JAPANESE CULTURE SERIES : 1. STUDIO GHIBLI

Hello everybody,

   Today, I'd like to give you a brief description of Studio Ghibli and the top 5 movies I invite you to
 watch.

   So, Studio Ghibli pretty much began somewhere in the mid 1980s, after they had their first hit film called Nausicaa of the valley of wind (I'll explain about the movie later on). The founders of Studio Ghibli are Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki.  They are all directors as well as producers. I guess Hayao Miyazaki is more well-known in countries other than Japan because they tend to capture larger audiences.

   Ghibli comes from the heated dry winds of the Sahara Desert. It also derives from the Italian Caproni Bomber of the World War 2 called CAPRONI Ca309 GHIBLI. I can understand why Hayao Miyaaki would find the word Ghibli appealing. He has a deep fascination with aircrafts and that becomes rather apparent in some of his films. 

   The current logo mark for Ghibli comes from the 1988 film known as My neighbour Totoro. Studio Ghibli is best known for producing anime feature films. 

  When watching Ghibli films, the first thing you will notice is the abundance of nature and the minor details embedded in them. So, for example, if there was a scene of a lake, you can clearly see the reflection of the sun and clouds, the ripples in the water and other small details you would expect to view when you go to a genuine lake. The second aspect I would like to point out is the emotion that is attached with each scene and the movements as well.

For example, a scene of a girl looking through a window at the rising sun at dawn. What's going on there? What emotions are spilling in her face? What's she thinking? There are so many times you will get to see and understand, if not immediately then later, the contexts in these seemingly non-action scenes. The third aspect to notice are the heroine and female protagonist characters that are portrayed. I believe this is because Hayao Miyazaki believes that it shows more meaning and significance when a woman is portrayed as such.  I feel that it shows equality since a majority of movies and anime films portray male characters as the protagonists and heroes.

Now, on to my top 5 Ghibli films. It's very difficult to put one above the other because they are all brilliant in their own unique way. So, you know what, I won't put any order on them. 
Just the 5 films you should watch to know what Ghibli is all about. 

     by behruz.deviantart.com

Spirited Away(2001 film, directed by Hayao Miyazaki)

    Alright, we start of with Spirited Away; this is a great way to open one's mind and immerse oneself in a mysterious and unique world where frogs talk, dragons fly in the sky and monster-spirits take a bath in the hot springs. This film invites you to get a taste of Japanese culture and its relations to the spiritual world. The plot is about a human girl getting lost in the "other world" and trying to get back to the world she came from. 
More info and reviews can be found here.

My Neighbour Totoro(1998 film directed by Hayao Miyazaki)

 I cannot tell you how many times I've watched this though out my childhood. This is probably one of the many films most kids would watch when they are at home. It never fails to put a smile on my face. Personally, I think it allows you to open your mind, be creative, and dream of the unimaginable. I recommend this to any age group. I promise you will be thrilled by it's simple yet complex meaning and depth. I think this person gives a good review; he also mentions the plot to some detail. 

Grave of the Fireflies (1988 film, directed by Isao Takahata)

 This is another film produced in 1988. But this is far from giving you a smile. This is one film you should only watch ONCE in my opinion, but I'm going to watch it again. I guess that's an oxymoron but nonetheless. This is a story about a 14-year-old boy and his 4-year-old sister struggling to live life during the World War 2. We don't often see many films about the victims of war, more so when it comes to animated films. This gives you a taste of what life can be for people during war. It makes you never want to think of war again. It is truly inspiring in many ways. Here is a link to a review I think explains this in detail.

The Wind Rises (2013 film, directed by Hayao Miyazaki)

 What is love? Well, this film might answer that for you. In the last film directed by Hayao Moyazaki( He has allegedly retired, but I doubt it), he puts all of his passion, emotion and experience to create a masterpiece. One strong message I received from this is that love should no be taken for granted; cherish the moment that you spend with your loved one because it can never last forever. Please check this review if you want to know more about this film. 

Nausicaa of the valley of the Wind ( 1984 film directed by Hayao Miyazaki * Although this was created before Studio Ghibli was founded, it is considered to be part of the Ghibli films *)

  So, we come to Nausicaa of the valley of the Wind. This is a warning to all of humanity. Although we don't really know what our planet would look like after a nuclear war, this film suggests what we might see. This is staged a thousand years after a post apocalyptic world where jungles are toxic, gigantic mutant insects roam, and the air is lethal to humans.  Although this might be a fantasy world, I think it gives you a chance to look at the devastation we humans can cause. Take a look at this review

Princess Mononoke ( 1997 film directed by Hayao Miyazaki)

   So, I know that this is the 6th film I am inviting you to watch. But, this is probably THE film that I want you to watch. It does not get better than this. This captures what Ghibli is all about with the picturesque backgrounds, scenes of the forests, spiritual beings and the love for nature. Here, we can see the selfishness of us humans and how we affect the environment. This is pretty much a lesson you might learn in school or University, but 10 times, no, 50 times more impactful.  This is one of the greatest films Studio Ghibli has produced and the meaning it presents you cannot be any clearer. I would definitely recommend you to watch this ahead of the others I have invited you to watch. Review from rottentomatoes


 Share your opinions and thoughts, I'll see you next time. 

JAPLISH SERIES Script 4: Shortener

 
  Hello everyone,


   This will be my last Japlish series, at least for now. But don't worry, I have many other topics and subjects to blog about.

   So, let's talk about the "shortener" Japlish.  The shortening of foreign imported words (a pair at times); making it simpler and easier to convey messages to one another. Here's the catch, it doesn't apply for foreigners. Japanese people are lazy sometimes when it comes to conveying long messages. They want to do it as efficiently as possible. Using less mouth movements, time and energy.

 Let me show you some examples.


          Remote Controller =    RimoCon  
                                                                                 If you were to pronounce it


       Entertainment        =    Entame  
                                                                                 If you were to pronounce it


      Convenience Store =   Konbini  
                                                                                 If you were to pronounce it

  As you can see, they strip away tad bits of letters to achieve these shortened form of words. I really don't have a problem with this creative idea for effective communication. However, I think this creates confusion among foreigners in Japan who have not been made aware of this type of modification towards foreign words. This use of Japlish is also very common with the younger generation. They tend to shorten almost any words that tend to be catchy when shortened.
  It can be confusing at times because the shortened words could mean something else among a group of younger generation.
 As a foreigner, I suggest you research some of these 'shortener' words before coming to Japan. Always ask if you are uncertain of a foreign-like word they just used in front of you.

So, these three aspects of Japlish are what you should be aware of when travelling to Japan. The pronunciation, translation and shortener.



CNN Travel's Daniel Morales covered about this topic in his article. I'll leave the link below and you can take a look at his interesting points.

Japlish: It's two confusing languages in one!


Have a lovely day, and Live your Life
                                                                                   
  






 

   
       

JAPLISH SERIES Script 3: Translation

How's it going everybody?





　　　　　　　We move on to the second aspect of Japlish. The translation.
                     
                           When I say "Translation", I mean Japanese to English translation.

                          This is very necessary for 2 major reasons: Tourism & Globalisation

 Because of this, the Japanese government, private companies and private establishments must provide an English translation for every Japanese sign boards, pamphlets and brochures that they
make. However, there are not what you think it would be. There are many mistakes that really need
correction. Here are some examples:
                         
                                     
                                              Yeah, I'll wait until the lamp gone off, 

Don't worry, there is an enough space  in the room

                                         Later, I will brush my teeth during watching TV       

 These are pictures I took when I went to a Japanese hotel.  The first thought in my head was,
" Don't we have certified translators in this country?"  I thought that this was a unique case, until I surfed the web. Not only are there many translation mistakes, there are also many spelling mistakes. The most common one is " No Smorking ".  Since it's bad for your health.

 Okay, this one might be too harsh to judge, since it's only separated. They'll get back together soon. 

Wow, I don't even want to think about Used Apple Juice from Aomori Prefecture. 

 No comment... 

Wow, I've just discovered the existence of another intellectual life form.  And they work in Japan. This is breaking news!!

   





 As you can see, we've got a plethora of Japlish translations.  This is what you should be aware of when you go to Japan. They might be lurking in the corner, waiting to raise your eyebrows.




That's all for now people, Ciao Ciao.

 

JAPLISH SERIES Script 2: Pronunciation (Continued)

Hi there, welcome to page 2 of Pronunciation, let's begin shall we?
こんにちは、発音の2ページへようこそ、始めましょう


  In the first page, I talked about the adversity foreigners face when they hear Japanese people using foreign words. The reason? They always end their letter,word and sentence with a vowel, which leads to complications and misunderstandings. Please read the first page to get an insight to this.

  Here, I will talk about another interesting aspect of Japlish pronunciation.


     Japanese people cannot pronounce the "L" sound

                  from www.engrish.com

  

   The picture above is quite interesting. This is just one example of the roman alphabet "R" 

being used because of the non-existent pronunciation of "L" in Japanese pronunciation and syllabary.  There is no direct correlation to the  "L" sound. The only closest letter is the ら letter.  

                        ら     =        RLA        =        LRA 

Although, there appears to be an "L" sound, the "R" sound overpowers the "L" sound tremendously,  resulting in the use of the "R" pronunciation. It's not unusual to hear a Japanese substitute an "L" sound for an "R" when they use a foreign word. 

      Cho-co-re-e-to=Cho-co-rate=Chocolate      

 So, as you can see, even the most basic of words can be heard differently when you substitute the "R" with the "L".  If you are a foreigner in Japan, and you happen to talk to Japanese people, always remember to switch the "R" sound with the "L" sound if something you hear doesn't sound quite right. It would also be best if you teach that person how to produce the "R" sound and the "L" sound,

that way conversation becomes much more consistent. 

          Another pronunciation Japanese struggle with. 

                           The "V" sound

 Yes, the "V" pronunciation doesn't exist in Japan. So, how do Japanese people say "violin" or

"vanilla"?  Well, they say, 

      Banirra=Banilla=Vanilla   Biorin=Biolin=Violin

The "V" gets substituted with the "B" sound. Very interesting, but why? I think when Japanese people first tried to pronounce it, that was the closest sound they could get to. Sounds pretty weird but that's what you will most likely here when you travel to Japan. So, whenever you hear a foreign word that starts with a "B" which doesn't make any sense, try substituting it with a "V" and it might spring to 

life. 

         The last one I want to talk about is,

                       The "th" sound  

    The "th" sound also does not exist in the Japanese pronunciation. So, Japanese people use two 

types of pronunciation to get a similar but often misheard sound. 

          Zatto=Zat=That         Surii=Srii=Three      

  There you go! The sounds, "Z" and "S" in place of "th". Zis is not right, one Sousand percent false.

That's what you will hear, so make sure you get accustomed to this type of pronunciation when you are in Japan. These three sounds are probably the most misconstrued sound when Japanese people

use it. What's really ironic about this is that when you try speaking to a Japanese using foreign 

words that they are familiar with, chocolate for example, they won't be able interpret your "Perfect Native English" and instead, look at you with blank eyes. Unless you use Japlish, they won't fully

understand your words, which really makes your temper flare up and your brain turn upside down.  I 

might be over exaggerating a wee bit but it's very common. 

 So guys, this is it, feel free to comment and share your thoughts. 

The next blog will be about: translation Japlish

Now, the Japanese version, 

始めのページでは、日本人が外来語を言葉にするときに外国人が苦労する課題について

述べました。理由は？日本人は文字、単語、文章を必ず母子で終わらせることで誤解や複雑な状況をつくります。まだpage 1 を読んでいない方はそれを先に読んでください。

　ここでは、日本人の英語発音に関して、もう一つ興味深い面について話します。

　　日本人は"L"の発音が出来ない

         

       上図はとても面白いです。なぜならPrayerは英語で”祈る”という意味であるから

です。つまり、その店は”Mp3祈る”という商品を売っています。Mp3 Player が適切です。

では、なぜこのような間違いがあったのでしょうか？もちろん、ただのミスだったかもしれないです。しかし、ここから大胆なことを僕は言えます。日本人は(Le)(Re)の両方に （れ）の発音を使用するので、英語に直すときにどちらかを選ばなければならないです。

しかし、外来語の発音が"Le","Re"に関係なく全て”ら”＝re と発音してしまうのでReだけを

使っていると思いがちです。そこでこのような間違いが発生したと言えます。

　だから、このような問題を生じさせないために、僕はRとL の区別をつける必要がある

と思います。日常生活において、外来語を使う際にかならず意識をしてください。

                       次に日本人が発音出来ないものは"V"

       　　  Violin 　　　　　　 Venice

　これらを発音する時にはどのように発音しますか？

　　　　　　

バイオリン（ヴァイオリン）　ベネツィア（ヴェネツィア）

英語でかくと、　

Baiolin         (Bwaiolin)                  Benice         ( Bwenice )

"V" の発音に最も近い"B"を使用してるけれど、やっぱり本来の発音でないということで、外国人にとっては聞きとりにくい発音です。だから、本来の発音が出来るように練習を

した方が得であると思います。

　

　　　　　　　　最後の発音は"th"です。

                          "The"           "Three"        

　                       (Za)                        (Surii)

明らかに、ザの並びとサの並びが使われています。しかし、これは本来の発音ではなく、

日本人が容易に発音できるように無理に合わせたものです。このような外来語を使う時

には発音に気をつけなければなりません。

以上です。コメントや意見を共有してください。

次のブログは翻訳のJaplishについてです。

これらの発音に関して、その正しいやり方のビデオをYoutubeに近頃投稿したいと思うので

それが出来たら、リンクを貼っておきます。

　　

                          

                           

JAPLISH SERIES Script 1: Pronunciation

皆さんこんにちは、                日本語バージョンを読むのであれば下へ
Good day everyone,

  I'm Leo, and welcome to my world. Here, I will take you through certain interesting aspects of Japan and its language. Whatever I talk about comes from my experience and perspective, so feel free to participate by sharing your wisdom and thoughts.

                    JAPLISH = Japanese + English
     
Basically, Japlish is anything that has to do with imported foreign words; whether it's mingling, shortening, transforming or modifying those words, as long as it has something
 to do with 'foreign', it is Japlish. Let's move on.
     

  There are many contexts of Japlish . Several ones that I would like to elaborate on are: Pronunciation, translation and shortener. 

                                               Pronunciation

 In Japanese syllabary, almost every letter is made up of a consonant and a vowel. The consonant the former, the vowel the latter.  This means that every letter, word and sentence ends with a vowel. 

                  Konbanwa            Tokyo             Minato    

 This is very interesting; Japanese people always end their conversation with a vowel. What does this mean for foreigners? Well, this can both be an advantage and a disadvantage. 

 Let's look at the disadvantage. Suppose you have a Japanese friend who speaks basic English. You ask him/her, " What is your favourite music band?" They answer, " My favourite band is Beatoruzu." I believe many would scratch their heads.

                  Beatoruzu=Beatoruz=Beatorz=Beatles 
                  Bii-to-ru-zu           Bii-to-ruz          Bii-torz            

   The Beatles!!!  That's what your friend was talking about.  It is not uncommon to find misinterpretations or/and bafflements when encountering this type of Japlish. Although the

Japanese language allows the importing of foreign words through the use of Katakana writing,

it fails to keep the pronunciation of the word as it is. Another example I would like to give is 

Basuke'tobooru.

           Basuke'tobooru=Baske'toboor=Basketbor=Basketball  
                 Ba-su-ket-to-bo-o-ru         Bas-ket-to-bo-or         Basket-bor

   Notice that by eliminating some vowels( including vowel at the end of the word) and shortening
the pronunciation, you can somehow grasp what is really being said.  So, whenever you hear Japanese people using English words, try and listen carefully to adjust words that don't make sense or are unrecognisable. Also, try and correct the person so that he/she never makes that same mistake again!!

As far as the advantage goes, your listening skills will significantly increase when you talk to Japanese people, since you will have to figure out what they might be talking about at times. You can also use this type of Japlish to fool your friends and family by allowing them to believe that you know how to speak Japanese.

This is it for page 1. Give me your thoughts.





From here and on, the Japanese version.


 僕の世界へようこそ。私の名はレオ。ここでは日本に関しての興味深い面や言語を紹介します。話すことは全て自分の経験、視点のものであるので、あなたの意見や感想も共有してください。

                   　　　JAPLISH = Japanese + English  

　　　　　（ジャプリッシュ）＝　日本語＋英語

ジャプリッシュについて述べたいと思います。ジャプリッシュとは、外国の言葉を日本流に改善したものです。文脈は様々あります。その中のいくつかを取り上げました。発音、
翻訳と省略についてです。

　　　　　　　　　　　　Pronunciation
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　（発音）

日本語のひらがなとカタカナにおける文字はローマ字と異なります。異なるポイントの主な部分は、一文字が二つのローマ字（詳しく言うと子音と母音）で構成されていることです。つまり、日本語の格文字、単語、文章が母音で終わっているということです。
　
　　　　　　　　Konbanwa            Tokyo             Minato    

こんばんは　　　　　　とうきょう　　　　みなと

面白いですね。日本語は必ず母音で締まります。さて、ここで考えて欲しいのは、これが
外国人にとって何を意味するかということです。有利な点と不利な点があります。

まずは不利な点から見ていきましょう。あなたが高校並みの英語能力を持っているとしましょう。外国から来た友人にどんな音楽歌手、またはバンドが好みなのかを聞かれたとしましょう。あなたはビートルズが好きだからこう答えます。

                  I like the Beatles. 　と言ったつもりだが友人は困惑した顔でそのバンドが記憶にあるのかを考えています。あれ、ビートルズと言ったら誰もが知っているんではなかったの？もしかしたらこの人は音楽に一切興味がないの？いや、そしたら音楽について質問なんてするはずがない。

　もちろん友人はビートルズというバンドを知っています。しかし、あなたのJaplishで
友人は困惑しました。なぜなら、あなたはビートルズの本来の発音を日本流の発音に変えたからです。もう一つの例をだします。

　　　　　　　　　　　　バスケットボール
　
　この単語に関しても同様なことが言えます。発音が本来の発音ではなく、日本人が簡単にその外来語を話せるように日本流に改善された単語です。
度々僕が見るのは日本人と外国人との間で起こる誤解。この発音がその一つの要素です。
ここで、ある改善策を紹介したいと思います。それは、外来語の本来の発音をそのまま発音する訓練をすることです。初めは少し居心地が悪いと思います。しかし、それで外国の友人との会話がとてもSmoothにいったら幸いなことだと思いませんか？僕はそう思います。

利点に関しては、外国の友人に新しい言語を学んだと思い込ませるのにいいかと思います。日本人は日本語しか話せないという固定観念が増えてるので、そう思う人に別の言語を知っているぞと脅すのにはとても効果的だと思います。


以上 Page 1 を終わります。