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Japan?!?!?!

Started by MilitaryMan, June 13, 2012, 01:35:06 AM

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Kuroneko

Yes, kore, sore and are are all two syllable words.  And the u in masu ending verbs is often dropped, as is 'i' in the middle of a word, so ashita for example comes out as 'ashta.'
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kylie

Quote from: Kuroneko on June 29, 2012, 12:19:19 AM
I highly recommend the book Japanese Demystified by Eriko Sato for language learning.  I wish I'd had it way back in college when I studied the language formally.  Rosetta Stone's Japanese program is also really good.

Just a tiny note, arimasu is actually the verb 'to be' for inanimate objects, and is slightly different than 'have', which is motte imasu.  But arimasu is generally used to ask about the existance of a non-living thing, as in Kylie's bathroom example ;).
Technically yes...  It has that literal meaning, but functionally: "have [something here]" works when the point is that you're looking for something.  The basic verb motsu is also to hold, as in hand.  Often associated with small, concrete things or with more "status" things like money.  It doesn't translate the same way for me, for the purposes of finding someone.  The distinction is partly blurry, but not entirely...  You can use either word to ask someone if they have money.  I wouldn't use forms of motsu to ask if they had a bathroom I could use.  And then I would generally expect iru (imasuka) to describe if they had a brother, sister, pet, etc.

Quote
And wow, that was really nice of you to write all that out, Kylie.  You rock :)
Meh.  Afraid I always come off overly technical.  I'm a big believer in trying to get some of the underlying logic along the way, though.  I wish I had been taught to compare grammar constructions and substitute stuff into more of them, faster.  Perhaps it's too easy to say that in retrospect?  Shrugs.  But that's what I think.
     

Kuroneko

Quote from: kylie on June 29, 2012, 04:50:55 PM
     Technically yes...  It has that literal meaning, but functionally: "have [something here]" works when the point is that you're looking for something.  The basic verb motsu is also to hold, as in hand.  Often associated with small, concrete things or with more "status" things like money.  It doesn't translate the same way for me, for the purposes of finding someone.  The distinction is partly blurry, but not entirely...  You can use either word to ask someone if they have money.  I wouldn't use forms of motsu to ask if they had a bathroom I could use.  And then I would generally expect iru (imasuka) to describe if they had a brother, sister, pet, etc.

Yes, that's my understanding of those verbs as well. I wouldn't use motsu to find a bathroom either. But then again, I don't usually ask if someone has a bathroom, but rather if I can use it or where it is, lol.  I mostly heard people in Japan use motte imasu to ask me if I wanted to have 'X' rather than hold it.  It just proves how contextual Japanese is.  So many different uses for one verb, lol. 

QuoteMeh.  Afraid I always come off overly technical.  I'm a big believer in trying to get some of the underlying logic along the way, though.  I wish I had been taught to compare grammar constructions and substitute stuff into more of them, faster.  Perhaps it's too easy to say that in retrospect?  Shrugs.  But that's what I think.

Nah, it read very well and with Japanese it's hard to get grammar construction until you're using it in a conversation.  It really was very kind of you to write that all out for the OP.   :-)
Ons & Offs//Requests//Where is the Black Cat?
Current Posting Time - Once a Week or More

"One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art" ~ Oscar Wilde
"I dream of painting and then I paint my dream" ~ Vincent Van Gogh

MilitaryMan

Ive been gone for a while guys, (was in Guam for a while) thanks for all the tips and the responses I really appreciate it