Thread for Little Questions on the Japanese Language

elvenscout742

I'm going ahead with Linku's idea and starting this thread so that people (and by that I mean I ) don't wind up flooding the forum with new threads for each little question.

I guess I should then get the ball rolling. Umm... Uhhhh... Ooh! I have one!

Is ん / ン transcribed and pronounced "m" whenever it comes before a "p" or "b" sound (as in えんぴつ, かんぺき, てんぷら, こんばんは, etc.) or what?

Lantis

It's most definitely pronounced like "m" before "m", "b", "p".
And as for romanizing it, some do that, some don't. It's completely optional. I personally keep it as "n" to avoid confusion, but then I have my own odd style of romanization which keeps changing.

elvenscout742

Yeah, well I don't personally approve of romanization anyway. But "tempura" seems to be fairly common.

ApeXaviour

Not strictly on the japanese language but.. how do you type macrons?

Lantis

They don't work on boards(or a lot of other places), but...

a: Alt+257
e: Alt+275
i: Alt+299
o: Alt+333
u: Alt+363

For capitals, take a number away. So macroned A is Alt+265, etc.

kawaii

Hey Ian. You know how to do this. Enlighten us o great supreme on.

elvenscout742

It seems to work if one goes into Word and uses "Insert" and then "Symbol", and then you Copy and Paste it. Here they are: Ō ō.

<Points to sig>

kawaii

I thought you had some other easier method. or perhaps that was a dream... Damn, my dreams really suck. I have got to start goin outside more. [looks out window] *shiver*. On second thoughts, I think I'll stay right here(what was I thinking :eek: )

elvenscout742

Oh, that would be setting a shortcut key for it in the Insert Symbol menu. Though that might entail people sacrificing their beloved fadas :eek: !

Linku

This is how to do it in OS X; if you haven't got a character pallete in your menu bar, you should add one using these instructions first (99% of people leave the language option on the menu bar)


Instructions to enable the language imput menu on the menu bar in OS X
1) Open System Preferences and click International.
2) Click the Input Menu tab.
3) Check the box next to Character Palette.

The you can just choose 'Show Character Palette' from the Character Palette menu; then choose All from the View menu and click the Unicode Blocks tab. Use the Insert button to insert the character(s) you'd like to include in your document. Theres a Japanese option up at the top to help you find them quicker.

It's a good idea to have Hiragana and Katakana enabled all the time from the Language Preferences if you're going to use them often, I have it set up so I can switch between Irish/English and Japanese input by pressing ?(Cmd)+Space, and it's really handy.

elvenscout742

I've got another one: anyone got something more specific on the usage of the particle よ than

Oxford Starter Japanese Dictionary wrote:

a particle used at the end of sentences for emphasis and which expresses emotion, enthusiasm or rebuke etc.

?

Apparently, "私は亜衣さんを尊重しますよ。" isn't right.

Lantis

It's not. Erm...not right, I mean.

よ can be used for adding emotion, but its most common use is the basic idea of "I'm telling you something you don't already know". This can be interpreted as a sort of force behind your words, but it usually softens the sentence.

職員室に入るのはダメだよ！
shokuin-shi'tsu ni hairu no wa dame da yo!
You're not allowed go into the staff room!

Here the よ is being used to reinforce the fact that it's not allowed. You're not strictly giving new information, but you're acting like you are to reinforce the already-known information.

何してるの？
食べてるよ。
nani shi'teru no?
tabeteru yo.
What are you doing?
I'm eating.

Here, the よ is having the opposite effect while still carrying out the basic function. Simply saying "食べてる" would come across as rude and abrupt, but putting in a よ is using its function of introducing new information, which at the same time softens the sentences and makes it less abrupt.

elvenscout742

This next one may or may nt count as little - my problem really is that I can't tell:

Why is it "はなせます" to say someone speaks good English, and not "はなします"? Is it the potential form of the verb (i.e. "can...") or what? If so, then can that be done with most other verbs, by taking the "u" off the dictionary form and adding "emasu"?

EDIT: Oh, wait, or maybe "はなせる" is a totally different verb to "はなす" with the same meaning?

Lantis

Yep, it's the potential form.

To form it:

Group 1 verbs - take the last kana, change it from the "u" line to the "e" line and add "ru".
買う -> 買える
kau -> kaeru
行く　-> 行ける
iku -> ikeru
読む ->　読める
yomu -> yomeru
取る　-> 取れる
toru -> toreru

Group 2 verbs - remove the "ru" and replace with "rareru".
食べる　食べられる
taberu -> taberareru
信じる　信じられる
shinjiru -> shinjirareru

Group 3 verbs
する -> できる
suru -> dekiru
来る ->　来られる
kuru -> korareru

All potential-form verbs conjugate like group 2 verbs.

("wakaru", "shiru", "aru" and "iru" don't have potential forms.)


英語を話ます - I speak English.
英語を話せます - I can speak English.


Also, another way to form it is to tag "koto ga dekiru" to the end.
英語を話ますことができます - I can speak English.

elvenscout742

Anyone know how to say something like "I have been doing something"? Like "I have been learning some Japanese"? Is it just that damned "-ています" form, or something more sinister?