| 10/19 |  |
Personal name Kanji |
NIC Japnese Language Shcool
NIC
This corner answers foreigner's doubt about Japanese language.
Foreigners feel some difficulty to understand spoken Japanese.
But Japanese has the similar experience as they do.
The following article, which is written in Zatsu Gaku Nippon
(Japan Trivia) published by Kodansha, seems to explain this matter well.
We would like to introduce it for the foreigners’ convenience.
Q: Why are there restrictions on the Kanji, or Chinese characters,
that can be used in personal names in Japan ?
A: Once a local government office refused a couple who attempted
to name their child Akuma-li terally, “devil”.
Public reaction was nearly evenly divided between those who felt sorry
for any child given such an unpleasant name and those who thought that
the government office had no right to interfere with an individual’s name.
Article 50 of Japan’s Census Registration Law states that
“the name of children must be written with commonly used and simple characters”,
that is, either in the Kanji designated for everyday use and for personal names
or in the hiragana and katakana syllabifies.
This means that under the present Census Registration Law
there are 2,435 characters available for use in names.
That list includes both the characters for Akuma,
so the parent should have no problem registering that name.
But some character combinations may not be acceptable by government offices
if “they are inappropriate under normal social conventions, such as if
the child could be expected to suffer discrimination in the future”
as a result of the name.
This policy seems to have been applied to baby Akuma.
The kanji used in personal names were first restricted in 1948.
The official reason was to have names written in contemporary Japanese,
but another likely explanation is that the government bureaucrats j
ust put a stop to the growing use of difficult names because it was
too much trouble to process names that were hard for the bureaucrats to read
or understand.
NIC :Japanese language school Instructor Suzuki
Email ： info@nicjapanese.com http ： http://www.nicjapanese.com
NIC Japanese Language School
NIC
This corner answers foreigner's doubt about Japanese language.
Foreigners feel some difficulty to understand spoken Japanese.
But Japanese has the similar experience as they do.
The following article, which is written in Zatsu Gaku Nippon
(Japan Trivia) published by Kodansha, seems to explain this matter well.
We would like to introduce it for the foreigners’ convenience.
Q: Why are there restrictions on the Kanji, or Chinese characters,
that can be used in personal names in Japan ?
A: Once a local government office refused a couple who attempted
to name their child Akuma-li terally, “devil”.
Public reaction was nearly evenly divided between those who felt sorry
for any child given such an unpleasant name and those who thought that
the government office had no right to interfere with an individual’s name.
Article 50 of Japan’s Census Registration Law states that
“the name of children must be written with commonly used and simple characters”,
that is, either in the Kanji designated for everyday use and for personal names
or in the hiragana and katakana syllabifies.
This means that under the present Census Registration Law
there are 2,435 characters available for use in names.
That list includes both the characters for Akuma,
so the parent should have no problem registering that name.
But some character combinations may not be acceptable by government offices
if “they are inappropriate under normal social conventions, such as if
the child could be expected to suffer discrimination in the future”
as a result of the name.
This policy seems to have been applied to baby Akuma.
The kanji used in personal names were first restricted in 1948.
The official reason was to have names written in contemporary Japanese,
but another likely explanation is that the government bureaucrats j
ust put a stop to the growing use of difficult names because it was
too much trouble to process names that were hard for the bureaucrats to read
or understand.
NIC :Japanese language school Instructor Suzuki
Email ： info@nicjapanese.com http ： http://www.nicjapanese.com
NIC Japanese Language School
| 09/13 | |
Early Autumn Greetings |
NIC Japanese Language School
Early autumn is here with us. I hope all of you have survived the hot summer and are ready to enjoy the splendid weather of autumn. The autumn in Japan is full of many amusing events from art displays to festivals at local shrines. Moreover it is the season of good appetite, as more colorful and tasty foodstuffs which enhance your appetite are sold at the store. Enjoy eating and watch your weight at the same time.
NIC instructor Sachiko Hamano
Email: info@nicjapanese.com
http://www.nicjapanese.com
NIC Japanese Language School
Early autumn is here with us. I hope all of you have survived the hot summer and are ready to enjoy the splendid weather of autumn. The autumn in Japan is full of many amusing events from art displays to festivals at local shrines. Moreover it is the season of good appetite, as more colorful and tasty foodstuffs which enhance your appetite are sold at the store. Enjoy eating and watch your weight at the same time.
NIC instructor Sachiko Hamano
Email: info@nicjapanese.com
http://www.nicjapanese.com
NIC Japanese Language School
| 08/02 | |
Obon |
NIC Japanese Language School
Obon
O-bon (the Bon Festival) ,one of the biggest traditional events in Japan,
along with New Year’s is held in mid-August.
According to Buddhist belief, ancestral spirits are believed to return
to their families during O-bon.
A lot of people visit their parents’ homes to be reunited with their families
and to pray for the souls of their ancestors. Many offices and stores
are closed to offer their workers days off causing heavy traffic jam on highways,
but bringing quietness to big cities like Tokyo.
Let’s enjoy less crowded urban life during O-bon !
NIC Instructor Sachiko Hamano
NIC Japanese Language School
http://www.nicjapanese.com/
E-Mail: info@nicjapanese.com
Obon
O-bon (the Bon Festival) ,one of the biggest traditional events in Japan,
along with New Year’s is held in mid-August.
According to Buddhist belief, ancestral spirits are believed to return
to their families during O-bon.
A lot of people visit their parents’ homes to be reunited with their families
and to pray for the souls of their ancestors. Many offices and stores
are closed to offer their workers days off causing heavy traffic jam on highways,
but bringing quietness to big cities like Tokyo.
Let’s enjoy less crowded urban life during O-bon !
NIC Instructor Sachiko Hamano
NIC Japanese Language School
http://www.nicjapanese.com/
E-Mail: info@nicjapanese.com
| 05/30 | |
NIC Japanese Languge School |
NIC Japanese Language School
Jun
May, the month blessed with the nice weather is passing away and June, the month of the rainy season (Tsuyu) will be here. Tsuyu will set in in early June throughout Japan except in Hokkaido and continue for one month forcing us to stay indoors. But Tsuyu brings us a good chance to appreciate the beauty of the flowers such as irises and hydrangea. They will bloom lovely and attractively in the rain. Meiji Shrine is famous for its Japanese Irises Garden. You can not believe you are in the mid-Tokyo. Visit there, and you will enjoy yourself .
NIC instructor Sachiko Hamano
Email ： info@nicjapanese.com
URL ： http://www.nicjapanese.com
NIC Japanese Language School
Jun
May, the month blessed with the nice weather is passing away and June, the month of the rainy season (Tsuyu) will be here. Tsuyu will set in in early June throughout Japan except in Hokkaido and continue for one month forcing us to stay indoors. But Tsuyu brings us a good chance to appreciate the beauty of the flowers such as irises and hydrangea. They will bloom lovely and attractively in the rain. Meiji Shrine is famous for its Japanese Irises Garden. You can not believe you are in the mid-Tokyo. Visit there, and you will enjoy yourself .
NIC instructor Sachiko Hamano
Email ： info@nicjapanese.com
URL ： http://www.nicjapanese.com
NIC Japanese Language School
| 05/17 | |
NIC Japanese Language School |
NIC Japanese Language school
Japan Trivia
This corner answers foreigner's doubt about Japanese language.
Foreigners feel some difficulty to understand spoken Japanese.
But Japanese has the similar experience as they do.
The following article, which is written in Zatsu Gaku Nippon
(Japan Trivia) published by Kodansha, seems to explain this matter well.
We would like to introduce it for the foreigners’ convenience.
Q: Why do people say that it is the Japanese language that makes Japanese people?
A: First, let’s start with a brief introduction to cerebral physiology.
The human brain is divided into two lobes, the left and right. The right brain is used for direct perception and pattern recognition, while the left brain is a charge of language and logical thinking. Many readers probably know this much already.
It’s also known that Japanese people use their right and left brains in a unique way.
The Japanese use their left brains much more intensely than people of other ethnic groups.
For example, the Japanese process insect chirps and the sounds of musical instruments with their left brains. Westerners use their right brains for such nonlinguistic sound.
One likely hypothesis for this is that, in Japanese, all sounds are interpreted as words through a kind of onomatopoeia. For example, the crying of a cicada is heard by the Japanese not as just another background noise but as the word rinrin.
Strong corroboration for hypothesis comes from people of Japanese ancestry who cannot speak Japanese. Their brains exhibit the same patterns as those of Westerners: they process insect chips and similar sounds through their right brains. This leads to the conclusion that the brains of Japanese people are not special, only the brains of those who speak Japanese.
In any case, it’s clear that Japanese people use their left brains too much. And that’s one reason why Japanese are poor at foreign languages: their left brains are already packed to capacity.
NIC :Japanese language school Instructor Suzuki
Email ： info@nicjapanese.com http ： http://www.nicjapanese.com
NIC Japanese Language School
Japan Trivia
This corner answers foreigner's doubt about Japanese language.
Foreigners feel some difficulty to understand spoken Japanese.
But Japanese has the similar experience as they do.
The following article, which is written in Zatsu Gaku Nippon
(Japan Trivia) published by Kodansha, seems to explain this matter well.
We would like to introduce it for the foreigners’ convenience.
Q: Why do people say that it is the Japanese language that makes Japanese people?
A: First, let’s start with a brief introduction to cerebral physiology.
The human brain is divided into two lobes, the left and right. The right brain is used for direct perception and pattern recognition, while the left brain is a charge of language and logical thinking. Many readers probably know this much already.
It’s also known that Japanese people use their right and left brains in a unique way.
The Japanese use their left brains much more intensely than people of other ethnic groups.
For example, the Japanese process insect chirps and the sounds of musical instruments with their left brains. Westerners use their right brains for such nonlinguistic sound.
One likely hypothesis for this is that, in Japanese, all sounds are interpreted as words through a kind of onomatopoeia. For example, the crying of a cicada is heard by the Japanese not as just another background noise but as the word rinrin.
Strong corroboration for hypothesis comes from people of Japanese ancestry who cannot speak Japanese. Their brains exhibit the same patterns as those of Westerners: they process insect chips and similar sounds through their right brains. This leads to the conclusion that the brains of Japanese people are not special, only the brains of those who speak Japanese.
In any case, it’s clear that Japanese people use their left brains too much. And that’s one reason why Japanese are poor at foreign languages: their left brains are already packed to capacity.
NIC :Japanese language school Instructor Suzuki
Email ： info@nicjapanese.com http ： http://www.nicjapanese.com
NIC Japanese Language School