Email #2

[Fedgrub]

Hey guys! I just received email number two from my friend and wanted to see if I have interepreted all this correctly if thats ok? Here it is:

こんばんは
Good evening.

にほんご の めーる ありがとう☆
Thank you for your Japanese email.

わたし の かぞくは げんき です。
My family is healthy.

きのう おかあさん の たんじょうび でした。
Yesterday it was mother's birthday.

まっと の かぞく は げんき ですか？
Is your family healthy?

まっと は ひらがな だけでなく かたかな も よむ ことが できますか？
(I can't make much sense of this sentence, I can pick out the words Hiragana and Katakana but thats about it...)

さようなら
See you.

かずこ
Kazuko

Is that correct or am I a bit off in places? Any helps decifering the last line would be great. I guess my major hurdle with interpreting this email was the まっ. What the hell is that? haha. I couldn't spot it on a symbol table.

Thanks guys.

[maxiewawa]

Can Matt read not only in hiragana but katakana?

[Fedgrub]

Can Matt read not only in hiragana but katakana?

Ah thanks dude. Can you explain まっ at all, or let me know whether I interpreted the rest correctly?

Thanks

[Belton]

If I can jump in,

まっと
is
Matto

the っ is represented by a double consonant in romaji.
It is pronounced as silence for 1 beat. glottal stop I think it's called in English. Normally just small tsu when talking about it.
Presumably your name. It's often considered impolite to use a pronoun, mind you there was no honorific san,,,

I also find おかあさん　a little odd maybe. I'd normally read this as your mother, an honorific. はは　is my mother. direct address within a family would be かあさん I think rather than おかあさん、
But who am I to correct a Japanese person's Japanese. !!
you're obviously part of the family.

Your translation is かんぺき、perfect.

I always have problems in the usage of さようなら -- goodbye if not farewell would be how I see it.
またね、or じゃまた、are casual closings you could try, meaning "later', "see you later", "bye for now" that sort of feeling.

[Fedgrub]

Thanks for your help Belton!

[jkeyz15]

わたし の かぞくは げんき です。
My family is healthy.
------
まっと の かぞく は げんき ですか？
Is your family healthy?

I see you understood the meaning just fine, but when doing translations, try not be so literal. I would just say ".... family's doing well/good"

Though I'm sure you already know this

まっと は ひらがな だけでなく かたかな も よむ ことが できますか？
(I can't make much sense of this sentence, I can pick out the words Hiragana and Katakana but thats about it...)

まっと - Matt (the っ blocks the sound before. I believe the academic term is called a glottal stop. This is expressed in romaji as a double consonant [if there is a consonant after it])

ひらがなだけでなく　- Hiragana + "dake" particle + conjugate (ren'youkei) form of denai (de aru)

カタカナも　- Katakana + inclusive "mo" particle

よむ ことが　できますか? - yomu - read + koto -thing/event (concept) + ga particle + dekimasu - can do + ka (question/doubt particle)
Verb + ことが できますか 　is a construction to represent ability "able to [verb]"

[i_broke_down]

Can you read katakana?

usually めーる　would be written メール
and まっと　would be 　マット