(I was going to title this post “My Hero Academia”, but that would get angry anime fans leaving nasty comments. So I didn’t.) So what is his background? How did he achieve mastery over pitch accent? Did he achieve mastery over pitch accent? Let’s answer the last question first. Native speakers on YouTube have confirmed how good his Japanese is. So how did he get this expertise? Basically, he started back in undergraduate university. He began in Washington, and then got to study in Tokyo. He also decided to only focus on native pronunciation in his studies. This kind of laser-like intensity paid dividends, at the cost of maybe being… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Dream Sleeper
ああああああああああ! 乗りたい!!! The Dream Sleeper ゼッタイ面白い!!! 情報
Continue ReadingI’m Back
It’s like I never left. If you were me. Because I’m always here. I took an immersion course recently and, well, let’s just say I stayed quiet through a lot of it. So I got annoyed at myself and my laziness. Which has reaffirmed my desire to learn this language as a long running bucket list item. Of course, I will never be 100% fluent in it. But I can work to get to at least 90% fluent. I’m back, baby! Hail to the まだまだ日本語を話すおやじ!
Continue ReadingTime = Money
So learning Japanese takes a lot of time, or money, or both. では、クラスを始める前に調べなければいけません。 And it’s your time and money, so why not do some research first? If you don’t research, you just waste both of these precious resources. This applies to all Japanese classes and teachers. Sometimes you can’t know until you take the course, unfortunately. I tried doing a traditional classroom-based course for three years and it was good for what it was. A solid explanation of Genki I and II, a grammar foundation, and a lot of vocabulary that you never got to use because conversation was saved for the higher levels. (Just a personal gripe about Genki… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Path of Pitch Accent
So what is pitch accent? Let’s go to the self-proclaimed 上手 of it all. Or at least in the English-speaking world. Kevin O’Donnell (who goes by Dogen [see below]) is certainly メッチャペラペラ. No argument from me as to how hard the man worked to get where he is today. He teaches you pitch accent. For the government-approved dialect of Japanese. I get a bit irked by his choice of pseudonym. Dōgen, also called Jōyō Daishi, or Kigen Dōgen, (born Jan. 19, 1200, Kyōto, Japan—died Sept. 22, 1253, Kyōto), leading Japanese Buddhist during the Kamakura period (1192–1333), who introduced Zen to Japan in the form of the Sōtō school (Chinese: Ts’ao-tung). A creative personality, he combined meditative practice and philosophical speculation.… Read More
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