My last post: 日本猿 and final thoughts!

こんにちは！
今日のあさ、日本語のじゅぎょうがありました。ごじゅっぷんにかかりました。でも、あした、じゅぎょうがありません。そして、来週（らいしゅう）じゅぎょうもありません。今日のあさ、私は「さようなら」をいいました。

すみません、私はいそがしくて、あまりブログのポストをしませんでした。でも、ブログはとてもたのしくて、おもしろかったですね。

Today marks the last day of Japanese class, maybe forever...we'll see if I can reconfigure my schedule, but this could be my last ever blog post! :'(

Today, I want to talk about something very close to my heart: primates! 私のせんこうは人るい学です (anthropology). A subfield of anthropologists focus on primatology, and this might be my future career. And what aspiring primatologist doesn't love the Japanese macaque (日本猿, read にほんさる)？

日本猿はおもしろくて、ちゃいろいです。あまり大きくありません。
日本猿はとてもかしこい（smart）です。

ときどき、日本はすずしい（chilly）です。山にたくさんゆき（snow）がありますね。そして、日本猿はおんせん（hot spring）でおふろにはいります！

日本猿はとてもゆめいですよ。
ときどきそじをします！





かわいいですね！：）



Among the primates, Japanese macaques are considered to have one of the most complex cultures. They're awesome!

Overall, I had so much fun with Japanese this semester. It's incredible how much I learned!

どうもありがとうございます。さようなら！
ポートマン

サンクスギビング

こんにちは！
今月（こんげつ）、あまり　かきません。すみません！　

先週の週末に　サンクスギビングの休み（やすみ）がありましたよ。わたしのりょうしんのうちにかえりました。たくさん　ターキーをたべて、ねました。土曜日（どようび）にレストランで　ともだちとあいに　いきました。そして、フトバールゲームをみました。とてもいそがしかったです。でも、しゅくだいをしませんでした。

Overall, I had a lovely break, and I hope you all did as well. It's difficult to take even a few days off from speaking and writing in Japanese. Yikes!

I love Thanksgiving, and I was wondering if Japan has a similar holiday. After some brief research, it turns out that there is! Labor Thanksgiving Day, or 勤労感謝の日, is a national holiday. (Click here for a different blog's cute explanatory post!) It is essentially a combination of American Labor Day and Thanksgiving. It began as a fall harvest festival, and eventually morphed into a semi-political holiday designated to support and celebrate Japan's workers. Just like Thanksgiving in the States, it is a time to show gratitude for those around you. This year 勤労感謝の日 was on November 23rd.

おもしろいですね！　そして、日本のサンクスギビングは　ターキーをたべませんよ。かなしいですね。：）

じゃあ、また。
ポートマン

I googled "Japanese turkey"...regrets? Absolutely none.

日本のうちとアメリカのうち

こんにちは！
わたしは　日本のうちを　べんきょしました。えっと、アメリカのと　ちがいますね。

たいてい、日本のうちは　小さいうちです。でも、アメリカのうちは　大きいうちとひろいうちですね。日本のうちに　シャワーとおふろ　があります。アメリカのうちにも　あります。でも、アメリカのトイレのへやは　トイレとシャワーとおふろがあります。そして、アメリカじんは　あまり　おふろにはいりません。アメリカのトイレは　ぜんぜん　ウオシュレット（Washlet）がありません。

わたしのりょうしんのうちは　きれいです。ドアがあります。でも、ふすま(sliding doors)としょうじ(paper screens)がありません。わたしのへやは　ベードがあります。おしいれとふとんがありません。アメリカのへやは　大きいへやですよ。そして、たたみがありませうん。

Unfortunately, my vocabulary is still quite limited in 日本語, so I am unable to express in any more detail than this the differences between American and Japanese homes. Most of the differences surround the simple matter of size -- American homes don't have おしいれ or ふとん because they don't need to. There's enough room in a typical American house to leave beds out all day without sacrificing critical floor space. In general, American houses have larger rooms and more space, especially when considering the floorspace per person. A lot of the differences also stem from varying cultural values. In general, American culture is more individually-oriented and less polite than Japanese culture, so it makes sense that when American homes include a mudroom or げんかん, it is usually to keep the house clean rather than to be polite.

Let me know what you guys think!

名古屋市 (なごやし)

こんにちは！This week's ブログのしゅくだい is to imagine a かいわ (dialogue - new word!) between me and a classmate concerning something or some place in Japan. Fun!

クラスメート：シュテイさん
かいわのタイトル：名古屋市（なごやし)

シュテイさん：　ポートマンさん、こんにちは。
わたし：　こんにちは！
シュテイさん：　名古屋市に　なにが　ありますか。
わたし：　そうですね。名古屋城（なごやじょ, Nagoya castle）があります。そして　名古屋駅（なごやえき, Nagoya station)。
シュテイさん：　そうですか。名古屋城は　あたらしですか。
わたし：　いいえ、あたらしくありませんよ。
シュテイさん：　あ、すみません。名古屋城は　たかいですか？
わたし：　ええ、とてもたかいです。
シュテイさん：　あのう、名古屋駅は　どんなたてものですか。
わたし：　えっと、りっぱなたてものです。そして、大きいたてものです。
シュテイさん：　ああ、そうですか。ありがとうございます。
わたし：　いいえ。じゃあ、またあとで。

名古屋城

名古屋駅

うち :)

こんばんは！
わたしは　イリノイしゅダーワーヌスグローフ　からきました。ダーワーヌスグローフは　シカゴのちかくにあります。そして、ダーワーヌスグローフは　りっぱなまちですね。でも、あまり　ゆうめいじゃありません。ダーワーヌスグローフのとしょかんは　きれいなてものです。わたしのこうこうは　ふるいとてものですよ。

That's basically all I can say about Downers Grove in にほんご for now. But I'm quite fond of the town, as far as suburbs go...I would actually consider moving back there one day. It's a great place for kids, and there are some excellent restaurants around.

How about you? どこからきましたか？

サムライスパイス？

When tasked with finding examples of カタカナ on the internet, I was not sure where to look at first. But suddenly inspired by the snacks surrounding me on my desk, I realized that  カタカナ is everywhere - on food!

I'm fond of this example because 1) ラムネ is delicious and 2) it's not difficult to find in the States, if you know where to look. I sincerely hope that my readers are familiar with ラムネ, because seriously, this stuff is the best. For those whose tastebuds have not yet been graced by this wonderful beverage, ラムネ is soda. But it's not just any soda -- nestled beautifully inside the lid of every bottle is a plunger and a small (glass?) ball. Take the lid off, use the plunger to pop the ball inside, and BOOM! Things just got fizzy. Clearly this is better engineered than American soda, since there is zero risk of opening a bottle and getting sprayed in the face with overeager sugar water.

My apologies for the little rant there...in all seriousness, カタカナ isn't that hard to find. Especially if you check out Japanese menus for American chain restaurants:

Good ol' スターバ。

Can't forget about マクドナルド！

 Is it just me, or does a ビッグマック (Big Mac) look way more appetizing when labeled in カタカナ?

There are classier restaurants with plenty of Japanese to be found as well. This menu is from Samsi, a British restaurant featuring lots of Japanese cuisine.

Clearly this one's a bit more legitimate, as it features kanji and no handy English translations. I'm intrigued that サムライ is written in カタカナ. I would guess that it's a Japanese word and would thus be written as さむらい ...anyone know/want to guess what's up with that? Maybe it's for emphasis, but I'm not sure. No matter what, it looks delicious.

In general, I find the concept of カタカナ completely fascinating. It's amazing to me how many English words are switched over to Japanese pronunciations and just added to the language. I'm familiar with French, and the contrast in that respect is quite significant – in general, the French language is fairly resistant to appropriating vocabulary from foreign tongues. And the Japanese have a special alphabet for doing just that! Cool stuff.

Thanks for reading!

じゃあ、また。

ポートマン

Reflection on ビナードさんのLecture

こんにちは！

Last week I attended a lecture on campus by Arthur Binard, an American poet and translator from Michigan who has lived in Japan for the past 25 years. I wasn't sure what to expect from the talk, but I must say I was pleasantly surprised. He was extremely soft-spoken but had a calming, intellectual energy that made his lecture totally fascinating!

Most of the discussion centered around the language concerning the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Binard-san brought up several points that resonated very deeply with me. Apparently, the Japanese word ぴか, used to describe a flash or shiny object, gained a new definition on 6 August 1945...since that day, it has been used by the Japanese as a synonym for the atomic bomb.

Pika-who??

Other than illuminating the etymology of Pikachu's name, this fact made me completely rethink how language has the power to place the speaker directly in the center of action. Binard-san pointed out another chilling example of this phenomenon: just think of how wildly different describing the atomic bomb as "pika" is from describing it as a mushroom cloud -- an image extremely prevalent in American culture.

He also made me realize how incredibly insensitive the name "Atomic Fireball" is for these little candies...

Like seriously, how messed up is that? We name candy after a weapon that killed hundreds of thousands of people??! And they're so delicious too... :(




For me, the biggest take-aways from the lecture were an increased appreciation of the power of language and the realization that most Americans have no idea just how awful the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki really were. We are desensitized to their effects from the first time we learn about their existence. Most American schools (including mine!) teach that the bombs HAD to be dropped in order to end the war, that the ends justified the means. Binard-san pointed this out, and suggested that this common teaching is probably false. I would go farther than him and outright say it: we should not have dropped those bombs. It was not the only way to end the war, and we (the Americans) absolutely knew what we were doing. The fact that Japan and the US have positive diplomatic relations at all, even 50 years later, is truly incredible.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Binard-san's lecture, and it gave me a ton to think about! I'd love to continue the discussion in the comments...did your schools teach you that the bombs were justified? How else can language reflect and shape our perceptions?

ありがとうございます。はあ、また！