Why Can't Japanese Speak English? (Interview)

[yuiyoshida]

[safeinOhio]

1. Me either

and I was born here.

[MrMickeysMom]

2. It begs another question...

Do you think Americans should look as healthy as the Japanese do?

I can't help but notice everyone walking in the background, plus these interviewees are not obese! As an American of Italian descent trying to look more like the Japanese, I could learn a lot from studying theirs and other cultures. Personally, I'd love to have learned Italian, but that boat has sailed, but a broken few words and phrases.

(sigh)

[yuiyoshida]

6. funny isn't it ...

That doctors here tell us to not eat a lot of white rice, because it turns to sugar? Yet Japanese live on RICE for everything.. Rice in dishes, rice balls, everything is rice, and look at that video? Everyone there is nice and fit... I know its more than rice, they exercise, they have stress relieving baths and massage.. they live to ages well past 100.. Why is that rare in America?

[rjsquirrel]

3. This is really dumb

and a little bit weird:

[yuiyoshida]

7. Why is that?

[MrMickeysMom]

10. Drive by comments without reason....

are more weird...

[trusty elf]

4. I've been to Japan twice

to play concerts. I just wanted to say that I like Japan and Japanese people/culture/food very much.

I wish I could speak/write Japanese.

[yuiyoshida]

8. Classes are always available

on line and in colleges. My Parents are Native Hawaiian and Japanese and speak English only. So I didn't want to pass up my heritage so I went to UC Berkeley and took a language class in Nihongo (Japanese).. I am not quite fluent, but I can get by if you dropped me on a street in Tokyo and told me to go hang out for a while. As for Reading and writing, I need far more practice, learning and remembering Kana.. Hiragana, Katakana and the many Kanji characters.

You know there are over 10 thousand Kanji characters, and far more in Chinese. I am so glad I never took Mandarin, except it might be fun to speak it. I now have a tutor on line, a girl friend who lives in Japan and tutors me in Japanese. All these things are possible now, for anyone to learn a second language and become serious about it.

[brush]

5. Good post. Most of the people want better English instruction from the schools and teachers

More conversational instead of written instruction which, once you have the grammar basics, is really how you learn to put sentences together.

[yuiyoshida]

9. This is true with the reverse

in Learning Japanese. One has to have constant conversations in the language to become fluent and learn all the ins and outs of the quirks of that language. Even Japanese has its slang, and some words are no longer used. One of my favorite is: "Gokigenyo". I have talked to my many friends in Japan and they laugh when I say that ...and ask .."Oh! You know that word? No one uses it any longer, except for seniors." The word is wonderful, it means.. Hello, Goodbye, and How are you in one word.. that's kind of like "aloha"..hello and good bye.. but there is an added, part of "How are you?" ..words are amazing.