Learnカタカナproperly or face a full-frontal nudity.

  I’ve never understood why Japanese people generally assume that words in Katakana (カタカナ), The angular syllabary, are is easier for nonnative speakers to master than words in hiragana (ひらがな), the rounded syllabary.

Consider the five Katakana Phrases with Suto: ensuto,hansuto,pansuto,zenesuto and zensuto. They are, in order: engine stop, (stalling, as in motoring); Hunger strike, and with the zen part usually written in Kanji, Zenbu (all) sutorippu. You guessed it, or at least I hope you did. the last one is "full frontal nudity.”

  I advise you to get your katakana straight, lest you go off to the picket line in and end up dancing in nothing more than a pair of hose.

Katakana words are as variegated as they as handy. Foreign words,place names and people names; scientific terms;trendy phenomena;many mimetic words; and modern substitutions for what were perfectly good Japanese words are just some of the things that are written in katakana. 

 

  The most obvious category is the foreign one. Names of countries were almost all incorporated into everyday Japanese in the modern era, and they Usually remain close to the pronunciation in the country itself. Doitsu(Germany) is a good example of this, although the katakana for Scandinavian countries mimics the English names.

  Mini food names are written in katakana,such as oríbu (olive),reba (liver)and from Dutch, biru(beer).

  When these are abbreviated they may be hard to pick up at first,as we see in bāgā for(ham)burger and Miki Suto sando(mixed sandwiches). If I Japanese person goes to Tuscany and says, “I want pizza,” the natives may not be blamed for thinking he was a very rich real state broker making a grab for leaning towers rather than a tourist eager to chump into a slice of roasted dough it with tomato topped with and cheese.

  Katakana are words by no means all from English. Arubaito(part-time job) is from German,kōhi is from Dutch, pan (bread)is from Portuguese and Ikura(salmo roe)is from Russian.

  Without Katakana there will be no terebi (television),netto(Internet)or interi (intellectuals).. Don’t ask which of these contemporary Japanese would gladly give up first.

  Two things make Katakana words and phrases difficult for non-natives. First, The pronunciation is  tricky for the very reason that it is close to ours. A French press and may have trouble saying he’s country in Japanese, Furansu,because the “f"and the “a”have different qualities in Japanese than in French. Native speakers of english may find themselves mispronouncing kyabetsu(cabbage)because of the first syllable.

Vowels may be the most different, particularly when lengthened.

  Non-Japanese often have serious trouble with the length of vowels in Japanese. If non-Japanese wonder why Japanese frequently mix up their r's and their l’s, Japanese are nonplussed when foreigners say their child is going to a fūzoku gakkō(sex school) instead of a fuzoku gakkō, which is a school attached to a higher educational institution.

  Another difficult Katakana word to identify on first hearing it is āsu. This is the word for “earth”, meaning a wire connection something to the ground.

  And would someone understand patokā on first hearing it? Or tsūru? The former is “patrol car”; the latter, “tool”, as using in computing.

 Where would manga be without the hundreds of mimetic words written in katakana?They give an added zest to sounds. Two of these have even taken on broader meaning: pinpon and bū.

  Pinpon represents the sounds of a small bell, and bū is the buzzer. But these are often used, particularly on television, to mean “You got it!”and “That’s wrong!,” respectIvey.

  One use of pinpon, however, is definitely a no-no when it comes to maintain harmony in the neighborhood. This is none other than that wonderful Katakana phrase, pinpon dasshu. The dasshu is “dash.” Get it? If not, Should l really be ijiwarui (a meanie) and made you wait for the answer and I don’t want you to have pinpon dasshu, i’m going to call it a day until the next article.  

  By the “pinpon dasshu” is when kids ring your doorbell and runaway, if it happen to you, then now you know how to collect it.

 Bye now.

A cup of coffee please!

Have you ever been in the dilemma in which you don't know what to ask at the local coffee shop, do you ever see words that you don’t understand? For instance, what is java? Why is a cup of coffee called a cup of joe? Ordering a cup of coffee can feel like speaking another language! No worries, here are the meanings behind all the coffee words.

Synonyms of Coffee

Let’s start with the words that just refer to a simple cup of coffee. The first and most puzzling is joe. No one really knows how that got started, but some think that joe may derive from java. Java, besides referring to coffee, is also an island in Indonesia where coffee is grown. Decaf is decaffeinated coffee. An espresso is a dark roast coffee brewed with hot water and pressure.

Types of Coffee Drinks

Do you add something to your coffee? Doing so might result in a name change! Let’s start with milk. If you only put a small to moderate amount of steamed milk in your espresso, you are drinking a macchiato. A cappuccino has a lot of frothy steamed milk. If the proportion of hot milk to coffee is two to one, it’s cafe au lait. If the proportion is three to one, it’s a cafe latte. Add a little boiling water instead of milk and it’s a cafe americano. The addition of chocolate makes the drink a mocha. You can even serve coffee with ice cubes, but that one is easy—iced coffee. It usually includes cream and sugar.

Coffee Sizes

Rather than small, medium, and large, some coffee shops use their own units of measurement. For example, at one popular chain the smallest drinks are called short and tall. Rather than being the largest, grande is overshadowed by the venti and trenta, which contain as much as 31 ounces of liquid.

With all the different coffee drinks, no wonder there’s a special name for the ones who serve it—baristas. They speak the language. And now that you know it too, are you ready to order your favorite cup of coffee?

Make Your New Year's Business Resolutions Real !

When was the last time you recognized the potential to achieve your challenging goal?
 Achievements are reached through patterns of success that we establish for ourselves. It is time to take inventory of your priorities and reflect upon what is important in your life.
I will help you to find the tools to do this and to strive for balance in your life. Once you have a clearly established goal, things start getting accomplished efficiently and effectively. Take charge of your present and your future through goal setting!.
Learn English with me and learn how to reach your goals by making your objectives specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-phased Discover the importance of achieving balance by setting goals in all areas of your life. Business and private Create an action plan that will put the English you've learned into practice and start to develop new patterns of behavior, etc. but.. let's face it The only way to do that in English in Japan is having actual and real conversations with foreigners, and I'm here to help you!
start the new year with a new Goal! 
BECAME a English SPEAKER!
not just the one who can read, write and perhaps understand what foreign people say, but the one who can express his ideas by himself as well as you do it in Japanese.
that's what REALLY MAKES THE DIFFERENCE!


Driving reason!

　It is well said that the important is not only to get your achievements done, but to keep them shaped and polished at any time, but that's the most difficult part, isn't it?
 How can we do that?
 I'm going here to give you a very useful idea!, by creating a driving reason, but what the heck is "driving reason?!  well, it's some kind of second motive that "drives"you (encourage you again) to do something even when you don't want to, here a quick example; if you want to reduce your weight and keep your health, of course you begin to exercise at home, and after a couple months you get the shape you wanted, at this point you've gotten your goal done, great! good job! but what comes later? well, to keep that good figure you've gotten, you need to keep on exercising, but some days you're so tired or simply you're lazy and there's nothing that makes you back on doing your exercises until is too late, because after several skips you just got fat again and now you have to start over. Why did that happen? simple, because you didn't have this second impulse that makes you do it when you had to do it!
 So, you see, you need that second push, and that's what I call "driving reason" but what could be?
 The answer is money, yes!  your money! but why money?, that's easy. Simple because everybody likes money and nobody wants to give it away without benefit in exchange, so if you put some money on your goals, that will help you to keep them the way you like them.
 DIFFERENTLY from exercising yourself at home, if you go to a gym, you don't want the money you pay for the gym's services to be taken away without benefit, so when you feel like not want to do your exercises, you'll have to do them anyway, because you don't want to lose that money you invested on you. 
This way you'll get your money back by using the gym's services plus keeping your nice figure and good health always. 
That is the second and strong reason that most of us need in order to continue doing the things we believe are good for ourselves, The "driving reason". Do you have one?
 And believe me, this rule applies for everything we want in life, call it keeping your figure, your English skills or any other activity that day by day makes you a better person.
 Well friends, I guess that's all this time, I hope you've gotten the message.
 See you!

Christmas countdown!


Okay okay, so, today technically we start the twelve days of Christmas countdown. So how will we count those days? With cookies!? No way!! but with parties!.. yes! that's right celebrating fabulous Christmas for each day leading up to the holiday can be wonderful whether your are with family, friends or attending to the so called "enkai", you must enjoy this Christmas the best you can! Lets's have a great Christmas party.
 Good idea! isn't it!? Don't miss the chance ending up this year without learning or improving your second language! Merry Christmas!!


Work-related!

Don't forget,small talk does not always have to be unrelated to work topics. It may be semiwork-related as well. Questions about what kind of work projects the other person has been involved in or their professional specialization are always interesting conversation fodder. The key thing about small talk is to be genuine, and react in a natural manner. Ask questions about the things the other person mentions that are genuinely of interest to you rather than the things you think you are "supposed" to ask about.
  Show interest and enthusiasm. Don't be afraid to digress on seemingly unrelated topics. The aim is to discover common interests and enjoy the interaction. If you and the other person discover that you both are fans of the Isle of Hawaii as a vacation destination, for example, that's a start and surely you will find other things in common too. And above all, avoid being overly earnest be a real person. Be relaxed, smile and be a pleasant person to be spending time talking with. In The American-style socializing the following are some pointers for business lunches and after-work socializing.
Avoid drinking alcohol at lunch (the "three-martini lunch" of past decades has long been out of style!).

Avoid drinking too much alcohol at after work functions. Although in Japan drinking is de rigueur, in an Ameri- can-style social situation, it's better to avoid alcohol, so that you can keep your wits sharp and be a good conversationalist. Probably better to save the drinking for when you are kicking back with personal friends.




The host should pay for the meal as well as other charges such as a tip for the hatcheck. In the U.S., the preferred seat for the guest is the one with the more desirable view. "Ladies first" rules in the U.S. are less strict nowadays than many Japanese have been led to believe but are good to follow to the extent possible, for example, holding doors for women, holding chairs for women, helping women on with their coats, and allowing women to enter and exit elevators first.
  Mingling, there's an art to circulating at a cocktail party-type function. Strike a balance between talking to people long enough to make a connection, but not "glomming onto them" and monopolizing their time.
 The goal at a cocktail party is to meet several people and make connections that can be followed up on later if there appears to be mutual interest. This means that sensing when to end the conversation and move on to the next person is important. The key question to ask yourself is: Is this a meaningful conversation or does it reek of a sense of duty? If you are feeling bored or the other person looks as if they are feeling bored, it's time to say
"if you'll excuse me I must go and mingle" and gracefully break off the conversation and move on to talk to someone else. By following the above suggestions, you are sure to forge many useful business relationship.


Charm and communication skills.

  Making a good first impression. The first key to a good im- pression is good grooming. Clean, neatly pressed clothes appropriate for the occasion are a must, as is good oral hygiene. Be sure to stand up straight, use a firm handshake and look the other person in the eye. And don't forget to smile!

As for your introduction, keep it simple,such as "Roswalle, nice to meet you." More elaborate explanations about yourself or your background can wait until later in the conversation. Don't be afraid to get the ball rolling with a question to the other person. Something as simple as "what brought you here?" "do you often attend these events?" or "what did you think of the presentation?" are sufficient as a conversation starter. Rather than yes/no questions, ask open-ended questions. Pick something relevant to the event you are at, in- stead of something random or seemingly unrelated.

Small talk is a good way to get to know someone, especially if your venue is a business lunch or dinner, or you are just chatting before or after a meeting. In addition to displaying your overall charm and communication skills, small talk helps you get to know a person better, and discover things that you have in common, which helps build the business relationship. When making small talk,steer clear of personal or sensi- tive topics such as religion, finances, politics, race, etc. Don't ask someone's age or marital status. For Japanese, it's best to stay away from stereotypical questions like "do you like Japanese food?" or "can you use chopsticks?" Good conversation topics for small talk include the following: Sports. Americans love to talk about sports, particularly baseball, football and basketball. Asking about the local team is sure to get some kind of reaction.
 For example, ask any Chicagoan if they are a Cubs fan or a Sox fan, and you are sure to have plenty to talk about. Hobbies. Find out what the person likes to do in their spare time. This might be a participant sport, such as golfing, tennis, fishing or running. Or it might be some other activity. If you happen to find out that they share an interest with you, that's the perfect bonding opportunity. Note, however, that native English-speakers seldom use the word "hobby" in conversation. It's more natural to ask "What do you like to do in your spare time?"
 Local highlights. If you are visiting somewhere, ask about local sightseeing destinations. "What should I be sure to see while I'm here?" or "What restaurants do you recommend around here?" are good gambits. Children. If the other person has mentioned that they have children, this can be a good topic. Ask about their ages and what activities they are involved in. If you have children, you can share about yours.

A Funny Function devise in Washlets (ウォシュレット)

 About some time ago I had a student who was the president of a small company manufacturing women’s underwear. Many female workers were working in his company. One day we had a conversation in which he said he had invented some device associated with the toilet. I went to his company to look at the device. The device was an attachment to the women’s toilet to save water.

 His invention appeared to be funny but he was very serious. . In those days his headache was the tremendous water bills sent by the  water works department of the City Hall. His company had many female workers. There for the amount of water wastefully used in the toilet was a large quantity and sure this large quantity was reflected in the monthly bills. The women workers were thoughtless in using the toilet water. They were too scatterbrain to recognize that each drop of water was priced, meaning it was not free of charge. Therefore, my student tried to invent a device for preventing the wasting of water. He called the device “water saving device,” and wanted to patent it and sell it all over Japan.. If possible, he wanted to obtain patents overseas. The “water saving device" was a good title, sounding very serious.

 His invention was designed to prevent double flushing by women who were too concern about the residual looks after doing their thing. I visited his company and inspect how the invention worked. He said that he had tested the devise on his wife without letting her know about it. He proposed to demonstrate in my presence how the device worked. He entered to the toilet, and switched on the device. An artificial big sound of water flushing was heard. The sound was so big and long that it was easy to believe that his pissing was perfectly drowned out.. He shouted in a large voice from inside the toilet, can you distinguish? I answered in a loud voice, "Perfectly!".
 A few days later he filed a patent application with the Patent Office, but eventually he abandoned the application. His company went into bankruptcy, and he could not afford to invest on his invention. I don't know whether his invention was successful in reducing the sums of the monthly water bills.. But I'm pretty sure that his invention help others to develop a new function device in the already sophisticated washlet (ウォシュレット　Woshuretto?), and which artificial big sound of water flushing is not precisely for saving water but to save the embarrassment of women who doesn't want to be caught when expelling odds sounds from their bowels. See you!

The credit and blame words in Japanese.

Recently I've got to my mind a set of words such as recognition, responsibility & reproach.
In Japan there is a great number of phrases in which "credit and blame" are embedded right in to the language to asses who is responsible for what happened as well as how the speaker feels about it.
The magic words amount others are "Kureru,ageru,Morau,itadaku,saseru,etc". Tagging on these verbs lets the speaker know who should get credit and who should feel thankful for the beneficial action. In the Japanese language these words are often requisite in a natural-sounding Japanese, but in these peculiar forms of expression there is implicit who might be supposed responsible or who is been benefited for something that has been done or said. As for me, I've got to tell you that as my Japanese improves I've gotten to use more and more these "beneficial words", nevertheless I don't really feel I'm giving some credit to my interlocutor or I'm getting some kind of favor from him, I guess I've increased the use of these words just because I feel that makes me sound more natural when speaking Japanese. They of course doesn't have a counterpart or matching expression in other languages I know (Spanish and Italian beside English of course), we tend to say things or to praise straightforwardly when the situation requires it. Perhaps in English the nearest approximation is with the use of the preposition "on" for example the translation of "Mr. Tanaka ga ame ni furareta " could be "Mr. Tanaka was rained on" but this is an exceptional situation, besides there are more natural expression in English as it could be "Mr. Tanaka got wet or got soaked", I would recommend to stop trying to translate these "credit and blame"words when speaking English and get hand of a new phrase-vocabulary to clearly express what you want to say. English may be difficult for some Japanese people but you have not idea of how difficult Japanese language could be when it comes to understand not just its words but the nuance hidden in them.
Good Luck! See you again Bye!