Difference between revisions of "Japanese language"

Revision as of 03:08, April 19, 2012

The Japanese language (Kanji: 日本語; Hiragana: にほんご; nihongo) incorporates two writing systems: Chinese characters known as kanji and a pair of semi-alphabetic syllabary called kana. Its grammar is similar to the Korean language. It is an SOV language.

Grammar

Particles

In Japanese, particles function as prepositions. They are more accurately called postpositions, though. They come after the noun they are being applied to.

For instance: 私は魚をヘアロドさんに上げた。 Watashi (ha) wa sakana (wo) o Hearodo san ni ageta.

The particles "wa", "o" and "ni" all come AFTER the noun. The sentence above translates to "I gave fish to Harold"

The particle wa is the topic marker. This is a foreign concept to English speaking people. Take this sentence, "Zou wa hana ga nagai desu." The topic is "zou", elephant. The particle ga shows that "hana", nose, is the subject of the sentence. The sentence roughly translates to "As for elephants, their noses are long." There is added confusion though. In the sentence "Watashi wa Ichiro desu" you would expect it to translate to "As for myself, am Ichiro" when in truth it means "I am Ichiro".

• は Wa: Topic (Boku waIchiro da)　[written as ha]
• が Ga: Subject (Zou wa hana ga nagai desu)
• を O: Direct Object (chiizu o taberu)　[written as wo]
• に Ni: Indirect Object (Tanaka-san ni hanasu)
• へ E: Destination Indicator (Tokyo e!) [written as he]
• で De: Action Indicator (Niigata dewa sakana o taberu)
• の No: Possession Indicator (Watashi no kamera)
• と To: Connector (Ashita boushi to undou gutsu o motte kite kudasai) [used for complete lists e.g: "The four gospels are Matthew to Mark to Luke to John."]
• や Ya: Connector (Gakkou ga hajimattara, pen ya nooto ya jisho ga hitsuyo desu) [used for incomplete lists e.g: "The four gospels include Matthew ya Mark."]
• も Mo: Includer (Watashi mo miru!)
• か Ka: Question marker (Ima wa nan ji desu ka)

Important Japanese Terminology For Conservatives

If you visit Japan or are speaking with a Japanese native, you may find the following phrases to be useful.

• 神様 Kamisama: God. (Note this could mean false idols of the Shinto religion. Make sure you state which God you are referring to.
• 保守的 Hoshuteki: Conservative. This is an adjective.
  • If you add な 'na' followed by another noun it will affect it. Example: 保守的な意見。 A conservative idea.
• 自由的 Jiyuuteki: Liberal. Also an adjective.
  • Example of adjective use: 自由的な無神論者と論理的な話は不可に近い。 Logical conversation with a liberal atheist is nearly impossible.
• 価値観 Kachikan: Values.
  • Both 保守的な and 自由的な can be added before this word to make "Liberal/Conservative views"

One classic liberal trick common in Japan is to engage a foreign conservative in debate in Japanese, then use overly complex terminology and references to confuse him and ultimately make him appear foolish. To prevent this a short message has been prepared below. In the case where a Japanese liberal is using linguistic tricks and native ability to confuse you, (which could be perceived as a racist trick) hand them the following message and walk away.

日本語の能力は神様の強さに関していない。それはこの世界の一番馬鹿な進歩主義者にとっても当たり前。おまえは今議論を勝つために複雑な言葉をできるだけ使っている。それは許せない。イエスは俺の友達で、どんな嘘つきと戦っても、彼は俺を支えてくれるよ。果物！おまえはそういうサポートがない！おまえが今死んだら、泣く人はいない！ハーハー！おまえ、何もわかんないなー！

See:

• Japanese and Korean
• Pronouns in Japanese
• List of Particles