Learn about Japanese Ramen, things to do during Golden Week and differents dialects in Japan
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Yoshi: 第十六回 日本文化レッスンでございます。よしです。 |
| Takase: たかせです。 |
| Peter: Peter here. Japanese culture class #16. Today, joining us for the first time ever for Japanese culture class is |
| Yoshi: Nagasaki connection. |
| Takase: Nagasaki connection. |
| Peter: And it is a pleasure to have you joining us in the studio today. Now some of you out there might know why the Nagasaki connection is joining us in the studio today. For those of you that don’t, let’s clue you in but before we do that, we just want to remind you that today’s program is brought to you by Erklaren, the translation and interpretation specialists. Now back to the topic. Okay guys, sorry I shouldn’t say that. Okay Nagasaki connection. |
| Takase: Yes. |
| Yoshi: Yes. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Peter: Takase was all over that. Okay Nagasaki connection, what are we talking about today? |
| Yoshi: 方言 |
| Takase: 方言 |
| Peter: Takase is little late there. One more time. |
| Takase: 方言 |
| Yoshi: 方言 |
| Peter: Dialect. Now in Japan, there are many dialects. Many dialects, radio and TV helped to standardize them a bit but there are still so many dialects left. Some of the more well known dialects are |
| Takase: 東北弁 |
| Peter: What was the last part of that word? |
| Takase: 弁 |
| Peter: Now this is dialect. Takase, can you give it to us one more time? |
| Takase: 東北弁 |
| Peter: Northern Japan dialect. Now inside Northern Japan, by far, the most famous dialect is |
| Yoshi: 青森弁 |
| Peter: Okay Takase, have you heard this dialect before? |
| Takase: I am not sure which one is 青森弁 |
| Peter: All right. Let’s ask Yoshi. Yoshi, have you heard this one? |
| Yoshi: I think so, on TV. |
| Peter: And why is it so famous? Why is it so well known? |
| Yoshi: It’s famous for being hard to understand. |
| Peter: Yes this dialect is infamous for being incomprehensible to people outside the circle meaning people who don’t know it. I had a friend from Aomori. When I talked to him in person, I could understand everything he was saying. I didn’t understand why people were having the problem but I got a phone call from him. Nothing…right after his name that was it. |
| Yoshi: Umm. |
| Peter: He called, he said his name and he spoke for like 5 minutes and then he hung up and I didn’t know what happened. |
| Yoshi: Aha! |
| Peter: So yes, this is the most famous dialect for being the most incomprehensible. Okay then we have some other ones. There is another extremely famous one. What is that one? |
| Yoshi: 関西弁 |
| Peter: Now this is well known throughout Japan as many famous entertainers and convenience use this dialect. Actually when we say Kansai dialect, there are many dialects inside the Kansai area, but it’s probably safe to say that the most famous of them is |
| Yoshi: 大阪弁 |
| Peter: Osaka dialect. You will find kids and people throughout Japan using this dialect even though they may have never even been to Osaka or weren’t even raised in Osaka. So it’s very, very interesting. What do we have next? |
| Takase: 東京弁 |
| Peter: Tokyo dialect which is quite popular as many people have come to adopt the Tokyo way of speaking but again, Tokyo is different from standard language and the word for this is |
| Yoshi: 標準語 |
| Peter: Yes. We just wanted to give you bit of a background because today, what we will be talking about? |
| Yoshi: 九州弁 |
| Takase: 九州弁 |
| Peter: Kyushu dialect. And more specifically inside of Kyushu dialect, we are going to be looking at |
| Takase: 長崎弁 |
| Yoshi: 長崎弁 |
| Peter: Yes we have the professionals here today. |
| Takase: Yes. |
| Peter: It’s nice to see that confidence. Yoshi, where are you at? |
| Yoshi: Right here. |
| Peter: You are slow all day today. Where is your wham? |
| Yoshi: I forgot it. |
| Peter: Well it’s probably better. You are nice and calm today right? Takase, he is looking a little better than last time, right? |
| Takase: Yes he is. |
| Peter: So before we get into… |
| Takase: 長崎弁 |
| Peter: First, let’s take a look at the island that Nagasaki is located on. We usually say five islands in Japan. What are those islands Yoshi? |
| Yoshi: Hokkaido Island, Honshu Island, Shikoku Island, Kyushu Island and Okinawa Island. |
| Peter: And which island is Nagasaki located on? |
| Takase: 九州 |
| Peter: What is Kyushu’s rank in size? Is that sweat I see there? |
| Yoshi: The third. |
| Peter: The third biggest island. Okay and there are seven prefectures located on this island? Let’s get the prefectures. Takase, we will start with you. |
| Takase: 福岡 |
| Yoshi: 佐賀 |
| Takase: 長崎 |
| Yoshi: 熊本 |
| Takase: 鹿児島 |
| Yoshi: 大分 |
| Peter: Last one, Takase? |
| Takase: 宮崎 |
| Peter: There we go! Takase, you are really starting to scare me. |
| Takase: No I was just pretending. |
| Peter: Very nice job. Okay so we got the seven prefectures. Now what’s the biggest city in Kyushu? |
| Takase: 福岡 |
| Peter: Now what’s going on in Fukuoka Yoshi? |
| Yoshi: Fukuoka has great Ramen. |
| Peter: Ah! Good topic for another JCC. Now what kind of Ramen are they famous for? |
| Yoshi: It’s famous for とんこつラーメン. |
| Peter: And Yoshi, help us out here. What is this in English? |
| Yoshi: It is Pig based Ramen which is really thick and nice. |
| Peter: Yeah it is, oh boy! Now this Ramen has a very poignant, very strong odor right? |
| Yoshi: Aha! |
| Peter: You like it? |
| Yoshi: Yes it’s – I should say thick and rich. |
| Peter: Thick and rich. |
| Yoshi: Yes. |
| Peter: Where in Kyushu have you eaten this Ramen? |
| Yoshi: In 博多 |
| Peter: Now Hakata is actually located next to Hakata Bay. |
| Yoshi: Yes. |
| Peter: And how do we say that in Japanese? |
| Yoshi: 博多湾 |
| Peter: Now this bay is famous as the Gateway East. I think many ships coming in and out from Korea and China, they come through here, correct? |
| Yoshi: Correct. |
| Peter: All right. Now back to the Ramen. Takase, have you had this Ramen? |
| Takase: Yes. |
| Peter: And what do you think? |
| Takase: I like it of course. |
| Peter: What’s so good about it? |
| Takase: I like the smell and the taste, everything. |
| Peter: Where have you eaten this? |
| Takase: Where? |
| Peter: Where? |
| Takase: Oh I had them in so many places. So I don’t remember but… |
| Peter: Okay which cities? Nagasaki right? |
| Takase: Yes. |
| Peter: How about Fukuoka? |
| Takase: Yes. |
| Peter: And where is the best one you had? |
| Takase: The one I had in Hakata. |
| Peter: Okay. Same for you? |
| Yoshi: Uhoo… |
| Peter: So if someone wants to go there, what kind of Ramen would they want to order? |
| Yoshi: 博多ラーメン |
| Peter: Got it. Now this is synonymous with the Tonkotsu Ramen? |
| Yoshi: Uhoo yes. |
| Peter: All right. Now that’s what you want to get if you are adventurous and you are heading down towards Fukuoka. Fukuoka is also part of Northern Kyushu, correct? |
| Yoshi: Uho… |
| Peter: And Nagasaki falls into the area of |
| Yoshi: Northern Kyushu. |
| Peter: Okay so now, without further adieu, oh one last thing. I heard that there is a famous university in Kyushu. Anybody else hear that? |
| Takase: Famous? |
| Peter: Yeah famous. |
| Yoshi: 九大？ |
| Peter: Yes. And what’s the long name for this? |
| Yoshi: 九州大学 |
| Peter: English please. |
| Yoshi: Kyushu University. |
| Peter: Do you know anybody who graduated from there? |
| Yoshi: Ha ha! I have lots of friends who graduated from 九大 |
| Peter: Let’s be a little more specific. Do you know anybody in the same studio as us that is graduated from 九大 hint, hint! To your left. |
| Takase: Yoshi. |
| Peter: Not you! |
| Yoshi: Takase? |
| Peter: Yes. |
| Yoshi: Really! |
| Peter: You look shocked. Yeah you look shocked. |
| Takase: Why is this important here? |
| Peter: Yoshi… |
| Yoshi: I am surprised. |
| Peter: Yeah I think it’s great. We are proud of you. |
| Takase: ありがとうございます。 |
| Peter: Yeah. If I was you, I’d wear the diploma around my neck to show everybody that I graduated. And you can put a little… |
| Takase: Okay next, next. |
| Peter: All right. You heard the lady. On we go! What we are going to do now is get into? |
| Yoshi: 長崎弁 |
| Peter: So where do we start with? There is so much, obviously there is so much. We can’t get it all. So we want to give you the main parts, the good parts, the parts that you could use if you meet someone from this area or if you head down there on vacation. So where is the good place to start Takase. Help us out. |
| Takase: Okay let’s start with い adjectives. |
| Peter: Now this being culture class, we may have a lot of people tuning in that don’t listen to the regular lessons and might need just a quick exercise in Japanese い adjectives. So Takase, can you give us an い adjective, a very common い adjective. |
| Takase: 可愛い |
| Peter: Cute, one more time please. |
| Takase: 可愛い |
| Peter: And break it down. |
| Takase: かわいい。可愛い。 |
| Peter: And the reason they are called い adjectives is the E at the end. Now what is Nagasaki dialect, Northern Kyushu dialect famous for? |
| Takase: For い adjectives and in か. |
| Peter: So what we will do here to see the comparison, we will have Takase give you the standard Japanese and Yoshi will give us the Northern Kyushu dialect. Okay Takase, please. |
| Takase: 可愛い |
| Yoshi: 可愛か |
| Peter: One more time. |
| Takase: 可愛か |
| Peter: I like that, that’s really cool. One more time please. |
| Takase: 可愛か |
| Peter: Oh that’s good. Now how about another example. Yoshi can you give us any い adjective. You will give us the standard Japanese and Takase will give us the Northern Kyushu dialect. |
| Yoshi: Okay うまい |
| Peter: Good at something but when talking about food, it means delicious. |
| Yoshi: うまい |
| Takase: うまか |
| Peter: So while you are eating, what was that Ramen you gave us, one more time? |
| Yoshi: Hakata Ramen. |
| Peter: Do you hear this word all the time in the shops? |
| Yoshi: Uhoo.. |
| Peter: Give us a little, give us a little example at the same time, give us the ずるずる |
| Takase: I don’t use うまい. I use おいしか。 |
| Peter: I see. All right well you can give us おいしか and Yoshi, you can give us うまか。 |
| Yoshi: ずるずる…あ～うまか～。 |
| Peter: Oh that was good, Takase. |
| Takase: ずるずる…おいしか～。 |
| Peter: Same time. |
| Yoshi: ずるずる…うまか～。 |
| Takase: ずるずる…おいしか～。 |
| Peter: Yes japanesepod101.com’s version of a Hakata Ramen shop, very nice. Thank you guys for that. Oh sorry, thank you Nagasaki connection for that. Okay what do we have next? |
| Yoshi: You can put と at the end of sentences instead of の |
| Peter: Okay again let’s just take a second here to explain a little bit の. Now の can be used as an interrogative at the end of a sentence. In very informal Japanese, if Yoshi was to ask Takase if she is going tomorrow |
| Yoshi: 明日、行くの？ |
| Peter: Okay the word for tomorrow is |
| Yoshi: 明日 |
| Peter: The verb to go is |
| Yoshi: 行く |
| Peter: And this is the dictionary form and the dictionary form is used in informal Japanese. Now what comes at the end of the sentence? |
| Yoshi: の |
| Peter: Now this particle is often used at the end of interrogative sentences. Now what happens in Northern Kyushu dialect? |
| Takase: You put と instead of の |
| Peter: Okay so let’s do a Tokyo conversation perhaps. |
| Yoshi: たかせ、明日、行くの？ |
| Takase: うん、行く。 |
| Peter: Okay. Now in Northern Kyushu dialect. |
| Yoshi: たかせ、明日、行くと？ |
| Takase: うん、行く。 |
| Peter: Now Takase, is this と found at the end of informal sentences? |
| Takase: Yes. |
| Peter: Interesting. What about formal sentences? |
| Takase: The formal sentences is same as 標準語 |
| Peter: Which is standard language. |
| Takase: Yes. |
| Peter: This again is for informal conversations. Now Nagasaki connection, the first thing you introduced us to was replacing the い at the end of い adjectives with |
| Yoshi: か |
| Peter: The second thing you introduced us to was at the end of interrogative sentences, we could use the particle |
| Yoshi: と |
| Peter: Instead of |
| Yoshi: の |
| Peter: So how can we ask someone if they are scared in Northern Kyushu dialect? First let’s start with what’s the word for scared? |
| Yoshi: 怖い |
| Peter: Break that down. Again this is standard Japanese. |
| Yoshi: こわい |
| Peter: And now let’s turn it into Northern Kyushu dialect. |
| Yoshi: 怖か～ |
| Takase: 怖か～ |
| Peter: Takase, one more time. |
| Takase: こわか～ |
| Peter: Okay. Now if we add the と, what happens? |
| Yoshi: It becomes a question. |
| Peter: All right, let’s ask Takase, she is scared. |
| Yoshi: こわかと？ |
| Takase: 全然。 |
| Peter: Takase, how do you say 全然 in English? |
| Takase: Not at all. |
| Peter: Okay, why don’t we ask Yoshi? |
| Takase: よし、こわかと？ |
| Yoshi: バリこわか。 |
| Peter: What was the first part you just said? |
| Yoshi: バリ |
| Peter: And what’s this? |
| Yoshi: Very. |
| Peter: Break it down. |
| Yoshi: バリ |
| Peter: All right. So give us some more, more, more, more…What do you have for us next? |
| Takase: とっとっと |
| Peter: Ha ha ha! What was that? |
| Takase: とっとっと |
| Peter: Yoshi, help me out here? |
| Yoshi: とっとっと |
| Peter: No, no I said, help me out. |
| Takase: Yes. |
| Peter: Not give me… |
| Takase: とっとっと |
| Peter: Okay stop! What’s going on here? |
| Takase: We are having conversation. とっとっと Yoshi. |
| Yoshi: うん、とっとっと。 |
| Peter: Okay Takase, please help me. |
| Takase: It means とってるの？ |
| Peter: English please Yoshi. |
| Yoshi: Is this taken, are you taking it or are you recording it? |
| Peter: So what kind of situations can we use this in? |
| Yoshi: So if you see a delicious cake on the table and I can ask Takase このケーキ、とっとっと？ |
| Takase: うん、とっとっと。 |
| Peter: And what does she just answer? What did you say? |
| Yoshi: I said, are you keeping this cake? |
| Peter: For someone or for yourself? |
| Yoshi: Aha! |
| Peter: Kind of like has it been taken. |
| Yoshi: Right. |
| Peter: Is it taken? |
| Yoshi: Uhoo… |
| Peter: And what did she answer? What was it, one more time please Takase. |
| Takase: とっとっと。 |
| Peter: And what does this mean? |
| Takase: Yeah I have taken it. |
| Peter: What’s the opposite of this answer? If you didn’t take it, what would you say? |
| Yoshi: たかせ、とっとっと？ |
| Takase: とっとらん。 |
| Peter: Yoshi, translation please. |
| Yoshi: I am not taking it. |
| Peter: All right. Wow! lots of interesting, interesting words today. Maybe we can get some kind of recap. I got an idea. Yoshi let’s say you walk into a Hakata Ramen place and there is an empty seat next to Takase. Now let’s see you sit down and strike up a conversation. This should be good. |
| Yoshi: Okay. |
| Peter: All right. You are ready Takase? |
| Takase: Yes. |
| Peter: Okay here we go. |
| Yoshi: お姉ちゃん、この席、とっとっと？ |
| Takase: ううん。あいとるよ。 |
| Yoshi: あ～。なんば食べよっと？ |
| Takase: 見てわからんと？ |
| Yoshi: そのラーメン、うまかと？ |
| Takase: おいしかよ。 |
| Yoshi: じゃあ、おじさん！このラーメン、ひとつ。 |
| Peter: Well I am not even going to try explaining what happened here. You are going to have to check the PDF for translation of what transpired here but thank you so much for joining us today. Did you have fun? |
| Takase: Yes. |
| Yoshi: Yes. |
Outro |
| Peter: Thank you again. We had – I had fun. That was really good. All right, that’s going to do it for today. |
| Takase: また来週！ |
| Yoshi: またね。 |
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