...you never grew up in Japan and consequently never picked up a local dialect? Of course, anyone can feign it or pick up a few local words, but it's not really the same.

Here I'm surrounded by people from Gifu, Nagano, Fukuoka, Osaka, etc. and media where the characters speak 標準語, so there's not much opportunity for me to learn 京都弁, let alone any dialect, for example. From the point of view of learning language for the sake of communication this is a silly, self indulgent discussion, but just speaking textbook-標準語　feels like a shame when there's so many interesting variants.

Or maybe you have somehow picked up a regional dialect (including 標準語） to the point of sounding like having been born in a certain area of Japan. But I imagine this is rare for foreigners.. I kind of envy 帰国子女 for being brought up with the language and sounding reasonably natural from the outset.

Anyway, share thoughts. (preempting the obligatory "why would you want to sound like a person from ◯?" this thread should be taken only semi-seriously )

I actually find it hard NOT picking up the local dialect. I've been living in Kansai for 1,5 years, and my Japanese is a mix between 標準語 and 関西弁. I study 標準語 and want to speak as much "correct" 標準語 as possible, but since all my friends are locals some endings and accent variations just automatically turns into dialect. I'd much more prefer to nail 標準語 perfectly, but sometimes the local dialect just pops out of my mouth, and I feel like a jerk since I sound like those Tokyo-actors on TV trying to speak 関西弁 with standard intonation... Sigh..
Oh, well, it's better than speaking English anyway.

EDIT: I'm in Kyoto too - we should grab a beer sometime

I actually have the same sentiment - I have been in love with Osaka-ben for a long time , and living in Osaka now, I would really love to speak like Japanese people from this region. I think that you can actually learn it, bit by bit, but it still seems pretty embarrassing to for example say one sentence in extra osaka-ben and then continue to speak in hyoujungo... But then, now when I think about it, maybe it would be even stranger if you would speak in really heavy kansai-ben all the time? Maybe some sentences in kansai-ben from time to time, said with skill, are better - it's like you can do a まね of some famous person during the party, to light up the atmosphere.

As much as I would like to speak with some dialect like a native, I still love even more just hearing it. Like, when you randomly hear 「ここにおってね」 from mother to her young son in スーパー when you're doing shopping, or when, during a Kyoto trip, you are looking at the bus stop information with confusion and some おばさん says 「どこへいかはんの？」, trying to help you.

P.S. If there will be a beer, count me in please. (^o^)/

Sure man! It would've been cool to have a koohii meet-up of peeps living in Kyoto/Osaka!

I know a guy who spent a year living in Osaka, and got a girlfriend there as well. Apparently his dialect is now thicker than hers. He sometimes brings up how there are all these 大阪弁 terms he thought were actually 標準語, haha.

Personally, I prefer the sound of 標準語 to any regional dialect.

[Zgarbas]

I wonder how foreigners sound like when they pick up 東北弁。Bonus points if they pick it up without realizing how non-standard it is.

I wish I could use 青森弁; it sounds so badass.

My word usage and intonation are hopelessly and likely irreversibly Kansai-ben. Specifically Osaka. I live in Nishinomiya but all my hangout spots are in Osaka and all of my friends are heavily accented Kansai-ben speakers.

If you're influenced heavily enough you'll likely pick up a dialect. Kansai-ben in particular is rather contagious and tends to infect native Japanese people who move to Kansai as well.

I'm not sure that *studying* a dialect is the best bet but rather simply expose yourself to it and don't attempt to stop the takeover. :p (to avoid sounding like you're *trying* to speak a dialect like an actor etc. Actor kansaiben sounds silly. D

Zgarbas Wrote:I wonder how foreigners sound like when they pick up 東北弁。Bonus points if they pick it up without realizing how non-standard it is.

I wish I could use 青森弁; it sounds so badass.

I lived in Miyagi (Sendai specifically) but I never really heard my friends speak 仙台弁. I did learn a couple of words from a friend but forgot them. Mostly they use 標準語 even on Facebook etc. I don't know if it's because they are all university student age, or whether they didn't use it for my benefit but spoke it amongst themselves when I wasn't around...

edit: Here's a link to Sendai-ben I found if anyone is interested http://hougen.u-biq.org/sendai.html

fakewookie Wrote:Personally, I prefer the sound of 標準語 to any regional dialect.

It's Kansai FTW as far as I'm concerned! More a personality thing originally though--there was something I liked about punky Kansai girls that used a lot of dialect, and that feeling morphed into me liking the dialect.

Although, I don't particularly have a thing for the punky girls anymore. I think when I first moved here I was just more used to that type of girl, since in some ways that personality lines up better with the average American one.

Anyway, I'm in Kyoto so if there's a koohii grab-a-beer event I'd be down.

Tzadeck Wrote:Anyway, I'm in Kyoto so if there's a koohii grab-a-beer event I'd be down.

*derail*
All the good beers and accents are in Osaka.
/Kansaifight ..!

Although I hear a few beer bars are opening up in Kyoto recently.

*/derail*

drdunlap Wrote:*derail*
All the good beers and accents are in Osaka.
/Kansaifight ..!

Although I hear a few beer bars are opening up in Kyoto recently.

*/derail*

If you don't know Kyoto, you don't know where the good beer bars are. I do.

Tzadeck Wrote:If you don't know Kyoto, you don't know where the good beer bars are. I do.

I've been to one near 河原町. Forgot the name..
I'm just in love with the direct sale pubs that Minoh Beer runs in Osaka. Good crowd.

The craft beer scene has exploded here recently.

@Zgarbas: http://youtu.be/n3Q5ZRcl8OQ

I first thought "Korean!?" lol

I can pick out some things every now and then. I'm sure if there were a transcript attached that more of it would become clearer. But, I don't think it sounds like Korean. Course, that's what most people say when they hear a form of Japanese that they basically can't understand. I understood like 5%. That's pretty bad. It makes me want to look up stuff about 津軽語。

Tori-kun Wrote:@Zgarbas: http://youtu.be/n3Q5ZRcl8OQ

I first thought "Korean!?" lol

Haha this is amazing. I like the comments too but this one made me giggle out loud,
「フランス語が堪能なじいさんだな」

[Zgarbas]

I think I may have fallen for 若狭弁. It's just unbearably cute.

There was a manga written entirely in Kansai-ben.
It was called "Love Com"（ラブ★コン, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Com）


I wonder if there are any other manga written in local dialects.