I have been busy

I have not posted recently since I have been very busy getting ready for my trip to Japan. I hope to add a new lesson soon. I will also add pics while I am in Tokyo and Hiroshima.
Until then...

Greating people for the first time conversation

New Vocab:
Hajimemashite = "Pleased to meet you" or "How are you?"
Yoroshiku onegai shimasu = "Please accept my regards" or "Please accept me."

Before we talk about the above vocabulary lets look at their context in a conversation. This conversation is kind of watered down but it works and also uses some of the grammar that we have learned in earlier lessons.

Mr. Tanaka: Konnichiwa.

Mr Yamata: Konnichiwa. Watashi wa Yamata desu.

Mr Tanaka: Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Tanaka desu.

Mr Yamata: Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.

Mr Tanaka: Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.

Now the translation:

Mr. Tanaka: Hello. (Good afternoon.)
Mr Yamata: Hello. I'm Yamata.
Mr Tanaka: Pleased to meet you. I'm Tanaka.
Mr Yamata: Please accept my regards.
Mr Tanaka: Please accept my regards.

I think that most of the above conversation was easy to understand as long as you have completed the past lessons.

I want to delve deeper into a few of the phrases used in the conversation because they do not really translate directly into English, we just have English counterparts for them.

"Hajimemashite" literally mean "The beginning" or "the first time". It comes from the verb "hajimeru" which mean "to begin" (We will start verbs in a few lessons). When you are using this phrase you are acknowledging that it is the first time you are meeting. Thus it loosely translates as "Pleased to meet you."

Yoroshiku onegai shimasu means that you are requesting that the person you are talking to will accept you from here on out. Thus it translates to "Please accept my regards".

You will find that some words or phrases in the Japanese language do not directly translate to English. This is partly because Japanese is not a Latin based language as are most languages we are familiar with. Another reason is the Japanese history and culture are very different from what we are used to in the US and Europe.

So, review the above conversation many times. Invite someone to practice with you and remember to insert your own names.

Have fun!

Microsoft lowers prices on XBOX 360 in Japan

Microsoft has been having a difficult time selling the XBOX 360 in Japan since it was introduced there. Now they are lowering the price on the system in order to be more competitive. The new price on the Xbox 360 Arcade model has been dropped from $260 to $180. That is a price drop of almost 30%! It makes the XBOX 360 the cheapest “current generation” game system available with the Wii being $230 and the Playstation 3 $370. Still I wonder how much more they will sell. Sure, I think the price drop will allow a larger segment of the population to purchase Microsoft’s system and there may be a short-lived boom in the number of units sold but the XBOX’s popularity in Japan is driven more by the games available. I remember about a year ago when “Blue Dragon” came out, which was created by Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, there were reports of a rise in XBOX 360 system sales.

Head of Japan XBOX operation Takashi Sensui said, “We have set the prices with hopes more people will be able to enjoy XBOX 360.” I think that the Japanese are more loyal to their local systems the Nintendo Wii and the Playstation 3 and that is where the majority of sales may stay.

I could be wrong though. Those are just my thoughts.

"No", the Possessive Particle. It's mine all mine I tell you!!

New Vocab:
Kuruma = car
Otousan = father
Kare = he/him

Here is another easy lesson. Today we will introduce a new particle into our sentences. Remember, a particle tells us what a word is doing in a sentence. It tells us the importance of a word. Recall that the particle "wa" marked the topic of the sentence. The new particle today is "no" which marks ownership or possession. This should be easy to remember since your first word was probably "no!" as a toddler and you were probably very selfish or possessive of your toys. Okay, silly example but maybe it will help you remember its meaning. The Particle "no" is similar to the English "apostrophe s ('s). "

Like the particle "wa", "no" follows directly after the noun it is modifying.

Lets look at some examples.

Examples:

Watashi no kuruma desu. = My car.

Kare wa tomodachi no Otousan desu. = He is my friend's father.

In the above example "my" is implied in "my friend". I could have said "Kare wa Watashi no tomodachi no Otousan desu." but it seems strange since it is implied that I am talking about my friend. Having two "no" particles in this sentence seems wordy.

More examples:

Sore wa Watashi no ki dewa arimasen. = That is not my tree. (Remember the desu box from an earlier lesson!)

Tomodachi no inu wa doko desu ka? = Where is my friend's dog?

See, pretty easy! Remember to practice with other nouns.

“Ka”. Turning a sentence into a question.

New Vocab:
Doko = where
Dare = who
Nan = what

This lesson is relatively easier than the other lessons. In order to make a sentence a question, just add “ka” to the end (as long as it makes sense). Let’s look at some of the sentences we had before and see if this works.

"Tomodachi wa Nihonjin desu." = "My friend is Japanese." This can also mean “Your friend is Japanese” depending on the context.
Now adding “ka” at the end it becomes:
"Tomodachi wa Nihonjin desu ka?" = "Is my/your friend Japanese?"

Another:
"Kore wa hon desu." = "This is a book."
Now adding “Ka” at the end it becomes:
"Kore wa hon desu ka?" = "Is this a book?"

Pretty easy, huh?

Now lets use some of the new vocab we learned above:
“Doko desu ka?” = “Where is it?”
Lets expand:
“Inu wa doko desu ka?” = “Where is the dog?”

“Dare desu ka?” = “Who is it?”
Lets expand:
“Tomodachi wa dare desu ka?” = “Who is your friend?” or “As for your friend, who is he/she?”

Another:
“Kore wa Nan desu ka?” = “What is this?” or “As for this, what is it?”

That is all for today. If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments. I would be happy to answer them.

Don’t forget to practice with objects around the room. Have fun!

...wa...desu.

New Vocab:

• tomodachi = friend
  
• kore = this
  
• sore = that
  
• Nihonjin = Japanese person
  
  Today's lesson marks the first lesson of many to come on Japanese particles. Particles are important to the Japanese language since they define what words are doing in a sentence. The first particle I am introducing is "wa". "Wa" marks the topic by following it in the sentence. "Wa" is used in one of the most common, simple Japanese sentence structures. This sentence structure is "(topic) wa ... desu" (the '...' can be anything else in the sentence).
  
  Example:
  
  "Watashi wa Jones desu." = "I am Jones."
  
  Remember from a previous lesson that "desu" means is/am/are
  
  If you are struggling with what is meant by a topic marker, just think of "wa" translated as "as for (topic)". Therefore, the above sentence could be translated as "As for me, I am Jones."
  Let’s look at a few more examples.
  
  "Tomodachi wa Nihonjin desu." = "My friend is Japanese." or "As for my friend, he is Japanese."
  
  "Kore wa hon desu." = "This is a book." or "As for this, it is a book."
  
  "Sore wa inu desu." = "That is a dog." or "As for that , it is a dog."
  
  Remember the desu box from a previous lesson. We can insert the different tenses for desu.
  
  "Tomodachi wa Nihonjin dewa arimasen." = "My friend is not Japanese." or "As for my friend he is not Japanese."
  
  Practice looking around the room and use this sentence structure out loud. Remember if you do not know the Japanese word for an object then just use the English word in its place. Also, use the desu box too for review.
  
  Example:
  
  "Sore wa homework deshita" = "That was my homework."
  
  Have fun! See you at the next lesson.
  

Toon Disney to become DisneyXD

According to LA Times, Disney is planning on shaking up its Toon Disney Channel by appealing to boys more. The new name for the channel will be DisneyXD and will showcase new live action and anime shows. The change will take place February 2009.

One of DisneyXD's first new series will be a joint effort between Disney and Japanese studio "Toei-Animation" called RoboDz. The story revolves around three humanoid robots that protect mankind and earth from invading aliens. Looks interesting and might be fun. You can see a video preview of this new anime on RoboDz's site. I know the website is in Japanese but all you need to do is find the picture on the left with the three characters lined up with the video play button over them. Click on the play button to download the link to buffer the video and then click on the downloaded link on you desktop. Your video player will then start playing the preview. Enjoy!

Images © Toei Animation/Disney