Comments on: Luxurious Worries, Or: So Effing What If You Sound Like An Anime?!

By: How to Worry Correctly | AJATT | All Japanese All The Time

How to Worry Correctly | AJATT | All Japanese All The Time — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 07:37:10 +0000

[…] Sometimes our worries are too luxurious. But this is not the only worry failure mode. There are other forms of irrelevant worry. The kind we’re going to talk about today is perhaps even more pervasive and more pernicious than your garden variety luxurious worry. That kind is: the vague/abstract worry. The VAW (rhymes with “WOW”). Sounds like a word you shouldn’t be allowed to say, doesn’t it? Lol […]

By: This

This — Wed, 19 Aug 2015 14:10:03 +0000

ええとね isn’t exclusively feminine, you know (but the image it projects might not be the one you want).

By: Stephen

Stephen — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 18:26:09 +0000

Yeah, but that’s a computer science phrase. He makes stuff up all the time, but that’s not one.

By: blog of nhairek | Guide to Japanese and Mandarin through entertainment

blog of nhairek | Guide to Japanese and Mandarin through entertainment — Thu, 29 May 2014 02:46:14 +0000

[…] to sound like an anime character in comparison to what you’re like now. In any case, read Luxurious Worries, Or: So Effing What If You Sound Like An Anime?! and Where Not To Learn Japanese From. I hope you get my meaning. I’d take sounding like […]

By: Jessie Rose

Jessie Rose — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 17:27:42 +0000

I love it when people whine about others sounding like cartoon characters (or anime characters). I find it highly amusing, especially when the other person has better grammar and more easily understood speech patterns than the complainer.

Yeah, there’s stuff you’re only going to pick up from real life, but who cares? You’re not going to pick it up quickly enough to use it if you don’t already have a base. Why do you think speech courses that actually kind of work teach you neutral speech patterns in Japanese before they go worrying with formal/familiar? All that verb conjugation can wear on a person’s brain, so they just teach you the stuff you need to know to not tick someone off first.

Funny thing, though, I’ve noticed that these courses work best when I study them in conjunction with a zillion other things I’m doing. The textbook grammar is a nice tool that helps me put into different contexts stuff I already know. (I’m sure I’ll get lampooned for saying that here, but it’s true.) Let me rephrase that: my textbook knowledge is helping me get more out of what I’m -learning- from anime, drama, and toku. Read that how you will.

Furthermore, and I really hope my arguments are making sense, I started learning English not just from my parents, but from stuff like -Ninja Turtles-, which I was more or less weaned on and still love to this day, and I was reading sight words before I knew the alphabet. I sounded like a mishmash of my parents, said Turtles, and the Power Rangers by the time I started kindergarten, and still got better grades in grammar and writing, and then on impromptu speeches/storytelling once I got the hang of it, than almost anybody else right up through high school.

It’s not what you learn from, it’s how much you pay attention and what you put into it. And who pays attention to or puts effort into boring things they’re not getting something out of?

Oh, and for the record, I still say “Cowabunga.”

By: Jacob

Jacob — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 18:49:00 +0000

oh, i didnt know that. Thank you for explaining, im trying to learn japanese so im sure that will be helpful in the future. Btw i didnt catch any mistake so you’re doing great, i hope to someday be able to write in japanese as well as you do in english(:

By: Tsubasa

Tsubasa — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 06:32:49 +0000

Hi, Jacob-san Thanks for the message^^. Yes, こんにちは is the proper way to say, “Hello”. However, for some Japanese people, こんにちわ　looks more friendly or casual, and I prefer the way of it. So I often use こんにちわ when I write about something which I don’t want it to sound too serious, on twitter or BBS. I use こんにちは　in some kind of business or more serious mails、 or when I send the letters to older people. (Actually, you must be careful using such non-proper words. There are always someone who don’t like them＾＾；）
(Sorry, there might be many mistakes even in this short message. I’m still on the journey of learning English, but of course, with lots of fun^^!)

By: Jacob

Jacob — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 05:45:39 +0000

Not trying to be a grammar nazi but i was under the impression that even though it sounds like こんにちわ it was written こんにちは but please correct me if im wrong

By: Jay

Jay — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 05:05:20 +0000

Maybe I’m just delirious from lack of sleep, but footnote 5…. LMFAO! I wept.

By: Jason

Jason — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 18:59:54 +0000

If a person cannot differentiate the forms of usage between えっとね and あのさ, it just means that he has not heard/read enough Japanese.
Once you get to a certain level, these are things you should understand automatically, regardless if you watch anime or whatever.
There are many things that when I got to a certain point, I just know due to my increasing connection to the Japanese language, and I never had to look it up in a book or anything.

By: Jason

Jason — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 18:37:30 +0000

It’s nearly impossible for a Japanese learner to sound/speak like an anime character.

You know why? Because in order to sound like an anime seiyuu, you actually need to be fluent in the language. So they should just stop worrying.

By: Tsubasa

Tsubasa — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 05:41:36 +0000

Oh, so sorry, I made a mistake.

I wanted to say,

”ただ、やってみる時には、

汚い表現やふさわしくない言葉が使われるとこともある
と、言うことを念頭においていてほしいですね＾＾。”

I hope you understand what I mean^^

By: Tsubasa

Tsubasa — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 05:36:41 +0000

こんにちわ！

時々こちらの記事を読ませていただいています＾＾。
AJJAT さんの語学学習に対する考え方に、感心したり、共感したりしています。＾＾
Twitterも、フォローさせていただいてます＾＾

アニメにあわせてしゃべってみる、とてもいいと思います。
とくに、アニメの声優さんたちは、ドラマよりもはっきりと発音しているので
聞き取りやすいし、普通に私たちが話す日本語で語られています＾＾。

もちろん、キャラクターによっては、変な口癖があったり、
あまり上品ではないしゃべり方をするキャラクターもいますが、
標準の言葉で話していることの方がとても多いです。
十分学べる物があると思います。

それに、なんといっても、楽しいですからね＾＾

汚い表現やふさわしくない言葉が使われるとこともある
と、言うことを念頭においていてほしいですね＾＾。

人は、楽しいことから、たくさんたくさん学べると思います＾＾。

アニメ好きの方にはもってこいの練習だと思います＾＾

By: Fernando Ramos

Fernando Ramos — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 02:47:28 +0000

I agree with part of the premise but not the whole thing, because you ignore that most crucial thing in language: CONTEXT. Yes, you want input, input and more input. Anime is as good or bad as any other tool with getting words and phrases. In fact, a lot of famous dialogue comes from anime. お前はもう死んでいる from Fist of the North Star, 二度もぶった！おやじにもぶたれたことないのに from Gundam, or, my personal favorite 逃げちゃダメだ！！！ from Evangelion. They can make great social references and create a connection point. However, I would never say any of that stuff in a conversation (except maybe the last one) or even remotely encourage anyone to do so.

An ancedote about context. My Japanese teacher (a feminine native lady in her early 30s) often said ええとうね when thinking. It sounded very natural and as such I used it in my own speech when in the US. However, when I went to go abroad, many people would laugh when I said it. I was very frustrated but the people around being polite and encouraging, didn’t say anything that would help my situation. It was only later when I listened to JapanesePod101 that I found out it was a rather feminine form and not befitting of me being a mid-20s college student male. Nowadays I say あのさ as it is more natural and expected.

So it is with anime. Your article has this DAMN PROPER CONDUCT JUST DO IT which is fine to an extent. Until I see (and I have) Western guys trying too hard to sound like shonen manga “tough guys” with their superiors who are fortunately tolerant enough to understand but too polite to say that’s Not How To Do It. Better they speak some than not at all? Sure. It would be even better if they don’t come off like jerks when they’re not.

Remind your readers that Japanese especially is a context-sensitive language and be always cognizant of it. If you want to quote Shinji Ikari, remember that Shinji is a 14 year old kid. You want to quote (one of my favorite characters) Rintarou Okabe from Steins;Gate? Just remember that his words are often more pompous and pretentious than philosophical? You want to speak like Digiko from Digi-Charat? God help us all.

By: Nagoya Blue

Nagoya Blue — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 01:01:14 +0000

I’d like to see things from your point of view, but there dosen’t seem to be room in your a#sehole for my head too.

By: Adan

Adan — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:28:25 +0000

Very nice post.
I agree.
In the begining you gotta start somewhere.
Being able to imitate anime characters and able to speak like them is a powerful skill that will get your
japanese up to spead in no time.
I started like that.
First anime, then grew to drama, then just normal people speaking.
In the end it’s a natural progression that people go through and it becomes a part of your personality.
I think that the natural progression is also kind of done by the environment to you.
When japanese friends start teasing you a lot about sounding like an anime character and then you see them
talk , you start learning the difference in voice tones between real life and over-exagerated
anime speech.
Learning from anime is cool and is a great first step. Just accept the consequences that come with it.
If that’s all your committed to learning from, don’t be surprised if that cute girl you are trying to seduce
runs away or rolls her eyes over because of your weirdness in speech patterns.
Accept it and either move on or evolve into the next level.

By: Jack

Jack — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 07:51:08 +0000

1. You are so right. There IS a time and a place for everything, but respect follows knowledge. I’ll restate that. Respect comes after knowledge. At the start of a language we know nothing. We all start off in the same manner as children so…please…be patient with us…

2. You’re missing the point. It’s not about (dis)similarities in language. It’s about how the human mind works; how we ALL learn. Unless you’re saying Japanese minds work differently (which could be the case considering your last statement).

3. No. I’m going to continue to speak my mind, as will most of us. You, on the other hand, are perfectly welcome to continue stereotyping and tossing around generalities. You are, of course, also welcome to continue walking around with a stick up your ass.

Look, we just want to learn the language as fast and as well as we can. It seems the best way to do that is by using the tools we enjoy. If that means we start off crude and later learn politeness then so be it. I’d rather begin in rudeness and finish in courtesy after only 2 years of study than reverse that and take 6-10 years like most of the people I know.

Ask yourself why the irritants in your life are what they are. Ask yourself why you’re letting things like impolite language bother you. Is it really something that hurts you, or anyone other than the speaker for that matter? Hopefully that level of self-reflection is within your power.

By: The Better Anonymous

The Better Anonymous — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:14:11 +0000

And, then there is this faggot. Hurry back to the classroom, the lesson over “The ha line” is starting.

By: ライトニング

ライトニング — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:14:03 +0000

What’s better, Fluent and sounding animeish or not fluent and not sounding animeish. I think fluency with animeish is a lot easier to fix than incompetence in a language.

By: Han

Han — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:03:37 +0000

What’s with the homophobic jokes today?