日本人の知らない日本語

日本人の知らない日本語 #1

by Nagiko Umino, 海野 凪子, Hebizo

日本語学校に集まるマジメな外国人生徒たち。そんな彼らの、外国人ならではの日本語の使い方やギモンの数々は、私たち日本人も知らなかった日本語の一面を教えてくれる。日本語のヒミツを知ることができる１冊。

Genres: Japanese Literature, Manga, Japan, Language, Nonfiction, Comics, Graphic Novels

144 pages, Paperback

First published February 18, 2009

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though this is a book (mostly composed of 4-panel comics) about learning Japanese, it's still a book for a predominantly Japanese audience. There are a few things that creep in as a result, such as a very pro-Japan message (a little over the top towards the end, I thought) and some preconceived notions about foreigners from certain countries that makes for pretty borderline racism. One of the authors actually works in a Japanese school for foreigners which leads me to believe each of the stories happened, but even if that's the case, the choice of unfavorable moments over more outside world friendly ones is quite telling. The American character for instance is pretty much deployed as the guy who offends everyone. And towards the end each character talks about why he/she loves Japan while describing some horrific rendition of the contrast to the situation in his/her home country; this obviously couldn't have happened as it appears in the book, or at least it comes across as terribly ungenuine. So why did I like it? The lessons about the Japanese language in the book were interesting and informative, and most of the humor was enjoyable as well. I learned a few odd aspects of the language's nature and history in funny comic form, which is what I was looking for. It's entertaining to be sure, but I wanted to draw some attention to the less shining aspects of the book.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The early parts of this book--a look at the weird quirks of Japanese that are difficult to teach to foreigners because they're arbitrary or obscure--were fun. I even could laugh at her students who learned their Japanese from manga and yakuza movies and have a tendency to blurt out archaic, overly-formal phrases. The book is spoiled a bit for me by an ending, in which the narrator goes on and on about how her students unwittingly reveal how filthy, crime-ridden and unhealthy their home countries are and expresses her deep gratitude for living in Japan, which seems rather unnecessary.

[Kazen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lighthearted look at what it's like teaching Japanese to foreign students in Japan. When learning a new language you initially view it through the lens of your mother tongue and culture, which leads to various misconceptions by students from different parts of the world. I've made some of these faux pas myself, and it's fun to see them on the page.

The authors lean into stereotypes by country of origin, which is unfortunate but didn't stop me from reading. Full furigana makes the text accessible for learners, and you're bound to learn something no matter your Japanese level. Not a bad read for a lazy afternoon.

[AK · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. This books takes what could be a great premise- what a native speaker teacher learns about their language through teaching non-native students- and executes in a banal and stereotypical way. There were occasional flashes of promise in the beginning, that explored the vagaries of Japanese and the different ways they can impact a non-native speakers life. A wealthy French woman who came to love Japanese through her obsessive viewing of 1960s yakuza movies and thus speaks the language like a mob moll displaced in time. A part-time worker at a ramen shop needs to know the names of many random dishes and types of cookware and finds most native speakers have no idea either. Students study honorific Japanese very carefully only to find it totally misused by native speakers. There were also a few interesting factoids sprinkled throughout about the development of the Japanese language, but it's hard to know whether these are folk etymologies or actual fact. The latter part of the book just rehashes a bunch of "oh geez these foreigners don't innately understand all the intricacies of social protocol of our beautiful country, how barbaric" type of anecdotes.

There is a television show made from this book, with the same title, available for viewing on youtube, that is 1000 times better than the source material, with much more information about the quirks of the Japanese language and a much deeper sense of generosity to non-Japanese living in Japan and doing their best to learn the language.

[Louis · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I were to award books five stars from the outset, and deduct points in a demerit style, this book would surely get about negative eight. Here is the break down of where it loses points:

Minus one for not identifying it's target audience correctly (honestly, is this a book for Japanese teachers or gaijin students? Because if I was a Japanese teacher I'd hate the furigana, and only the fact that there are no Australians makes me not hate its racist depiction of foreigners)
Minus one for scribbled kanji
Minus at least half a point for every blatantly racist thing the book says (Chinese people eating cat?)

But however, I will give it two stars because I could read it, and it made me chuckle twice. One star per chuckle.

But no, it should be called 誰も知らない日本語, or maybe 知るはずがない日本語 - 知りたくない日本語？ Maybe 知るわけがない日本語？ "The Japanese no-body knows, needs to know, should know, or can be expected to know."

And the subtitle would be "With occasional obvious comments for beginners and racism to make Japanese people chuckle and hate the outside world more"

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should have liked this more, and the more I read it, the more I liked it, but much like with a similar series of book I read, the beginning is rough. Most of it is about, "Oh, these silly questions foreigners have asked me about the Japanese language TEEHEE!" which ends up infuriating me, simply because it fails to examine the psychotic things Japanese people believe.

That said, that's not the book's purpose, so I should really chillax and just enjoy this book. But I'm tired of being told, "Only Japan has 4 seasons!" D:

Finally, though, there were many cute, interesting tidbits, and it gave me flashbacks to my own Japanese class experiences, so... A+? Albeit with 3 stars.

[Ranko Hong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this a few years ago and I read it again. I still love this book. Not only is it funny, but it is also educational. Although I'm Japanese and went to a Japanese elementary school, I learned a lot about the Japanese language through this book. Because it is also in a comic style, it is very easy to follow through the story. I saw many people saying that this is stereotypical or racist, but if it's based on real events, I feel like it's not the author's fault. Not everybody understands each country's culture and therefore we learn through these events! Anyways, I really like this and recommend if you want to learn a bit about the Japanese language through a funny comic!

[Adam Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

日本語教師はいろな外国人と一緒に日本語の珍しい所を探します。日本人として考えない質問を答えなきゃとびっくりした時を漫画になりました。とても笑わせ不思議な日本語を話しましょう?

「日本人の知らない日本語」テレビドラマが大好きだからこの本を探してた。外国人の誤解と妙な質問は日本人の立場から面白かった。私は自ら日本語を勉強したからこれを凄く気持ちを理解出来た。反対側から見ると楽しかった。

これはまだ少し難しかっただが最高だった。次の「日本語の知らない日本語」の本を楽しみに。

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely hilarious. And educational. The title means "The Japanese the Japanese Don't Know", and it's a collection of stories about a teacher of Japanese in Japan and her students, what sort of questions they ask, what sort of mistakes they make, etc. There's also a lot of interesting background on the Japanese language, like where certain words came from and such. I was familiar with some of that, but a lot of it was new to me. For example, masu/desu is now standard Japanese, but it used to be geisha-speak. Men came to the capitol, heard geisha speaking that way, and took it home and spread it, thinking it was the way everyone in the capitol spoke. There was also a lot about keigo, and how even Japanese people get it wrong a lot.

[Angel 一匹狼 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has some good points: a couple of nice anecdotes about Japanese language, talked and written, and also about its evolution and history (from the 'old' language used in samurai or yakuza movies to hiragana symbols that are not used anymore).

It also has its good share of downsides: a very 'patriotic/nationalistic' look on Japan: the greatest place on Earth! A very discriminatory/stereotypical look on other cultures: that's why they are so happy to be here, in Japan! A very superficial look on some aspects of Japanese language and culture: like the chapter around keigo, the formal language.

5.5/10

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[Ollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Та невже, вже доросла аж до того, щоб читати манґу в метро. =)
Пораділа ще й із того, що книжка відрізняється від дорами, але вже запланувала собі більш ретельний повторний перегляд "із словником і нотатками".

[Evelyn Tatsuta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great! Several language issues drawn with fun!

[ErynAmrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly hilarious. A must for Japanese learners (if you're up to the challenge).

[Abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

外国人として楽しくて面白かった漫画です。色々な話があるので、絶対に新しい日本語についてインフォを習えると思います。おすすめです。

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[Kei · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly racist

[Elin · Rating 4 out of 5]

My teacher while studying Japanese mentioned this book and when I found it I had to buy it. It's a manga style book written by a Japanese language teacher. She works with foreign people wanting to learn Japanese and the book is about questions she receieve while working. Questions about what things are called that natives usually don't think about or questions why things are called the way they are or questions about cultural things and why they are like that. I had a lot of fun reading this book and I could easily relate to most of the situations depicted in the book.

[Yuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title says Japanese language that Japanese people don't know, the book introduced various examples that Japanese people usually don't know. I like the series of this book a lot because each episode is funny and I can easily imagine a similar thing that can happen in my class. I recommend the book to anyone who likes to think about Japanese language, and it will be useful particularly to Japanese language learners and teachers. If you are a student of Japanese, you will find the book interesting after 3 years of Japanese study at UMass.

[Ariane Dokusho · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so much fun to read! I really liked the drawings and way of explaining language origins. While some things explained were not really necessary for my language journey, they sure were many things that were 'good to know'.

Getting to know the characters in this language school was another aspect I enjoyed. They may have been exaggerated for humor, but many times I laughed because I knew people like that as well!

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed so hard I cried.

[Michael]

:>

[Mirtha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was The boom FOR me my hole life in Japan was close to this , I read it in Japanese and English and really the translations misses out on a lot

[Felipe Mendez · Rating 4 out of 5]

皆んな様の勉強会の学生は必要で、随分便利だと思います。メキシコの学生達に日本語を習うことはもっと優しくなったと思います。

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful for native speakers and learners alike!

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good points: Interesting, funny, and as a Japanese learner I could identify with some of the students' struggles.

Bad points: the usual issues... stereotypes, stereotypes, and stereotypes.