Chapter 329: [The Difficulties Of The Japanese Language]


    <Japanese is really unique! I want to talk about the difficult parts I''ve noticed… as well as the interesting or strange things I''ve found!>


    <Since we''re at it, let''s also talk about the differences with English. I got ament earlier saying, "I want to know about English, too.">


    <Yes, please! I''m curious, too!>


    However, thisnguage discussion might end up being pretty lengthy.


    Well, that''s understandable, given that it''s three years of Ilyena''s life.


    <First, let''s talk about word order. Ukrainian and English are SVO, but Japanese is SOV, right?>


    <That''s a ssic one.>


    ?When I first studied Japanese, I was confused (Ukrainian)


    ?Same here. Plus, the word order keeps changing with inversion and all (US)?And there''s so much omission of the subject, too (US)


    <Right? I want to say that, but… actually, in Ukrainian, word order changes and subjects are often omitted, too.>


    <Oh, really?>


    <But, the number of first-person pronouns is really troubling. "Watashi," "Atashi," "Boku," "Ore"—at first, I couldn''t tell them apart. Why are there so many?>


    <It might be because Japanese pronouns reflect rtionships? Just one theory, though.>


    <Rtionships?>


    <For example, when my older sister talks to me, she often refers to herself as "Onee-chan." It might have evolved from that.>


    <I see! Now that you mention it, there are also many second-person pronouns like "Anata," "Kimi," "Omae," and "Kisama.">


    <That''s said to be for the same reason. To differentiate based on the other person''s position. Also, ‘politeness intion'' might have yed a role.>


    <Yes. "Omae" and "Kisama" were originally polite terms. Now, they’re almost insults.>


    <Is that so!?>


    <Yes. But over time, as they were used sarcastically or as more polite terms emerged, the ‘value'' of the words declined.>


    <I see. Hmm… Being polite isn''t a bad thing, but I think people in Japan could speak more casually!>


    <Haha, you''re right.>


    <The different levels of politeness like "Sonkeigo," "Teineigo," and "Kenjougo" are confusing and difficult. I didn''t understand them at all at first.>


    <Wait, do you always speak in politenguage?>


    <Ah, no! That''s just a habit!>


    ?So, Illysha can switch between polite and casualnguage? Impressive (Ukrainian)


    ?She''s a Japanesenguage master (Ukrainian)


    ?I''m not at that level yet… I''ll study by watching Illysha''s stream! (Ukrainian)


    <Well then, Ilyena-chan, why don''t you try calling me without honorifics?>


    <!?!?!? N-no! That would be too much!>


    <Come on, just try it. "Iroha.">


    <I-Iroha…>


    <Yes?>


    <…Sama.>


    <Didn''t work, huh?>


    ?Why did you chicken out there!? (Ukrainian)


    ?Illysha, that was a big chance! (Ukrainian)


    ?A rare invitation from Iroha-chan! (Ukrainian)


    <B-but, Iroha-sama is too important to me!>


    She turned me down when I suggested casualnguage before, too.


    Just like I have lines I don''t cross as a fan, Ilyena probably has her own standards I can''t understand.


    <But, if you''re always polite, you won''t offend anyone, and you can use it in both private and business settings. It''s good, right? Well, using "sama" is a bit much, though.>


    ?I get the politenguage, but how do I know which honorifics and pronouns to use? (Character)


    ?Just stick with "~san" for honorifics and "watashi" and "anata" for pronouns (Ukrainian)


    ?But isn''t "watashi" a pronoun women use? (Ukrainian)


    <It''s true that in private settings, women often use "watashi" and men use "ore." But it''s not weird for a man to use "watashi.">


    <For basicmunication, that should be enough.>


    ?That''s just how it is (Ukrainian)


    ?Japanese is delicate and difficult, with all the politenguage, honorifics, and pronouns (Ukrainian)


    ?I heard that tranting Japanese anime and manga into othernguages can be a headache because of this? (Ukrainian)


    <Yes. Oh, speaking of manga, Japanese has a lot of onomatopoeia, right? Especially, non-sound-based ones like ‘gitaigo'' and ‘gijougo'' are rare globally.>


    <That''s why they''re so detailed. There''s giongo, giseigo, gitaigo… and then gijougo and giyougo.>


    <Giyougo is like "furafura," right?>


    <Yes. Gijougo is like "wakuwaku".>


    ?In contrast, English barely has any onomatopoeia (Ukrainian)


    ?Inics, they just write "SMAAAASH" or "COOOOL" (Ukrainian)


    ?There''s "BANG" and "BOOM," so not none at all (U.S.)


    <Whenever I’m with Iroha-sama, my heart goes dokidoki and I feel melomelo!>


    <Yeah, yeah.>


    <And, also…>


    It seems the stories about the Japanesenguage are far from over.