Please check out this spoof of an “instructional” video on “proper” dining etiquette. The narrative script is also provided, both the authentic version and the romaji one, for those who would like to decipher what was said.
The root website itself contains many other posts useful for language students as well; however, the source itself is much less trustworthy than the references I posted before.
In no way do I endorse or promote the link above. I apologize in advance to anyone who may find some posts on the site grossly inappropriate or offensive. Please let me know if such a posting is inappropriate for an eja2007-affiliated blog, and I will remove it immediately.
One of my biggest concerns is that, because of my not-deep-enough understanding of the Japanese culture, I may not be able to recognize some sensitive, politically- or otherwise charged material, and judge its propriety. This is especially true for most kinds of humorous content.
Another link I reference here, but do not endorse in any way, is this. This site is in English, and is not language-study oriented. However, it contains an extensive collection of articles (in English) on different aspects of Japanese life. The disclaimer above holds in full for this reference as well; I have only read a few articles there, and am not responsible for the rest.
Once again, I would like to apologize to anyone who finds the links provided unworthy of mentioning. My worst nightmare would be to be perceived as yet another Sophia Coppola, shooting a movie in a setting she does not understand and, worse even, does not want to understand. However, omitting the humorous/rated content completely would mean depriving oneself of a huge chunk of culture, which is to be appreciated in its integrity.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Another reference I would like to share is totally self-evident; one can probably come across it if he googles the word "Japan". Nevertheless, it contains quite a lot of miscellaneous info on language and culture, sometimes fairly suspicious.
For instance, according to one of the authors, in "new Japanese", to visit Tokyo Disneyland is referred to as ねずみしばく (literally, to flog the mouse). Obviously, I myself am not proficient enough to comment on the validity of these new terms; the other more conservative articles seem to be reliable enough though. I am talking about http://www.japan-zone.com
A couple of other self-evident references to be thrown in for good measure are
For instance, according to one of the authors, in "new Japanese", to visit Tokyo Disneyland is referred to as ねずみしばく (literally, to flog the mouse). Obviously, I myself am not proficient enough to comment on the validity of these new terms; the other more conservative articles seem to be reliable enough though. I am talking about http://www.japan-zone.com
A couple of other self-evident references to be thrown in for good measure are
The latter is a nonprofit organization based in New York, which promotes cultural interaction via, among other activities, administering numerous exhibitions in the city.
Again, I hope I was not the last person in class to find those.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
And yet more spam...
- A much more comprehensive photography resource - http://photojapan.com
- Panoramic night photos - http://ww4.tiki.ne.jp/~mmurakami/setoy/map.html
- Short videos covering many aspects of modern life. Including, for example, the one about the bean-throwing tradition discussed earlier in class - http://www.brovision.com/
A useless link again
Please don't read this if you have anything better to do.
According to wikipedia, "in computer graphics and photography, high dynamic range (HDR) imaging is a set of techniques that allow a far greater dynamic range of exposures (i.e. a large difference between light and dark areas) than normal digital imaging techniques. The intention of HDR is to accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from direct sunlight to the deepest shadows."
Please check out the photo album of a photographer living in Tokyo, http://flickr.com/photos/altus. Unfortunately, there is not much structure (other than chronological) to his webpage, but some of the shots are well worth searching for. For example, http://flickr.com/photos/altus/322152193/ or, perhaps, http://www.flickr.com/photos/altus/304088457/.
Enjoy.
According to wikipedia, "in computer graphics and photography, high dynamic range (HDR) imaging is a set of techniques that allow a far greater dynamic range of exposures (i.e. a large difference between light and dark areas) than normal digital imaging techniques. The intention of HDR is to accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from direct sunlight to the deepest shadows."
Please check out the photo album of a photographer living in Tokyo, http://flickr.com/photos/altus. Unfortunately, there is not much structure (other than chronological) to his webpage, but some of the shots are well worth searching for. For example, http://flickr.com/photos/altus/322152193/ or, perhaps, http://www.flickr.com/photos/altus/304088457/.
Enjoy.
Monday, February 12, 2007
One of my fellow students suggested exchanging useful (?) culture-related online references, the idea I wholeheartedly support. Here is one to start with; I hope there are still some people among us who are not familiar with it.
It is a list of answers to obscure (and not-so-obscure) questions about modern culture and society. Some of the most interesting to me were perhaps
It is a list of answers to obscure (and not-so-obscure) questions about modern culture and society. Some of the most interesting to me were perhaps
- What is the difference between a "Mansion" and an "Apaato"?
- Why is tobacco written in hiragana when all other foreign words are in katakana?
- What is the longest Japanese kanji?
- What on earth are those green plastic leaves they put in bento boxes for?
and many more. The reference itself is http://www3.tky.3web.ne.jp/~edjacob/saq.html
Useless post; please skip
Unfortunately, I am not much of a writer myself. And, what is much more important, I feel very bad about flooding potential readers with posts of the sort "This morning I woke up. Then I brushed my teeth. I had such and such for breakfast. By the way, Japanese is very hard to learn."
For this reason, I am trying to keep my musings to a minimum. Currently I am busy translating my self-introduction; it turned out to be harder than I thought, even though 90% of it is in katakana-transliterated loanwords anyway. I hope to post it here in a few days.
For this reason, I am trying to keep my musings to a minimum. Currently I am busy translating my self-introduction; it turned out to be harder than I thought, even though 90% of it is in katakana-transliterated loanwords anyway. I hope to post it here in a few days.
Saturday, February 3, 2007
A and B
A. The issues of grading and testing are somewhat less important to me than to, for instance, undergrad students, simply because at this point it is my dissertation only that may make or break my prospective degree; if I get a D in this class, it will not hurt anything other than my heart. :)
Nevertheless, I would suggest having as few examinations as possible, just because they consume classroom time, which itself is very limited. My personal goal for this class is to extract as much knowledge of grammar and vocabulary as I can, so that I could subsequently use it to communicate at a basic level with people who do not speak English. Therefore, until I learn enough to say something comprehensible, I prefer to listen, the more the better.
As an aside, I myself went to college in Russia, and therefore was educated in a system very different from the one in the U.S. In my college, 100% of one’s grade was determined by the final exam (written, or oral, or usually both, conducted in two days). As a result, I am now somewhat wary about the idea of spreading tests throughout the semester.
B. As to the presentations, I believe that it would have been a wonderful opportunity to enhance our language knowledge, provided that we had (1) enough proficiency to comprehend the speech and communicate in Japanese, and (2) much more classroom time. Generally speaking, this is a great idea for an advanced class.
That said, although the level of language proficiency and exposure to the language of my fellow students may be very different, this is an Elementary class. I myself do not possess enough grasp of Japanese, for such an exercise to be helpful. Honestly, at this point I would rather refrain from “presentations” for fear of picking up bad pronunciation habits of non-native speakers. At this point, I strongly advise against student presentations. This by no means concerns any material supplied by the instructor himself. Any language- or behavior- related info from Prof. Sato and any native speakers is, of course, very welcome.
Nevertheless, I would suggest having as few examinations as possible, just because they consume classroom time, which itself is very limited. My personal goal for this class is to extract as much knowledge of grammar and vocabulary as I can, so that I could subsequently use it to communicate at a basic level with people who do not speak English. Therefore, until I learn enough to say something comprehensible, I prefer to listen, the more the better.
As an aside, I myself went to college in Russia, and therefore was educated in a system very different from the one in the U.S. In my college, 100% of one’s grade was determined by the final exam (written, or oral, or usually both, conducted in two days). As a result, I am now somewhat wary about the idea of spreading tests throughout the semester.
B. As to the presentations, I believe that it would have been a wonderful opportunity to enhance our language knowledge, provided that we had (1) enough proficiency to comprehend the speech and communicate in Japanese, and (2) much more classroom time. Generally speaking, this is a great idea for an advanced class.
That said, although the level of language proficiency and exposure to the language of my fellow students may be very different, this is an Elementary class. I myself do not possess enough grasp of Japanese, for such an exercise to be helpful. Honestly, at this point I would rather refrain from “presentations” for fear of picking up bad pronunciation habits of non-native speakers. At this point, I strongly advise against student presentations. This by no means concerns any material supplied by the instructor himself. Any language- or behavior- related info from Prof. Sato and any native speakers is, of course, very welcome.
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