Same Same But Different... Lah

The first thing you notice. It's not the stifling heat--I mean, yeah, it's bad, and sure, it's the worst humidity I've ever experienced in my life. It's not the smells--whether it's jasmine in Little India, or that distinct Chinatown aroma of roasted pig parts and duck fat. It's not even the cleanliness, which is, by all means, kinda creepy in a Disneyland sort of way.

Clarke Quay... confused.

Nope, it's the English.

Actually, to call it English is sort of a misnomer. It's 'Singlish.'

What exactly is Singlish? Short for 'Singapore English,' it's technically still considered an accent of English. I'd argue it's more of a dialect. The first conversations I had with my friend were... interesting to say the least. Interesting in that I could understand about 80% of what she said. When we met of up with friends and they started speaking at their normal speed, that number dropped to about 40.

But what exactly makes it different? I'm not sure. There is a clear set of rules that proper English uses. Verb tenses, pluralizations, and enunciations that must be uttered to be considered "proper." Take a lot of those and remove them. Drop S's, swallow consonants, add inflections and intonations, and skip verb tenses--and that's a start. Word order? Matters only if you feel like it. Then throw in words borrowed from Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, and you get Singlish.

That is not to say it's "bad" or "improper" English. This, I want to be clear. You can't just go and make a stereotypical "bad Asian" accent and call it "Singlish" because it's not that. There are defined rules to breaking the rules of proper grammar. There is a distinct way of pronouncing words differently.

But as a native speaker of English from California listening in to a group conversation, I can't help but wonder if it's me who's broken. I considered myself a fluent speaker of English. And yet, I can't understand someone else's daily speech.

Take this conversation as an example.


"Eh, you wan' oh nah'?"


"I dunwan. No good lah. But dis one, is good, izit?"


"Yah, I oso like dat one."


("Hey, do you want it?"
"No I don't. It's not any good. But this one's good, right?"
"Yeah, I also like that one.")

And this is an easy example. It's English... but not. I mean, what the heck is, "lah?" And there are more of these phrases like "leh" and "meh." What do they mean? And when do you use them? I was told and I looked it up and I still don't really know.

I guess this is one of those times when you can't beat them, you might as well join them. And I do like learning about languages, especially when it comes to slang. It's still English.

Even if, as they say in Singapore, same same but different... lah.

Learning Tagalog?

I have been studying Japanese off and on throughout my time here in Japan. I am by no means fluent, but I feel as I have hit a plateau. I've read it's common among intermediate level speakers.  It's good enough for basic, everyday conversations and I can communicate my general thoughts and feelings. Anything more substantial, though, and I'm lost.

It's not for lack of grammar--it's just vocabulary. I simply don't know enough words.

How does this relate to Tagalog?

Well, frankly, I need a break.

I've been trying to master so much kanji that learning Japanese has lost its fun. I no longer get the simple joys that come from speaking Japanese. There's no more reward from ordering food without embarrassing myself. I no longer feel good about being able to work a ticket machine and subway in a city I've never been to. It's now solely building vocabulary, and it gets tiring.

With Tagalog, it's a fresh start.

I get the simple pleasure from asking a basic question and understanding the response. There is immediate and noticeable improvement. Who cares if I know words relating to Japanese government if I don't use them on a daily basis? There's no clear threshold on whether I've learned them or not.

I miss that.

I mean, I 've been in UCLA's Samahang Pilipino Cultral Night... and all I can say is"Ako si Justin"? For shame.

Being friends with people who use Tagalog as a first language, or grew up using it at home, means that I have a clear way of seeing improvement. I am going from zero language ability, to something. And that difference is substantial. Having native speakers as friends not only means I have a means to learn, but they provide a chance to test what I've learned. Traditional methods such as books and CDs may be difficult to come by for Tagalog, but I can always test a new grammar point by running a sentence by a friend.

Perhaps more importantly, though, I have the motivation. Unlike, say, Korean (which I've been trying to bring myself to study for a while now), I can use it daily. It's useful right away, versus other languages that I can't practice or use. It's an access to a hidden world. Being able to talk without people listening in (unlike English, where there's always that chance) is kind of like being in on an inside joke. Learning even the basics gives me ability to speak "Taglish" or Tagalog-English.

Besides, who doesn't like having a new language to eavesdrop onto other people's conversations? At tapos, pwede naman ako magreturn to Japanese.

JLPT N3

日本語能力試験ゲットした！やったぞ！

I passed N3 of the Japanese Language Proficiency test!

How did I do it?

Well, the first time I took it in July 2011, I studied really hard. I didn't just use a textbook either. I read One Piece daily with a dictionary to look up every word I didn't recognize until I completed and now current with the series (60-something in total). I watched Japanese TV whether stupid game shows or the news. And of course, I studied from my N3 grammar book. Like a good student, I went to class every Tuesday for tutoring. I'd practice what I learned (my sober-Japanese) at taiko practices Monday and Wednesday (and practiced my buzzed-Japanese at izakayas afterwards).

I even took the time every weekend to study at my local Joyfull (like a Japanese Denny's). I would get brunch and drink bar (meaning all-you-can-drink soda and coffee...) while I took practice tests and graded them myself, all the while noting any questions that were particularly difficult so I could restudy them later.

And come July, I failed.

Not by a lot (10% or so), but failing's failing. I remember stepping out after taking that test and thinking to myself, "Well, damn. I tried. It wasn't good enough. I'll study more for the test in December and nail it." And a month later, I signed up for the December 2011 test.

Except this time around, I couldn't bring myself to study. Partly due to denial/anger about failing the first time, partly due to being busy, I just didn't study. I know I probably could have made time, but unlike first year when I didn't have a schedule or group of friends, the start of second year was much more hectic. With the near-weekly traveling, taiko practices and performances, marathon training almost daily, and other hobbies taking up my life, studying Japanese fell on the back burner.

My Japanese was good enough for everyday life. It's neither fluent nor academic, but that's just it--it's good enough. There wasn't the same urgent need to study and learn Japanese like when I first arrived.

And before I knew it, it was already December. The amount of studying I did since July was minimal at best (nonexistent is probably a better word... I didn't take a single practice test once). I still took the test. I had paid for it already and so there was nothing to lose.

But this time was different. After finishing this round, I couldn't help but think, "Man, I totally knew those answers... if I only remembered that '情報' wasn't　'じょうほ' and　'過去' wasn't　'かこう'... I mean, there was kanji that I actually knew. If only I had studied even only a little..."

So I knew if I failed this time, it wouldn't be by much. If I failed, I'd only have myself to blame.

But even if I did, I was pleasantly surprised at how much my Japanese had improved passively in 6 months. I knew more kanji, the readings were comprehensible (or at least, I could make educated guesses). And the listening portion was, do I dare say it, it was easy?

Was it enough to pass, though? Had I improved a full 2 levels from last year, December 2010, when I took and passed N5?

The moral of the story: getting lucky > studying ?

And after receiving my certification in the mail yesterday, I can safely answer, "Yes, and yes." Which leaves me thinking...

N2 this July?

Time to Man Up

I study Japanese everyday. Sometimes is active studying, such as when I use my textbook for the JLPT. More often, though, I'm passively learning Japanese. I read manga. I watch TV. I listen to people around me and then try to mimic them.

My current textbook of choice

That last method is the I one I must be the most careful about. It's not the whole casual versus formal dilemma. I'm not too worried about sounding casual--as a foreigner, I figure I'll be given a bit of leeway. As long as I don't cuss out someone, informal speech is much more useful since it's spoken everyday. And when needed, if I try to mix in -masu form and desu enough, it'll show that I want to speak formally but don't really know how.

What I worry about is that at school everyday, I'm surrounded by female colleagues. After school, my Japanese tutor is female as well. Most of the Japanese I hear everyday comes from women.

Therein lies the problem.

In Japanese, men and women sound different. This makes sense if you consider there is different vocabulary for the different sexes. Gender roles are clearly defined in Japanese society. This distinction carries over into speech. This means that if a woman uses really strong words that only a man should use, she is thought to be lesbian (or at least, very masculine). So if the reverse is true as well...

This whole time, I've been talking like a girl.

Don't get me wrong--I don't use blatantly feminine words like 'あたし' for I, or 'わ' at the end of a sentence. I don't giggle like a school girl nor does my voice sound like I'm whining. However, when I speak, I don't sound very... strong. So a phrase that may sound OK in my head, a normal Japanese man would never say. One example is adding 'よ 'to the end of every sentence. In a textbook, it's described as a strong male ending... but in the real world, men use it a lot less than women.

For example, when someone used to ask me '本当か,' my instinct was to reply, 'そうよ.' I recently started thinking about that phrase (and why my tutor laughed at me when I said it). I've never heard a man say that expression, whether in anime, TV, or real life. I wondered why it sounded so natural... and then I realized that at school, the teachers surrounding me say it all the time. If you listen to men speak, though, they would respond with 'そう.'

Another very basic thing I say all the time is 'ね.' I may respond to someone's statement with 'ちょっとね.' Normally, it's when it's something bad and I want to agree but not fully sound negative, so I just reply "a little bit, huh?" "Oh today's very cold." "Mmhmm... ちょっとね." In English, there's no real difference saying, "A little bit,"  versus, "A little bit, huh?" However, in Japan, men don't use 'ね' as frequently. It's much more feminine in Japanese to soften what you say all the time. Another instance: Women say 'そうね.' Men say 'そうだね.' Guess which one I've been using this whole time...

Note that this only applies for my everyday speech. When I drink, this problem disappears. My Japanese becomes a lot more masculine, albeit vulgar, as a night progresses (though the same is true of my English, or any other language for that matter). I don't necessarily want to use my drunk Japanese as my normal speech, but it'd be nice find a mix between the two. I'll just have to keep on trying to find that balance.

No, that sounds too weak. I ought to use something stronger. Otherwise, it's no better than when I speak in Japanese.

今からがんばるぞ！まけねぇ！

How I Learned to Read Hangul... in a Morning

While looking into different things to do in Busan, one thing that I kept reading is that I ought to learn how to read Korean. You may not know what it means, but since it's an alphabet (versus, say, kanji in Japanese), you can sound it out. Many travel blogs mentioned it's usefulness at restaurants and navigating street signs. Due to my inherent laziness, I didn't bother looking into it until the last day (literally the morning of my flight). I wasn't going to, but since I found myself with some free time in the morning, I figured I'd take a stab at it.

While looking online at different explanations, I stumbled upon this.

These pictures did little to help me though. I mean seriously... let's look at the first one, ㄱ, for G. How is their example, "G as in Games," relate in any way to the picture? It doesn't. Furthermore, after looking at this picture, I got even more confused. The characters on this chart and actual Korean writing looked nothing alike. There were similarities, but actual writing looked much more complex. 


One quick Wikipedia search later, I learned that syllables are formed using a combination of the above characters. Instead of forming words with letters like in English, their letters combine to form syllables. The chart shows how to break down the character into its components. Things were starting to make sense... but I still needed a way to memorize the basic characters unless I wanted to carry a chart around with me all the time.


I decided that I should create my own method for memorizing each letter. Below is the way I memorized it and though it may not be useful for you, it shows that we all learn differently. As in, my brain can make some pretty random pictures out of nothing and draw connections where there aren't be any. Some are more of a stretch than others, but meh... it worked for me.


(The Hangul [Korean writing] is first, followed by the expression I used to remember it. In parentheses are the pronunciation and the logic or lack thereof for the expression)


Consonants:

• ㄱ - 7 Grand (Pronounced G, but it looks like a 7, doesn't it?)
• ㄴ - NULL/LAN (Pronounced N, but looks like an L. My logic isn't always straightforward.)
• ㄷ - DoC (Pronounced D. Looks like a C. DoC as in Doctor....?)
• ㄹ- 2 Low (Pronounce L. Looks like a 2, as in, at a club, "Damn, girl... you're gettin' 2 Low.")
• ㅁ- Mouth (Pronounce M. Reminds me of Japanese kanji, 口, for Mouth)
• ㅂ - Bull (Pronounced B. Looks like a Bull with horns)
• ㅅ - 人 Same thing (Pronounced S. As in, Japanese kanji has the Same thing 人.)
• ㅇ- ONG Bak (Pronounced Ng, as in, O for ONG Bak, the Muay Thai movie.)
• ㅈ - ス 　(Pronounced J, reminds me the character in my name, ジャスティン.)
• ㅊ - 小さい (Pronounced Ch, as in 小さい, which kinda looks the same... if you squint really hard...)
• ㅋ - Quick (Pronounced K, but looks like a lowercase q. The K sound in quick [kwik?]).
• ㅌ - ET (Pronounced T, but looks like an E as in ET.)
• ㅍ - Part II (Pronounced P, looks like Roman Numeral II.) 
• ㅎ - Hat (Pronounced H, looks like a guy wearing a hat.)

Vowels:

• ㅏ - "Ah, zombie!" (Pronounced Ah, Looks like a zombie walking towards this sentence)
• ㅓ - "Uh, what?" (Pronounced eo, or uh. This guy is facing away from the zombie and is confused)
• ㅗ- "Oh, I died." (Pronounced Oh, looks like you died from the zombie.)
• ㅜ - "You fail." (Pronounced u, or the end of yOU. You died, but running away and fell on your face)
• ㅡ - Eu... (Pronounced eu, as in "Euh... je sais pas." The French version of "umm... I don't know.")
• ㅣ- I (Pronounced eeh, but looks like Japanese い, which in romaji is I).

Let's take the example, 비빔밥. Looks simple enough. The first syllable, 비, is a bull and an I, spelling 'Bi.' The second syllable, is the first one but with a third consonant at the bottom, ㅁ, which looks like a mouth, M. The second syllable is 'Bim.' That leaves the last syllable. There is still a bull, so we know it starts with B. The vowels is the zombie, Ah. The last letter is another bull (which actually changes to a p, but if you pronounced it with a b, it'd probably be understood). The full word is bibimbap, or the best cure for a long, soju-filled night.

With my new mnemonics, I hopped on the plane to 부산. Armed with my new, rudimentary understanding of한글, I was able to impress some new Korean friends, pick the right bus to the airport, eat at locals only spots, and perhaps most importantly, pick out the 갈비 onigiri at convenience stores.


All in all, a productive morning.

Why I Learn Languages...

The decision was made in Munich, Germany. It was the latter part of our All Saints week while studying abroad in France. I was drinking with Ali and Stephen at the Hofbrauhaus. At one point, it was an authentic German beer hall, but now it's a bit tacky (though if you're in Munich, you have to go at least once). Nevertheless, there is still decent mix of tourists and locals. At our table (it's a long, shared table) were two other men and a woman. The two guys knew each other, but the woman was eating alone. However, similar to the friendliness of an Irish pub, we started a conversation.

Beer does that to you...

This woman, it turned out, was actually Ukrainian. Naturally, she spoke Ukrainian and learned Russian as her second language, having grown up behind the Iron Curtain. She was talking to us, though, in fluent English. Living in Germany for several years, she also knew German. Total: 4 languages.

The other two guys at our table spoke limited English, so they talked to her in German, and then she translated it for us into English. Through her, we found out that they were Swiss. They grew up in a German speaking part, so they spoke German and Swiss German (which are mutually unintelligible). They also spoke fluent Italian (which they were drunkenly trying to teach Ali how to hit on girls, Ciao bella). And then, just to top it off, in their hometown, they use an Old Swiss dialect (another branch of German, but different than Swiss Standard German). Their grand total: 4 languages.

But I shouldn't feel too bad, right? It's not like Ali and Stephen speak 4 languages as well. Right? 

Well, Stephen grew up speaking Cantonese to his mom. In Ali's family, they speak Farsi. Both grew up bilingual. With French: 3 languages each.

Which left me, like Ali and Stephen, a French language learner (not fluent, but proficient). Unlike them, though, I spoke English at home. With no special "bonus" language for me, my total: 2 languages.

I never felt more inadequate in my life. That's when I realized that I ought to learn more. If not for the practical reason that I'll be able to speak with more of the world as I travel, then perhaps for the next time I'm at that table, I'll be the one translating for others. Or at least, not feel so linguistically left out.

Why I chose Spanish, though, is another story...