Why is he interest in Japanese?

He began his “obsession” with Japan when he was about 7 when he first saw Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. It grew from there by watching anime and movies.

When has he been fascinated with Japanese?

Since he was a young boy, he has been fascinated with Japan. I have studied its history, culture, art, and now, language. He has been enthralled by Japan since 7 years old. But he started studying Japanese a little over a year again.

How much does he write and speak Japanese?

He writes very little and speaks very little but he does catch on quick.

Does he always study Japanese alone?

He mainly learned from watching Japanese movie, anime, and TV shows. He has picked up some from the book. He has bought as well.

Can he write HIRAGANA?

He can not write that.

 After talk, I thought how to teach beginner’s Japanese person. Actually, I have never taught Japanese to American. So I want to study how teaching is good for him.

Here is a list of some words from Portuguese which have survived until the present day.

Igirisu→ In Portuguese, ‘ingles’ means English or Englishman. In Japanese, ‘igirisu’ means The United Kingdom.

Konpeitoo→ The modern Portuguese word “confeito” more commonly means “sugar plum” or “comfit”, though it also signifies a small candy made with hardened melted sugar, to which various dyes or ingredients are paper. In this case, it is also called “rebucado”. “confeito” is also related to the English word “confetti”.

     An “urban legend” is that arigatou (thank you in Japanese) originates from Portuguese “obrigado”. No. “arigatou” comes from “arigatai”, a conjunction of the verb “aru”, “to have”, with the ending “gatai” which means “difficult”. The “ou” ending comes from the conjunction of the adjectival “arigataku” with the polite verb “gozaimasu”.

     Other common examples of this type of conjugation include “omedetou gozaimasu” (congratulations) from “medetaku” and “ohayou gozaimasu” (good morninig) from “hyaku”. The word arigatai existed in Japanese long before the Japanese ever encountered Portuguese. It can be found in some of the earliest Japanese literature such as the “manyoushuu”. Similary, “obrigado” in Portuguese comes from Latin “obrigado”. The change from L to R is typical of Latin- derived Portuguese words.

     The frequency of usage of gairaigo is lower than that of native words, but it is probably similar to use of loan words in many other languages. The ambivalent attitude to English as a whole might be better understood if we examined the discourse of national identity in contemporary Japan and the role language plays in it. Since the 1960s Japanese society has been in quest of a cultural redefinition of its identity, together with exhibiting a strong need for the invention of tradition.

Rosenhouse, J. and Kowner, R. (2008) Globally speaking: motives for adopting English vocabulary in other languages. Multilingual Matters.

In such parallel vocabulary, sometimes the Japanese word refers to the ‘natural’ condition of the phenomenon in question, and the English-based one refers to a modification. For instance, in contrast to sutoroberii-sheeku (strawberry shake), Japanese usually refer to raw strawberries as ichigo. It should also be noted that many redundant loanwords usually appear in compounds rather than singly.

     As a euphemism

As newspapers use gairaigo to avoid Japanese expressions that are politically incorrect, and bureaucrats use gairaigo when responding to heighten ambiguity, the public also uses loanwords euphemistically. In Jpanese, for instance, by using mai (my) as in mai-kaa (my car) and mai – peesu (my pace), the selfish connotations of the native watashi-no or jibun-no can be avoided. Similarly, redundant loanwords can refer to unpleasant. Or taboo topics. For example, toire (toire) can substitute for the non-loan banjo, which sounds blunt and tactless, and herusu (health) refers to sexually oriented massage parlours.

     Finally, loanwords can outrival native vocabulary is phased out along with its referents, as pen (pen) has come to replace fude (brush). Moreover this replacement can occur with ostensibly synonymous loanwords; for example, although kisu (kiss) is equated with seppun in dictionaries, it has become far more common in conversation. If you use seppun in your conversation, it is weird  

     Very often, a loanword is used when a Japanese word of equivalent meaning already exists, for a variety of reasons ranging from euphemism to status-making.

Shibatani, M. (1990) The language of Japan – Cambrige language surveyes. Cambridge University press

Daulton, E, F. (2008). Japan’s built-in lexicon of English- based loanwords. Multilingual Matters

Chen,P. and Gottlieb, N. (2001). Language planning and language policy: East Asian perspectives. Routledge

     The ability of loanwords to express special meanings has made them indispensable to modern society.

     To distinguish between Japanese and Western things

By contrasting English loanwords, Chiniese-origin words and indigenous Japanese words, different feelings and connotations can be expressed. For example, while raisu, gohan and meshi all describe rice: raisu seems fresh, elegant, cosmopolitan and even exotic; gohan is more stiff and formal; and meshi is used colloquially – and specially used by men. Moreover, those variations are used in different contexts: raisu is preferred in western-style restaurants, gohan in traditional Japanese style ones and meshi as home.

     As an affection

Loanwords can be employed as a mannerism to create a desired impression. For example, even thought konprekkusu (complex) in reference to an “inferiority complex” has the non-loan counterpart rettoukan, some Japanese people feel using konpurekkusu makes them seem more educated, modern and sophisticated. However, complicated or esoteric loanwords may sound pretentious, so there is some pressure to not use large numbers of English loanwords at first meetings. (shibatani 1990)

Shibatani, M. (1990) The language of Japan – Cambrige language surveyes. Cambridge University press

Daulton, E, F. (2008). Japan’s built-in lexicon of English- based loanwords. Multilingual Matters

     In addition, Japanese use in our life and gairaigo is used by the public. It is difficult for the Japanese to carry on a conversation without gairaigo. By this measure, the kind of gairaigo might be “baibai (bye bye), so daily conversation that many Japanese are surprised to learn its foreign origin; gairaigo such as “baibai”, “mama”, “papa” and “toire” are among the first words learned by Japanese children. 

     Recently, computer geeks could not survive without their “pasokon (personal computer)”, “sofuto (software)” and “mausu (mouse)”. English- holds a particular fascination with young Japanese speakers, its avid users, as well as with many English speakers who collect “samples” and share them with the public at large on their Web sites.

     This includes the combining of already established loanwords such as “bideo (video)”, “kopi (copy) and “dekoreeshon (decoration) to a Japanese verbal affix (written in hiragana) to create conjugatable verbs such as “kopi-ru (to copy)” and “deko-ru (to decorate (e-mail)). In this way, we do not know some gairaigo where come from. Especially, “sabo-ru” whose stem comes from sabotage, originally meant ‘to cut class’, but is now widely used in regards to neglecting any responsibility.

     In spite of the torrent of gairaigo in present Japan, the number of fluent speakers of English is relatively low, so the effect of gairaigo on acquisition of foreign languages and even the openness to foreign languages seems very limited.

Rosenhouse, J and Kowner, R. (2008). Globally speaking: motives for adopting English vocabulary in other languages. Multingual mattersw.

Denham,E,K. and Lobeck, C, A. (2005). Language in the schools: integrating linguistic knowledge into K-12 teaching. Routledge

Daulton, E, F. (2008). Japan’s built-in lexicon of English- based loanwords. Multilingual Matters

De Mente, B. (2004). Japan’s cultural code words: 233 key terms that explains the attitudes and behavior of the Japanese. Tuttle Publishing.

Fujita, N. (2002). The complete idiot’s guide to conversational Japanese. Alpha books.

McArthur, B, T. (1988). The English Languages. Cambridge University Press.

Sisk-Noguchi, M. (2002). Let’s Learn About Gairaigo (Loanwords)! myoujyou university tuusin.

Oshima, K. (2002). Semantic and Structural Shift Patterns of Gairaigo in Japan. Intercultual communication Studies.

Young, J and Nakajima-Okano, K. (1984). Learn Japanese: new college text. University of Hawaii Press.