文化 (ぶんか): 剣道(けんどう)

こんばんわ皆さん。

At the first 日本語テエブル, it was difficult to hold a conversation with 牧野せんせえ because the number of expressions I know is very limited. So I wanted to share how one says "My hobby is..." with all of you. It's a great addition to the different phrases we've been learning in class related to introducing yourself to others.

So here it goes...

i.e.

[My] [hobby] [is] [kendo].

=

[わたしの][しゅみ][は][けんどおです]。

しゅみ = hobby

Not too difficult, right?

Now, as a brief note about me, kendo is actually one of my actual hobbies. I have been practicing kendo since 4th grade and I am currently a 2nd dan (段/だん) master. The reasons I find it really enjoyable is because of its focus on honing the mind and body as well as an emphasis on respect and courtesy.

While a kendo match may seem very physical and intense, when you are actually in the position of facing an opponent it feels more like a relaxed breathing exercise than a fight. An example of how kendo is infused with both de-stressing and respect is the rule of starting and ending every practice with もくそ(meditation).

Some 日本語 terms that are used regularly at the どじょ include:

列 - れつ: line, or to form a line

気を付け - きをつけ: (Stand to) attention!

正座, 正坐 - せいざ: sitting correctly (Japanese-style); sitting with the knees underneath the body.

着座 - ちゃくざ: Sit in seiza position.

止め - やめ :stop (command)

始め - はじめ : start (command)

and most importantly

礼 - れい : Bow

読んでくれてありがとう。じゃあ、またね!

*attached below is an english video with some Japanese たご included about the basics of Kendo!

NHK English Guide to Kendo

自己紹介(しょうかい) o(*^▽^*)o

Tonight's homework assignment is to briefly introduce myself in hiragana. So here it goes:

こんばんわ。

皆さん、初めまして。

私の名前(なまえ)はイアンキムです。にじゅ歳(とし)です。私はアメリカのシカゴ からきました。私はプリンストン大学の二年せえです。専攻(せんこう)は国際関係(こくさいかけい)です。私は日本語の初心者(しょしんしゃ)です。でも日本語を学(がく)びますのを楽(らく)しみにしています。

皆さん、よろしく～

発音(はつおん)が

こんばんわ。

Last week, 柴田せんせえ introduced us to the pronunciation exercise schedule we'll be following for the year. I'm very excited that we get to have such a organized process to practice an area of language learning that I think is often neglected. Below are some pronunciation and speaking goals I have set for myself and activities I intend to complete to help me reach those goals:

Goals:

Accuracy of Pitch and Intonation
I'm far from having memorized the correct up-and-down melody of words, but especially overall phrases with out my voice cracking or going into the wrong register. I need to utilize OJAD and other resources to invest more time in reviewing and repeating.

(╯•﹏•╰)　ツカちゃん。。。(╯•﹏•╰)

Pace/Speed
I've noticed that, partly because I'm not use to shadowing and trying to speak without awkward, wrong pauses, I rush through certain sections of my speaking (especially the back half of phrases and sentences) and not pausing and not breathing when I actually am suppose to be.

Confidence

I feel that [because I lack confidence] I often have breaks in my speaking and have a low volume, which in turn hurts the accuracy and expression of intonations and pronunciation of words. I think I can improve my confidence through more practice hours and having my be having my speaking affirmed or corrected by an authority (i.e. office hours).

きみなら できるよ！

Listening Abilities 

To become a better speaker, I need to be good at picking up on what the correct pronunciation is. But I think my listening could be better. For example, I need to definitely do more drills related identifying voiced consonants. 

Activities:

Production Practice

• Create a weekly phrase list of じゅ for shadowing (daily listening of example and practice before bed)
• Refer to OJAD for accuracy in tandem with weekly phrase list practice
• Do Nakama-related exercises as time permits
• Study vocabulary spelling and related rules in the textbook to improve memory of pronunciations

Speaking Opportunities

• Practice with Japanese friends over meals (光田さんをしゅんさんありがとございます)
• Attend the Japanese language table weekly (I live in Mathey so this should not be too difficult hopefully)
• Attend せんせえ's office hours twice a month with questions that came to mind during class and self-study.

Perception and Mimicking Practice

• Watch a Japanese film once a weekend and take down common phrases (then practice shadowing as well as recording independently then reviewing).

はなちゃんのみそ汁 a.k.a (个_个)

• Keep up with a new anime (TBA) and re-watch favorites (i.e. 鋼の錬金術師, 人狼, 旦那が何を言っているかわからない件). Become familiar with rhythm and intonation. Choose a scene with common phrase or interesting meaning to shadow.

 人狼。。。ヾ( •́д•̀ ;)ﾉ

• Listen to Japanese music with slow, good diction (上を向いて歩こう and so on) when doing readings for other classes.

..also Japanese vocabulary songs?

Japanese Vocabulary Songs Playlist

Reflections (Experience So Far)

• Even when practicing based on examples, I still feel very unsure about whether I'm actually saying certain words or phrases I naturally and accurately (i.e. ございます)
• I've noticed that I tend to get my intonations of words and sentences wrong more when speaking to someone as opposed to by myself. I need to be able to be less nervous and hopefully this comes as I take advantage of more face-to-face practice sessions.
• I should go to language table/office hours with more preparation so that I can make the most of my time.

結論(けつろん)。。。
I'm very excited to get started on what is the path to improve my 日本語会話(かいわ).

Wish me luck!

読んでくれてありがとう。

じゃあ、またね!

なんえんせいですか？

皆さん、こんにちわ。

Last Friday, the rest of the class and I met とくます先生 for the first time. Personally, I find it very cool that we get to have a number of teachers and have multiple 先生s to get input from. よろしくお願いしますとくます先生!

During class we reviewed expressions from the first class and also learned how to express what year we are. たとえば:

初めまして。キムです。プリンストン大学の二年せえです。でも日本語の一年せえです。

However, during the 会話(kaiwa) portion, one frustration that arose was I knew how to say what year I was but did not know how to ask what year the other person is. Well, apparently the latter goes something like the following:

あなたは何年生ですか.

[あなたは for directing the question at the other person]

[何 (なに) being a rough "what"?]

[ですか being the modifier for questioning]

On a less academic note, I re-watched over the weekend a movie my family and I enjoyed this summer called 海街diary. I think Director Koreeda's film captures well the sentimental and tranquil quality that I really enjoy about Japanese films. Would highly recommend. Hopefully I can write some simple reviews thoughts about movies I watched in the future):

読んでくれてありがとう。

じゃあ、またね!

みなさんこんにちは!

みなさんこんにちは!

My name is Ian Kim and I'm a sophomore at Princeton University. I am really excited to study 日本語 starting this fall.

Why I'm Learning Japanese

I've chosen to study Japanese for a number of reasons. To start off, Japan has always been a far country (language barrier) but also a close one (frequent travel, many family members went to Waseda 大学). Growing up in Asia, our family spent many of our holidays in Japan (i.e. 温泉 trips to Nagasaki, skiing in Hokkaido).

I've always loved Japanese culture. Looking back, I grew up on Detective Conan and even now Japanese TV is still part of my life (I just finished Hanzawa Naoki). Some of my favorite music is Japanese too: from the new (Daoko) to the classic (Miyako Harumi). Japanese traditional painting and print art is also of interest for me (Art History of Japan last semester was a true pleasure). I'm also a big fan of Japanese food. Natto and chutoro on top of warm rice is my favorite meal full stop. Knowing Japanese I hope will help me appreciate it all on a new level.

I also think Japanese will be important in my future. I'll be graduating from Princeton as a US Army 2nd Lieutenant. Japan is one of my choices for deployment and I would like to know the language if I have the opportunity to go to Okinawa or the main islands. After serving my country, I want to possibly move back to Asia to live/work. Japan [with its labor shortages and cutting edge tech companies] seems like a good place to look. If I choose to stay in America, I'd like to pursue a career related to national security and Japan is a major ally.

First Impressions

I'm excited about learning Japanese. From the aesthetic of the kanas to the use of onomatopoeia, there are so many aspects to be excited about (and I also find honorifics really fascinating).

On the other hand, though its only been a few days, there are aspects that I am finding difficult. One is writing. Handwriting has been a weakness in other languages I know as well. Sato 先生 saids it reflects personality and your inner quality so...

On a side not, a long term goal I've set for myself is finding a natural voice in Japanese [not sound too much like a TBS announcer or at least not too much like a foreigner]. We haven't broached it yet but I'm also really a little scared by kanji.

But, all and all, I'm somewhat reassured by the fact that I'm not in it alone (other JPN 101 peers and 先生方). And I'm determined to work hard. ファイト!

読んでくれてありがとう。
じゃあ、またね!