アラスカ

今年のなつ、わたしはアラスカへいきました。きれいでしたよ。
しゃしんをたくさんとりました。みて、ください。

Composition 3

二十年ごのわたし：
わたしは医者です。おおきいうちがあります。かないはせいかつです。こどもがふたりといぬがいます。シカゴへかえります、シカゴからきましたから。そして、シカゴがすきですよ。ともだちのうちはちかくのわたしにあります。しがいのなかにいます。
毎日、七時におきます。九時から五時はんまでべんきょうします。六時半にかぞくはばんごはんをたべます。それから、テレビをみます。そして、よみます。それから、十時にねます。
いいですね。

Thanksgiving Holiday

もくようびちちとおじいちゃんといとことばんごはんをたべました。わたしはとてもたべものをたべましたよ。おいしかったですね。しちめんちょうやぎゅうにくやじゃがいもをたべました。
It was wonderful seeing my family after not seeing them for a while.
らいげつかぞくをふたたびみます。
But first, finals!!!

Hien and David's Senryus

Senryus:


ヤマカンジ
みねはどちらが
ありますか。

(Kanji Mountain

Where does your peak

lie?)



The Katakana of this poem depicts ヤマカンジ as a name, not to be confused with mountain and kanji as two separate words.





スコシあり

オオキイよちで

たちました

(Little ant

In a big world

You stand)



The use of Kanji in this poem was meant to emphasize size difference and extremes. It shows that despite the size of the ant relative to the world, it still stands tall.



ほしのどか

エイエンのなか

あいましょお

(Quiet star
In eternity
We shall meet)

The use of Katakana in this poem is to depict eternity as a unique structure, as a different entity from both the speaker and the star in the poem, neither of which will last in the grand scheme of things.


シチスリク

くにのほうがく

しりません

(City slicker

Country law

You do not understand)


The Katakana and Hiragana of this poem compares the city slicker as a thing apart, believing that he is superior when in fact he is just different, and that there are some pieces which at their core are too far apart to overcome. The use of Katakana here, then, is twofold: it is used to mimic the English, and it is used to convey that core difference between the two through the very way the words are written.


かたかなと

カタカナがどう

わかります。


(Katakana and

Hiragana, how do I

understand?)


The Katakana here is the word Hiragana, and the word Katakana is written in Hiragana, just to show that there are no formal rules in the end of it all, but it is up to the poet to decide.

Composition 2

やまださんへ、
こんにちは。はじめまして。ウェルトマンです。じゅうきゅうさいです。コロンビアだいがくのにねんせいです。だいがくはおおきいですが、きれいです。いそがしいですが、さみしくないです。にほんごのクラスがすきです。
わたしは七月三日ひこうきでにほんへいきます。いまはたらきます。そしてべんきょうします。
よろしくおねがいします。

Analysis on Katakana

ベストカー: best car
デジイン: design
The first term was an advertisement for the coolest car of 2007, so it was understandable to use English as a draw. It sounds cool to have the title in words from English, even if there are words for "best" and "car" in Japanese. However, the second term was used in the credits for a show, and there are normal Japanese words for design. The use of design in Katakana confuses me. It was probably used for the name of a company, or else I would guess the word would appear in normal Japanese. Most likely, people just use Katakana when they see fit, and there are not such clear bounds as to when and where Katakana is used.
Therefore, I think that the textbooks disagree on their descriptions of Katakana because they all struggle with defining exactly where Katakana should appear. It is not exactly clear when Katakana should be used, and is most likely used simply at the disgression of the writer. It appears in phoenetics, names, onomatopoeia, and others. The authors make attempts to solidify what is in actuality a very fluid topic. Nevertheless, the large variations in where Katakana appears is extremely interesting, and is probably worth a study in and of itself.

Schedule!!!

ごぜんしちじ：おきます。
はちじ：あさごはんをたべます。
はちじにじゅっぷんからごじじゅうごふんまで：ならいます。
ごじはん：ともだちにあいます。
ろくじはん：ばんごはんをたべます。
しちじからいちじまで：はたらきますそしてべんきょしうますそしていマイルをよみまう。
いちじ：ねます。

Origami bird

Origami bird

Origami!!!

Inuyasha Episode 1

Inuyasha Episode 1

Here's another classic anime. Enjoy!!!

2nd Post Assignment

こんばんは。
Japanese is getting harder as the sentences get longer. Missing a day didn't help either! すみませんせんせい。However, it's fun extending our vocabulary, and the fact that we can conjugate long sentences is pretty cool.
Oh, and the upcoming exam is not making life any easier. But I won't give up!!!

Anime Collection 2--Fullmetal Alchemist

Fullmetal Alchemist Episode 3 - Mother

If you've never seen Fullmetal Alchemist, watch this episode. It's slow at first, but trust me, it'll get you in the end. It's such a powerful show.

Anime Collection 1--Pokemon

Pokemon Episode 1

Hey all,
After sitting through class and looking at everyone's really cool blogs, I thought I would take a moment to go through some of my favorite anime, from then until now, and post a couple of clips.

Here's a classic one. Enjoy!!!

English Introduction

Konnichiwa!!! I wanted to study Japanese this year to expand my language knowledge, and to take a class that I did not have to take for any requirement. I have heard that it's a lot of fun, even though it's hard. Japanese will take a lot of time to learn, but I am excited to learn all three alphabets and many Japanese words. I am worried about having time for everything this semester, and for remembering everything that I learned these past few weeks, but I am looking forward to a great course nevertheless!
Arigato; ja mata raishu!!!

Introduction

うえるとまんです。あめりかじんです。ちかごからきました。じゅきゅさいです。ころんびあだいがくのにねんせいです。わたしのせんこうはしゅうきょうです。