Osakan accent

[lonna_senpai]

My first day will be in Osaka and I was wondering what tips you might give me in understanding the accent. I know it's not too different (maybe?) but I really want to practice some Japanese before I get to Tokyo! Please help! Thanks

[Javizy]

It's not just the accent that's different, since it's a dialect, you'll notice changes in the grammar and vocabulary, as well. It really depends on the region, the person, and the context, but it can be quite strong at times, for example, old women from the countryside will be very hard to understand without knowing it well.

Some common examples are ない endings changing to へん/ひん, や/やった/やろう being used instead of だ/だった/だろう, and やん（か） being used instead of じゃない（か）. An example of a difference in vocabulary is なおす being used instead of もどす or ほかす being used instead of すてる.

There's a lot more details on this website http://web.mit.edu/kansai/ if you're interested in learning more, and there are plenty of videos and sound samples to get a taste of what it's like.

However, since everybody in Japan can speak hyoujun-go, and are likely to do so with people they have just met, I doubt you will need much more than phrases like おおきに　and まいど, which you should find on the website as well.

[Belton]

I wouldn't worry about it. As a learner it's *all* going to be foreign to you. It's unlikely you'll pick up on the regional differences.
In my experience Japanese can change their accent fairly easily in a way that English speakers don't. My wife will switch from Osaka-ben / Nara-ben to Nagoya-ben to standard depending on who she is talking to. With most of the polite and ultra-polite being in standard Japanese.
So my advice is just go for it using the Japanese and accent you have. If you ever live in an area with a regional accent that would be the ideal time to learn it from your friends there.

おおきに instead of ありがとう　usually gets a smile or surprised reaction.

[lonna_senpai]

Thanks for all the advise! That site looks really helpful, I can't wait to look at it! Thanks a bunch again for the quick replies

[hunyaga]

I agree, if you know the basics you should be OK just about anywhere. If you are interested in Osaka ben then check out Learn Japanese Pod as the lessons are mostly done in Osaka Ben.

http://learnjapanesepod.com/all-podcasts/