Learning Japanese

[tripperazn]

Originally Posted by Tri-ring

Yes, I am implying that those word were created in Japan first and were later adopted by the Chinese.
Jiyu or Mizu wo yoshi tosuru （自を由とする）was not a widely known concept before freedom was introduced through western ideology during the Meji restoration period, same with Minshushugi and/or other scientific terminology. These ideals were pretty much alien in the Asian society at that point.

Absolutely. I hate to be picky about grammar, but your phrasing/punctuation sounded like you were only talking about the fish. Incidentally, that just happens to be where I KNOW its etymology, so I thought you were not talking about everything. My bad

[mandarb916]

Originally Posted by Vexx

In that sense, Japanese voice actors in the anime industry have it much, much better.

It's still pretty rough for the majority of them as they're paid per diem. Granted, there's a voice actor guild that sets the minimum paid per day at 15000 or 16000yen I believe ($137+/day) and goes up from there based on ranking. CV performers rank themselves every year and pricing is based off of that...so some actually down rank themselves to look more "affordable" and attempt to get more acting jobs. It's also another reason why a lot of them will make appearances at events, sing, etc.

That said, I don't know how that compares to CV jobs in the US...

The thing about salaried jobs in Japan is that there's a lot of other benefits that come along with it....how much of it carries over to a per diem job, I'm not certain, but transportation costs are usually subsidized, as well as part of rent...socialized medicine, etc. I would think CV's get transportation subsidized, but not sure about room/board...maybe the lead cast members for a 2 quarter (24~26 ep) production? (this part is just speculation), but this would be the minority though.

[Vexx]

yeah, I should have qualified the "much much better" ... I meant that in terms of celebrity status. As far as salary or pay.... the pay is terrible for Japanese VAs but they get a lot of "not salary" benefits and perks. It is almost like being a 'kept person'.
US VAs probably get a better salary on average on paper (they also work from contract to contract and tend to be "owned" by one corporation though). US VAs really don't get much attention in comparison though.

[nikorai]

suzukisayuri

ひとりずつ is a adverb which decorate 返事をして this action
this sentence means I will auswer you one question if you ask one

この文の意味を説明してありがとうございました。本当に助かりました。
Thanks for explaining.

[suzukisayuri]

Originally Posted by richvh

さゆりちゃん、大変失礼して申し訳ありません。英語の勉強を手伝うと思いましたけど。訂正が受けたくないな ら、黙っておきます。

私の下手な日本語で間違いを見つけると、いつでも直すことを構いません。多分、書いている「ゆきの物語」という小説を楽しみに読むかもしれません。

もう拝読しちゃったわ、すごいだが。毎章も、ちょっと短くないかしら、筋がもう少し曲折さえあ れば。。。

[richvh]

Originally Posted by suzukisayuri

もう拝読しちゃったわ、すごいだが。毎章も、ちょっと短くないかしら、筋がもう少し曲折さえあ れば。。。

章が短くてすみません。だが、日本人より日本語中級学習者のために書いています。そうすれば、読者を挫折さ せないために短い章の方がいいと思っています。

「筋がもう少し曲折さえあれば」という文章があまり理解できませんけど。。。もっと詳しい章が読みたいこと ですか。

[nikorai]

こんにちは。ニコライです。お邪魔してすみません。
Geez, lots of japanese here.　私は日本語初級学習者なので、よく分かりません。
実は今までずーと独りで日本語を勉強していました。自学自習ということです。

忙しいから、第一章だけ読みました。

「筋がもう少し曲折さえあれば」
As I get it, 'if only the plot were more complicated'. Its lame or what?

richvh
聞いてもいいですか。
日本語が上手に話せるようになるのに、何年かかりましたか。

ps 日本語が下手ですみません。

[richvh]

ニコライさん、１９８１年に一年間日本に配属されていました。そのとき、メリーランド大学から日本語１０１ ・１０２のコースをして少しだけの日本語を習いました。ですが、帰国後、勉強をやめました。２００５年の夏 、犬夜叉に興味があったから、また勉強を始めました。

[Tri-ring]

Originally Posted by nikorai

こんにちは。ニコライです。お邪魔してすみません。
Geez, lots of japanese here.　私は日本語初級学習者なので、よく分かりません。
実は今までずーと独りで日本語を勉強していました。自学自習ということです。

忙しいから、第一章だけ読みました。

「筋がもう少し曲折さえあれば」
As I get it, 'if only the plot were more complicated'. Its lame or what?

ps 日本語が下手ですみません。

おそらくヒネリが無いという意味ではないでしょうか。
つまり It too straight foward and doesn't have depth in the plot.

それからnikoraiさん、すごいですね。
独学でそこまで日本語が書ければ立派なものだと思いますよ。
今後とも頑張って下さい。
心ばかりで恐縮ですが、エールをお送りいたします。

[Ascaloth]

Erm, guuuuuys.....I used Japanese once on this forum, and I got warned for it.

If you guys really do have to use Japanese, at least provide an English translation for them, please.

[tripperazn]

Originally Posted by Ascaloth

Erm, guuuuuys.....I used Japanese once on this forum, and I got warned for it.

If you guys really do have to use Japanese, at least provide an English translation for them, please.

Well...this is the "Learning Japanese" thread.

It's all just personal conversation. If you really want to know:

suzukisayuri: introducing herself and saying she wants to be an English VA in the future (this is in English)

richvh: asking if it's okay to correct her english, then asking if she would like a more detailed explanation

sayuri: compliments richvh on his Japanese after he corrected her english

richvh: in the next post saying that he can help her with English if she wants and asking her to read his story online

sayuri: pops back in to critique richvh's novel material saying it was good but the chapters are too short and a second part that I don't get, but according to tri-ring says that the novel is "too straight foward and doesn't have depth in the plot."

richvh: he explains that the chapters are short since it is intended for intermediate level learners and that he wasn't clear on the second part of the critique

nikorai: thanks sayuri for her clarification on an earlier question, then says that he doesn't understand the conversation very well because he's always self-studied, then apolgizes that he was too busy and only read the first chapter of richvh's story, explains the critique (with english), then asks many years he's been studying since he is very good at Japanese, as a PS he apologizes for his poor Japanese

richvh: explains that he learned Japanese by going to Japan for one year during college in 1981 after completing Japanese 101+102, but stopped for a long time. He started again after Inuyasha in 2005.

tri-ring: explaining the critique in english and Japanese, he says the nikorai learning by self-study to this extent is amazing and that he should continue/wishes him luck. (Sorry, but I can't understand the last sentence).

Sorry for the messy/rough translation to those who are interested. I'm very very new to Japanese. I'm assuming this was not meant to be private since it was by post, not PM, but if I am wrong, please let met know and this post will go. Then again, the translation is so bad, you may not end up caring either way.

[onehp]

Doing 1 translation with the possibility of more

ニコライさん、１９８１年に一年間日本に配属されていました。そのとき、メリーランド大学から日本語１０１ ・１０２のコースをして少しだけの日本語を習いました。ですが、帰国後、勉強をやめました。２００５年の夏、犬夜叉に興味があったから、また勉強を始めまし た。

From my point of reading (bolded if I do not know):

nikorai, I was assigned to Japan for 1 year in 1981. At that time, I was studying at a Maryland college for Japanese 101 and 102 course. After I returned to my country, I stopped studying. In the summer of 2005, because I had an interest for Inuyasha, I began studying

How is my accuracy? What does the bolded mean?

[tripperazn]

Originally Posted by onehp

How is my accuracy? What does the bolded mean?

Definitely a more detailed translation (I did all of mine as fast as I could type, I didn't feel the details were that important). Accuracy is good as far as I can tell, but you may want someone else's opinion.

As for the bold text. My translation:

Because I was taking Japanese 101/102 at the University of Maryland at the time, I only learned a bit of Japanese. However, after I returned home, I stopped studying it.

The "only" sounds weird in this English phrasing and doesn't fit with the first clause of the sentence, but it was the literal translation. You also missed the "kara" signifying the cause and effect relationship that needed a "because" or something to that effect.

[richvh]

That's not a "because" kara, it's a "from" kara (it follows a noun, not a verb.)

I was stationed in Japan for a year in 1981. At that time, I took Japanese 101 and 102 from the the University of Maryland and learned just a little bit of Japanese. However, I stopped studying when I returned to the US. In the summer of 2005, because I had an interest in Inuyasha, I started studying again.

[RandomGuy]

Sorry to dredge up a post from a few pages ago, but this caught my eye:

Originally Posted by suzukisayuri

I don`t agree to you idea
goodbye = Sayonara (line above the "o")
sayonara is only used in the occasion that you are leave you friend for a very long time(at least one month) or you cannot met your friend any more(you are going to leave your country,say sayonara to your girlfriend means you`ll put a end to this love.so you cannot use sayonara in any time,we always use jya,sore jya,jya ne to say goodbye.

Now, this is something I'm not entirely sure about. I live in Japan (Osaka Prefecture, Minami-Kawachi area, home to some of the roughest Kansai-ben you'll probably ever hear), and I've noticed plenty of people using "sayounara" (or "sainara" at any rate) when the situation would really call for "jaa, mata ne" or some variation thereof.

Is this a dialectal thing specific to Kansai (or even the Kawachi/Yamato plains), or is there some unwritten rule that governs when it's OK to use it in an informal, "see you later"-type context?

[nikorai]

私は「さん」と呼ばれたらちょっと恥ずかしいです。

tripperazn
話を要約してありがとうございます。
Thanks for the summary.

Tri-ring
応援してありがとうございます。
これからも、勉強を続けようと思います。
でも、問題があるんです。今、保険についての論文を書いているので、暇が少ないです。
日本語が趣味ですが、専門は経済です。

richvh
そうですか。　rikai-chan (理解ちゃん）をインストールしてから、もっとわかりやすくなりました。
私としては１９８１年にまだいなかったから、日本語を勉強してちょっと困りました。
あなたのように３年くらい前に偶然に日本語を勉強し始めました。
でも、去年試験を受けたときに日本語を全然勉強していなかったのです。最近進歩がほとんどあり ません。
実は日本語が私の第三言語です。大学で英語とフランス語を学びました。

[onehp]

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

私は「さん」と呼ばれたらちょっと恥ずかしいです。

1)

Tri-ring
応援してありがとうございます。
これからも、勉強を続けようと思います。
でも、問題があるんです。今、保険についての論文を書いているので、暇が少ないです。
日本語が趣味ですが、専門は経済です。

Thank you for your help. -----. But, I have a problem. Now, because I am writing an article about insurance, I have little free time. I am still interested in Japanese, but my specialty is economics.

2)

richvh
そうですか。　rikai-chan (理解ちゃん）をインストールしてから、もっとわかりやすくなりました。
私としては１９８１年にまだいなかったから、日本語を勉強してちょっと困りました。
あなたのように３年くらい前に偶然に日本語を勉強し始めました。
でも、去年試験を受けたときに日本語を全然勉強していなかったのです。最近進歩がほとんどあり ません。
実は日本語が私の第三言語です。大学で英語とフランス語を学びました。

Really? Because I installed rikai-chan, it is easier to understand.　As for me, because I have not studied since 1981, I am a bit worried about my Japanese. -----. But, I took last year's test and I did not study at all for that time. Recently, there is not much progress.

Actually, Japanese is my third language. I learned English and French at a university.

[tripperazn]

私は「さん」と呼ばれたらちょっと恥ずかしいです。
It's a little bit embarrassing for me to be referred to as ~san.

これからも、勉強を続けようと思います。
I think I will continue studying from now on.

あなたのように３年くらい前に偶然に日本語を勉強し始めました。
Like you, I suddenly started studying Japanese about 3 years ago.

If I'm not mistaken, nikorai is a college senior who's major is Economics and is writing a senior thesis on insurance. Also, 趣味 isn't the same as 興味, the former means that Japanese is something like a hobby, what you translated was the latter.

Question: What is ～ざます? For example: お願いするざます。

[FatPianoBoy]

Originally Posted by tripperazn

[B]
Question: What is ～ざます? For example: お願いするざます。

Rikai-chan says it's an archaic verb meaning 'to be.'

*Waits for native clarification*

[RandomGuy]

Originally Posted by FatPianoBoy

Rikai-chan says it's an archaic verb meaning 'to be.'

*Waits for native clarification*

Not a native speaker, but according to my J->J dictionary it was used in the Edo Period as both a polite/honorific form of "aru"/"gozaru", and as a replacement for other forms of the copula. However, my dictionary also notes that its use was limited to the pleasure quarters, so I'd like to know just what kind of historical fiction you're reading.

Seriously though, if it's not a historical drama, "zamasu" is probably being used as a speech quirk for whatever character is saying it. I don't know what show this would be offhand, but I get hits from You're Under Arrest and Lucky Star when I search for it.