Tag - bilingual

 
 

BILINGUAL

Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 27, 2015
A crash course in wartime Japanese terminology for foreign demons
Ahead of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, here's a look at the words, phrases and concepts that found wide usage in the fateful years leading up to 1945.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 20, 2015
Ain't no cure for the salaryman blues
This is an excerpt from an interview with a salaryman who wishes to remain anonymous.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 13, 2015
Don't let your Japanese get derailed when you're angry
While Japan's train system is universally lauded as punctual and convenient, there's always that one person on the daily commute that ticks you off.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 6, 2015
Kendo can bring Japan's passive smartphone zombies back to life
When I visited the Nippon Budokan (日本武道館) to watch the Kokusai Kendo Senshuken (世界剣道選手権大会, World Kendo Championships), an unexpected surge of joy coursed through my veins. This is probably how Brazilians feel when watching a soccer match between their national team and anyone...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 29, 2015
The reigning 'Queen of subtitles,' in her own words
For the past four decades, after the lights dim and curtains go up at cinemas around Japan, the credits that have flashed on screens at the start of hundreds of foreign films have acknowledged subtitle translator Natsuko Toda.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 22, 2015
When too much is not enough, just dial up the 'sugiru'
When something is in excess, English commonly uses the adverb 'too.' Japanese expresses similar things with the verb 'sugiru.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 15, 2015
Keep pounding away and eventually Japanese will reveal its secrets
If some patterns in Japanese don't make sense yet, just keep pounding the rock. With enough time and repetition, they'll click.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 8, 2015
Too much 'ganbaru' could push anyone over the edge
For those trying their hardest or already at the end of their rope, 'ganbaru' can seem like a slap in the face rather than a gesture of encouragement.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 1, 2015
To know bamboo is to know Asia — and a whole lot of Japanese
This fast-growing plant has found its way into much of the language of Japan, revealing a great deal about the history and culture of East Asia.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 25, 2015
Tried and trusted cures for May's hay fever, chills and ira ira
Despite the glorious weather, the azaleas in full bloom and traditional spring treats that grace the table this month, May is tinged with sorrow.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 18, 2015
With yoji jukugo, four little characters can say so much
Saying it in four characters seems to be a pervasive stylistic device permeating all areas of life in Japan, from the pedestrian to the profound.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 11, 2015
In Japanese, mastery of the space-time continuum is just a few words away
Words in Japanese that describe timing and conditions make it easy for speakers to be incredibly precise using very few words.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 4, 2015
Dating in Japan never used to be this difficult — or creepy
It's spring and love should be in the air. But it's a bad, bad time to be out there in the dating scene.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 27, 2015
These tips for Japanese mastery go out to the muddlers
When it comes to learning Japanese, most of us muddle through. This article is for the muddlers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 13, 2015
April: the season of newbies, nendo and Narita taishoku
April in Japan is a time for new beginnings, whether it be in terms of products, school or the world of work.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 6, 2015
Must-knows and no-nos about where those o's and go's go
Where people in English mind their Ps and Qs, speakers of Japanese have to know their o's and go's.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 30, 2015
Submitting yourself to the 50 shades of arigatō gozaimasu
Do you remember the first day of Japanese class or the first day you resolved to finally learn the language on your own? What about the very first Japanese words you ever learned? There's a good chance arigatō gozaimasu (ありがとうございます) were those first words and/or you learned them...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 23, 2015
Where did all the Japanese fathers go?
Aside from ikumen (イクメン, men who play a role in raising their children), Nihon no otōsan (日本のお父さん, Japanese fathers) are a pretty sad lot. The vast majority of them have been and continue to be kaya no soto (蚊帳の外, literally "outside the mosquito net," meaning "left out")...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 16, 2015
Don't say you haven't been warned
I must confess, I never paid a great deal of attention to the warning messages and disclaimers that adorned packaging in Japan until 1972, when tobacco companies first got around to printing health warnings on packs of cigarettes. This was six years after the practice was adopted in the U.S., and the...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 9, 2015
Avoiding the subject isn't such a bad idea in Japanese
Japanese is so efficient as a language that it can sometimes leave new students feeling as though they are floating in space. Without the familiar gravity of shugo (主語, subjects), students are sometimes at a loss to create sentences that involve multiple actors and both direct and indirect actions....

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’