TheVinster wrote:

JapaneseRuleOf7 wrote:

TheVinster wrote:

Why do you say it's because you're white? A lot of Japanese people have different ways they talk, and that includes their usage of Katakana. And the fact you didn't get "ドリンクは?" is kind of baffling.

That's funny.  You don't live in Japan, do you?

Living in Japan doesn't make you some sort of expert.

No it doesn't.  But it does mean that I interact with Japanese people around the clock, seven days a week.

Like I was in McDonald's last week, for breakfast.  I'm a big fan of their hash browns, honestly.  And as I'm waiting in line, the cashier is asking customers, one after another, "Will that be for here or to go?" in Japanese.  The same question, over and over, and when I get to the counter, silence.  Not even a word.

Eh, probably just a coincidence.

You know, I eat out a lot.  Okay, every meal.  And I normally get treated just like everybody else, so I was a little surprised when I ordered the 焼きサバ and the waiter replied, "Okay, fishu," and then asked for my "Dorinku."  With everybody else, he just spoke like a normal person.  But maybe he's got like English Tourette's or something.

So that happens once in a while.  I do look different, and sometimes I get different treatment, and that's just part of the deal.  But the same thing happens all over the world, so okay.  It's understandable.  But it's also real.

JapaneseRuleOf7 wrote:

You know, I eat out a lot.  Okay, every meal.  And I normally get treated just like everybody else, so I was a little surprised when I ordered the 焼きサバ and the waiter replied, "Okay, fishu," and then asked for my "Dorinku."  With everybody else, he just spoke like a normal person.

Haha, I would be so mad at this.  If this happened to me and I was in even a slightly bad mood I would have yelled at the guy.

Tzadeck wrote:

JapaneseRuleOf7 wrote:

You know, I eat out a lot.  Okay, every meal.  And I normally get treated just like everybody else, so I was a little surprised when I ordered the 焼きサバ and the waiter replied, "Okay, fishu," and then asked for my "Dorinku."  With everybody else, he just spoke like a normal person.

Haha, I would be so mad at this.  If this happened to me and I was in even a slightly bad mood I would have yelled at the guy.

At the gym I go to they encourage members to write down what exercises they did in detail each time on a form, after which they write a comment. The other day the comment was "カタカナはお上手ですね！！"... I guess they thought that was the extent of my writing ability...

dizmox wrote:

Tzadeck wrote:

JapaneseRuleOf7 wrote:

You know, I eat out a lot.  Okay, every meal.  And I normally get treated just like everybody else, so I was a little surprised when I ordered the 焼きサバ and the waiter replied, "Okay, fishu," and then asked for my "Dorinku."  With everybody else, he just spoke like a normal person.

Haha, I would be so mad at this.  If this happened to me and I was in even a slightly bad mood I would have yelled at the guy.

At the gym I go to they encourage members to write down what exercises they did in detail each time on a form, after which they write a comment. The other day the comment was "カタカナはお上手ですね！！"... I guess they thought that was the extent of my writing ability...

Lol, that just made me laugh so much!!

nadiatims wrote:

Ok but was that breaking out the chugaku English for the gaijin or was it just legitimate use of standard garaigo? Maybe your japanese level and or mannerisms are just not yet at that level ...

There's no such level, apparently. I saw on NHK the other day a black kid who was born and raised in Japan, and he was talking about getting the same kind of treatment, obviously because of his appearance. (The topic was actually about learning English, which he didn't know, but that came up as why he needed to learn it.)

Benny has posted a Skype conversation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUg4ct2BBjA

I haven't listened to it (at work) so no comment from me

It was really hard to watch him try to explain couch surfing.

^That's a positive result -- he's showing how possible it actually is to have some functional conversation after very little progress.

I'm more in mind with Steve Kaufmann, I'm comfortable spending time listening and reading until I feel like I can have more natural conversations that don't feel artificial or too much of a struggle. But I've also been very confident that I could do it, whereas generally, language learning is just something people don't know enough about to be convinced like that. It's great that Benny manages to spread motivation.

I actually watched a few videos of Steve Kaufmann a while back after seeing him mentioned on here, and found myself agreeing which pretty much everything he said. I think he knows what hes doing.

I think Benny's "speak immediately" way of thinking is somewhat motivational for people who put off speaking for far too long (like I've definitely done with my Japanese, but a mistake I didn't make with my Chinese, and the difference in progress is huge) - but frankly I wouldn't want to study the way he does now because its just too cringeworthy and too uncomfortable.

He is showing he isn't super human and gets the same results that anyone else would if they put in the time, so its also a useful measuring stick for how much a person can improve in only a number of weeks.

Hmm

Not bad. But on the other hand, I  wouldn't necessarily go so far as to call it good. Maybe I'm just forgetting what it was like being at that level though. But overall I  don't  think this constitutes proof of accelerated progress which would vindicate his methods. Rather it demonstrates his ability to do some basic communication in spite of his still low level. In other words his level is still low indicating that his progress has been pretty average or lackluster.

Wow.

The hate has been strong in this thread and now it's descended to blatant racism!

How disgusting.

JapaneseRuleOf7 wrote:

What's his JLPT-equivalent level at this point?

Obviously with a native speaker doing all the talking it the sentences were similar to those from the N5 listening section.

DjCamero wrote:

And then of course you have his inescapable brogue... like a big fart on top of a stew already brimming with incompatible flavors.

Somewhat strongly put, but the point is valid. His Irish accent, whilst not strong, is very apparent in this video. It'll be interesting to see if it is less noticeable at the end of his time with Japanese.

The hate has been strong in this thread and now it's descended to blatant racism!

I don't sense any on this page. As for the rest of the thread, at the time I intended to move that little rant in the middle pages to another thread for the participants to continue on -- I may still do so.

woofle wrote:

how many of you have completely lost all trace of your native accents when you speak Japanese?

From the interest and opinions on the pitch accent, not many, I would think.

It's just jealousy, fear, and gratuitous hatred that makes people to post things like that – so calm down and enjoy the show, not