And as mentioned in the section on "easy bits," as a worst-case scenario, just try using simple English. There's no need to shout, which is the typical English speaker's method of communicating with foreigners, but saying a word slowly and clearly will be helpful. Japanese people all learn English at school and often have a good passive knowledge of English words, though they may never have heard them actually articulated (at least by a native speaker).
2.2.4 The unspoken challenge
Another significant challenge lies in the grammar, which, like its vocabulary, is generally not familiar to native English speakers. As mentioned earlier this is seen in the word order, in the use of particles to indicate case (grammatical role), and in overlaps between adjectives and verbs (with adjectives being marked for tense as if they were verbs proper).
The grammar is generally less explicit and thus more vague and more potentially confusing than most Western languages. That is, more is left unsaid. For example, there is often no distinction made between singular and plural. Thus neko can mean "cat" or "cats." Verbs within a given tense do not conjugate according to person, as, for example, in English "I see, he sees," or even more so the French endings -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent. Combined with the frequent omission of pronouns which indicate the subject of the verb, this can be particularly vague. And speaking of tenses, there is no dedicated future tense in Japanese, as the tense used is the same as the habitual present. Thus, eiga ("movie") o ("object particle") mimasu ("watch/see") can mean "I watch movies (as a regular thing)" or "I will watch a movie" or "somebody other than myself regularly watches movies or will watch a movie or multiple movies"!
Basically, though the language can certainly be specific and precise when necessary, in general Japanese is often implicit whereas Westerners are used to explicit language. That is, it is not what is spoken but often what is left unspoken that can be a challenge. Therefore the context becomes particularly important for inferring precise meaning, and this in itself can be challenging (as discussed in 1.1.4, on socio-cultural context).
But this "vague" grammar can actually be a plus depending on how you look at it. Unlike French and many other languages, when using Japanese you do not have to worry about the gender of nouns, the conjugation of verbs according to subject, or the formation of plurals. And, let's face it, sometimes it pays to be vague! How many times have you stuck your neck out to be specific about something only to regret it!
2.2.5 The challenge with a difference
There are numerous other particular points that will strike the English speaker as challenging simply because they are different and unfamiliar. For example, Japanese uses a wide range of different number-suffixes when counting, depending on the category of the item being counted. Thus san-bon means three long cylindrical objects, while san-mai means three thin flat objects, and so on. But is this any different in principle from the collective nouns in English—a "pride" of lions as opposed to a "pod" of dolphins?
Similarly, in English we say "I'm going out to post a letter", when in fact there are almost always not two but three actions involved: going, posting the letter, and returning. Perhaps we are not that bothered about the returning bit! The Japanese, by contrast, say "I'm posting a letter and coming back," and don't seem concerned about how they get to the postbox!
As a third example, replies to negative questions are also frequently different from English. In reply to a question "Aren't you going?" English speakers (if they were not going) would normally reply "No, I'm not." A Japanese, by contrast, would usually reply "Yes, I'm not" and this is even more confusing if the answer is just "Yes." The English-speaking respondent focuses on the action, which in this case is negative, whereas the Japanese respondent focuses on the accuracy or otherwise of the question, in effect using "yes" to indicate "You are correct." Which is the more valid as a reply? Of course, both are equally valid.
FIGURE 2d: How should I answer?
In the old days Western visitors to Japan often referred to it as a "topsyturvy" land because so much of its language and culture seemed to be the opposite of what they were used to. But it works both ways; the Westerners and their ways and words seemed pretty weird to the Japanese in turn. In our present day we recognize that it's simply different ways of approaching the same thing.
There are many more examples such as this, where Japanese and English do not correspond exactly. The key thing is to keep an open mind, and to see differences as interesting challenges rather than difficult problems. The very fact that you are reading this book voluntarily (as opposed to being forced) shows that you are interested in learning Japanese, and so there is a very high probability that you are the sort of person who will respond positively to the challenge of difference.
You will probably also be able to work out your own "solutions" or "short cuts" when it comes to tricky aspects of the language. For example, you will probably have worked out for yourself that one way of avoiding a confusing response to a negative question you might be asked (such as "Aren't you going?") is to avoid saying ee/hai "yes" or ie "no" and simply give the substance (i.e. "I'm not going" or "I am going").
FIGURE 2e: Let's be pragmatic
As Japan's international profile increases, we are all becoming more familiar with Japanese culture and even with a number of Japanese words. You probably already know at least twenty Japanese words from the hundred or so that have entered English, such as samurai, geisha and karate. This helps reduce the aura of exoticism and "alienness" that underlies so many of the perceived challenges.
And the bottom line when it comes to challenges? The Japanese have shown by their technology and in many other ways that they are a very smart people, but like any group they too have their share of those who are not quite so smart. Yet they all manage, even the least bright and least motivated among them, to learn the language up to at least a functional level. (In fact, it is a basic law of linguistics that any established language must by definition be able to be adequately mastered by those who use it as a first language.) And, perhaps surprisingly, despite having one of the world's most complex scripts the Japanese also have the world's highest literacy rate, at over 98%! Of course they have more exposure to the language, but nevertheless, this reality-check goes to show that the challenge of Japanese is not insurmountable.
Let us now move on to Part Two, in which we start to look at Japanese in terms of the formation of sounds and words.
PART TWO
The Building Blocks:
Sounds into Words
In this part of the book we look in detail at the basic components of the Japanese language so that you can start to see how it is made up. We cover sounds and words, before moving on to grammar in Part Three to show you how these words are actually used in sentences. Japanese script will be introduced in Part Four.
CHAPTER THREE
Making the Right Noises
Let us begin by looking at the sounds that make up the very basis of Japanese. This is one of the relatively "easy bits" referred to in Part One.
Good pronunciation symbolizes respect for a language, and that counts for a lot in Japan as in many countries. It is therefore important to make the right sounds.
Unfortunately, it is very difficult