Wow, that's a lot to absorb and study on.
So early on in Naruto, when team 7 is first formed, when Naruto calls Sakura "Sakura-chan" and when Sakura calls Sasuke "Sasuke-kun", are they rudely assuming a familiarity and closeness that may not exist (ie I doubt Sasuke feels as close to Sakura as she does to him) or is it perfectly acceptable to be this informal with each other even at that point in their relationship?
They were a moment earlier normal classmates, so against my better knowledge I would say that's normal (as classmates call each others using those honorifics). Somehow I'd feel it strange, if they called each others kuns and chans the previous day and right after graduation the next day started to use sans inside the group of old classmates just because they aren't sitting in the classroom anymore but roaming the lands as chinobi.
Well, I say this against my better knowledge, since I don't have real knowledge...
Actually, what Kraco explaines is all pretty correct except for "shi", and mostly because "shi" isn't very used... it's somewhat archaic.
Shi - 師
Literally means "Master", not as a social rank but as someone who has mastered a certain skill. It could be translated (liberally) as a PhD, but "shi" doesn't imply the college years that a PhD does.
It's sometimes used (as far as I know) for high-ranking martial artists and people who dedicate to traditional arts such as the Tea Ceremony, but even those might be perfectly happy being called "Sensei" or "Oo-sensei" - literally "The Great Teacher"; the highest ranked amongst the profesors.
Regarding English.... I don't know. I know they take English lessons most of their life, but they still suck at it. Only College students are decent, and even then it depends on what they're studying.
In defense of them, I took English during all of grade school and highschool, and didn't learn a thing. Nobody learns anything at highschool
(How did I learn English then, you ask? Reading. With a dictionary.)
I don't know the mechanics of the japanese language, but I do think it is a much more beautiful sounding language than english.Originally Posted by Animeniax
I don't know about that, Mizuchi. English is the best sounding language I've ever heard and it's not even my first language.
In terms of dialect, Japanese and Chinese are very similar, as well as most other oriental dialects, so maybe that's why I'm not as appreciative of it as others here.
Why, I beg to differ! As a spanish speaker studying English Literature I can safely say that there are few languages as beautiful and flexible as English. The way pronunciation varies from word to word, the way the accents modify the rhymes... no, no, English is wonderful.
Of course, I love my Japanese, too. Above all, Japanese sounds happy. Just like German sounds as if you were angry 24/7 and Italian sounds as though you were singing, Japanese is just the happiest language on earth.
English is also the most practical language out there, IMO.
At the moment yes it is. Since most of the world speaks it as a second languange. Also, it isn't going to become a dead language like French will soon be.
I meant it's very versatile. It's good for pretty much everything, from technical documents to casual speech.
And then there's the ubiquitousness of it-- with hundreds of dialects and accents, it's the only language I know of where you can get your meaning across unless you have absolutely no knowledge of mechanics. And I mean ABSOLUTELY NONE. Even spouting out key words works sometimes.
But then, I have no idea about English classes in other countries. How much emphasis do they place on sounding American or English or Australian?
It was Deadfire that provided the lesson about honorifics, but no big deal.Actually, what Kraco explaines is all pretty correct except for "shi", and mostly because "shi" isn't very used... it's somewhat archaic.
In defense of them, I took English during all of grade school and highschool, and didn't learn a thing. Nobody learns anything at highschool
(How did I learn English then, you ask? Reading. With a dictionary.)
Your English is great, so you must have learned something in your years of study. I still think it's a lack of confidence in using the language that keeps most Japanese from trying to speak English. Are you one of the many Japanese whose families emigrated to South America in the 1940s?
Let's get back on topic:
Lesson 3 : Curse Words
There's not many of them in the Japanese language, so you'll hear the same ones often:
baka, bakayarou: stupid, idiot
aho: Okinawan version of baka
urusai, urusai na: shut up, be quiet, you're too noisy (so shut up), you're too fussy (so shut up)
You'll see the term "bastard" in subtitles a lot, and the Japanese word sounds like "tim-may". I thought maybe they were saying "kimi" drawn out, like "Yooouuu {bastard}," but I'm not so sure. Can anyone answer this?
Back when I was still learning English, they certainly tried to make us sound like English. I don't mind that, and hope they still do, though I've no idea. The only problem is to try to remember to drop the "u"s when coding, since the American empire enforces words without extra "u"s in programming...
To be back on topic, isn't "kisama" often translated as "you bastard", if memory serves? Or something like that. Which always sounds funny to me, considering the -sama ending of that word.
Heh, that sounds like "kusamek", which is Arabic for "fuck your mother".
I looked it up on this one online translator and it shows
kisama = you (vulgar), so it can understandably be translated as "youuuu [bastard]". Someone posted that adding "-sama" is sometimes used sarcastically as an insult, so the -sama root in kisama might have derived from this?
I've also seen "bogey" or something like that used in anime, translated as "fool" or "idiot". Anyone know what that word really is?
There's also "chik-show" or something like that, which is translated as "dammit".
Kuso is another one I've heard a lot in some anime, which is translated as "brat" or "punk" and used when referring to a boy.
Last edited by Animeniax; Mon, 11-27-2006 at 07:01 AM.
http://www.insultmonger.com/swearing/japanese.htm
I believe that should cover it.
Damn, that was a crazy site. There was a long list from my own native language as well, and it contained some I had never heard before... But it looked like quite professional indeed (dunno what kind of people are swearing pros, but anyway).
Japanese and Finnish have a lot in common in how many words sound, and sometimes there are funny things popping up, like with "himo" ("pimp" in English): In Finnish "himo" means "lust"... I guess pimps are the people to contact if you are lustful...
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
