Tokyo; the central part, between Niigata and Tokyo: and the western part between Fukuoka and Tokyo via Osaka, Kyoto, and Nagoya. shinkansen services are still limited to the metropolitan areas of Japan. ‘When you use either the fokiqnuu or shinkansen, you must pay for special express tickets in addition to the regular fare. If you know in advance that you will be32 Japanese Unit 21 (continued) homu at a Train Station ‘There are many words that the Japanese use in thy ion which they have borrowed from English. some of them are used in the same way or have a similar meaning, many others have been adapted to suit the needs of the Japanese speakers. The conve! One ich example in the nation’s capital (such as the shinjuku, shibuya, shinagawa and tokyo stations) are huge and have up to twenty tracks or platforms. Just ask someone at the ~ Japanese Unit 22 (continued) station, yokohama wa nanban homu desu ka? or ohama wa nanban sen dest ka? Jim san no kuruma wa? You heard in this unit, Jim san no kurwna wa? Swictly speaking from this is not a complete sentence. Translated word for word, the statement only says “Mr. Jim's If we were to make it grammatically complete, it would be Jim san, av no kuruma wa dou shimashita ka? what did you do with your car?”) You will notice that many Japanese statements are seemingly complete and even appear grammatically incorrect in English terms. Being able to read the speaker mind and to let others read yours is an important skill apanese daily communication. If you speak in Japanese using clear, complete, precise sentences, which is an important communication competency in American discourse, you might be considered as a leg: aggressive, or even an offensive person, After some experience and practice, you will leam how to leave your language vague and “incomplete” in actual social situations.a4 35 —————— Japanese I | Japanese I Unit 23 Unit 23 (continued) National Holidays in Japan November 23 Labor Thanksgiving Day December 23 Emperor's Birthday There are quite 2 few national holidays in Japan. Since all schools, government offices, post offices, banks, and most businesses — except stores — are ou may wish to take note January | New Year's Day January 15 Coming-of-Age Day Tebruary 11 Vemal Equinox Day conditions.) March 21 (approx.) [The date varies depending on asiton April 29 Green Day (Formerly the showa Emperor's birthday) May 3 Constitution Day May 4 National Holiday May 5 Children’s Day July 20 Ocean Day September 15 Respect-for-the-Aged Day ‘September 23 (approx.) Autumnal Equinox Day October 10 Health-Sports Day November 3 Culture Day In case a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday becomes an alternate holiday. Unit 24 zuibun isogashii n desu ne. In this unit you heard zuibun isogashii n desu ne, meaning “You're awfully busy, aren’t you?” addressed to someone who will be going on a business trip. In the Japanese soci statement is ofte m behind the statement i the more important a person you are in your kasha. on Thursday, and Kobe on Friday. It is only a one- hour ride on shinkasen from Nagoya to Kobe.36 Ei Japanese I Unit 24 (continued) ‘The Weekend in Japan Up until the early 1990's, most Japanese people would work or go to school on Saturdays. Given some pressure from the international community and sensitivity to the accusation of being workaholics, the Japanese government and businesses have started adopting a lays off” practice, As a res government offi 1 offices, and banks are now closed on Saturdays and Sundays. Most schools are, however, bivalent about every Saturday being a “holiday.” ‘They have adopted the two-day-weekend system every other week. ‘This means that the students have every other Saturday off, usually the second and the fourth of the month. The school policies vi from one prefect schools may be off only on the second Sat each month. Since most stores are open throughout the weekend, many people spend their weekends shopping. Japanese IT Unit 25 kedo In this unit yamada san was asked by the spi whether she wanted to join him for ocha. She said in ku... chotto ... san jini kaigi ga arimasu. there is a meeting at 3:00”). Chotto, as is added to indicate that the speaker may be willing to, but is unable to accom- modate the other person's request. It is often used to avoid hurting the other person’s feelings, and is another way to imply “no.” Later, yamada san says, ee, demo sono ato wa chotto hima desu kedo. (Well, but after that little free time exists though”), She tries to make up for the necessary rejection by saying that she might perhaps be able to join him after the meeting. Note the kedo at the end of the sentence. Also note that the man says later, denen chotto too’ desu kedo. (“How about Denen? Itis far, though”) al You will notice that the Japanese often end their statements with kedo. This is yet one more of the many ways to soften the tone and imply that they ld not terribly mind if the other person did not38 ‘Japanese TT | Japanese II Unit 25 (continued) ' Unit 26 agree with their ideas, requests, or suggestions. kedo | Geography of Japan also suggests that the speakers are willing to accept and adapt to the other person’s ideas. Many Japanese do not feel comfortable themselves in any social settings, including meetings where Americans would readily expect to see open confrontation and clashes of ideas. You may wonder how the Japanese make group decisions. It certainly entails a long process in whicl ideas take place. Hierarchical rel people involved in the process also play an important role. However, do not let the frequent use of kedo fool they may indeed be strongly committed to theit and not at all ready to change their positions. W they will not refute openly, kedo functions as a fagade in many situations. Japan is an island country, but how many islands the country comprises is not so widely known. There are four main islands. Going from the north to the na, Nagoya, Osaka. Kobe, and Hiroshima. some fairly large cities, such as Niigata and Kanazawa, are on the Japan Sea, this coast is often referred to as ura nihon, or the back side of Japan. Hokkaido is the northernmost istand and it has acres and acres of farmland. Many agricultural and dairy products support the economy of Hokkaido. The largest is Sapporo where the winter Olympics were held in 1974. Shikoku is an island across the Setonaikai (the Inland Sca of Japan) from Honshu. It is the size of all the Hawaiian islands put together,Kyushu is the southemmost of the four main islands and is connected with Honshu by a tunnel and a bridge. The largest city is Fukuoka. ‘The size of the entire country is about the same as that of the state of California. Considering that the popula- tion of Japan is about one half of that of the U.S., and that half of the population is concentrated in metro- politan areas such as Tokyo and Osaka, you can imagine how crowded the large cities are. Unit 27 Public Transportation in Japan Although business people may frequently make sales trips by car, the majority of people do not travel by car in Japan. There are many reasons that account for this. First of all, public transportation is well developed. You can usually choose among airplanes, trains, and buses. Airfares in Japan are higher than in the U.S.. but the service is good and the planes are usually on time. The trains are probably used most often. Now 41 Japanese TT Unit 27 (continued) that the country has completed its primary highway system, buses have become an inexpensive, alternate means of long distance public transportation. A trip from Tokyo to Fukuoka, some 800 miles in distance, takes an hour and a half by airplane, five hours by the fastest shinkansen train, called nozomi, and fourteen hours by bus. Traffic congestion is another reason why many people do not drive long distances, especially on a trip when punctuality is very important. The high price of gas is yet another reason. Unit 28 jaa, mata itsuka to show social politeness, and it is equivalent to “Let's get together sometime.” In this case, you would not2 43 juaeell Unit 28 (continued) many such expressions. chikai uchi ippai yari masho, for instance, means “Let’s go for 2 drink some time soon.” In most cases, the person is likely to be saying it just to be polite, so the safest response is something like i desu ne, or “That sounds good.” go and 0 as Polite Prefixes When you refer to your own family, you say kazoku, while you need to cal ramily gokazoku. When you talk about you say watashi no uchi (“my house”). However, you say, anata no 0 uchi (“your house”) when you talk about someone clse’s house. The rule conceming when to use go and @ is quite hard even for native speakers lo expl clearly. You just have to know it, since there is no clear-cut straight rule. (It may be somewhat similar to word that originally comes from the Chinese language and o is used for those that are originally Japanese. Whether the word comes from Chinese or Japanese is a very dilficult question even for the Japanese. As a non-native speaker, you do not need to worry too much Tapanese IT Unit 28 (continued) about making a mistake between the go and 0, although ‘you should show your politeness by making the attempt to add the correct prefix. Unit 29 osokunatte sumimasen In this unit you heard asokrmatte sumimasen, which If you have a whom you party, on the other hand, being a little late, say ten to fifteen minutes, is considered acceptable, and even polite, If you are late for more than half an hour. it is appropriate to say osokunatte sumimasen. You should by all means avoid having to use this expression when you have a business appointment.4 Japanese IT Unit 30 Gift Giving Gift giving is a very popular social practice in many settings in Japan. People customarily give gifts twice year to their superiors, such as senior members at the work place and teachers. The gift in the summer is called ochugen and the or winter is called oseibo. The o at the beginning of either word is the honorific prefix. People also bring gifts when the; someone’s house for a get-together, when the office on business, and when they bers, relatives. and friends at a hospital. In this unit the person visiting « Japanese home brought some chocolate for the host's children. Items such as candies and chocolates, flowers, and wine would make appropriate gifts to bring to someone's house when you're invited for dinner, The Japanese very rarely, if ever, have a potluck party. When invited for dinner, you may ask what, if anything, you may bring, but the chances are that you will be told “noth- ing” These customs are very similar in Japan and the US., but one difference you may need to be aware of is that you are expected to show your appreciation again the next time you see your host or hostess. kono 45 Japanese HI Unit 30 (continued) ‘mae wa arigatou gocaimashita is an approptiate thing to say. (“Thank you for the other day.”) shitsurei shimasu / ojama shimasu can also be used in the same situation. When you take your leave, on the other hand, you simply make these expressions into the past tense and say shitsurei shimashita or ojama shimashita, sayonara is considered as rather crude for an adult when you're leaving someone’s house. “T'm going to interfere with y46 Japanese IT Introduction to Reading Japanese ‘When you visit a foreign country such as Japan, where the language sounds very different, and the appearance of the written language does not even remotely resemble what you are used to, you may naturally find yourself somewhat intimidated. Just imagining the difficulty you may face in learning how to read and write can be discouraging Mastering reading and writing Japanese is indeed an extremely long and complex process, and even many native speakers have not completed the learning process. In this course you are learning spoken Japanese. While a knowledge of the orthographic form of Japanese will be useful when visiting Japan, it is not necessary to acquire specch. In the following notes, however, some basic and important knowledge of written Japanese will be introduced. Once you understand the essentials that underlic written Japanese, you will find that reading in the language is much easier and less intimidating than you may have anticipated. i | | | ar Japanese I Kanji, the Chinese Characters Kanji is the “pictorial” writing the Japanese borrewed from the inesc. Each Kanji character represents an object or idea, and in written Japanese these objects and ideas combine in various ways to form new words and phrases. The pronunciation of each character varies depending on the context, and some Kanji have up to four or five different ways to be pronounced. One is required to be able 10 recognize and understand some 3,000 Kanji characters to achieve functional literacy in Japanese. It won't be necessi however, to be able to pronounce the Kanji characters, and you will certainly not need 3,000, but it will be rather convenient to get the general meaning of a basic core of some 50 characters when you see them in such public places as airperts, train stations, on street signs, and in restaurant menus. As an example of Kanji, we will introduce you here to a few that are typical of the pictorial Kanji characters. To get you started with reading Japanese, here is the character for “up” or “on.” Notice that it looks as if the whole character points upward: xisJapanese IT This character pointing down means “down” or “under.” + When put together, these two characters form a Japanese word, meaning up and down. The word is used to indicate not only the physical upward and downward directions, but also a social relationship with a status difference. 2B Here is another character, which means a “tree.” Can you see how the image of a tree was transformed into the Kanji character? * And here is the character for a “mount Wy Many characters are made up of two or more parts: hen (or the left-hand radical) and ssukuri (or the right- hand radical). ‘The Kanji for “tree” can serve as a hen, and it may be used to form such characters as “woods,” or a “forest.” FH woods BR forest Here is a more complex character combining three parts: mountain, up, and down. Put together as one word, “mountain,” “up,” and “down” mean a “mountain pass” or a “peak.” i When you can recognize some 50 basic Japanese Kanji characters, the rest will be fairly easy, as you will probably be able to guess what a new character may mean just by looking at i component parts. The first step anxiety about reading Japanese; take the time to become familiar with the fundamental patterns used to make up the Japanese Kanji characters50. Tapanese TT Katakana and Hiragana The Kanji system adopted from Chinese is the basic Japanese written system, but, whereas the Chinese language uses only pictorial characters Japanese uses two other types of writing systems in addition to the Kanji characters. They are Katakana and Hiragana. These are two different sets of “letters” representing Japanese sounds. Each letter represents either a vowel sound or a consonant plus a vowel, for example, ka, ki, ku, ke, ko, ete. The Japanese Hiragana and Katakana are both lined up in the same way. The vowels go: a, i, u, e, 0. The consonants k, s, tn, h, m, y, 5, ware placed before the vowels. If you remember the order of Hiragana and Katakana in much the same way you memorized how the alphabet goes from A to Z, you can make great progress in reading and writing Japanese. There are 46 Hiragana and Katakana symbols, as shown on the chart on the next page. Each block contains the transliterated phonetic representation of the character, followed by the Hiragana and then by the Katakana (in parentheses). | | i ST a i eae Japanese IT Katakana and Hiragana (continued) : uit} ez) k ku ¢ ke tt (4) 5 wut (a) | ee (e) t ui) | ee a wu a (a) | eb t fs (7) [es n mu & [2) | mes J mo (2) | a t maiy | en * fu 5 jo)} fe @2 Japanese IT Katakana and Hiragana (continued) Katakana Katakana is the writing system used for the Japanese /English cognate words, i.e., for words adopted from English into Japanese. You will find it particularly useful to learn Katakana, as you may need to read and write your name from time to time. Foreign and new words are spelled using Katakana, so you will see “restaurant,” “hotel,” “golf,” “gasoline,” and many others in Katakana. ‘¢ in combination: WT MW Here is what they look VAI restaurant hotel rz AYVs golf gasoline Hiragana Hiragana is the writing system comprised of letters used to represent grammatical endings and features that Chinese does not have. Unlike Kanji, in which 53 Japanese IT Katakana and Hiragana (continued) symbol represents a concept or an idea, in both the Hiragana and Katakana systems of Japanese, there isa connection between the symbol on the paper and the spoken word, and cach letter is pronounced in only one way regardless of the context. Before Japanese children learn how to write the complex Kanji characters, they learn how to write Hiragana and they use it for every word. To illustrate, yama or “mountain” can be written in three different ways, in Kanji, Katakana, or Hiragana. However, since it is not a foreign word, it would rarely, if ever, be written in Katakana. TY PE mountain mountain Katakana Hiragana While it is possible to use the phonetic Hiragana and Katakana scripts to represent almost any Japanese word, it is usually considered more appropriate to use the Kanji characters whenever possible, using the phonetic scripts only to represent foreign words (Katakana) or features unique to Japanese (Hiragana)Japanese Reading Japanese Most westerners are accustomed to reading books. starting from the front and reading each line left to right, starting from the top of the page. In books and traditional writing, however, Japanese is written in columns, top to bottom, starting on the right side of apage. The books appear to open “backwards” fo English speakers, as the “front” of a Japanese book is the “back” of an English text. However, in signs, menus, and books in which some English words are used, such as academic papers, Japanese is now often written from left to right. Visitors to Japan are fortunate in that the international sign system and many English words are used in signs and directions. Rest rooms, for instance, can often be identified by male/female symbols, or by the words “WC,” or “Toilets.” English names are also widely used alongside Japanese. Store signs are often written both in English and Japanese Katakana. Some signs, however, are misspelled, or are the outcome of imaginative creation known as “Japanese English,” which sometimes makes it difficult for English- speaking people to understand exactly what product the business is selling.