Some of my friends in Canada have wondered about my Japanese language level, and exactly where it is. This is a difficult question for me to answer. The truth is, I know a lot of Japanese. But the other truth is, there is a lot I _don't_ know. My listening skills, while much better than they were even a year ago, are still weak.. to the point that even ordering in a restaurant can be difficult. And even though I can say a lot, I often stumble over my words and and/or give the wrong tense, wrong politeness level or I saw a word that means something close to what I'm trying to say, but it's still the wrong word. In the case of the tense/politeness level, it's not that I don't know how to say it properly, it's just that my brain can't work fast enough to conjugate properly, in a timely fashion. In a conversation, you have to reply right away, you don't have time to think about what the right tense or form should be.
But nevertheless, I thought it would be interesting to post a blog I wrote in Japanese and then translate it to English as accurately and as literally as possible. Therefore you can read it and judge for yourself where my Japanese level is at. The only thing I used a dictionary for is to verify some of the Chinese characters and some of the katakana spellings. The words themselves are completely my own.
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今朝に悲したった．
アキちゃんは元気じゃないから会えない。
Appleちゃんは京都にいるから会えない。
ゆみりいちゃんは忙しいから会えない。
どうしょう？
This morning I felt sad.
Akichan is not feeling well so I can't meet her.
Aichan is in Kyoto so I can' t meet her.
Yumi is busy so I can't meet her.
What should I do?
トロントに毎日友達と会えるでもそれはトロントだね。東京ライフは全然違うを思う。
どうしょう？
In Toronto I could see my friends every day, but that's Toronto. I think Tokyo life is completely different. What should I do?
「間違った？」と思った。「トロントに帰りましょう？」
違う。
仕事が見つけたら、１年ぐらいここに住む。本当に。
でもどうしょう？
I thought Did I make a mistake? Should I go back to Toronto?
No.
If I can find a job, I will stay here 1 year. For real.
But what should I do?
最近寂しくなった。オークハウスで日本人を見たら、「一生に遊びたい」と思ってる。「友達と紹介しておねがい」と思ってる。
でもこれを話せない。
「こんばんわ」だけが話せる。多分僕を見たら、親切な人が見えない。トトロが見えない。面白い人が見えない。
デブな白人だけが見えると思う。しょうがないね。
でもどうしょう？
These days I became lonely. When I see the Japanese people at Oakhouse, I am thinking, I want us to hang out together. Please introduce me to your friends.
But I can't say this.
All I can say is "Good evening". Maybe when they see me, the can't see a generous person. They can't see Totoro. They can't see an interesting or funny person.
I think all they see is a fat white guy. But it can't be helped.
But what should I do?
じゃ、「さんぽしましょう！」と思った。一人で井の頭と吉祥寺で散歩した。その時に、めっちゃ嬉しくなった。
Well, Let's go for a walk! I thought. By myself, I walked in Inokashira Park and Kichijoji. At that time, I became much happier.
１７Cの天気から外に行ったら、気持ちがよかった。井の頭公園に沢山の人は遊んでいた。にぎやかから嬉しかった。ボートは楽しそう。ピクニックも楽しそう。ギターを弾くも楽しそう。
It was 17C when I went outside, so I had a good feeling. There were many people hanging out in Inokashira Park. I was happy because it was so lively. The boats look so fun. The picnic looks so fun. Playing guitar looks so fun.
「じゃぁ、吉祥寺に行こお」と思った。「ショッピング・アケードを見たい」
OK, let's go to Kichijoji I thought. I wanna see the shopping arcades.
トロントのルームメートは吉祥寺がミニ渋谷だと話した。多分渋谷のほうが大きいでも吉祥寺はミニじゃないと思う！面白い店は一杯あるよ！スッゲ〜〜！
My roommate in Toronto told me that Kichijoji is a mini Shibuya. Maybe Shibuya is bigger but I don't think Kichijoji is mini! The place is full of interesting shops! So cool!
アーケードで散歩したら、右に大きい店が見えた。へ〜〜ヨドバシカメラ？！ワオワオワオ！全部ヨドバシカメラで歩いた。幸せ！
When I was walking in the shopping arcade, I saw a big store on my right. Huh? Yodobashi Camera?! Wowowow! I walked all over Yodobashi Camera. So great!
吉祥寺で散歩したら、いつも「家から歩いて来た！家から歩いて来た！」と思っていた。チョ〜すごいよ！
When I was walking around Kichijoji, I was always thinking I walked here from my place! It's so amazing!
一杯人。一杯店。一杯レストラン。一杯居酒屋。一杯楽しんでる人。一杯Life！！トロントにこれがない。
Full of people. Full of shops. Full of restaurants. Full of bars. Full of people having fun. Full of life!! In Toronto this doesn't exist.
家に帰ったら、本当に決めた。
When I came back to my place, I really decided.
トロントに帰れない。
東京に愛してるから。
I can't go back to Toronto.
Because I love Tokyo.
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If I had more language skill, I would have added the fact that I used to think that living at Christie was a really handy spot to live, but Kichijoji completely blows Christie out of the water. I would have also described in depth the feeling I had walking around Kichijoji. To a kid who comes from a 'dead' town, where news of a single new restaurant or new company is enough to send shock waves of excitement through the whole town, Kichijoji is a mind-blowing experience. Remember I'm not just visiting Kichijoji, I live here. It's a completely different feeling.
But anyway, those language skills will come with time and practice. Rome wasn't built in a day. If I work hard, I can establish myself here. Lots of other people have done it, and they're no more special or capable then I am.
4 件のコメント:
You've got quite a long ways to go with your Japanese. You are at the stage where nearly all westerns stop studying, start to stagnate, or simply give up. You know the basic rules, but you are still stuck in the English mindset. There are quite a few particle errors and grammatical errors but those aren't a big deal. The big wall you need to get over is your sentences reek of english. They aren't Japanese sentences. When you started writing, you thought of what you wanted to say in English, and then tried to recreate those words in Japanese. What you need to learn to do is think of what you want to say, then try to recreate that FEELING in Japanese. And only then will you be able to think about what you want to say in Japanese from step 1.
For example:
アキちゃんは元気じゃないから会えない。
This might have the words
"Akichan"
"is not feeling well"
"so"
"I can't meet her"
Your english "translation" suggests that Aki doesn't want to hang out because she is ill, but your Japanese expresses a completely different, almost nonsensical idea. It seems that Aki is feeling down so you aren't allowed to meet her but some unmentioned restriction.
This is a stage almost no one from the west ever surpasses. Frankly you don't need to. Living in Tokyo, English will impress people much more than even fluent Japanese. Most people move to Japan slowly begin to realize the daunting task before them and accept the reality that without several years of professional courses they will never approach fluency in Japanese. Many operate under the foolhardy assumption that their Japanese will magically improve while they live in Japan through some process of osmosis. Perhaps this might be true if they speak Romanian and nothing else, but having an English background is having a huge crutch that you'll never be able to escape from. The most you these people can really hope for is that after a decade or so they've cobbled together a working understanding of the language like a prom dress made of carpet remnants, and a collection of friendships and shallow relationships with Japanese people that depend soley upon their English abilities.
I don't mean to discourage you in anyway, but only to highlight the urgency of your situation. You clearly desire more from your time in Japan and to achieve this you have much work to do, both when it comes to language and interaction with Japanese.
Everyone comes to Japan with certain expectations and though everyone responds differently when they are faced with reality, everyone usually follows the same pattern.
The first is the Wide-Eyed Kid in a Candy Store Stage. Everything is new and magical and terrifying and glorious. This is the stage that everyone wishes could last forever, but sadly it can't.
The second is the Why Isn't it Like This Stage. After one has settled into Japanese society somewhat, the little differences and quirks begin to really become apparent. Everyone handles this stage differently. Some people laugh it off. C'est la vie. Others, however, hit this stage hard. Differences range from tragic to infuriating. Minor things become ridiculous ordeals. The reality of racism and groupthink in Japan begin to become apparant and they begin to realize their own place within Japanese society, and it's not where they expected to be. Things begin to grate, and it's always either the stupid Japanese's fault or the fault of other rotten foreigners.
Tragically, the people who have the hardest time with stage 2 are the ones who spent the longest in stage 1. The ones who had the highest expectations and assumptions about their life in Japan. They have much farther to fall from their high than those with more reasonable ideas of Japan and fall everyone must. It's an important step that one must get past to really live in Japan and grasp its culture.
Only then can one enter stage 3, the Fuck It stage. This point, usually it hits about 18-36 months after coming, is where everyone says Fuck It. The wide-eyed Japanophiles in stage 1, who crashed the hardest when faced with the reality of stage 2 say Fuck It and either leave or lash out at their own life in Japan. You see them on every Japan forum or discussion about Japan on the Internet. They detest Japan, but what many of them don't mention is that they were once the Japanophile on the other side of the conversation. They see themselves as doing a service, warning the ignorant yearners about the sinister truths of Japan.
The other half of the Fuck It stage adopt a more reasonable position. Most of them say, Fuck It, this just isn't the life for me and move on. The rest say Fuck It, this is my life now, and manage to go with the flow.
I've seen your YouTube postings and you've got potential to become the biggest anti-Japan posterchild I've seen in my 14 years in Japan. You've got to accept a more realistic view of Japan for the good of the Japan lovers across the internet.
tokyojoe - Thank you for your detailed comments. Any pearls of wisdom I can get from seasoned gaijin are welcome and appreciated.
I came here with the full realization that a) I could possibly fail and b) I might view this as a "mistake"
But in reality, I had one of two choices to make. I could either a) go to Japan or b) stay in Canada.
If I choose b), then I'll always look back and wonder what would have happened if I had chosen a).
So I choose a). In the end, if it doesn't work out, at least I know that I came here and gave it my bes t shot.
I didn't make the decision to come here overnight. For years I've researched exactly how I should come here and what would be the best way to do it. So I'm well aware of the guys you mention who lash out on message boards about their life in Japan (in fact I laughed when read your comment about it). You're right I definitely don't wanna become one of those guys ^_^
One thing I find curious is your comment about after a decade of living in Japan, settling for only a few friendships and "shallow" relationships with Japanese. I find this strange because I already have several friendships that I feel are more than just 'shallow' relationship. In fact, one reason I came here is because some of my best friends that I've had for years are Japanese. For example, I met Akichan back in the fall of 2002, when I hardly knew any Japanese language at all. Of course, we exchange language (we didn't have a choice - otherwise we couldn't communicate), but our friendship has lasted despite differences in language, culture, and despite distance. And she's not the only example.
Anyway, please don't think that my YouTube videos are a totally accurate reflection of me. At that time I was on vacation and I was there to _party_ as much as possible. I had just gotten out of a ten-year relationship and was enjoying a real taste of freedom.
This time it's different. I haven't done any 'sightseeing' since I arrived. I went to Shibuya to meet my friend for dinner and look for a cellphone, and I went to Akiba to get a new charger for my camera. Other than that I've just been trying to get to know my neighborhood and my house mates.
Anyway, I think the real message you're sending me is that if I really want to enjoy my life in Japan and get the most out of my time here, it's going to take a lot of work and it's not going to come easy. And I think you're absolutely right.
But Rome wasn't built in a day. I only arrived here last Tuesday. First I need to get a job. Then I can start thinking about language courses once I know my salary and work schedule. I may never become truly 'fluent' per se, but I know I at least want to get to JLPT2 (which I know is a LONG way off yet). After that, as long as my language keeps improving, it's enough for me. In fact, one reason I like Tokyo is because it's the most English-friendly place in Japan.
My plan is that no matter how hard it gets, I'll stick it out for at least a year (assuming I can find a job here). After that, if I really don't like it here, then I'll go home to Canada. Big deal, at least I gave it a shot.
But if I like it here, or if I can at least see potential for a life here, then I will stay.
In the meantime, I can enjoy my 'Wide-Eyed Kid in a Candy Store Stage' as you call it. I'll just keep reminding myself to appreciate it while it's here, because it won't last.
@Tokyo Joe:
"The first is the Wide-Eyed Kid in a Candy Store Stage...." (snip)
You forgot to add the fourth stage:
Know-it-all bitter gaijin - that air of arrogance and superiority that comes with gaijin living in Japan for a while who think they know everything. Your post reeks of this. Hate to break to you but living 14 years in Japan doesn't qualify you as an authority. You're still armchair gaijin, buddy.
For someone who handily dishes out the criticism, I'd love to hear your Japanese. Regarding your colour commentary on the "アキちゃんは元気じゃないから会えない " example, I have a question:
Where is your Japanese suggestion? For someone as esteemed in their critique, you'd think you'd offer a more 'native' response. Care to give us your own Japanese suggestion?
In my two years spent in Japan, something came to my attention quickly: unwarranted and frankly unwanted criticism from other gaijin who seem to think their opinions matter. They don't!
The best part of Japan is spent enjoying things to yourself, discovering all its lovely idiosyncracies, and ignoring douchebag baka gaijin comments like Tokyo Joe's.
For some it's a journey fraught with insecurity; for others it's a beginning. Best of luck with the adventures that await you!
oops - this caught my eye last minute!
"You've got to accept a more realistic view of Japan for the good of the Japan lovers across the internet."
This has to be the lamest comment ever. Hey Tokyojoe, are you a former Nova manager? Hashing it out at some crummy eikaiwa for the paltry 250,000Y a month?
Before I forget - ganbare ジョナ さん!
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