Learning Japanese From Zero

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vonPeterhof
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Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1237
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Re: Learning Japanese from zero by listening: 2021 Log

Postby vonPeterhof » Tue Mar 30, 2021 6:08 am

golyplot wrote:いった!
もめすごく
いった
I DID! I SUPER-SAID IT

I can see how sugoku might mean super, but what does the mome mean?

Another transcription error, it should be ものすごく.

golyplot wrote:わかった!
とーちゃんの
こだわりな
GOT IT! THAT'S DADDY'S OBSESSION, RIGHT?
お前変な言葉
知ってんなぁ
YOU KNOW THE WEIRDEST WORDS

I was a bit puzzled by this exchange. Is こだわり supposed to be a "weird word"? Jisho lists 拘る as a "common word", so I'm not sure why it would be considered weird.

I think a translation that would better capture the feel of Yotsuba's line would be something like "You're particular about this" or "You're a stickler for this". It's not exactly a rare word, but still a bit weird to hear from a child her age, especially when talking about something as mundane as not leaving unwrapped food in your pocket.
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golyplot
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Re: Learning Japanese from zero by listening: 2021 Log

Postby golyplot » Tue Mar 30, 2021 3:11 pm

vonPeterhof wrote:Another transcription error, it should be ものすごく.


But the dad repeats it in the next speech bubble. If it was a transcription error, shouldn't it have only happened once? Oh well.
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vonPeterhof
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Re: Learning Japanese from zero by listening: 2021 Log

Postby vonPeterhof » Tue Mar 30, 2021 3:52 pm

golyplot wrote:
vonPeterhof wrote:Another transcription error, it should be ものすごく.


But the dad repeats it in the next speech bubble. If it was a transcription error, shouldn't it have only happened once? Oh well.

The 派/逅 substitution in chapter 12 was repeated several times, but yeah I didn't check the line this time so I didn't realize that her dad actually repeats her word in a questioning tone. Then I guess it's just Yotsuba's childish malapropism of ものすごく.
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Sizen
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Re: Learning Japanese from zero by listening: 2021 Log

Postby Sizen » Tue Mar 30, 2021 5:53 pm

I just checked it in the original and I can confirm that it should be ものすごく both times. I can't be bothered to find somewhere to upload a picture so that I can post the image on this forum, but I think either the OCR or the person transcribing the comic got tripped up the first time because the starting point of the の sticks up and out of the top curve making it look like a め missing its first stroke.
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golyplot
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Re: Learning Japanese from zero by listening: 2021 Log

Postby golyplot » Thu Apr 01, 2021 4:31 am

I realized that I've been spelling Yotsuba wrong all this time. It's Yotsuba, not Youtsuba. Oops.

Today, I finished my 10th time through Noriko's podcast and decided to try a new one - Momoko to Nihongo. I found the unnaturally slow speaking pace to be annoying, but I figured I'd listen to the whole thing at least once to try it out. It seems like it'd be a good podcast for beginners.


Also, strawberry sponge cake showed up in K-On! again. Sometimes I wonder if they even have other kinds of cake in Japan. However, later in the scene, they did eat a different kind of cake too.

Image
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golyplot
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Re: Learning Japanese from zero by listening: 2021 Log

Postby golyplot » Thu Apr 01, 2021 7:33 pm

I noticed that after saying that her trip from Prague to Japan took 33 hours, Momoko said ながいりょこう then immediately corrected herself with りょこうじゃない. ながいたび. I found it interesting, especially since Jisho suggests that ryokou can also mean "trip".
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golyplot
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Re: Learning Japanese from zero by listening: 2021 Log

Postby golyplot » Fri Apr 02, 2021 1:58 pm

1.25 Year Update

After hitting the one year mark, I essentially took a break from Japanese for a month and a half, so it feels a bit weird to be doing an update now. But I have been doing more Japanese study recently.

In particular, I started reading Yotsubato on bilingualmanga.com in the hopes of improving my reading skills (and everything else) and have currently gone through the first 17 chapters. Unfortunately, it turns out that there are tons of mistakes on bilingualmanga.com, so it is not as helpful as I had hoped. But I have learned some things, especially thanks to the help of regular readers of this log.

I also resumed watching anime and things in Japanese sometimes. In particular, I finished watching the new seasons of Carmen Sandiego and Hilda dubbed in Japanese and most of K-On! season 2.

Unfortunately, I feel like I've forgotten most of what I learned from WK. I used to regularly recognize words I heard or saw as being words I previously learned on WK, but that's now much rarer. I'm thinking about going back to WK soon to refresh my memory.

I also started going to weekly Japanese practice chats several weeks ago, although I've barely tried to say anything in Japanese and fail horribly whenever I do. But hopefully it will help eventually.


Shows watched:
Currently watching:
K-On! (s2e21)

On hold:
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. (20 eps)

Complete:
Hilda
Carmen Sandiego
Cannon Busters
Cardcaptor Sakura
BNA: Brand New Animal
The Dragon Prince
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online

Abandoned:
Polar Bear Cafe (1 ep)
One Piece (4 eps)
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (1 ep)
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golyplot
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Re: Learning Japanese from zero by listening: 2021 Log

Postby golyplot » Sat Apr 03, 2021 5:21 am

At tonight's Japanese practice chat, one guy said something like "mata kite" before leaving. My first thought was that it meant "still listen" but then I recalled that kite can also mean "cut", but neither made sense in context. Luckily, I managed to figure out that it actually meant "come again" due to a combination of context and recalling the song "Sayonara sankaku, matta kite shikaku". But that also shows how homophones make things so difficult (I also apparently mixed up mata (again) and mada (still) as if things weren't hard enough already.)

I also learned a new word - biyouin (hair salon) which does not mean hospital (byouin) like I thought upon hearing it. As if the massive number of homophones in Japanese weren't bad enough, it also has tons of almost-homophones to trip up learners. Gaaaaah!

I also watched the next K-On! episode (Entrance Exams!), in which Azunyan bakes a chocolate cake for Valentine's Day, thus proving that Japanese people are in fact capable of eating cakes that are not strawberry sponge cakes with white frosting. It's a bit ironic though, since in the West, that's probably one of the few times you might actually expect a strawberry cake due to the association with red, white, and pink foods. I guess in Japan the association with chocolates wins out instead.

But the most surprising part of the episode is a scene where they're out in the freezing cold, wrapped up in coats... with completely bare legs. I don't know if the animators were being lazy or people actually dress like that or what, but it looked really uncomfortable.

Image
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vonPeterhof
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Re: Learning Japanese from zero by listening: 2021 Log

Postby vonPeterhof » Sat Apr 03, 2021 6:23 am

golyplot wrote:At tonight's Japanese practice chat, one guy said something like "mata kite" before leaving. My first thought was that it meant "still listen" but then I recalled that kite can also mean "cut", but neither made sense in context. Luckily, I managed to figure out that it actually meant "come again" due to a combination of context and recalling the song "Sayonara sankaku, matta kite shikaku". But that also shows how homophones make things so difficult
Technically none of those three te-forms are perfect homophones, since the one for "cut" is きって and the one for "listen" is きいて. The difference is especially clear in modern standard Japanese since the i in きて tends to be devoiced, which has the effect of amplifying the length contrast with きいて while also shifting the pitch accent forward and making it more different from きって.

golyplot wrote:But the most surprising part of the episode is a scene where they're out in the freezing cold, wrapped up in coats... with completely bare legs. I don't know if the animators were being lazy or people actually dress like that or what, but it looked really uncomfortable.

(Setting aside my pet peeve about using the word "lazy" to criticize animation) yeah that is totally a thing in real life. It doesn't even seem to be an issue of uniform regulations most of the time, since you do see some girls wear leg warmers. I've heard it joked (by a Japanese woman) that the skin on Japanese women's thighs completely atrophies by the time they finish high school.
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golyplot
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Re: Learning Japanese from zero by listening: 2021 Log

Postby golyplot » Fri Apr 09, 2021 3:55 am

I haven't done much Japanese lately due to getting busy with other things or lacking in motivation. A couple nights, I didn't even feel like watching K-On! However, tonight I watched "Visit!" (the penultimate episode).

The main thing I noticed was the elaborate bell chiming sequence at school early in the episode, presumably to signal the end of the school day. It's been many years since I played Katawa Shoujo, but I recall a similar sound effect used there. Is this a common thing in Japanese schools? Or is it just coincidence (or my memory playing tricks on me)?

Also, does anyone know what hitoribochi means? I haven't had any luck trying to look it up.

Also, I finished listening to Momoko's podcast Sunday night and am now listening to Noriko again. Despite my previous criticism, Momoko really grew on me. The slow pace and way she says everything in English first makes it relatively easy to follow even when not paying attention, which is nice.
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