When I speak English I tend to be polite, but depending on the situation I will use cooler English. Words like "man "dude" swearing and so forth. However you need to be sparing with this kind of language, otherwise you sound try hard (maybe this is an Australian term, it means you are trying to hard to be cool) or crude. You also need to know in what situation it is good and what kind of sentences are suited for it.

I would like to cultivate my ability to use this language in Japanese. I want to be able to use the full range of Japanese that a normal adult does and it does feel good to use this language sometimes. I have seen a lot of it used in the real word and in anime but I think not coming off like a douchebag is a subtle thing. Some of the language we have:

じゃねぇ、行きてぇ - Changing the a sound to an e sound and extending it a bit.
おまえ、おめぇ、俺 - Addressing people. I will always use 俺 in a completely casual situation.
ぞ - Used to alert someone to something as if it is of pressing concern
ぜ - Similar to ぞ but somehow not so strong. I can't explain this one well.
さ（１）昨日さクラブに行ってさマイクがいた。- Used to draw the attention of the listener to something in the sentence. This is not so much cool language and is more common in girls speak I think. Can be roughly translated to "you know". IE "Yesterday, you know, I went to the nightclub, you know and Mike was there!". Similar to you know it sounds vulgar if you use it too much.
さ（２）大丈夫さ、行けるさ、できるさ - Used at the end of a sentence to reassure someone of something or to respond to being challenged. IE "このままで失敗するよ" "大丈夫さ". I think only guys use this.
勉強しろ、飲め、行け、取ってくれ - Command form. Often used by high school students.

I generally use bits of pieces of it when I am drunk. Firstly because my inhibitions are lowered and I don't care so much if I sound stupid. It is fun to experiment with. Secondly because it is very much a natural setting for this kind of language.

I also have a friend who always uses it, so I tend to use it with her.

Do you guys know any other ones? Do you use this language? If so, when?

I like doing volitional ("let's") + ぜ. Examples:

行こうぜ
飲もうぜ
遊ぼうぜ

Yes, I admittedly do this. Sometimes I don't really try to, but my culture and base personality is just abrasive compared to the mainstream japanese customs. I'm sure its rubbed some people the wrong way, but they're too focused that I'm speaking japanese at all to care...for now.

*Also I'm sure people here know about it, there's this drawl sort of speech style that male teenagers use. I do it. oh well

thermal Wrote:I also have a friend who always uses it, so I tend to use it with her.

Let's look at the flip side: I could care less about how rudely I speak in English when I'm around people who also don't care. When I'm with people who are simply acquaintances or do care, then I'm going to be speaking politely and avoiding curse words.

alyks Wrote:

thermal Wrote:I also have a friend who always uses it, so I tend to use it with her.

Let's look at the flip side: I could care less about how rudely I speak in English when I'm around people who also don't care. When I'm with people who are simply acquaintances or do care, then I'm going to be speaking politely and avoiding curse words.

Yeah, but even on top of this there is a finesse to it. English example:

Hey man, what's up man? Man, me and my hommies just came back from the f***ing bar man. Man it was wacked up like f***. F***ing f***ers were f***ing everywhere dog!

Or even just strange combinations like "Hi man". Even if you use these kind of words liberally and place them well, you need good pron or it sounds really off. EG "HAYY MAN"

I find this kind of stuff more difficult than being really polite to a superior.

thermal Wrote:

alyks Wrote:

thermal Wrote:I also have a friend who always uses it, so I tend to use it with her.

Let's look at the flip side: I could care less about how rudely I speak in English when I'm around people who also don't care. When I'm with people who are simply acquaintances or do care, then I'm going to be speaking politely and avoiding curse words.

Yeah, but even on top of this there is a finesse to it. English example:

Hey man, what's up man? Man, me and my hommies just came back from the f***ing bar man. Man it was wacked up like f***. F***ing f***ers were f***ing everywhere dog!

Or even just strange combinations like "Hi man". Even if you use these kind of words liberally and place them well, you need good pron or it sounds really off. EG "HAYY MAN"

I find this kind of stuff more difficult than being really polite to a superior.

I learned how to curse from people I know in the Navy, it should be the same in Japanese - hang out with people who talk like that. It's funny, even in English when I use slang it's only stuff I've heard before. I'm especially aware of this now because I recently met a guy who curses a lot more than me, and as a result I've learned quite a few interesting ways to say things.

ぞ and ぜ are not cool, in fact they are the opposite (ださい). It's kind of an exaggerated cool (think the Fonze).

eyyyyy

Jarvik7 Wrote:ぞ and ぜ are not cool, in fact they are the opposite (ださい). It's kind of an exaggerated cool (think the Fonze).

eyyyyy

i get a strong sense of anime/videogames from those endings myself >_<
using them makes you reek of otaku....

Jarvik7 Wrote:ぞ and ぜ are not cool, in fact they are the opposite (ださい). It's kind of an exaggerated cool (think the Fonze).

eyyyyy

My thoughts exactly. It's quite funny when joking around. In other situations, I personally would not use those two.

...I once used ぞ and then people told me that I'd sound like a samurai
ah, well...

but aside from these two, I do use "cool" Japanese as well. Although I need a lot~ more training in when to use which, I found that speaking casual in that way is actually one of the easieser levels to speak in. Maybe it depends on what kind of speech you're mainly listening to, lol.

Hashiriya Wrote:

Jarvik7 Wrote:ぞ and ぜ are not cool, in fact they are the opposite (ださい). It's kind of an exaggerated cool (think the Fonze).

eyyyyy

i get a strong sense of anime/videogames from those endings myself >_<
using them makes you reek of otaku....

Hah, well I feel stupid now

I wish I was cool.

oregum Wrote:I wish I was cool.

LOL. Don't we all.

I hear ぞ and ぜ in normal conversation around here in Kagawa. I've heard women use ぞ as well. I guess you might sound odd if you over use it or if you incorrectly apply it.

For me I'm not concerned so much about 'cool' Japanese. I think that can vary from place to place. My main concern is getting the hang of the local dialect while at the same time advancing my standard Japanese so I can both understand what the hell my students are talking about and so I can sound appropriate when speaking with colleagues and superiors. Not to mention all my colleagues use the dialect regularly in class and in the school office.

Do I speak dialect myself? Not quite fully yet. I don't feel comfortable using it appropriately. The people around me seem to flow from -masu, to dictionary form, to dialectal form--plain/abbreviated plain, back to -masu within a single conversation. It makes me confused as to the distinction if there is one. But slowly, bits of it are working their way into my speech. Sometimes it's a conscious decision, other times it's what comes to my mouth before I've even thought about it. The responses vary - sometimes it's shock at Sanuki-ben (the dialect), and other times the conversation just continues as normal.

I think ぞ and ぜ are fine to use without sounding stupid but it has to be in extreme moderation. As in, once or twice per conversation. Use it too much and it sounds like you're playing stupid.

thermal Wrote:

alyks Wrote:

thermal Wrote:I also have a friend who always uses it, so I tend to use it with her.

Let's look at the flip side: I could care less about how rudely I speak in English when I'm around people who also don't care. When I'm with people who are simply acquaintances or do care, then I'm going to be speaking politely and avoiding curse words.

Yeah, but even on top of this there is a finesse to it. English example:

Hey man, what's up man? Man, me and my hommies just came back from the f***ing bar man. Man it was wacked up like f***. F***ing f***ers were f***ing everywhere dog!

Or even just strange combinations like "Hi man". Even if you use these kind of words liberally and place them well, you need good pron or it sounds really off. EG "HAYY MAN"

I find this kind of stuff more difficult than being really polite to a superior.

Hommies? I haven't heard that word in like 10 years. LOL