Marriage Hunting – Japanese Slang and Society

From Japan Newbie: “That says “konkatsu”. This word isn’t in your dictionary, but if you’ve been studying Kanji for quite some time and know a bit about Japanese society you can probably guess what it means. By the way, “konkatsu” was nominated for the 2008 流行語大賞, if you’re into that sort of thing.

I’ll explain this “konkatsu” slang phrase while sharing some information about modern Japanese society and teaching you the joy of Kanji.” Click here to read more.

Vintage Japanese air raid defense posters

A very good post for students of Japanese, especially military linguists learning Japanese, that shows vintage posters with information on Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) agents and recommended treatments in case one is exposed to NBC weapons. This information will be useful for those in the medical or military profession. I am sure that the most military personnel (to be sure all of the Marines and Soldiers) would have received this information during training. I still remember the my NBC training and the taste and smell of good ol’ CS gas. Yikes!

Pink Tentacle writes: “In 1938, the Japanese Red Cross worked with government authorities to create a series of posters to teach the public about the new Anti-Aircraft Defense Law, which was enacted in seeming anticipation of air strikes following the outbreak of the Japan-China War (1937-1945). Among other things, the new law required citizens to take protective measures against gas attacks and prepare for disinfection, evacuation and relief. For the government, one purpose of the posters — which were created as part of a military exhibition at the Red Cross Museum — was to instill a pattern of “anti-aircraft defense thought” among the population.”

Click here to see the posters. Be sure to follow @PinkTentacle on Twitter! Arigato to Tune in Tokyo for the heads up!

Kintama: PC – Japanese Style

I discovered this post (and blog) today after the writer replied to recent BT post. PC: Japanese Style fits into many of the topics here and provides great fodder for those budding linguists, activists and all-around person just curious about why certain thing are the way they are in Japan!

[PC: Japanese Style]  If you looked at the title and thought I was talking about the personal computer, the whole concept of political correctness has failed. OK, I’m bound to have critics hounding me for making such a broad statement on such little evidence, but I see that as evidence of PC’s failure in America and beyond. That is not to say that women’s rights have not made progress in recent history. One group recently wrote a paper for President Obama to show the areas where progress needs to be made. I’m all over the concept of pay based on merit and not on sex, color, or political affiliation.

Searching for Equality in Japanese

These two videos by Tamarah Cohen of Kansai Gaidai University deal with the use of kanji and its interpretation in Japanese society. When I taught English for Special Purposes in Osaka and Tokyo, I often used similar examples shown in the videos to discuss language usage and various issues faced by Japanese women. Special ARIGATO to Steve Silver for posting the videos to Face Book.

According to Ms. Cohen, “In KANJI, after engaging in a little “dictionary research,” the presenter makes a startling discovery regarding who, according to the writing system of Japan, qualifies as a person — and who does not!”

Ms. Cohen says of What is Equal, “There are, according to presenter, 989 words in contemporary Japanese that include the radical ‘onna’ (woman), and many if not most are negative. There are, in contrast, no “negative” words that include ‘otoko’ (man).”

The presenter argues that this is an obstacle to sexual equality. Watch and see why!

Japanese Grammar Quiz

Harvey over at Japan Newbie has an interesting challenge for you budding Japanese linguist. He writes…

“Are you confident in your Japanese language skills? Try this pretty tough online grammar quiz and see what you still need to learn.

Japanese Grammar Quiz 文法クイズ

After you submit your answers it will tell you what you got wrong, and explain what the correct answer should be.

It’s all in Japanese, so this is only useful for intermediate to advanced learners.

I’m not gonna lie. I may have passed JLPT 1-kyuu, but I only average about 3 or 4 out of 5 on these quizzes! This is pretty tough stuff.”

Click here to read more and view the video.

Berlitz sues striking instructors

Background: Soichiro Fukutake, owner of Berlitz’s parent company Benesse Corp. is on the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires.  In 2009 Fukutake is ranked 17th (up 6 from 2008) in Japan with a net worth of $1.4 billion. Benesse Corp. net sales totaled ¥384 billion in fiscal 2007 (which ended March 31, 2008), an 8.4 percent increase over a year earlier; operating profits hit ¥34.9 billion, up 11.4 percent on fiscal 2006, according to the company’s Web site, which boasts of  ”the fifth consecutive year of record-breaking performance for the company. Benesse’s “Language Company” sector — dominated by flagship Berlitz — was running a loss back in fiscal 2004, accounts for some 16 percent of the parent company’s total sales and 18 percent of its profits. You can read more background on the cause of the strike here.

It has been 14 months since members of the Berlitz General Union Tokyo (Begunto) first downed chalk and launched rotating strikes against the language school Berlitz Japan.

The strike has grown into the longest and largest sustained strike by language teachers in Japan. While about 500 Nova teachers struck during that firm’s collapse in 2007, the action only lasted a day.

Japan Learning from President Obama’s Oratory

I purchased  the “Collection of Obama Speeches” yesterday. The CD has proven to be a hit in Japan but I am curious to see how Japan’s political circle responds/reacts to the inaugural speech and to the new face of America. I wonder if any Nakasone-ish type comments will hit the press?

The Shukan Asahi reports that many people might have been disappointed by the historical inaugural address by the first African-American President of the United States. President Barack Obama told Americans in calm tone about ‘a new time to bear responsibility,’ but he avoided using the kind of strong rhetoric of his campaign. Has President Obama lost his oratory skills?

On January 22, the day after Barack Obama took the oath of office as president of the United States, a lecture titled “Explaining U.S. President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address” was held at the Diet Members’ Building in the capital district of Nagatacho, Tokyo, as if to emulate the fever of enthusiasm that has swept across the United States. The lecture was sponsored by the think tank of the major opposition Democratic Party (DPJ). The hall was filled to capacity. DPJ Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama delivered a speech at the outset of the lecture, saying that he was impressed by the President’s inaugural address being full of confidence. He drew laughter from participants when he said: “I feel ashamed when we Japanese politicians are compared with him.”

Teaching English in Japan with Ato: The Handout

Part 17: The semester continues…  The sannensei in the public school system all have their interviews and entrance exams for the various high schools that they have chosen soon. Where I come from this usually meant intense past-paper drills, studying at home, no hanging out with friends, no TV, etc. Here in Japan it apparently means that the third-year students don’t have to do any sort of real work during classes, and it seems that they leave school earlier (read: whenever the feel like) and hang out even more than usual outside of school. For the ichinensei and ninensei, however, it’s classes as usual.

Obama Inaugural Speech DVD a Hit in Japan

The Sankei Newspaper reports that “DVDs containing Barack Obama’s past speeches went on sale in Japan on January 21, the day he was sworn in as the President of the United States. A copy of the DVD titled “Barack Obama,” published by Pony Canyon, is now available at a bookstore for 3,150 yen (tax included).

Many businessmen, drawn to the charisma of Obama, who is often referred to as a second John F. Kennedy, picked up copies of the DVD.

President Obama grabbed the hearts of American voters with such catchphrases as “Yes, we can” and “change.” The DVD contains Obama’s significant campaign speech for presidential candidate John Kerry, delivered in a 2004 Democratic convention, as well as comments by actor Robert De Niro, 65, and other celebrities.

Hideki Sato, 46, a teacher, made this comment at a Kinokuniya bookstore in Shinjuku: “[Obama] uses key words skillfully. I think [the DVD] will help me become a good public 

 speaker.

ＢＡＲＡＣＫ　ＯＢＡＭＡ　バラク・オバマ    販売価格：￥2,835 （税込） [価格：￥3,150 （税込）]  割引額：￥315 (10%OFF) 獲得ポイント：141ポイント JANコード：4988013735248 品番：PCBP-11650  発売日：2009/01/21 第４４代アメリカ合衆国大統領選挙に、圧倒的支持を得て勝利した“バラク・オバマ”の軌跡を描いたＤＶＤ。彼の大統領選挙までの道のり、当選後の映像も収録。

Joe Sample – Carmel (日本語版）

フュージョンと言えば、真っ先に管理人の頭に思い浮かぶのが「The Crusaders」である。

R&B/Soulファンにとっては、Street Life (1979) こちらがお馴染みだろう。

 Joe Sampleはこのバンドのキーボード奏者であり、現在もアメリカを代表するジャズピアニストとして活躍している。

この曲は、Joe Sampleがソロになって２枚目のアルバム、Carmelに納められている。

カーメルとは、サンフランシスコから南へ200km下った所にある、美しい街を表す。そしてこのアルバムは、彼が当時モントレー半島を訪れた際、この街の美しさにインスパイアされた事から生まれたという。

 

カーメルとは、サンフランシスコから南へ200km下った所にある、美しい街を表す。そしてこのアルバムは、彼が当時モントレー半島を訪れた際、この街の美しさにインスパイアされた事から生まれたという。