I got a letter from the Japanese embassy today.
Apparently I'm shortlisted for the Jet programme.
Just so long as I get my medical forms in on time (damn you easter, damn you slow results processing) and the police don't attribute any crimes to me I'm going to be moving to Japan come August to be an assistant language teacher.
A well paying, interesting job in a country I've always wanted to visit....
I am: Happy.
We have folk here who've lived in Japan before right?
Japan still exists? Anyhow, congrats!
:hug: :cool:
Quote from: Tyr on April 20, 2011, 09:43:27 AM
I got a letter from the Japanese embassy today.
Apparently I'm shortlisted for the Jet programme.
Just so long as I get my medical forms in on time (damn you easter, damn you slow results processing) and the police don't attribute any crimes to me I'm going to be moving to Japan come August to be an assistant language teacher.
A well paying, interesting job in a country I've always wanted to visit....
I am: Happy.
We have folk here who've lived in Japan before right?
Congrats :)
and we had one that i know of, but Buddha bounced. You might be facebook friends withhim and i'm sure he'd be happy to give advice if you PMed him there.
Practice shitting while squatting before you go.
Quote from: HVC on April 20, 2011, 09:48:06 AM
and we had one that i know of, but Buddha bounced.
Thanks to you evil Porto-Canadians <_<
Grats Tyr! :)
Quote from: Valmy on April 20, 2011, 09:53:50 AM
Quote from: HVC on April 20, 2011, 09:48:06 AM
and we had one that i know of, but Buddha bounced.
Thanks to you evil Porto-Canadians <_<
hey, i didn't pile on Buddha, it was the conserva-nucks like BB and CC. Although to be fair he was posting some wacky stuff.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on April 20, 2011, 09:48:48 AM
Practice shitting while squatting before you go.
Unless they're a lot more prevalent in Japan then Korea I wouldn't bother.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on April 20, 2011, 09:48:48 AM
Practice shitting while squatting before you go.
Meh, I tend not to sit on the toilet when I shit anyway :p
Quote from: HVC on April 20, 2011, 10:02:45 AM
Quote from: Valmy on April 20, 2011, 09:53:50 AM
Quote from: HVC on April 20, 2011, 09:48:06 AM
and we had one that i know of, but Buddha bounced.
Thanks to you evil Porto-Canadians <_<
hey, i didn't pile on Buddha, it was the conserva-nucks like BB and CC. Although to be fair he was posting some wacky stuff.
Conserva-nuck. I like that. :)
Dammit i should have copyrighted it. Now if it shows up on conservative ads i shall feel cheated :( :D
It was all hi-tech bogs in Japan even back in the 1980s, bidet function, 1812 overture so nobody hears you farting, blowdry at the end.......... :huh:
Quote from: Admiral Yi on April 20, 2011, 09:48:48 AM
Practice shitting while squatting before you go.
You should do that anyway. It's good for your bowels.
Quote from: HVC on April 20, 2011, 10:21:38 AM
Dammit i should have copyrighted it. Now if it shows up on conservative ads i shall feel cheated :( :D
:rolleyes:
Fine. See if I ever give you praise again if that's how you're going to act.
Quote from: Barrister on April 20, 2011, 10:23:18 AM
Quote from: HVC on April 20, 2011, 10:21:38 AM
Dammit i should have copyrighted it. Now if it shows up on conservative ads i shall feel cheated :( :D
:rolleyes:
Fine. See if I ever give you praise again if that's how you're going to act.
:lol: Sorry, i get praised so rarely i don't know how to act :( :D
Quote from: Tyr on April 20, 2011, 10:19:33 AM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on April 20, 2011, 09:48:48 AM
Practice shitting while squatting before you go.
Meh, I tend not to sit on the toilet when I shit anyway :p
Eek another Mongers outside of Madonna's estate.
Congrats Tyr! :cheers:
L.
:cool: Have fun.
I'm overqualified for Jet. :(
Quote from: jimmy olsen on April 20, 2011, 11:31:34 AM
I'm overqualified for Jet. :(
How's that?
On the Jet forums there are a fair few people with teaching qualifications.
Quote from: Tyr on April 20, 2011, 11:39:40 AM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on April 20, 2011, 11:31:34 AM
I'm overqualified for Jet. :(
How's that?
On the Jet forums there are a fair few people with teaching qualifications.
I hear they favor the young kids straight out of college. Anyways, I've a job until October, so I can't do Jet anyways.
Cool. Enjoy it. :homestar:
Quote from: HVC on April 20, 2011, 10:26:49 AM
:lol: Sorry, i get praised so rarely i don't know how to act :( :D
HVC's altar ego:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ferikjskinner.files.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fkevin-office.jpg&hash=5edd8af62b2864421131c16585cf118a8848f89d)
Current status: Biting my nails.
It seems everyone in the world has gotten their placements except for the Brits. No doubt our embassy has decided to keep the royal mail in business instead of sending emails.
I'm very anxious. I'm dreading being placed in Okinawa or the like.
Its been made even worse as in lurking the Jet forums I see people getting my favoured placement. :ph34r:
QuoteI hear they favor the young kids straight out of college. Anyways, I've a job until October, so I can't do Jet anyways.
Applying doesn't start until November.
And I'm not sure about preferring young kids. One of the main Jet folks on youtube is 30-something. And at the jet forum I post on there's a girl who is a qualified teacher and has been teaching a few years.
Your worldview is going to be so challenged...
Quote from: Tyr on April 20, 2011, 09:43:27 AM
I got a letter from the Japanese embassy today.
Apparently I'm shortlisted for the Jet programme.
Just so long as I get my medical forms in on time (damn you easter, damn you slow results processing) and the police don't attribute any crimes to me I'm going to be moving to Japan come August to be an assistant language teacher.
A well paying, interesting job in a country I've always wanted to visit....
I am: Happy.
We have folk here who've lived in Japan before right?
Congratulations lad *, hope it all works out well. :cheers:
* Am I old enough to use that expression, must be at least a 1/4 century between us ?
Why so jolly and kindly these days Mongers? Laying some pipe? :)
Quote from: Tyr on June 15, 2011, 04:52:12 PM
Current status: Biting my nails.
It seems everyone in the world has gotten their placements except for the Brits. No doubt our embassy has decided to keep the royal mail in business instead of sending emails.
I'm very anxious. I'm dreading being placed in Okinawa or the like.
Its been made even worse as in lurking the Jet forums I see people getting my favoured placement. :ph34r:
QuoteI hear they favor the young kids straight out of college. Anyways, I've a job until October, so I can't do Jet anyways.
Applying doesn't start until November.
And I'm not sure about preferring young kids. One of the main Jet folks on youtube is 30-something. And at the jet forum I post on there's a girl who is a qualified teacher and has been teaching a few years.
When does the spring semester start? April?
Quote from: Tyr on June 15, 2011, 04:52:12 PM
I'm very anxious. I'm dreading being placed in Okinawa or the like.
Why? When I was there, I had the strong impression of Okinawa as essentially a "Japanese" Hawaii.
Okinawa is pretty cool from what I hear, though I've never been.
I can probably point you at some resources once you're about to go, as one of my good friends went native there as an ESL teacher.
Okinawa was nice, but it's definitely not what you'd want if you want an urban area.
Plus, the food is meh.
Quote from: HisMajestyBOB on June 15, 2011, 10:23:08 PM
Plus, the food is meh.
Yeah. Okinawan food is a bit different from the real Japanese deal. It has its distinctive dishes, but there is not much in terms of variety. Japan proper/mainland has much better food.
But Okinawa is very popular now as a tourist destination. HKers love to go to Japan, but are afraid of the radiation leaks in Fukushima. Okinawa is the furthest away area from Fukushima while still being in Japan.
The biggest problem with the Japanese is they are afraid of making mistakes. So they avoid speaking Engish if they can. We once checked into a hotel in Okinawa, and the hotel manager felt compelled to explain the hotel facilities to us. He drummed up enough courage to utter a few English sentences about the pool, then turned to his computer to have a mental break. He was so nervous that his voice and hands were shaking. After about 30 seconds of pretending to type something, he struggled to find words to describe the restaurants. The computer was again his salvation. Then he went on about the spa, before escaping once again by staring at the keyboard intently, while gasping for air. At that point we got up, thanked him and went to our rooms.
You'd think English would be such a big deal in a place like Okinawa. With the big foreign presence there and all.
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on June 15, 2011, 11:01:37 PM
You'd think English would be such a big deal in a place like Okinawa. With the big foreign presence there and all.
In my experience, Okinawans are indeed much more willing to speak English than the average Japanese. Japanese hotel managers in Tokyo or Osaka won't bother to attempt to introduce their facilities to us at all :lol:
Also, Okinawa has great scuba diving and snorkling.
It's definitely worth a visit, and wouldn't be all bad if you had to teach there.
Quote from: Jacob on June 15, 2011, 09:57:20 PM
Okinawa is pretty cool from what I hear, though I've never been.
I can probably point you at some resources once you're about to go, as one of my good friends went native there as an ESL teacher.
+1
Ex-girlfriend did the ESL thing for a while, and Okinawa was her favorite posting in the world.
Quote from: Tyr on April 20, 2011, 09:43:27 AM
I got a letter from the Japanese embassy today.
Apparently I'm shortlisted for the Jet programme.
Just so long as I get my medical forms in on time (damn you easter, damn you slow results processing) and the police don't attribute any crimes to me I'm going to be moving to Japan come August to be an assistant language teacher.
A well paying, interesting job in a country I've always wanted to visit....
I am: Happy.
We have folk here who've lived in Japan before right?
I was an AFS exchange student in Japan for a year, if you want to discuss anything just PM me.
Quote
Why? When I was there, I had the strong impression of Okinawa as essentially a "Japanese" Hawaii.
Super hot weather, cut off and isolated from the rest of the country, overrran with American soldiers, historically not even part of Japan, a huge chunk of the population don't speak Japanese as a first language.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on June 15, 2011, 06:41:18 PM
When does the spring semester start? April?
IIRC the Japanese school year starts around then yeah.
Quote from: Tyr on June 16, 2011, 04:45:11 AM
Quote
Why? When I was there, I had the strong impression of Okinawa as essentially a "Japanese" Hawaii.
Super hot weather, cut off and isolated from the rest of the country, overrran with American soldiers, historically not even part of Japan, a huge chunk of the population don't speak Japanese as a first language.
... the emperor was "born" there, ...
Quote from: HVC on April 20, 2011, 09:48:06 AM
Quote from: Tyr on April 20, 2011, 09:43:27 AM
I got a letter from the Japanese embassy today.
Apparently I'm shortlisted for the Jet programme.
Just so long as I get my medical forms in on time (damn you easter, damn you slow results processing) and the police don't attribute any crimes to me I'm going to be moving to Japan come August to be an assistant language teacher.
A well paying, interesting job in a country I've always wanted to visit....
I am: Happy.
We have folk here who've lived in Japan before right?
Congrats :)
and we had one that i know of, but Buddha bounced. You might be facebook friends withhim and i'm sure he'd be happy to give advice if you PMed him there.
or here. I don't know a lot about JET, other than afaik it's similarly compensated to the private schools.(not much at first but decent eventually) and the hours for foreigners are pretty easy. pm me for more detailed questions.
Quote from: Tyr on June 16, 2011, 04:45:11 AM
Super hot weather
:huh:
The average high temperature for the entire year is 25 C and for the hottest month is a mere 31 C.
How on EARTH did you people manage to conquer India!? :bleeding:
Quote
... the emperor was "born" there, ...
ey?
Quote from: Caliga on June 16, 2011, 11:40:28 AM
Quote from: Tyr on June 16, 2011, 04:45:11 AM
Super hot weather
:huh:
The average high temperature for the entire year is 25 C and for the hottest month is a mere 31 C.
How on EARTH did you people manage to conquer India!? :bleeding:
That is very hot even in bulk numbers let alone considering, from what I've heard, this is a very hot feeling 30 degrees.
We paid the Indians to do it for us whilst we sat in the shade and drank tea.
Quote from: Caliga on June 16, 2011, 11:40:28 AM
How on EARTH did you people manage to conquer India!? :bleeding:
I don't think it is far to place Jos as the typical Brit.
Quote from: Tyr on June 16, 2011, 11:53:10 AM
We paid the Indians to do it for us whilst we sat in the shade and drank tea.
You're a better man than Tyr is, Gunga Din
Quote from: Tyr on June 16, 2011, 11:53:10 AMThat is very hot even in bulk numbers let alone considering, from what I've heard, this is a very hot feeling 30 degrees.
I guess by that what you mean is that it's got a humid climate? Well in that case, you should probably avoid visiting the southeastern quadrant of the US during the summer (and in that I would include New York and points south) as it gets that hot or hotter with high humidity.
QuoteWe paid the Indians to do it for us whilst we sat in the shade and drank tea.
Ok, bad example :blush:, but at least some of your ancestors weren't weaklings as they settled the American South with its 'very hot' climate. :)
Quote from: garbon on June 16, 2011, 11:55:10 AM
I don't think it is far to place Jos as the typical Brit.
True, but I wonder if other British Languishites think that climate is intolerably hot? In my mind, cities don't get intolerably hot until they approach say Riyadh's average summer daily high temperatures (42-44 C or 108-110 F).
Quote from: Caliga on June 16, 2011, 12:04:44 PM
Quote from: garbon on June 16, 2011, 11:55:10 AM
I don't think it is far to place Jos as the typical Brit.
True, but I wonder if other British Languishites think that climate is intolerably hot? In my mind, cities don't get intolerably hot until they approach say Riyadh's average summer daily high temperatures (42-44 C or 108-110 F).
What's your definition of "intolerably hot"?
Quote from: garbon on June 16, 2011, 12:13:58 PM
What's your definition of "intolerably hot"?
Can't really give a straight answer, so many factors at play.
I found Corfu's weather to be quite horrid when I was there many years ago though.
The Balaerics were very uncomfortable,
Quote from: Tyr on June 16, 2011, 11:53:10 AM
We paid the Indians to do it for us whilst we sat in the shade and drank tea.
Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun.
There seems to have been a different breed of Englishmen in the past.
Quoteoverrran with American soldiers
You aren't their type when they go a rapin'.
Quote from: Tyr on June 16, 2011, 12:21:25 PM
Quote from: garbon on June 16, 2011, 12:13:58 PM
What's your definition of "intolerably hot"?
Can't really give a straight answer, so many factors at play.
I found Corfu's weather to be quite horrid when I was there many years ago though.
The Balaerics were very uncomfortable,
Maybe Mongolia is more your thing then :)
Average summer high is 23, and it's not humid at all.
Quote from: Caliga on June 16, 2011, 12:04:44 PM
True, but I wonder if other British Languishites think that climate is intolerably hot? In my mind, cities don't get intolerably hot until they approach say Riyadh's average summer daily high temperatures (42-44 C or 108-11)
Your mind may tolerate them, but I doubt your body will tolerate temperatures over 100F for lengthy period of time.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on June 16, 2011, 01:14:16 PM
Your mind may tolerate them, but I doubt your body will tolerate temperatures over 100F for lengthy period of time.
I'm not saying I love 100+ weather (especially if it's humid), but I can tolerate it and wouldn't rule out living in/visiting a place for that reason.
Quote from: Caliga on June 16, 2011, 01:22:23 PM
I'm not saying I love 100+ weather (especially if it's humid), but I can tolerate it and wouldn't rule out living in/visiting a place for that reason.
I would. That is what I get four months a year if I am going someplace I need a break.
Especially this year. Horrible summer so far and it is not even technically summer.
Quote from: Caliga on June 16, 2011, 01:22:23 PM
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on June 16, 2011, 01:14:16 PM
Your mind may tolerate them, but I doubt your body will tolerate temperatures over 100F for lengthy period of time.
I'm not saying I love 100+ weather (especially if it's humid), but I can tolerate it and wouldn't rule out living in/visiting a place for that reason.
Glasgow can get intolerably hot in August, sometimes.
:lol:
Quote from: wiki article on GlasgowThe warmest month is usually July, with average highs near 20 °C (68 °F). Autumns are cool to mild, with increasing dampness. Extremes range from -20 to 31.2 °C (-4 to 88 °F), the latter occurring 4 August 1975.
Sounds like Tyr should move to Yukon. BB would be proud.
Quote from: Maximus on June 16, 2011, 12:24:51 PM
There seems to have been a different breed of Englishmen in the past.
I wonder if in fact all of them left for the various former British colonies. :hmm:
Holy shit. Mongers should come down here today. It is 105F/40.5C and humid as fuck.
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 16, 2011, 01:41:27 PM
Sounds like Tyr should move to Yukon. BB would be proud.
Nah, I don't mind warm places at all, love them in fact.
I hate hot weather though.
The best climate IMO is somewhere like Newcastle. Warm, doesn't rain too much, isn't very windy. Just nice and snug and sheltered. Rarely so hot you feel you're about to die, rarely so cold you absolutely have to wear gloves.
I love those 'weatherless' spring days where there's a light breeze and a warm sun sheltered behind light cloud cover. You can wear as little as you want but aren't sweating merely by being outside.
Quote from: Tyr on June 16, 2011, 02:26:03 PM
I love those 'weatherless' spring days where there's a light breeze and a warm sun sheltered behind light cloud cover. You can wear as little as you want but aren't sweating merely by being outside.
Oh we have days like that here, too... typically in the timeframe of late October - mid December and then again early February - early April.
Quote from: Valmy on June 16, 2011, 01:41:58 PM
Holy shit. Mongers should come down here today. It is 105F/40.5C and humid as fuck.
:bowler: We don't have climate, just weather. :bowler:
I live above 50 degrees north, but at a push I reckon I could live year round without heating or AC.
Oh, there are places in America where that's possible too... such as Hawaii. :blush:
I don't really like it when the temperature gets above 20c or so, 16 is probably ideal. Which is convenient as the temperature here in Lancashire is always within a few degrees of 16 :cool
Quote from: Caliga on June 16, 2011, 02:40:45 PM
Oh, there are places in America where that's possible too... such as Hawaii. :blush:
San Francisco. :contract:
I prefer the temperature to be in the low to mid 80s. (27-30.5C)
Quote from: garbon on June 16, 2011, 05:33:15 PM
Quote from: Caliga on June 16, 2011, 02:40:45 PM
Oh, there are places in America where that's possible too... such as Hawaii. :blush:
San Francisco. :contract:
Didn't San Francisco have a really cold and snowy winter this year? :hmm:
25 - 35 degrees Celsius (or around 80 - 100 Fahrenheit) is my ideal. I hate winter.
There's nothing wrong with winter. Just bundle up. :)
Okay - I bitch at -30, -40. You'd have to be mad not to. But I'm quite happy at a nice -10 or so. :)
Tyr, answer my PM please.
Current status: Super happy.
I will be living:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg217.imageshack.us%2Fimg217%2F4918%2Ftanktopux.jpg&hash=8fa4e2471f2a753cf38fde26bf4ba21affa5f1d2)
Just what I wanted.
:)
Is that: Mt. Fuji.
Aye.
Should be good, by day a nice normal, pretty and very Japanese place. But on the weekends central Tokyo is just an hour or two away on the train.
Tyr: I'm going to Yamana City
Me: ? I don't know a Yamana City
Google: I don't know a Yamana City
Me: WTF?
<smelling a rat>
Google: I know of a Yamanashi City
Me: Tanoshii to omotteru. Yamanashi-shi (hau hau hau)*
* Manga laughter for you non-timmehs...
Quote from: Tyr on June 17, 2011, 05:28:49 AM
Current status: Super happy.
I will be living:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg217.imageshack.us%2Fimg217%2F4918%2Ftanktopux.jpg&hash=8fa4e2471f2a753cf38fde26bf4ba21affa5f1d2)
Just what I wanted.
man, that's nice.
:lol:
Took a while for me to click there.
Don't know if I'm in that city yet (first choice was Kofu), just in the prefecture.
Quote from: Caliga on June 16, 2011, 07:59:34 PM
Quote from: garbon on June 16, 2011, 05:33:15 PM
Quote from: Caliga on June 16, 2011, 02:40:45 PM
Oh, there are places in America where that's possible too... such as Hawaii. :blush:
San Francisco. :contract:
Didn't San Francisco have a really cold and snowy winter this year? :hmm:
Global warming and sadness that I left for New York.
Quote from: Viking on June 17, 2011, 05:52:58 AM
Tyr: I'm going to Yamana City
Me: ? I don't know a Yamana City
Google: I don't know a Yamana City
Me: WTF?
<smelling a rat>
Google: I know of a Yamanashi City
Me: Tanoshii to omotteru. Yamanashi-shi (hau hau hau)*
* Manga laughter for you non-timmehs...
:wacko:
Thanks for quoting that, Cal.
Quote from: Caliga on June 17, 2011, 06:52:57 AM
Quote from: Viking on June 17, 2011, 05:52:58 AM
Tyr: I'm going to Yamana City
Me: ? I don't know a Yamana City
Google: I don't know a Yamana City
Me: WTF?
<smelling a rat>
Google: I know of a Yamanashi City
Me: Tanoshii to omotteru. Yamanashi-shi (hau hau hau)*
* Manga laughter for you non-timmehs...
:wacko:
Shi is Japanese for city.
Quote from: Tyr on June 17, 2011, 07:04:54 AM
Shi is Japanese for city.
While that adds some clarity, it doesn't really explain Viking's personality breakdown.
Quote from: Viking on June 17, 2011, 05:52:58 AM
Tyr: I'm going to Yamana City
Me: ? I don't know a Yamana City
Google: I don't know a Yamana City
Me: WTF?
<smelling a rat>
Google: I know of a Yamanashi City
Me: Tanoshii to omotteru. Yamanashi-shi (hau hau hau)*
* Manga laughter for you non-timmehs...
Quote from: Viking on June 17, 2011, 05:52:58 AM
Tyr: I'm going to Yamana City
Me: ? I don't know a Yamana City
Google: I don't know a Yamana City
Me: WTF?
<smelling a rat>
Google: I know of a Yamanashi City
Me: Tanoshii to omotteru. Yamanashi-shi (hau hau hau)*
* Manga laughter for you non-timmehs...
Quote from: Tyr on June 17, 2011, 07:04:54 AM
Shi is Japanese for city.
It's Chinese for lion. And Poet. And 10.
Quote from: Razgovory on June 17, 2011, 08:43:37 AM
It's Chinese for lion. And Poet. And 10.
not very original, are they?
Quote from: HVC on June 17, 2011, 08:53:36 AM
Quote from: Razgovory on June 17, 2011, 08:43:37 AM
It's Chinese for lion. And Poet. And 10.
not very original, are they?
They aren't eh? When coupled with their lack of standard alphabet & only 500 last names. They are fucked.
Quote from: Razgovory on June 17, 2011, 08:43:37 AM
Quote from: Tyr on June 17, 2011, 07:04:54 AM
Shi is Japanese for city.
It's Chinese for lion. And Poet. And 10.
Not poet. Poem. And there are actually three different words for those three meanings. The only common element is that their pronounciations are similar. Different tone though.
Quote from: Monoriu on June 17, 2011, 08:59:14 AM
Not poet. Poem. And there are actually three different words for those three meanings. The only common element is that their pronounciations are similar. Different tone though.
Your language sounds like hell for a Westerner to learn. Our way of speaking is way to lazy to have to pay attention to that sort of nuance.
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 17, 2011, 08:58:18 AM
Quote from: HVC on June 17, 2011, 08:53:36 AM
Quote from: Razgovory on June 17, 2011, 08:43:37 AM
It's Chinese for lion. And Poet. And 10.
not very original, are they?
They aren't eh? When coupled with their lack of standard alphabet & only 500 last names. They are fucked.
It is a lot worse than that. I've read somewhere that 20% of the Chinese population (that's 1.3 billion people) share only three surnames.
Quote from: Valmy on June 17, 2011, 09:00:02 AM
Quote from: Monoriu on June 17, 2011, 08:59:14 AM
Not poet. Poem. And there are actually three different words for those three meanings. The only common element is that their pronounciations are similar. Different tone though.
Your language sounds like hell for a Westerner to learn. Our way of speaking is way to lazy to have to pay attention to that sort of nuance.
Imagine how difficult it is for Chinese to learn English then. If Chinese can do it, so can you :contract:
BTW, Tyr, you must already know that if you move to Japan, you will encounter a lot of Chinese characters, right?
Quote from: Monoriu on June 17, 2011, 09:02:01 AM
Imagine how difficult it is for Chinese to learn English then. If Chinese can do it, so can you :contract:
Heck I haven't even learned Spanish yet and that is one of the easiest languages around :blush:
Quote from: Monoriu on June 17, 2011, 09:02:41 AM
BTW, Tyr, you must already know that if you move to Japan, you will encounter a lot of Chinese characters, right?
I could be wrong about this but doesn't Japanese use the same characters as Chinese?
Quote from: Valmy on June 17, 2011, 09:00:02 AM
Quote from: Monoriu on June 17, 2011, 08:59:14 AM
Not poet. Poem. And there are actually three different words for those three meanings. The only common element is that their pronounciations are similar. Different tone though.
Your language sounds like hell for a Westerner to learn. Our way of speaking is way to lazy to have to pay attention to that sort of nuance.
I had several friends who tried to learn Chinese. They all said it was really fucking hard. The only one who stuck with it did so because his wife is Chinese. He still doesn't do it well. English is much easier. Hell, Marty figured it out.
Quote from: Valmy on June 17, 2011, 09:04:32 AM
Quote from: Monoriu on June 17, 2011, 09:02:01 AM
Imagine how difficult it is for Chinese to learn English then. If Chinese can do it, so can you :contract:
Heck I haven't even learned Spanish yet and that is one of the easiest languages around :blush:
Chinese have a responsibility to learn English to communicate with you; you only need to know English :)
Quote from: Valmy on June 17, 2011, 09:04:32 AM
Quote from: Monoriu on June 17, 2011, 09:02:01 AM
Imagine how difficult it is for Chinese to learn English then. If Chinese can do it, so can you :contract:
Heck I haven't even learned Spanish yet and that is one of the easiest languages around :blush:
so easy that that say some letters and figured screw it, we're taking out the consonant sounds and just winging it. Who needs to pronounce j's anyway.
Quote from: Valmy on June 17, 2011, 09:04:32 AM
Quote from: Monoriu on June 17, 2011, 09:02:01 AM
Imagine how difficult it is for Chinese to learn English then. If Chinese can do it, so can you :contract:
Heck I haven't even learned Spanish yet and that is one of the easiest languages around :blush:
Apparently Romanian is even easier to learn if you already speak French or Italian.
Quote from: Valmy on June 17, 2011, 09:06:20 AM
Quote from: Monoriu on June 17, 2011, 09:02:41 AM
BTW, Tyr, you must already know that if you move to Japan, you will encounter a lot of Chinese characters, right?
I could be wrong about this but doesn't Japanese use the same characters as Chinese?
The Japanese use a ton of Chinese characters - for naming, every day language use, everything. The characters are 90% similar, but not 100%. But they also use their own alphabets.
Quote from: Razgovory on June 17, 2011, 09:06:25 AM
Quote from: Valmy on June 17, 2011, 09:00:02 AM
Quote from: Monoriu on June 17, 2011, 08:59:14 AM
Not poet. Poem. And there are actually three different words for those three meanings. The only common element is that their pronounciations are similar. Different tone though.
Your language sounds like hell for a Westerner to learn. Our way of speaking is way to lazy to have to pay attention to that sort of nuance.
I had several friends who tried to learn Chinese. They all said it was really fucking hard. The only one who stuck with it did so because his wife is Chinese. He still doesn't do it well. English is much easier. Hell, Marty figured it out.
Then quit learning it. You should be sending native speakers over to train people how to speak English properly, not trying to learn Chinese.
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 17, 2011, 09:08:12 AM
Apparently Romanian is even easier to learn if you already speak French or Italian.
i work with a romanian woman. and no, no it isn't. It's like a latin and slavic had a love child and then beat it mercilessly.
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 17, 2011, 09:08:12 AM
Apparently Romanian is even easier to learn if you already speak French or Italian.
Speaking of Italians during my stay in Villefranche-sur-Mer some Italian would show up knowing nothing and be practically fluent in French in just a few weeks. Drove me nuts. The languages may not sound much alike but clearly if it is that easy they must be really similar.
Quote from: Monoriu on June 17, 2011, 09:10:46 AM
Then quit learning it. You should be sending native speakers over to train people how to speak English properly, not trying to learn Chinese.
Everybody here thinks China is going to dominate the world soon so there are lots of people trying to learn Mandarin. I am sure hilarity will ensue. I will make sure to tell them not to bother.
Quote from: Monoriu on June 17, 2011, 09:08:20 AM
The Japanese use a ton of Chinese characters - for naming, every day language use, everything. The characters are 90% similar, but not 100%. But they also use their own alphabets.
The Japanese have an alphabet?! How un East Asian of them.
Quote from: Valmy on June 17, 2011, 09:11:23 AM
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 17, 2011, 09:08:12 AM
Apparently Romanian is even easier to learn if you already speak French or Italian.
Speaking of Italians during my stay in Villefranche-sur-Mer some Italian would show up knowing nothing and be practically fluent in French in just a few weeks. Drove me nuts. The languages may not sound much alike but clearly if it is that easy they must be really similar.
the romance languages are interchangable to different degree (excluding romanian which is technically in there). Easier to go from some languages to others. Portuguese speakers understand spanish way easier then the other way around. any other speaker going french is the hardest, but still possible.
Quote from: Valmy on June 17, 2011, 09:13:01 AM
Quote from: Monoriu on June 17, 2011, 09:08:20 AM
The Japanese use a ton of Chinese characters - for naming, every day language use, everything. The characters are 90% similar, but not 100%. But they also use their own alphabets.
The Japanese have an alphabet?! How un East Asian of them.
They have two sets of alphabets. Actually the majority of their communication is done in alphabets. Chinese characters are mainly for naming, though they are also used in everyday speech. The Japanese pronounce their alphabets one by one when they speak.
I think the majority of East Asians have some kind of alphabet. It is the Chinese that is the odd one out, if I am not mistaken.
QuoteThey have two sets of alphabets. Actually the majority of their communication is done in alphabets. Chinese characters are mainly for naming, though they are also used in everyday speech. The Japanese pronounce their alphabets one by one when they speak.
I think the majority of East Asians have some kind of alphabet. It is the Chinese that is the odd one out, if I am not mistaken.
They're not alphabets, they're syllabarys. :smarty:
Chinese characters: I love kanji. One of the things that drew me to Japanese. I actually find it easier than speaking, I know the meaning of around 700 characters so far (around 2000 is the standard number). Not that it does me much good when I don't have much of a Japanese vocabulary to go with it.
Quote from: HVC on June 17, 2011, 09:10:52 AM
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 17, 2011, 09:08:12 AM
Apparently Romanian is even easier to learn if you already speak French or Italian.
i work with a romanian woman. and no, no it isn't. It's like a latin and slavic had a love child and then beat it mercilessly.
:lol:
It is weird. Written down I go 'hey....this looks a bit like French...' but hearing it...'Russian? Sort of....' but then Portuguese also sounds Russian. And without good reason there.
Quote from: Monoriu on June 17, 2011, 09:25:24 AM
I think the majority of East Asians have some kind of alphabet. It is the Chinese that is the odd one out, if I am not mistaken.
Wow really? Shows what I know.
Quote from: Valmy on June 17, 2011, 09:13:01 AM
Quote from: Monoriu on June 17, 2011, 09:08:20 AM
The Japanese use a ton of Chinese characters - for naming, every day language use, everything. The characters are 90% similar, but not 100%. But they also use their own alphabets.
The Japanese have an alphabet?! How un East Asian of them.
Two, Hiragana and Katakana. Hiragana is used in japanese for japanese words and is used to phonetically write out characters and use prepositions and short grammar related words. Katakana is used for transposing foreign words into japanese. These two "alphabets" don't use western letters, but rather use syllables. Each has 118 character iirc and they are typically set up like this
Hiragana
Ka - か
Ki - き
Ku - く
Ke - け
Ko - こ
Katakana
Ka - カ
Ki - キ
Ku - ク
Ke - ケ
Ko - コ
they can be modified using "diphtongs" e.g. Ga - ガ (in katakana) or miniletters Kya - キャ(in katakana)
You can also see that the Hiragana which is used for japanese characters is more cursive and seems to be better suited for caligraphy, while Katakana is more blockish and seems to be better suited for typwriters. These are both phonetic alphabets. Japanese text is usually a mix of Kanji (chinese characters) and Hiragana with Katakana being used for foreign words and slang.
Quote from: Monoriu on June 17, 2011, 09:10:46 AM
Then quit learning it. You should be sending native speakers over to train people how to speak English properly, not trying to learn Chinese.
I'm not the one who was trying to learn the damn language. My friend who stuck with it wants to learn more of it so he can speak with his inlaws (who are high ranking party types). He occasionally visits China with his wife to see her family. His wife speaks English very well. Very slight accent. You could mistake her for a native speaker.
Quote from: Tyr on June 17, 2011, 09:28:38 AM
Quote from: HVC on June 17, 2011, 09:10:52 AM
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 17, 2011, 09:08:12 AM
Apparently Romanian is even easier to learn if you already speak French or Italian.
i work with a romanian woman. and no, no it isn't. It's like a latin and slavic had a love child and then beat it mercilessly.
:lol:
It is weird. Written down I go 'hey....this looks a bit like French...' but hearing it...'Russian? Sort of....' but then Portuguese also sounds Russian. And without good reason there.
Mainland portuguese always sounds vaguely german to me. over pronounciation.
Quote from: HVC on June 17, 2011, 09:10:52 AM
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 17, 2011, 09:08:12 AM
Apparently Romanian is even easier to learn if you already speak French or Italian.
i work with a romanian woman. and no, no it isn't. It's like a latin and slavic had a love child and then beat it mercilessly.
I work with a romanian woman too & I don't think it'll be that hard.
Quote from: Valmy on June 17, 2011, 09:28:53 AM
Quote from: Monoriu on June 17, 2011, 09:25:24 AM
I think the majority of East Asians have some kind of alphabet. It is the Chinese that is the odd one out, if I am not mistaken.
Wow really? Shows what I know.
Yep, Koreans (except for Hanja, which is very rarely used), Japanese (except for Kanji), Mongolians, Vietnamese, and probably the rest of SE Asia all use alphabets. The Vietnamese even use a modified Latin alphabet, making travel there pretty easy.
Anyway, congratulations Tyr :cheers:
If I'm ever in Japan in the near future, I expect you to show me around :contract:
Tim too if he goes there.
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 17, 2011, 09:55:05 AM
I work with a romanian woman too & I don't think it'll be that hard.
:hmm: I've never heard Romanian spoken, but I've seen written Romanian and I could kind of understand at a high level what the subject matter was. Of course I wasn't sure about the tense, etc. But with my knowledge of French, Spanish, and Latin I felt like I could sort of wing it. Same thing happened with Italian when I was in Italy.
When China began to modernise, there was a Chinese saying by intellectuals - if Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will be. At that time, the bulk of the Chinese population were illiterate. The characters were seen as an important contributing factor. They are considered too difficult to learn even for native Chinese :lol:
Mao's solution to the problem was to simplify the characters. Hence the simplified/traditional difference.
Quote from: Caliga on June 17, 2011, 11:03:59 AM
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 17, 2011, 09:55:05 AM
I work with a romanian woman too & I don't think it'll be that hard.
:hmm: I've never heard Romanian spoken, but I've seen written Romanian and I could kind of understand at a high level what the subject matter was. Of course I wasn't sure about the tense, etc. But with my knowledge of French, Spanish, and Latin I felt like I could sort of wing it. Same thing happened with Italian when I was in Italy.
To clafify i haven't seen it written. but i have heard it spoken. i judeged my difficulty in knowing whats going on based on that. it was... odd.
Well, it may be that it sounds very different from how it's written.
There were several words that i could tell were supposed to be latin, but i couldn't place them and trying just meant i was way behind in the "conversation" anyway..
Then again she could have been from a backwards part which made it worse. for example i can understand some italians and not others.
You might be right. I said I didn't think it would be that hard. It might be. I haven't tried, I have no intention to do so.
Quote from: Caliga on June 17, 2011, 11:26:10 AM
Well, it may be that it sounds very different from how it's written.
It had been written in Cyrillic for centuries. Just to give you an idea how weird Romanian is.
I can read Cyrillic though. :cool:
Quote from: Valmy on June 16, 2011, 01:41:58 PM
Holy shit. Mongers should come down here today. It is 105F/40.5C and humid as fuck.
Native Texans have no concept of "humid as fuck". :P
What if they live in El Paso? :)
Don't need to apostille my documents to get into Japan, yay! :w00t:
I've been teaching myself Mandarin for about 2.5 years. I now know about 1,600 characters and I can and do have conversations in Mandarin for hours at a time. It is not impossible by any stretch of the imagination, though it is much harder for me than a European language.
However, I am not doing this because I think "China will rule the world" or some nonsense, but rather just as a hobby and because I love language study. :)
Quote from: Pitiful Pathos on June 17, 2011, 09:34:21 PM
I've been teaching myself Mandarin for about 2.5 years. I now know about 1,600 characters and I can and do have conversations in Mandarin for hours at a time. It is not impossible by any stretch of the imagination, though it is much harder for me than a European language.
However, I am not doing this because I think "China will rule the world" or some nonsense, but rather just as a hobby and because I love language study. :)
The problem is that the English proficiency of the average mainlander is crap. Those who are good are really good, but the average Joe just can't converse with a native English speaker effectively. So I can see the need for you to learn Mandarin if you live there. I am proud to say that the expats who live in HK do not need to learn Cantonese, though.
It takes time. Maybe in a few decades, their English will be good enough so that expats living in China no longer have to learn Mandarin.
Just sent out an application to a superposh Christain Girls School. They're offering 4,691,200 ¥ ($58,000) a year, with an extra 130k ¥ ($1600) for Japanese lessons!
Cross your fingers.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on July 04, 2011, 09:17:47 AM
Christain Girls School.
Cross your fingers.
:perv:
FINGERS CROSSED!
in exchange, will you get me an IT job there? :P
Quote from: Tamas on July 04, 2011, 09:30:50 AM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on July 04, 2011, 09:17:47 AM
Christain Girls School.
Cross your fingers.
:perv:
FINGERS CROSSED!
in exchange, will you get me an IT job there? :P
How am I supposed to do that?
Quote from: jimmy olsen on July 04, 2011, 11:21:18 PM
Quote from: Tamas on July 04, 2011, 09:30:50 AM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on July 04, 2011, 09:17:47 AM
Christain Girls School.
Cross your fingers.
:perv:
FINGERS CROSSED!
in exchange, will you get me an IT job there? :P
How am I supposed to do that?
IDK, be creative :P
Quote from: HVC on June 17, 2011, 09:48:27 AM
Mainland portuguese always sounds vaguely german to me. over pronounciation.
As if there was only one Mainland Portuguese :D
Lisboetês vaguely German ? They have the (incorrect) French r (
grasseyé and swallow vowels and consonants cf. p'xina/Piscina.
Nortenho (
Minhoto and/or
Transmontano:lol: vaguely German as well ? etc.
Last night: Epic fail.
"Lets go to somewhere different" said we "Not the usual pub with the usual people. Lets find some small Japanese place!"
A side street or two later and we found a likely place, it seemed nice, small but not just a bar against a wall as so many others are. We sat, got a beer, and it was good...until the woman started bringing us little snacks and suchlike....I smelled something fishy and asked the girl who spoke better Japanese to ask what was up- ack, 10 quid fee just for coming in the place. And it was just a little Japanese pub, not a club, not one of those sleazy places with girls on show, just a little pub.
That'll teach me never to experiment with where I drink again.
Though it does give me a better idea of how those tiny places with just a bar and 4 chairs stay in business.
There is nothing epic about that. Try again.
Quote from: garbon on October 07, 2011, 07:19:38 PM
There is nothing epic about that. Try again.
A beer costing $20 is rather epic.
Not really if you are factoring in a cover charge.
Quote from: garbon on October 07, 2011, 07:19:38 PM
There is nothing epic about that. Try again.
The epic fail is that he was apparantly unfamiliar with the concept of a cover charge.
Quote from: dps on October 07, 2011, 07:28:35 PM
Quote from: garbon on October 07, 2011, 07:19:38 PM
There is nothing epic about that. Try again.
The epic fail is that he was apparantly unfamiliar with the concept of a cover charge.
:lol:
Quote from: dps on October 07, 2011, 07:28:35 PM
Quote from: garbon on October 07, 2011, 07:19:38 PM
There is nothing epic about that. Try again.
The epic fail is that he was apparantly unfamiliar with the concept of a cover charge.
Sort of.
Such things are normally reserved for clubs or places with live entertainment, not random pubs.