I have been studying Japanese for many many years, starting from initial studies of the Japanese language, history and culture in University years back.
But the very funny thing is, only now at age 37 I start to fully fathom this fascinating language. And at the same time I am shocked how many really important features of this language that separates you from being able to say your name (in a very stupid way too: 私の名前はパンアトランチカです，あなたの名前は? ) to being able to truly speak Japanese the way any normal Japanese person would do and not provoke giggles like - ha, how cute, a foreigner trying to speak our language.
Now basically with 私の名前はパンアトランチカです，あなたの名前は? there is nothing wrong. You can say it too: Watashi-no namae-wa Panatlantica des. Anata no namae wa? - My name is Panatlantica, what's your name?! This is good and school book Japanese, but did you note: people always grin at you in a somewhat funny way if you DO say that.
But why?!! Simply, because you can say this, but it is not 100% *natural* Japanese after all. So what's wrong? School books usually won't tell you. Teachers and university professors never tell you (ah, Ishihama-Sensei, yes, he would say something but only if you went Sake-drinking with him...).
The problem really is: for once you would not say MY name is... like in 私の名前は... and you would most definitively NEVER EVER say あなたの名前は? so, YOUR name is?
I never learned this in school or university of from any book. But I learned it from real Japanese, like Ishihama-Sensei, my old Uni prof, or Keiko, my room mate in England... They would omit ANY use of I, you, he, she, it, we, they whenever possible. So just say:
「さて，」always a good way to start speaking, introducing your sentences with "sate,", "now," like the English also love to do - "Now, I think it has started raining, hasn't it?!"... So: 「さて、名前は、パンアトランチカだ。」YES! BE BOLD but avoid the "Watashi" - you are not a whimp: "SATE, Namea wa, Panatlantica da." Hey ho, now you got respect! Also note the plain form of desu -> da. You seem to know who you are and are confident in live. No giggles but interest and sparkle in the eyes of others. NOW you are ready to break the ice and say 「あなたな?」- "Anata wa?" Not more, not less. Anata should be avoided, yeah, it can sound a little too intimate, but hey, you been bold, now smooth the lines: And you?!
Of course, if you are a lady, you would go back to what you learn in your old text book, but then, are women really like this today? Hey no, and gladly no! And not even your Japanese female counterpart, they HATE the always cuteness, always humbleness if they are below the age of 45, 50...
I recently came across a GREAT book. You'll find it below: Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks Don't Tell you. The first book ever to address these matters. And a great reader on the subject of the "invisible subject". I shall write about it one day. Like in Japanese, you can get by through entire passages not mentioning (again) any subject. Like you could say: "he said it to her and Ms. Smith answered back" in simply "said and Ms. Smith answered". And to a Japanese speaker, it would totally be clear what you ment.
This is also in the book but this feature of language occurs in other languages, too. It happens in German even which I found out today. I should call it "the context-sensitive phrase". This will come up in a future blog post, I must first mediate about this a little more deeply before hitting the keyboard :-)
 | Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks Don't Tell You (Power Japanese Series) (Kodansha's Children's Classics) author: Jay Rubin asin: 4770028024 |
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