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AN INTRODUCTION TO KANSAI JAPANESE

The purpose of this book is to give you an in-depth and fun account of conversational Western Japanese. Hundreds of expressions are given first in Western Japanese, followed by Eastern Japanese and then English. Although this book is written primarily as a guide to Western Japanese, it can also be used to learn informal Japanese as spoken in Tōkyō, since all expressions are given in both Eastern and Western Japanese.

A WORD ABOUT REGIONAL NAMES

In this book, the term Western Japan describes the area of Honshū that is west of Nagoya. The Kinki district is an official geographical division that covers the prefectures of Shiga, Mie, Nara, Kyōto, Wakayama, Ōsaka, and Hyōgo. Kansai (literally, “west of the border”) is more of a cultural and historical term loosely used to describe the core area around Kōbe, Ōsaka, and Kyōto. Chūgoku refers to the most western part of Honshū, where the cities Okayama, Hiroshima, and Shimonoseki are found.

The heart of Eastern Japan is Tōkyō. The term Kantō (“east of the border”) is used to describe the greater Tōkyō region the way Kansai is used to describe the greater Ōsaka region.

WESTERN JAPANESE: A SHORT BACKGROUND

Western Japan has the longest history of all of Japan’s regions. Kinki and eastern Kyūshū are believed to be the areas of the country earliest settled by the Yamato people, ancestors of the present-day Japanese. The name Chūgoku, meaning “central country,” shows that this region was once the center of ancient Japan. Kinki, moreover, was the capital region for over a thousand years, first with Nara from 600 to 794, and then with Kyōto from 794 to 1868.

Eastern Japanese became the national standard for modern Japan primarily because Tōkyō, then called Edo, was made the nation’s capital in 1868. In fact, it seems that standard Japanese, or hyōjungo, was to some extent concocted from uptown Tokyo and other dialects during the Meiji era to deal with the huge numbers of immigrants swarming into Tōkyō from all over Japan speaking mutually unintelligible dialects.

If by historical chance Western Japanese failed to become the modern standard for all of Japan, it still must be regarded as the standard language of western Honshū. Although hyōjungo has affected spoken Western Japanese in recent years thanks to mass communications and standardized schooling, Western Japanese will never be replaced by hyōjungo in Western Japan. Western Japanese has become the informal language of Western Japan, with hyōjungo reserved for formal occasions, news broadcasts, and the like.

There are many similar but distinct dialects within Western Japan itself. There’s the crass sounding Banshū-ben spoken around Himeji on toward Okayama. There’s the tough sounding Ōsaka-ben, and there’s perhaps the most elegant sounding dialect in all Japan, refined Kyōto-ben. And this is just to name a few. Each dialect has its own special turns of phrase as well as unique slang and vocabulary. However, all western Honshū dialects are sufficiently alike to justify talking about a monolithic Western Japanese dialect. In this book emphasis is placed on the “standard” Western Japanese spoken by people in the central Kinki region. However, some attention is also paid to other versions of the dialect. There are short sections that focus on Hiroshima Japanese, polite Kyōto usage, and Naniwa kotoba, a certain style of Ōsaka Japanese spoken primarily by older people nowadays, but often heard on TV and radio in Ōsaka. These chapters should help listening skills considerably.

ABOUT THE FORMAT

Throughout this book, Western Japanese is contrasted with Eastern Japanese, which is the language of Tōkyō and surrounding areas. Eastern Japanese is not the same as hyōjungo, or standard Japanese, which is an ideal version of the language not flawlessly spoken by anyone except maybe newscasters and other professional talkers. Throughout this book, words and phrases given in Western Japanese are followed by the Eastern Japanese equivalent in meaning and tone. For instance, Ōsaka slang expressions are given in Tokyo slang, not perfect hyōjungo, in order to preserve the right tone. An attempt is made to capture approximately the same tone in the English translations as well.

Each word or phrase is given first in Western Japanese (w), then in Eastern Japanese (e), and then in English. For example:

w: A: Watashi Hawai ni iku tsumori ya.

B: Honma ni?

e: A: Watashi (wa) Hawai ni iku tsumori desu.

B: Honto ni?

A: I plan to go to Hawaii.

B: Really?

Most words and phrases in this book will be understood throughout Western japan. However, in some cases a word will be followed by the region’s name, “(Hiroshima)” or “(Ōsaka)” for example, indicating that the word or phrase used is particular to that region.

PRONUNCIATION

The intonation of Western Japanese is said to be opposite that of Eastern Japanese. Whereas it’s “aME” in Western Japanese, it’s “Ame” in Eastern Japanese. Both mean rain. But if you use Tokyo intonation and say “Ame” in Ōsaka it will mean candy, not rain. Similarly, there are characteristic pitch patterns within a sentence that set Western Japanese apart from most types of Eastern Japanese. For example, whereas it’s “WATASHI WA AMERIKA-jin deSU” in Ōsaka, it’s “Watashi WA aMErika-jin DEsu” in Tōkyō. In addition, there is a relative lack of crisp double consonants, such as tt or kk, in Western Japanese.

Although as immediately apparent to Japanese ears as an English accent is to American ears, the difference in intonation between Western and Eastern Japanese is generally too subtle for English speakers to hear or imitate without having lived in Japan for a period of time. Unless you are a linguistic genius or under the age of six, you will probably end up speaking Japanese with a foreign accent anyway, so this book leaves the differences in Western Japanese intonation aside and concentrates on the differences in wording. If there is any pitch pattern you should imitate, it is that of newscasters, since their intonation has the greatest legitimacy.

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S KANSAI TALK

Men and women tend to speak more alike in Western Japan than they do in Kantō. For example, the particle na will generally be replaced by ne in women’s speech in Eastern Japan. However, in Western Japan it is not at all uncommon to hear women say na, especially when talking informally. Similarly, the particle wa used for feminine emphasis in Eastern Japanese is often used by men in Western Japan. It is common for men to say Hayō ikana akan wa (I have to go right away) in Western Japan, with the wa lending emphasis, not femininity, to the sentence.

Although most words and phrases in this book can be used by either sex, women tend to avoid particularly rough or vulgar sounding talk, and men tend to avoid effeminate sounding talk. The ♀ and ♂ symbols are used to point out those words and phrases that should not be used by the opposite sex.

As you probably know, men and women use different pronouns in Japanese. However, in order to save space, if a sentence as said by men and women only differs in pronouns, ♂ or ♀ is not indicated. With the help of the pronoun chart that follows, it is easy to switch from women’s talk to men’s talk and vice versa. This is especially so with Western Japanese, where differences between male and female speech are less marked than in Eastern Japanese.

The many pronouns for “I,” “you,” and “he” in Japanese carry a range of nuances not found in English. However, pronouns are omitted completely when the meaning is clear from the context. Bear in mind that Japanese speakers avoid pronouns for “you,” “he,” or “she” whenever a title or name can be used instead.

MEN’S PRONOUNS

Baku (I, cordial or friendly)

Bokura, Bokutachi (We)

Ore (I, tough, atmosphere of comradery or intimacy)

Orera, Oira (We)

Washi, Wate (I, senior or patronizing, common in Western Japan)

Watashi (I, neutral, polite)

Watashidomo, Watashitachi (We)

Watakushi (I, very formal)

Watakushidomo (We, very formal)

Wagahai or Yo (I, for noblemen, archaic, heard in samurai movies)

Ware (I, for commoners, archaic, heard in samurai movies)

Wareware (We, modern, polite, but abstract as in “we Japanese”)

Temē, Kisama (You, Eastern Japan, vulgar, said when fighting or insulting someone)

Ware (You, Western Japan, like “temē”, used by gangsters, etc., to intimidate)

Omae, Omē (You, tough, intimate or insulting)

Omaera (You all, tough, intimate or insulting)

Kimi (You, cordial or patronizing, not common in Western japan, heard often in songs)

Anata (You, polite)

Anatatachi, Anatagata (You all)

Aitsu, Yatsu (He, tough, familiar, used by men to refer to men)

Koitsu (He, She, or You, meaning “the (in view) scoundrel”)

Soitsu (He or She, meaning “that guy”)

Ano hito (He or She, polite)

Ano kata (He or She, very polite)

Kare (He, polite, distant, not used for friends)

Karera (They, polite)

Kanojo (She, polite, distant, not used for friends)

WOMEN’S PRONOUNS

Atashi (I, affectedly feminine)

Atashitachi (We, affectedly feminine)

Watashi (I, polite, most commonly used pronoun)

Watakushi (I, very formal)

Warawa (I, archaic, heard in samurai movies)

Anta (You, common in Western japan, intimate or somewhat mothering, sometimes also used by men)

Anata (You, polite, a wife to her husband meaning “dear” or “darling”)

Boku (You, to little boys who call themselves boku)

Ano hito, Ano kata, Kare, Kanojo (same as Men’s above)

A LITTLE ADVICE

Although speaking Western Japanese to your friends in Ōsaka, Kyōto, or Kōbe will allow you to get closer to them, speaking Western Japanese in Tōkyō might seem as outlandish as hearing a Japanese exchange student back home speaking jive or cockney. On the other hand, speaking only perfect hyōjungo in informal situations in Western Japan would be like speaking perfect BBC English in casual occasions back home. Just like you do in English, you should adapt your style of speech to the situation and the person you are speaking to. In any case, your Japanese friends in Western Japan will absolutely love to hear you speak their dialect.

In order to become really good in a foreign language, you have to live it. Study is important, but to become fluent in Japanese you must do everything in Japanese: eating, socializing, playing sports, and working. While this is not always possible, you can at least insist on speaking Japanese to Japanese, especially to the many people who assault you with their English the second they hear you speaking Japanese with an accent. In order to avoid this, even as a beginner, you can and should say a number of things. Be polite but clear. They are the ones being inconsiderate.

Sumimasen ga, watashi wa Eigo wakarimasen.

Excuse me, I don’t speak English.

Nihongo de hanashite kudasai.

Please speak Japanese.

Nihongo de hanashite ii desu ka?

Can we speak Japanese please?

Nihongo o benkyō suru tame ni Nihon ni irun desu kara, nihongo de hanashitain desu ga.

I’m in Japan to study Japanese, so I’d like to speak Japanese.

When you don’t understand something, don’t give up! Try to control the pace of the conversation with phrases like:

Mō chotto yukkuri hanashite kudasai.

Please speak a bit slower.

Mō ichido itte kudasai.

Please say that again.

Nan ’tte?

What was that?

Setsumei shinaoshite kuremasu ka?

Could you explain that a different way?

SEVEN MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WESTERN AND EASTERN JAPANESE

Broadly speaking, the main differences between Western and Eastern Japanese can be summarized in seven points.

1. Verbal negatives end in nai in Eastern Japanese but in hen (primarily Kansai) or n (primarily Chūgoku) in Western Japanese.

	Eastern Japanese	Western Japanese
doesn’t eat	tabenai	tabehen, taben
doesn’t know	shiranai	shirahen, shiran
doesn’t think	omowanai	omowahen, omowan
doesn’t write	kakanai	kakahen, kakehen, kakan
doesn’t come	konai	kēhen, kon
doesn’t do	shinai	sēhen, sen
isn’t, aren’t	nai	arahen, arehen
isn’t doing	yattenai	yattehen
can’t do	dekinai	dekehen, dekihin
can’t write	kakenai	kakehen, kakarehen

Moreover, the polite -masen ending of Eastern Japanese negative verbs becomes -mahen in Western Japanese.

	Eastern Japanese	Western Japanese
doesn’t eat	tabemasen	tabemahen
doesn’t go	ikimasen	ikimahen
excuse me	suimasen	sunmahen

2. The past tense of verbal negatives ends in -nakatta in Eastern Japanese and in -henkatta or -nkatta in Western Japanese.

	Eastern Japanese	Western Japanese
didn’t eat	tabenakatta	tabehenkatta, tabenkatta
didn’t know	shiranakatta	shirankatta
didn’t think	omowanakatta	omowahenkatta, omowankatta
didn’t do	yaranakatta	yarehenkatta
wasn’t doing	yattenakatta	yattehenkatta

3. The past tense of Eastern Japanese verbs has a double “tt” sound, but Western Japanese frequently has a single “t” sound instead, sometimes accompanied by a long vowel sound like “ō.” Eastern Japanese, unlike Western Japanese, accentuates crisp double consonants.

	Eastern Japanese	Western Japanese
thought	omotta	omōta, omota
received	moratta	morōta, morota
made a mistake	machigatta	machigōta
finished up	shimatta	shimōta, shimota
bought	katta	kōta
bought	katte shimatta	kōte shimōta
said	itta	yūta, yutta
used	tsukatta	tsukōta, tsukota
met	atta	ōta

4. The verb “to be” for animals and people is iru in Eastern Japanese and oru in Western Japanese.

	Eastern Japanese	Western Japanese
is	iru	oru
isn’t	inai	orahen, orehen, oran
wasn’t	inakatta	orehenkatta, orankatta
was	ita	otta
isn’t being	itenai, inai	ottehen, orahen
wasn’t being	itenakatta, inakatta	ottehenkatta, orahenkatta

5. The copula da of Eastern Japanese is ya (primarily Kansai) or ja (primarily Chūgoku) in Western Japanese. Although not strictly equivalent, these words can be thought of as functioning like the verb “to be.”

	Eastern Japanese	Western Japanese
is	da	ya, ja
was	datta	yatta, jatta
likely is	darō	yarō, yaro, jarō, jaro

6. The adverbial form of adjectives ends in ku in Eastern Japanese, but usually lacks ku in Western Japanese. Instead of ku, both single and double vowel sounds are commonly heard.

	Eastern Japanese	Western Japanese
become hot	atsuku naru	atsū naru, atsu naru
eat fast	hayaku taberu	hayō taberu, hayo taberu
understand well	yoku wakaru	yō wakaru
kindly, well	yoroshiku	yoroshū
busily and ...	isogashikute	isogashiite, isogashūte

7. The imperative form of verbs in Western Japanese can differ from Eastern Japanese. Both forms, however, are commonly used in Western Japan.

	Eastern Japanese	Western Japanese
eat fast!	hayaku fabero!	hayō tabē! hayo tabe!
wake up!	okiro!	okii ya! oki!
go!	ike!	ikii! iki!
read!	yome!	yomii! yomē!
study!	benkyō shiro!	benkyō shii! benkyō shii ya!