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July 16, 2024
 

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BILINGUAL

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 29, 2013
Good morning Miss Kita-Senju, konbanwa Japan
Perhaps there comes a day in many a man's life when he squints and says to himself something like this: 「まずいなぁ、もう少し度の強いメガネがあったら良かった。この距離だと、あの方が女装している北野武さんなのか、ミス・インターナショナルなのか、分からないや」("Mazui...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 22, 2013
A Japanese word-processing primer for beginners
Even a u5165u9580u8005 (nyu016bmonsha, entry-level learner) of Japanese can use a personal computer to his or her advantage, as a supplementary learning tool.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 15, 2013
Nadeshiko — adorable till they die
"France for food, Japan for wives." That was basically the conclusion made by French journalist/novelist Pierre Loti, who dropped by our shores in 1885 and wrote a book about his stay called "Madame Chrysantheme." Loti hadn't exactly caught the Japan bug — he was critical of many facets of Japanese...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 1, 2013
Smoking, now too uncool for school
Kitsuen (喫煙, smoking) could become an obsolete habit in Japan in the near future, as youngsters apparently now consider smoking dasai (ダサい, uncool).
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 25, 2013
When does one's native language stop being native?
A 71-year-old man in Gifu Prefecture made headlines recently when he attempted to initiate a lawsuit against broadcaster NHK. Through its excessive use of foreign derived words, the man claimed, NHK had caused him 精神的苦痛 (seishinteki kutsū, psychological pain). He demanded ¥1.41...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 18, 2013
Japanese women and the summer chill — a love story
Meet Matt, a software engineer in Silicon Valley, California, who recently married his college girlfriend from the University of Southern California. Her name is Miho. The pair are both in their late 30s and there was a 10-year period after university when he didn't lay eyes on Miho or feel any interest...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 4, 2013
The latest gyaru-go: The top 10 words for gals on the go
The other day, I overheard two gyaru (ギャル, gals, i.e., fashion-conscious girls) talking, but I had no idea what they were saying.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 28, 2013
Hyper, mega, ultra: talking in superlatives
One of the ultra-fascinating facets of Japanese is its super-large arsenal of intensifying prefixes that provide an otherwise neutral expression with some emphatic edge. The best-known (and least spectacular) of them is dai (大), which usually translates as "big." When something went really well, for...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 21, 2013
Summer brings out the creepy crawlies
Now that the tsuyu (梅雨, rainy season) has ended and the dreaded heat has descended upon the city, most of us have taken refuge indoors, camped out in front of the eakon (エアコン, air-conditioning) in a desperate attempt to wick away some of summer's sticky mushiatsusa (蒸し暑さ, humidity)....
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 14, 2013
Furigana: read the fine print, decode the hidden meanings
Years ago, a colleague at a company where I worked had a surname written using a character so obscure, that when handing out his business card he used to joke apologetically, 名前の漢字、ほとんど誰も読めない (namae no kanji, hotondo dare mo yomenai, hardly anybody can read the kanji in...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 7, 2013
The aidoru industry seeks big bucks in numbers
They say that Japan is suffering from a major shōshika (少子化, plummeting birth rate) syndrome, but a cursory glance at the entertainment industry reveals a singular fact: The young people of this country are well and thriving, and huddled together in mass aidoru gurūpu (アイドルグループ,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 1, 2013
Voting for idols is bigger than politics
Elsewhere in the world, the kind of sōsenkyo (総選挙, general election) that fires up public interest and garners media attention is one where political parties compete for national office. In Japan, however, the sōsenkyo of aidoru gurūpu (アイドルグループ, idol group) AKB48 tends to grab...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 24, 2013
Furigana — for when you need a little help with kanji
While watching a variety program on NTV over lunch a few weeks ago, I happened to see the word 儚い (hakanai) flash up on the screen.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 17, 2013
Thoughts of rice and Japanese men
If you're like me or the men in my life, you probably broke down and wept for joy on June 4, when Japanese midfielder Keisuke Honda scored the goal that bagged Japan's slot in the FIFA World Cup next year. At such sports events, one or another of my brothers turn up at my place, hauling their boozy,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 3, 2013
Shinto's kami and jinja seeking world acceptance
Ise Jingu (伊勢神宮, Ise Jingu Shrine) has recently published a sasshi (冊子, booklet) in English, titled "Soul of Japan — An Introduction to Shinto and Ise Jingu."
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 27, 2013
Oyaji gyagu, more than just cheesy puns
Stop me if you've heard this one. Two men aged around 50 enter a sushi restaurant. One orders a raincoat, the other a garage. What looks like the beginning of a "Monty Python" sketch is in fact the stuff of a most typical oyaji gyagu (おやじギャグ), or old man's joke/gag. Such jokes normally center...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 20, 2013
Product names show language creativity at work
Recently I was asked to write a blurb for a new liquid plant-nutrient. As soon as I saw the name of the product, u65e9u6839u65e9u8d77 uff08Hayane Hayaoki), I smiled at this example of linguistic creativity.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 13, 2013
It ain't easy being a bilingual girl
This bilingual thing ... they say that it's a both curse and a blessing. Watakushigotode kyōshukudesuga (私事で恐縮ですが, A thousand pardons for having the gall to talk about myself), but I think of it more like a stigma. It's not the same for millenials — they were born and raised in a kinder...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 6, 2013
Plan to introduce TOEFL to universities has its merits
The media and kyōiku senmonka (教育専門家, pundits on education) have been voicing the pros and cons of the idea put forward by the Jiminto (自民党, the Liberal Democratic Party) to make TOEFL (Test of English as Foreign Language) mandatory for entrance exams at all Japanese universities.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 29, 2013
Bilingual beauty, straight and permed
Beauty must be a bilingual thing. At least that's the impression one gets from looking at signs outside hairdressers, beauty parlors and similar types of businesses in Japan.
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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