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Well, I can imagine.Anax said:
It would have actually been unusual say, twenty years ago, but times have changed. Basically, there are three reasons why someone here would want to learn Japanese:
1. To advance their career
2. Because the person is an anime/manga/videogame fan
3. Out of pure, genuine interest to learn more about a foreign culture.
Read more...
Since we have a good deal of Japanese manufacturing plants here, lots of people are interested for reason 1. And since a lot of people here grew up watching Candy-Candy/Voltron/Mazinger Z/Macross/Saint Seiya, there are also a lot of animé fans. Videogames are also relatively popular among those of us who can afford them.
So, the reality is that while not common, it's not unheard of to know at least one person who's studied Japanese at one point. But yeah, when they see me reading a webpage full of Kanji, my co-workers invariably end up asking "and you can actually *READ* that?" - despite the fact most of them know I've been studying Japanese for a while now.
Rarely does anyone approach the language for reason 3 and no more - but once you've started, if you've got nothing of it, you're not going anywhere - thus, those who start for reasons 1 and 2 with not a shred of 3 are doomed to failure!
A lot of people who fall into category 2 - like yours truly - have naturally a good deal of 3, but not all. Those from category 1... oh, they almost always fail, as they're not interested in the language, but in their own gain.
See now, Karmic Justice in action!
So, the reality is that while not common, it's not unheard of to know at least one person who's studied Japanese at one point. But yeah, when they see me reading a webpage full of Kanji, my co-workers invariably end up asking "and you can actually *READ* that?" - despite the fact most of them know I've been studying Japanese for a while now.
Rarely does anyone approach the language for reason 3 and no more - but once you've started, if you've got nothing of it, you're not going anywhere - thus, those who start for reasons 1 and 2 with not a shred of 3 are doomed to failure!
A lot of people who fall into category 2 - like yours truly - have naturally a good deal of 3, but not all. Those from category 1... oh, they almost always fail, as they're not interested in the language, but in their own gain.
See now, Karmic Justice in action!
Yeah, we have similar expressions over here. "Está en Chino" = "It's in Chinese" = it's very difficult to do or to understand.Anax said:
And it does tend to irk me that people here can make the difference between Chinese take-out and Sushi - food - but not Chinese and Japanese people.
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Mexican friend A: "Pete, if you leave for Japan you might just end up marrying a Chinese girl!"
Pete: "While that's by no means an impossibility, I'm sure you mean a 'Japanese' girl".
Mexican friend A: Same thing.
Pete: Really? That's news to me.
And the French are the same as the Germans and the Dutch and the Russians , the Greeks and heck, let's include the Turks while we're at it - they're close enough geographically ( <- all of this = sarcasm ).
Pete: "While that's by no means an impossibility, I'm sure you mean a 'Japanese' girl".
Mexican friend A: Same thing.
Pete: Really? That's news to me.
And the French are the same as the Germans and the Dutch and the Russians , the Greeks and heck, let's include the Turks while we're at it - they're close enough geographically ( <- all of this = sarcasm ).
I'd like to think I make just the right amount of sexual jokes, but other people think otherwise.Anax said:You also seem like the standard Mexican guy I have in my mind: humorous, laid back, talking straight, the guy who'd make a sexual joke too many... and generally nice company
Man, do I like foreign people
Laid back? Well, I am laying back on my chair right now...
Straight talkin'? Yes, I'm loath to mince words. It may well present a problem in Japan, I fear...bah! I'll get over it!
Generally nice company? Hmmm... I'm not particularly sociable in real life. Something's always on my mind.
But I'm sure the people who don't mind my cronic absentmindedness find me to be excellent company.H ? ... just kidding.eileenting88 said:
P, because my name starts with a P. I'm not really partial to any letter in particular, so I'd guess I'd that's the one I'd use.
See, it'd be amusing if I'd actually gone with H, 'cuz then I could just say "69" and have the joke come full circle... *D'oh*! that was an unintentional pun right there. It's all my former roomate's fault - he twisted my poor, innocent little mind!eileenting88 said:
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Nah, lessee... hmmm... Well, I don't like even numbers at all, 'cuz they're so boring - being divisible by two and all. Odd numbers in general are far too common - why, there's one for every even number! I honestly don't find them odd at all. No one can figure out exactly how much Pi is, prime numbers suck because I say they do ( besides - they're all odd), negative numbers have negative connotations, so I guess that leaves.. i !
For those not savvy with Math, i is the square root of negative one. I'm told it's actually useful when studying electromagnetics in-depth ... then again, I wouldn't know.
I'll be sure to ask my former roomate, though - he's savvy with both H and i .
For those not savvy with Math, i is the square root of negative one. I'm told it's actually useful when studying electromagnetics in-depth ... then again, I wouldn't know.
I'll be sure to ask my former roomate, though - he's savvy with both H and i .
, and i do not think your mind was ever 'innocent' 
Shouldn't you be calling him "gramps" or something? 
[br]
A lot of the time I end up feeling like crap because of all the stereotypes I've grown up with and ended up assimilating to a point I don't even see them in my speech. Again, I'm sorry. 
