(no subject)
18 April 2006 07:38 pmskldfjhsdkfjnhsdkjcnksdjncsd
Ok, first off, and obviously the most important thing I learned this evening: SENSEI'S WIFE IS FROM OSAKA. OH. MY. GOD. LOVE.
*deep breath, calms down* Well, kind of. She grew up there, then moved to Tokyo when she was 11. AND GOT MADE FUN OF FOR HER ACCENT. >_> Stupid idiots, Kansai-ben is THE BESTEST ACCENT IN THE WORLD. YOU SHOULD WORSHIP IT.
Ok, let me back up here. Now, today was the day I was to go to my Japanese prof's house and interview his wife (who's a native speaker) for my Linguistics paper--the topic of which is, if you didn't know, the differences between the sound systems of English and Japanese. What I did to make some observations of this was to take a bunch of specially chosen words--in English and Japanese--put them on flash cards, and have her pronounce them. I recorded it (I'll upload it if anyone wants to hear it~) so that I can go back later and give it a listen, observe how she pronounces things (especially the English and katakana words) and kind of write about that.
It was tons of fun watching her pick through the English ones XD Some words she'd just never seen, which I didn't INTEND for them to be difficult for her, it just happened--"burrow" gave her a bit of trouble, as well as "whale" ♥ But she carried on and got through them all. Ii data~~~~
After that, we just talked--her, sensei, and me. I asked her questions to get her English background, and that led pretty much to the story of her life. She explained about growing up in Osaka, and how when she moved to Tokyo at 11 she had such a thick accent (EEEE♥♥♥) the kids made fun of her, and she got put into a special class designed to help her speak without an accent. It was kinda sad ;_; But then she spoke some Kansai to me and I almost died XDDDDD "Akemahen naa~~" Oh Kazuko-san~
Sensei then asked her if I had an accent, so I spoke to her a little, and she said I didn't really have one, and asked where I'd learned it (actually, as soon as I got to the house sensei told me he'd had trouble understanding my letter just cause of the complexity and kanji he didn't know XDDDD I'm not going to be able to fit my head through doors at this rate)--and then when I told her I was self-taught, she jumped all over that XDDDD
I talked to her about plans to go to Japan, too, and she jumped all over that, giving me suggestions on where to go, what to go see, festivals and shops, it was great XD And we eventually got around to, of course, what got me interested in going to Japan XD I wasn't going to say, "Musicals based on animes" so I eased her in by saying "Japanese theatre--plays and musicals particularly." We talked about musicals for a while (because at first it was about the normal ones, like Cats and all), and then I made the comment that Japanese musicals are REALLY different from American ones. When they asked why, I broke down and explained which ones *I* watch ♥
Japanese musicals, I explained--at least the ones I watch, don't seem to pick their actors for their singing ability, something unheard of here. I love Tuti, I love Souta, but those boys could NOT sing, though they both got a lot better by the end of the Myus (Tuti especially through BuriMyu). Why'd I watch stuff with them? 1) Cause it's PoT, how could I not? 2) Because I love the actors! Who the hell cares if they can sing or not? It's fun to watch :DDDDDD
Anyways, she was really excited for me, and that in turn made ME more excited XD She of course recommended Osaka/Kyoto, and Hokkaido, Mt. Fuji, all that good stuff.
Overall I had a GREAT time. It's so much fun talking with Japanese people because they're so excited about their country and want to talk to others about it XDDDDDD
Ok, first off, and obviously the most important thing I learned this evening: SENSEI'S WIFE IS FROM OSAKA. OH. MY. GOD. LOVE.
*deep breath, calms down* Well, kind of. She grew up there, then moved to Tokyo when she was 11. AND GOT MADE FUN OF FOR HER ACCENT. >_> Stupid idiots, Kansai-ben is THE BESTEST ACCENT IN THE WORLD. YOU SHOULD WORSHIP IT.
Ok, let me back up here. Now, today was the day I was to go to my Japanese prof's house and interview his wife (who's a native speaker) for my Linguistics paper--the topic of which is, if you didn't know, the differences between the sound systems of English and Japanese. What I did to make some observations of this was to take a bunch of specially chosen words--in English and Japanese--put them on flash cards, and have her pronounce them. I recorded it (I'll upload it if anyone wants to hear it~) so that I can go back later and give it a listen, observe how she pronounces things (especially the English and katakana words) and kind of write about that.
It was tons of fun watching her pick through the English ones XD Some words she'd just never seen, which I didn't INTEND for them to be difficult for her, it just happened--"burrow" gave her a bit of trouble, as well as "whale" ♥ But she carried on and got through them all. Ii data~~~~
After that, we just talked--her, sensei, and me. I asked her questions to get her English background, and that led pretty much to the story of her life. She explained about growing up in Osaka, and how when she moved to Tokyo at 11 she had such a thick accent (EEEE♥♥♥) the kids made fun of her, and she got put into a special class designed to help her speak without an accent. It was kinda sad ;_; But then she spoke some Kansai to me and I almost died XDDDDD "Akemahen naa~~" Oh Kazuko-san~
Sensei then asked her if I had an accent, so I spoke to her a little, and she said I didn't really have one, and asked where I'd learned it (actually, as soon as I got to the house sensei told me he'd had trouble understanding my letter just cause of the complexity and kanji he didn't know XDDDD I'm not going to be able to fit my head through doors at this rate)--and then when I told her I was self-taught, she jumped all over that XDDDD
I talked to her about plans to go to Japan, too, and she jumped all over that, giving me suggestions on where to go, what to go see, festivals and shops, it was great XD And we eventually got around to, of course, what got me interested in going to Japan XD I wasn't going to say, "Musicals based on animes" so I eased her in by saying "Japanese theatre--plays and musicals particularly." We talked about musicals for a while (because at first it was about the normal ones, like Cats and all), and then I made the comment that Japanese musicals are REALLY different from American ones. When they asked why, I broke down and explained which ones *I* watch ♥
Japanese musicals, I explained--at least the ones I watch, don't seem to pick their actors for their singing ability, something unheard of here. I love Tuti, I love Souta, but those boys could NOT sing, though they both got a lot better by the end of the Myus (Tuti especially through BuriMyu). Why'd I watch stuff with them? 1) Cause it's PoT, how could I not? 2) Because I love the actors! Who the hell cares if they can sing or not? It's fun to watch :DDDDDD
Anyways, she was really excited for me, and that in turn made ME more excited XD She of course recommended Osaka/Kyoto, and Hokkaido, Mt. Fuji, all that good stuff.
Overall I had a GREAT time. It's so much fun talking with Japanese people because they're so excited about their country and want to talk to others about it XDDDDDD
