My Japanese tutor is originally from Oita, Oita Prefecture which would indicate she uses Honichi dialect which after research is closer to Chugoku dialect than others in Kyushu. To what extent will the dialect of a tutor affect a student's reading, writing and speaking if at all?

Japanese dialects when contrasted to those, for example, in the U.S. or between English speaking countries, tend not to be nearly as extreme.

Nobody in Japan has any real trouble understanding each other, which is not true for me when I find myself in some parts of the US, or certain areas of the U.K., S.A., or when Aussies/Kiwis decide they want to start using their ridiculous slang.

I wouldn't worry about it.

afterglowefx Wrote:Japanese dialects when contrasted to those, for example, in the U.S. or between English speaking countries, tend not to be nearly as extreme.

Nobody in Japan has any real trouble understanding each other, which is not true for me when I find myself in some parts of the US, or certain areas of the U.K., S.A., or when Aussies/Kiwis decide they want to start using their ridiculous slang.

I wouldn't worry about it.

Thank you. Good to know it won't cause too much difficulty.

Can't you tell how thick her accent is or isn't, based on talking to her?

Most people in Japan can switch between their own dialect and standard Japanese to some extent (although not perfectly), enough that it wouldn't be an issue for a language learner. A tutor should probably be speaking as close to standard Japanese as he/she can when doing lessons.

Anyway, there's no reason that a learner would need to speak perfectly standard Japanese. In fact, I'm really happy that I can understand other dialects a bit--Tokyo people sound like ***** robots compared to the rest of the country.

I think if you still need a tutor, then worrying about their accent of your tutor is kind of putting the horse before the cart.

nadiatims Wrote:I think if you still need a tutor, then worrying about their accent of your tutor is kind of putting the horse before the cart.

It was simply out of curiosity and interest. Even so, other people will most likely read this - it's not just for me. Also dialect and accent are two different things.

Tzadeck Wrote:Can't you tell how thick her accent is or isn't, based on talking to her?

Most people in Japan can switch between their own dialect and standard Japanese to some extent (although not perfectly), enough that it wouldn't be an issue for a language learner. A tutor should probably be speaking as close to standard Japanese as he/she can when doing lessons.

Anyway, there's no reason that a learner would need to speak perfectly standard Japanese. In fact, I'm really happy that I can understand other dialects a bit--Tokyo people sound like ***** robots compared to the rest of the country.

Thank you for the reply.

There is no chance I would be able to differentiate her accent from any other Japanese accent, it was just out of curiosity is all.

I assume she teaches me with standard dialect but it's always an interesting thing to consider.

Unless she's very old, she will be speaking standard Japanese to you.

The one exception is pitch accent; most people who are not from Tokyo cannot speak with the Tokyo pitch accent unless they have specifically trained to do so (i.e. in preparation for teaching, or for a job where they have to do that). This isn't a huge problem, though.

Tzadeck Wrote:Anyway, there's no reason that a learner would need to speak perfectly standard Japanese. In fact, I'm really happy that I can understand other dialects a bit--Tokyo people sound like ***** robots compared to the rest of the country.

Most Japanese male speech sounds robotic to me...

afterglowefx Wrote:Japanese dialects when contrasted to those, for example, in the U.S. or between English speaking countries, tend not to be nearly as extreme.

Nobody in Japan has any real trouble understanding each other, which is not true for me when I find myself in some parts of the US, or certain areas of the U.K., S.A., or when Aussies/Kiwis decide they want to start using their ridiculous slang.

I wouldn't worry about it.

How do you mean? Correct me if I'm wrong: The most drastic marker on one's accent to the unfamiliar ear is syntax. The syntax of 'standard' Japanese remains fairly intact (this is probably thanks to particles), and they might have a different word for です, like べ、or use some different lexicon. Maybe you can do a youtube search for 標準語と大分弁と比べる and see if your tutor uses some of these peculiarities. Also, simply ask her about the differences because I'm sure she knows it.

I think that's mostly true when you're talking about younger people. Older people who have lived outside big cities their whole lives can have such thick accents that they're almost incomprehensible.

But younger people have been exposed to standard Japanese through TV and the educational system, and even if they're speaking their own regional dialect it tends not to be as thickly accented as their parents' or grandparents' dialect. This is true pretty much everywhere, but Japan is a much smaller country than (say) the English speaking world.

I don't know about the specific background of the original poster's tutor, but if they are under 50 and have gone to college I can almost guarantee they can speak standard Japanese, except maybe the pitch accent if they spent a lot of their lives in Oita.

nadiatims Wrote:I think if you still need a tutor, then worrying about their accent of your tutor is kind of putting the horse before the cart.

While I do agree with you here, I have this inexplicable urge to correct you; the idiom is 'putting the cart before the horse'.

Anyway, like others have said, it shouldn't be a problem; even if we ignore the fact that, at least at first, your predominant accent will be of your native language, plenty of ESL learners end up with accents or dialects specific to who taught them or which English speaking country they worked in the most.

Haha yes I knew that. Just one of those weird typos that happens when your brain gets distracted while typing I think.

yudantaiteki Wrote:I think that's mostly true when you're talking about younger people. Older people who have lived outside big cities their whole lives can have such thick accents that they're almost incomprehensible.

But younger people have been exposed to standard Japanese through TV and the educational system, and even if they're speaking their own regional dialect it tends not to be as thickly accented as their parents' or grandparents' dialect. This is true pretty much everywhere, but Japan is a much smaller country than (say) the English speaking world.

I don't know about the specific background of the original poster's tutor, but if they are under 50 and have gone to college I can almost guarantee they can speak standard Japanese, except maybe the pitch accent if they spent a lot of their lives in Oita.

She is in her 50s and move here to England about 20 years ago. I'd assume she teaches me using standard dialect as the exam I will be taking uses standard dialect but when we speak naturally I will have to see if I pick up on any traits of a Honichi dialect.

nadiatims Wrote:Haha yes I knew that. Just one of those weird typos that happens when your brain gets distracted while typing I think.

Oh, I've had those days. It's even worse when it's happening read you while. All the words are right, just in the wrong order. I've actually experienced something similar in Japanese where I'll accidentally read a compound from right to left.