From: rhb@world.std.com (Robert H Brueckner)
Subject: Re: Not a Myth at All
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1992 03:14:21 GMT

In article <1992Dec13.005648.8260@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> jcliu@euler.Berkeley.EDU (James C. Liu - Nucl. Engin. UC Berkeley) writes:

   >Well, the fact is, I speak much better Japanese than I do French. But
   >my pathetic attempts at Francaise were greeted warmly by anyone I met.
   >Whether they laughed at me after I left I don't know, and I don't much
   >care. But with Japanese people I do notice that it is very difficult
   >to get into a Japanese conversation at all with them. They switch to
   >English at the end of the first sentence and, even though my Japanese
   >is passable and articulate, seem totally uninterested. This is what

   A lot of gaijin "think" they are articulate in Japanese or even Chinese
   for that matter.  But they're ....they're...how to put this kindly...
   They're NOT.  IMHO, it often hurts to listen to gaijin massacre Japanese
   with their Amerika-ben.  It hurts even more when they speak Chinese.  
   Lets not even get into singing.  :-)  No offense to you in particular, 
   Brueckner-san.  I've never heard you speak.  No flames please..!
   But just riding the Yamanote Line and hearing what I heard coming out
   of some very fluent but VERY gaijin throats made me want get off at
   the next stop and drink a six-pack of Pocari Sweat then come back in and
   throw up on the guy/gal.  Gomen.

   But, perhaps you should make a tape of your own voice and listen to it and
   be critical about your accent.  I've found that it helps me.  My Japanese
   vocabulary sucks big wads as some netters have informed me, especially
   about my use of "kick-shiri."  However, most Nihonjin I've conversed 
   with state candidly that they were very surprised I wasn't Japanese
   because my accent was *mostly* indistiguishable.  I spend a LOT of time
   working on accent with a tutor (at the cost of learning vocab and grammar), 
   but I think it's worth it.  Contrary to your experiences, I've never had
   problems entering a conversation.  I interject something in Japanese and
   the next thing, they come back with a barrage of words that overload my cpu. 
       ...Anoo, anooo, eetoooo, accessing, accessing...saigo ni wakaranai.8-)

   But then again, you could be right...it could be a racial thing.  You might
   have the perfect accent, but the wrong complexion.  That would be taihen.
   Anybody out there know some good cosmetic surgeons?  8-)

   Jaa, James

My accent isn't the problem. I wish it were. Actually, I speak German
fluently enough to have passed for German when I worked there. And my
poor French was at least pronounced *almost* passably, which I'm sure
earned me some points. The only problem I have with pronunciation in
Japanese is when I try to talk too fast, which I remedy by speaking
slowly enough.

I think you hit the nail on the head with your last point. Judging
from your last name, I presume you're of Chinese ethnicity, which for
many Japanese is close enough (although -- and I don't mean this in a
racist way -- I can usually tell Japanese from Korean from Chinese
(North & South, although there are more divisions than that, of
course), and I always thought Japanese could too; but I've been fooled
by Chinese sushi chefs who don't speak Japanese and wonder what I'm
saying to them).

Jaa, mata.

RB

-- 
|"The truth is cruel, but it can be loved, and it makes free those who  |
| have loved it." -- George Santayana  // Opinions expressed here, when |
| clear and persuasive, are my own. --Rob Brueckner (rhb@world.std.com) |

Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan