Nicknamed the “Devil’s Tongue” by Jesuit missionaries, Japanese is one of the most difficult languages to learn. So, how many Westerners in Japan can really speak it fluently?
Last week, we had a little discussion about how most people in Japan assume Westerners speak English, and whether or not that’s true. A street interview video by That Japanese Man Yuta provided some food for thought, with 75/75 of the Westerners in the video speaking at least conversational English.
Now, Yuta is back with a new video which flips the question on its head and asks, “how many of these people can actually speak Japanese, then?”
Let’s watch the video first!
To get to the real truth of the matter (after all, some people are soooo modest!) Yuta’s team engaged the interviewees in casual conversation in Japanese to see if they could understand.
As one might expect, the results were varied, and mostly correlated to how long the interviewees had spent in the country. Some were travellers, some had only just arrived for work, and others were here for study abroad, particularly to learn Japanese.
Some, however, have been in the country for many years and mastered the language, so full brownie points to them!
But, we think we miiiiight have spotted a potential Bubble Dweller or two in the bunch, those who have been here quite a while but who would still describe their own Japanese ability using the term “chotto dake”, or, “a little bit.” Come on guys, it’s fun to learn Japanese! Look, RocketNews24 will even personally help you with our ridiculous(ly) awesome, free online lessons!
Source, images: YouTube/That Japanese Man Yuta