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Twisted Japanese: It’s not what you say, but how you say it!

As any Japanese speaker will no doubt tell you, the Japanese language, although tricky to master, is incredibly convenient. Not only can we entirely omit words such as “I” or “you” and simply say things like “taberu?” (“eat?”) or “iku?” (“go?”) and it still be perfectly acceptable, but there are also set phrases for use in a multitude of situations, the like of which simply do not exist in many other languages.

But even something as simple as the phrase yoroshiku onegaishimasu (lit. “Please do good (for me),” and used when asking for something or beginning a meeting, class, or even a work or training session) can be quite a mouthful at first. Thankfully though, a recent post made by a Japanese net user suggests that so long as you mutter something that sounds like the actual phrase, you’ll probably get by just fine.

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NTT showcases technology which can “correct” Japanese people’s English pronunciation

Depending on the second language you’re trying to master, pronunciation is arguably the hardest aspect to conquer. The Japanese and English languages are no exception. Japanese, with its highly syllabic alphabet, often has a hard time accommodating the often chaotic nature of natural English pronunciation.

While a native English speaker’s tongue might stumble when trying to spit out makudonarudo (McDonald) smoothly the first few times our language allows us to pick it up with a little practice. Japanese English speakers have far more adversity trying to understand all the diminished sounds of a native English speaker casually uttering the name of the famous hamburger chain.

With that, NTT has revealed technology it’s working on that may one day automatically correct a Japanese person’s English pronunciation by editing the speed and rhythm while keeping the original speaker’s voice intact.

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Onomatotastic! Sony’s Portable Games Console Gets a Cool New Ad 【Video】

Speakers and learners of the Japanese language will no doubt be familiar with giongo and gitaigo, onomatopoeic words that are used to imitate or describe real-world sounds or sensations, respectively.

For many English speakers, sentences like “And the rain was falling like ‘tccccchhhh’, and my heart was going ‘boom boom boom,'” might come across as informal at best, or perhaps even suggest that the speaker is not especially articulate. In Japanese, though, onomatopoeia is employed far more frequently in both spoken and written communication, and this new commercial from Sony announcing a price cut for its Vita portable games console has it in droves.

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Is the Japanese Word for “Thank You” Losing Its Meaning?

As linguists and scholarly types routinely profess, language is something that is continually evolving. It is a living, breathing entity that twists, turns and grows on an almost daily basis. As our lives change, so too does language. We don’t always like the changes, but, realising that the amount of time we spend on this earth is a mere blink of the eye compared to how long language itself has existed, we come to accept that words are no more ours than the valleys and hills we trek over. (Although I must confess that I still face-palm whenever I hear someone utter the phrase “I could care less” to suggest that they do not care an iota about something.)

Nevertheless, when changes in language begin to occur, people notice them. The first time we heard the word “Facebook” used as a verb or saw our first “LOL”, many of us likely furrowed out brows and thought, “Is that right?” In much the same way, in July and August last year Japanese broadcasting giant NHK launched an online survey asking the people of Japan whether they had noticed the rather peculiar use of the word “arigatou” (thank you) cropping up in conversation in recent times.

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Beauty Clinic Survey Reveals Japan’s “Top 10 Words”- All Remarkably Positive and Upbeat

In a survey carried out late last year, Japan’s Shonan Beauty Clinic asked 1,400 Japanese men and women what their favourite words were. The results were remarkably wholesome.

If you ever wondered how Japanese people truly think, or thought for a second that the stern expressions worn on busy commuter trains each morning were accurate representations of passengers’ inner feelings, you were way off the mark.

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Order in English and Your Coffee is Free at Rosetta Stone’s Language Cafe

Japanese people often get a hard time for their lack of English language skills. But with so few Japanese ever setting foot outside their own country, it’s little wonder that one of the most frequently heard reasons given for struggling with the language is the lack of opportunity to use it.

Just last night, in fact, I was completely caught off guard when a teenage girl in my local convenience store seized the opportunity to break out her English and asked me whether I needed a plastic bag. Unfortunately, I was completely unprepared for the question and it was only after she had repeated herself three times that I realised that a) she was speaking English and b) I’d probably just ensured that she never dare to do so ever again.

But perhaps the prospect of a free cup of coffee would rekindle her enthusiasm for language?

As part of a promotional campaign for the launch of its new ReFLEX language learning software, Rosetta Stone is opening a special limited-time-only cafe in a Shinjuku book store, giving customers the chance to use their English, and doling out free cups of coffee to those who can.

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