Confused beginner here

[piru]

Hi Mina-san,

I was watching a japanese child movie recently.'Koinu Dan no Monogatari'
It is a movie from these Morning Musume jpop girls. Totemo kawaii desu.
Yes I knooow, but I was so happy that I understood a lot. It's a great movie for beginners.
And actually ......... I cried!


Anyway, this kid was calling her own brother oniisan instead of ani.
And it was calling a non related older girl oneesan.
I've also heard people talk about their own mother as okaasan instead of haha, I think.
Is it common, that the polite form is used for your own relatives?

Next, I've learned that moshi moshi is used be the person making a call, but I hear it from the person picking up the phone everytime. ?

Oh, and here's a technical question.
How do you guys type Kana or even Kanji on your average western Keybord?
Is there a way? I don't want to copy paste anymore.

Thanks in advance,

Phil.

[piru]

Sorry, I just found the thread on how to type japanese.
Stupid me.

[seanolan]

The o~san address to relatives is pretty simple...normally, you use plain form to address your family or to talk about your family. But, sometimes you use other forms, for a variety of reasons; just as you might address your father at "daddy" when you are being affectionate, "dad" in public because it seems less juvenile, and "father" when you are angry or want something. (my neighbor teases his daughter, calling her "okyakusama" and using REALLY high keigo to her, like he was a store clerk, whenever she does this...she'll call him "otousan" or even "otousama" when she wants something...she's so cute, cause she knows this means she is not getting what she wants and she gets mad) I don't know the motivations behind the various ways of addressing family members, but I'm sure they parallel our "daddy, papa, dad, father", "mommy, mama, mom, mother", "sis/bro", "cuz/cous" etc. But I don't think I have ever heard a Japanese person use the o~san form in the third person about their family...I don't think they ever do that.

Sean

[Jason]

Anyway, this kid was calling her own brother oniisan instead of ani.
<snip>
I've also heard people talk about their own mother as okaasan instead of haha, I think.
Is it common, that the polite form is used for your own relatives?

While technically it's not proper to call your family by the honorific form (onii-san, onee-san, okaa-san, etc) when talking about them to other people, it is very common.

And it was calling a non related older girl oneesan.

It's common for children and young adults (or adults talking about others to children) to refer to older people who aren't related to them with most of the family words, excluding otou-san and okaa-san. Adults also may do it as a term of affection. In general, but note that these age ranges are by no means set in stone:

-onee-san/onii-san = older girl or boy, probably from teenagers to people in their 20-30s
-oji-san/oba-san = men and women in their ~30-50s. Most women would probably take exception to being called oba-san, though.
-ojii-san/obaa-san = men and women 50+.

Next, I've learned that moshi moshi is used be the person making a call, but I hear it from the person picking up the phone everytime. ?

It can be used by both. While the person answering the phone will almost certainly say it, the caller may also respond with it.