Can't speak Japanese

[ZeekSlider]

TDLFAN is gangsta like that.

[Bad Wolf]

Originally Posted by ZeekSlider

TDLFAN is gangsta like that.

His car must have spinning hubcaps. He must have gold teeth and a bunch of bling bling. His crew rolls with him around the 816.

[TDLFAN]

Actually no. I concider such "gansta" culture to be trash, pure and simple and do not appreciate being associated with it.

[Bad Wolf]

So then we can assume the only "ho's" TDLFan has are gardening tools?

[audibleatom]

i speak NO japanese and have been twice to Tokyo and the resort and i only once found a menu that was not in english at the resort

[Tom319]

Originally Posted by Malin

English is becoming a second languege to the Japanese, and they being made to learn it a lot younger now days.

Japan scores lower than any asian nation in English except North Korea. Its true that they spend a good amount of time studying English but most can barely form a sentance. In my opinion its because they have no use for it. Its the same reason most Americans don't speak another language.

[Malin]

Sadly if the Japanese want to visit others countries like America than there do need to learn English and do have a need for it. Because like whats already been said American's feel the world involves around them and are too lazy and ignorant to ever learn a new languege. Luckily after just getting back from a trip to Tokyo I was suprised by how well the English has inproved in just a year since I last visited!

[Tom319]

Originally Posted by Malin

Sadly if the Japanese want to visit others countries like America than there do need to learn English and do have a need for it. Because like whats already been said American's feel the world involves around them and are too lazy and ignorant to ever learn a new languege. Luckily after just getting back from a trip to Tokyo I was suprised by how well the English has inproved in just a year since I last visited!

So you're saying most Americans are not Bilingual because they're lazy and ignorant?

So then whats the reason most Japanese aren't bilingual? or the British or Mexicans? Are they lazy and ignorant too.

I believe its nothing that rude. Its just that english has become the de facto international language. I remember growing up and not understanding why it was so important to learn it but I'm glad I did. Now a days many companies in Europe (especially in the smaller countries) are conductiong all business in English, even amongst themselves. The same trend is starting in China too. 99% of the time People become English speakers or bilingual because its neccessary.

Also english being spoken at TDR or any other tourist area is not reflective of the rest of the country.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Originally Posted by Malin

Sadly if the Japanese want to visit others countries like America than there do need to learn English and do have a need for it. Because like whats already been said American's feel the world involves around them and are too lazy and ignorant to ever learn a new languege. Luckily after just getting back from a trip to Tokyo I was suprised by how well the English has inproved in just a year since I last visited!

Please, prejudicial language isn't necessary here.

If it weren't for the fact that most of Japan's directional signage is bilingual, then we'd have to learn Japanese in order to get around and get to TDR. Unfortunately, no sign in the USA is going to have Japanese anything on it, so Japanese people would need to be able to read & understand names of places in english in order to get around and to Disneyland. That's the reality of it.

So, yes, english-speaking people do have it somewhat easier because we don't need to learn another language to visit TDR.

For more info on the problem of languages, see the Old Testament vis a vis The Tower of Babel.

-- PMM

[Malin]

Originally Posted by Tom319

So you're saying most Americans are not Bilingual because they're lazy and ignorant?

So then whats the reason most Japanese aren't bilingual? or the British or Mexicans? Are they lazy and ignorant too.

I believe its nothing that rude. Its just that english has become the de facto international language. I remember growing up and not understanding why it was so important to learn it but I'm glad I did. Now a days many companies in Europe (especially in the smaller countries) are conductiong all business in English, even amongst themselves. The same trend is starting in China too. 99% of the time People become English speakers or bilingual because its neccessary.

Also english being spoken at TDR or any other tourist area is not reflective of the rest of the country.

Anyone could atempt to learn a new languege, the fact most people don't says it all really. And while I pin pointed it at just American's the British are just as bad when it comes to this. Because most countries now days use English as a second languege, many of us English speaking nations feel we don't need to learn another languege which in terms does make us lazy and ignorant.

Take people planning trips on here to Tokyo. I know a lot of people will spend months reading the boards planning for that dream vacation. But how many of the same people will also be learning to speak Japanese. None of us because sadly its not required in this day and age.

[thejoshualee]

I just plan on talking louder when people don't understand me.


Just kidding.

My wife is using the Rosetta Stone and is learning quite a bit.

[sir clinksalot]

Most people who to go Disneyland don't speak english, they seem to be just fine.

[MickeyMania]

Originally Posted by Malin

Anyone could atempt to learn a new languege, the fact most people don't says it all really. And while I pin pointed it at just American's the British are just as bad when it comes to this. Because most countries now days use English as a second languege, many of us English speaking nations feel we don't need to learn another languege which in terms does make us lazy and ignorant.

Take people planning trips on here to Tokyo. I know a lot of people will spend months reading the boards planning for that dream vacation. But how many of the same people will also be learning to speak Japanese. None of us because sadly its not required in this day and age.

The reasons are that it isn't economically useful. The reason so many other nations are learning English as a second language is because it's economically beneficial. The reason many English-speaking nations aren't learning other languages is it's rarely beneficial. And as Spaceship Earth taught you, over time communication becomes more and more universal and barriers like language become less of a problem.

And, let's be honest, Japanese is one of the most difficult languages. It's a big big leap over learning something like French. Everybody thinks the Canadians are bilingual but the fact is there's only a little mandatory French education in the schools and then you either keep taking it or choose not to. I have a friend who did keep taking it and after eight years of classes he knows how to order a lunch and ask people for directions. He can't have conversations.

Getting an education doesn't mean you know regional dialects, colloquialisms, or have the ability to understand the language at the pace that native tongue speakers actually speak it. And the same goes in the other direction, if you don't believe me play many old video games from Japan before the industry got huge and look at the translations. "A winner is you!"

[ZeekSlider]

I like the European excuse as to why you should learn another language or not. Their mindset is that the only reason they need to learn French, English, Spanish, German, etc. is because they frequent the area there for whatever reasons those may be.

Like what Bill Cosby said once, you can drive for two hours from any point in Europe and the language would change. Drive two hours anywhere in America, and the language is still the same. The same would probably apply to Japan. Japanese businessmen more likely know English and other languages so they can do overseas trading. Anyone that doesn't know a language outside of Japanese probably doesn't need it in their daily life.

[NewlandArcher]

MickeyMania, I think you mean to say that Japanese is one of the most difficult languages for English-speakers to learn, simply because of differences due to the phonetic and syntactic structure, etc. As a first language, no language is more difficult than another to acquire. But it does become a challenge as far as second language acquisition and beyond.

The colloquialisms and regional dialects can be difficult to pick up, but an education in a language isn't worth nothing. Being acquainted with a langugage, even if just through instruction without real practice, can at least teach you something. You can start with that foundation and when you are immersed in the linguistic community you will be able to pick up on informal speech patterns. Certainly a non-English speaker who learns the future indicator (one of the many) for English as "I am going to..." would be confused upon hearing "Ima..." or even "Im-uh-nuh..." and being expected to interpret that string of sounds as bearing the same meaning. However, it doesn't count for nothing for someone to learn even rudimentary things like vocabulary and word order - these are the things that allow language learners to partake in basic conversation, which can lead to speech that mirrors everyday communication for native speakers in an alarmingly short period of time.

The truth of the matter is that language becomes closely related to economics and politics, and economic or political power usually entails linguistic power as well. English is an extremely widespread language in the world today, as a result of the political and economic power that English-speaking countries have. It's almost (but not completely) analogous to why Brazilians speak Portuguese, and much of Latin America speaks Spanish, and parts of Western Africa speak French, etc. Political influence is very closely tied to linguistic influence; that's pretty much the whole of it. Plus, language is always changing; you can never capture it crystallized in one moment in time: it is forever fleeting and making itself just a bit less definable. That's what makes it so interesting.

Or if you choose to believe it, a tower was the cause for everything, and that's just the reason why.

It makes me sad to think of the vast numbers of uni-lingual Americans, but many of you were right when you said that they have no use for familiarity with other languages. The Europeans know so many simply because of the little distance between different linguistic communities, and for that I am jealous. I find it a difficult generalization to make to say that traveling across America, people will find a language that doesn't change. In a rudimentary sense this is true, but imagine driving from, let's say western North Carolina, to somewhere in the midwest. In western North Carolina you may hear things such as "might could," double negatives, "Apples is good for you," the letter 'r' inserted into words, all of which features are characteristic of Appalachian English, and in the midwest, you might find a rather neutral accent and what would be considered by most to be a pretty standard English. Or consider the Cajun dialect. I'm not sure if these examples are good enough, but I'm reluctant to say that the language in America is the same throughout.

Anyway, my suggestion for a response to the original post would be to make a genuine effort to learn as much Japanese as is feasible for you. My experience has been that native speakers in other countries find it refreshing to hear tourists make an attempt to speak their language. After all, language is a very personal thing (hence all the debate that's been made about it already in this thread), and I think it shows a sort of respectful deference to the differences of another culture. Enjoy yourself in Japan and bring back photos.