Tag - language

 
 

LANGUAGE

Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 25, 2016
Give my love to Kyoto — if you get to see her
The 'hometown of the Japanese heart' is bursting at the seams with foreign tourists. There just isn't any room for us indigenous Japanese folk anymore.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Apr 25, 2016
Using the 'no' clause in Japanese to add layers to your language
Introduce the proper way of using u306e to make a clause that can be used like a noun within a sentence.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Apr 25, 2016
Bear-shaped communication tool invented
KDDI Corp. has developed a communication tool in the shape of a teddy bear for use by young children and grandparents living apart from each other.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Apr 25, 2016
Let's discuss Sharp's new humanoid phone
Sharp Corp. is launching a small humanoid smartphone that responds to voice commands and can project movies on a wall.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 18, 2016
In-out distinction raises linguistic issues for Japan's long-term 'inside outsiders'
In this culture, some basic distinctions are made between those who are Japanese and those who are not — differences reflected in both law and language.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Apr 18, 2016
Overdoing it and feeling the effects with 'amari'
A look at the use of u3042u307eu308a in affirmative sentences, in the patterns u3042u307eu308au306b(u3082) and u3042u307eu308au306eX.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Apr 18, 2016
Hokkaido shinkansen line opens
The shinkansen line directly linking Hokkaido with Tokyo officially opened March 26, promising shorter travel times and introducing slick new carriages.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Apr 18, 2016
Let's discuss the Tokyo Olympic logo competition
Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizers have unveiled a shortlist of four replacement logos after the original design was scrapped.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 11, 2016
Ubiquitous and conveniently vague: Let's look at and -shō
Let's-style hortatives serve a range of purposes in Japanese, running the gamut from polite prohibition to whole-hearted encouragement.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Apr 11, 2016
Emphasizing not very much with 'amari' and 'taishite'
Introducing two adverbs — u3042u307eu308aand u5927(u305fu3044)u3057u3066 — that pair with u306au3044 to mean 'not very much.'
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Apr 11, 2016
Google's artificial intelligence program defeats go master
The Google artificial intelligence program AlphaGo has defeated South Korean go grandmaster Lee Se-dol in a historic tournament in Seoul.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Apr 11, 2016
Let's discuss using robots in child care
RoHo Care is being touted as a high-tech solution to the staffing crisis in Japan's child care sector.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 4, 2016
Luckily for English speakers, machine translation still can't match a native's touch
The consensus is that translation will one day inevitably be taken over by computers — but we're not there yet.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Apr 4, 2016
Minding your manners and judging others' with 'shitsurei'
Introducing some ways of using u5931u793c (u3057u3064u308cu3044), meaning 'impoliteness.'
LIFE / Language
Apr 4, 2016
Pizza may get listed on UNESCO's menu
Sample newspaper article
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Apr 4, 2016
Let's discuss relocating government agencies out of Tokyo
The Cultural Affairs Agency will be moving to Kyoto as part of a policy to revitalize regional economies and address the over-concentration of government offices in Tokyo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 28, 2016
Condolences: What to say when there's nothing you can say
In the event of a death, even though there may be nothing you can say that will help the grieving, you have to try. This is a particular challenge in a second language.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Mar 28, 2016
Learning the ins and outs of even-ifs using 'ni shiro'
Introducing the meaning and uses of uff5eu306bu3057u308d (even if), which is a more formal version of uff5e u306bu3057u3066u3082.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 21, 2016
Lessons in history and bureaucracy lurk within Japan's geographical layer cake
Although in English we say Japan has 47 prefectures, Japanese uses four terms to express the same concept. And that's just for starters.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Mar 21, 2016
A certain ratio: the relative strengths of wariai, wari to and wari ni
Introducing the meaning and adverbial uses of the noun u5272u5408 (u308fu308au3042u3044, ratio).

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan