Entry 2 (Jan 27th)

Emma Sokkel and Maede Yurie

There was a brief introduction from Emma Sokkel, former co-ordinator for Gateway to Japan before becoming the Dean of UCD school of Physics. Told us her experience

Maede Yurie introduces herself and talks about some event going on (anime japan 2025 ends march) and Japanese merch (sanrio, dbz, naruto, nintendo, anpanman)

Japanese culture: kabuki, oritental tea ceremony origami, koto, Kimono

Food: sushi, katsu curry, mochi, ramen

→ MAEDE YURIE PROFILE

• Born in Kagoshima in kyushu, Very South of Japan.

• Lecturer at TU Dublin, specialising in Business IT

• Taught Japanese in USA from 1999 - 2001 and at UCD for part-time 2010 - 2018

→ 日本語文字 Japanese scripts

• Hiragana = phonetic alphabet system, used for function words and japanese word if not written in kanji

• Katakana = phonetic alphabet system. used for non-japanese word

• Kanji = Chinese characters. Each character has a meaning

• Rooma-ji = a way of writing Japanese in Roman alphabet

→ 発音 Hatsuon Pronunciation

• Numerous phonemes, but less than English. Many homonyms in Japanese e.g.

  • koi (恋 love、鯉 carp、濃い dark、故意 intentional)

  • ishi (意志 will、遺志 last will、医師 doctor、石 stone)

  • kami (髪 hair、紙 paper、神 god)

• Accent is not the stress difference (strong - weak) but the pitch can be different (high-low)

• Maede sensei is teaching the business related aspects for using the Japanese language, quite useful.

→ Grammatical model

A wa B desu.

A は B です

→ 文法 Bumpoo - Grammar

Subject Object Verb = Japanese
vs
Subject Verb Object = English

noun (no gender) → thank god

particle (important): o, ni, to, e, kara, made etc
e.g. watashi wa ku ji kara go ji made hatarakimasu.
I work from 9 to 5.

Hatarakimasu = formal language verb of to work.

→ ジブリポスター (jiburi posutaa)

Ghibli poster

→ Horizontal & Vertical presentation

• Traditional japanese is written and read from up to down, as well as reading a book from right to left.

→ Word / character count

English = Words 192, characters = 1,180

Japanese = Words = 502, characters = 504

Part 2 of the lecture → 1 hour mark

Japanese culture & communication strategy

→ High-context culture

• Japan’s high context culture

• Ireland can either be right in the middle or a bit higher in context.

→ Bowing & Smiling are important in business

→ Exchanging Me e shi

• Manners of exchanging business/name cards is highly valued.

• When meeting for the first time in business, it is proper to exchange each others name cards.

→ Addressing people

• -san (honorific suffix ‘san’ when addressing any gender)

• -sensei (Doctor, teacher and politician)

• -shushoo (prime minister)

• -buchoo (manager)

• -kaichou (section chief)

→ Surname first and then the first name. In public, Japanese people call each other with their surname + san or sensei

• マーティンさん Martin san (Mr Martin)

• マーティン首相 Martin shusoo (Prime Minister Martin)

→ Individual vs Group

• Work achieved by the team is more appreciated than that by individuals

• Leader - Sub leader, manager, staffs who do the actual work

→ Drinking rules

• When drinking alcoholic beverages, it is customary to serve each other rather pouring your own beverage.

• Do not start drinking until everybody at the table is served and the glasses are raised for a drinking salute which is ‘‘kampai’’

Arigatou → used by senior (older) person to thank the younger person

Sumimasen → used by the junior (younger) person to thank the older person

→ Table manner

• blowing your nose in public is considered bad manners, especially at the table

• Burping is completely fine, sign of satisfaction

• Tipping is not necessary

• When eating a shared dish, always move the food to your own personal dish you are provided with. As well using the end of your chopsticks or with the serving chopstick you are provided with.

• Never plant your chopstick in a bed of rice, right in the middle. It is the sign of a dead person.

→ very useful phrase

• When typing a business email the phrase

• Osewani natteimasu お世話になっ
  ています。

  • Can be used as a way of thanking them for taking care of you, even though it can be the first time you make an email to them.

There was a brief introduction from Emma Sokkel, former co-ordinator for Gateway to Japan before becoming the Dean of UCD school of Physics. Told us her experience. Maede sensei introduces herself and talks about the culture in Japan and what events are currently happening in Japan like Anime Japan that is ongoing and it ends in March. The mention of Japanese merchandise and brands, examples being Sanrio, Naruto, Nintendo, Dragon Ball Z and Anpanman. Maede sensei also introduces the traditional Japanese cultures such as Kabuki, Oriental tea ceremonies, Origami, Koto and Kimono/yukata. As well as the delicious food of sushi, katsu curry, mochi and of course ramen. Maede sensei is born in Kagoshima in Kyushu, Japan. Currently a lecturer at TU Dublin, specialised in Business IT. She used to teach Japanese in the USA from 1999 – 2001 and at UCD for part-time 2010-2018.

→ 日本語文字 Japanese scripts

The Japanese writing system is made up of four unique scripts. Hiragana, a phonetic alphabet used for native words and grammatical functions. Then Katakana, which serves as a phonetic system for foreign words. Kanji consists of Chinese characters, where each character has its own meaning. Finally, Rooma-ji is a way of writing Japanese using the Roman alphabet. Together, these scripts create a fascinating and intricate writing system that reflects the richness of Japanese culture.

→ 発音 Hatsuon Pronunciation

In Japanese, there are numerous phonemes, though fewer than in English. It's fascinatingly full of homonyms, where one word can mean various things: like koi (恋 love、鯉 carp、濃い dark、故意 intentional) and ishi (意志 will、遺志 last will、医師 doctor、石 stone). The language isn't about stress differences but rather shifts in pitch—high and low tones play a crucial role. Maede sensei will guides us through the practical business aspects of Japanese language use, making the learning experience invaluable.

Japanese grammar is different from English, the sentence order is Subject Object Verb instead of Subject Verb Object. The grammatical model, or else the basic structure is A は B です meaning ‘’A wa B desu’’. Japanese nouns have no gender which makes things simpler but particles like wa o ni and kara are important for meaning. For example "watashi wa ku ji kara go ji made hatarakimasu" means "I work from 9 to 5" where "hatarakimasu" is the formal verb for "to work".

Japanese text can be written both horizontally and vertically. Traditionally it's written from top to bottom and books are read from right to left but modern texts like websites and signs often use horizontal writing like English. The word and character count for Japanese tends to have more words but fewer characters compared to English because kanji can carry a lot of meaning in just one symbol. Example: English = Words 192, characters = 1,180; Japanese = Words = 502, characters = 504

Bowing and smiling are very important in Japanese business cultures, showing respect through body language matters a lot. Another key custom is exchanging me e shi or exchanging business cards. This is done properly with both hands and a slight bow when meeting someone for the first time. Addressing people also follows specific rules The honorific "-san" is used for any gender while "-sensei" is for teachers doctors and politicians Titles like "-shushoo" for the prime minister and "-buchoo" for a manager are also used Japanese names are written with the surname first and in public people use surname + san or sensei for respect. Such asマーティンさん Martin san (Mr Martin) or マーティン首相 Martin shusoo (Prime Minister Martin).

In Japan, drinking has its own customs. When having alcoholic beverages you should never pour your own drink instead serve each other Also wait until everyone has their drink before saying "kampai" and starting to drink. When thanking someone "arigatou" is used by seniors towards juniors while "sumimasen" is used by juniors towards seniors

Table manners are also important: Blowing your nose in public especially at the table is seen as rude but burping is fine as a sign of satisfaction. Tipping is not necessary When eating a shared dish move the food to your own plate using the end of your chopsticks or the serving chopsticks. Never stick your chopsticks upright in rice as it resembles a ritual for the dead!

A very useful business phrase is "Osewani natteimasu" お世話になっ
ていますwhich is often used in emails to thank someone for their support even if it’s the first time contacting them.

I have previously taken Japanese I beginners class last semester as an elective module so I was familiar with the Japanese structure a bit, although learning about the business practices for phrases was very useful information to know. I’m quite out of practice of my Japanese but I can still read most of the hiragana but more or less of katakana and barely remember kanji. I still have my Japanese notes from classes so I’ll hopefully continue to learn more in my spare time over in the summer and practice with people. I want to start relearning the Japanese scripts too, just so I can start reading the raw forms of manga. Not having to wait for the translation in months can be quite handy, and if I ever visit Japan, I can make my way around with reading signs and menus.

I still remember my name in katakana since we were learning how to write it out for our exam. はじめまして 私の名前はマリアサントスです (Nice to meet you, my name is Maria Santos).

Real Real Japan has been mentioned in my youtube shorts numerous times, teaching me fun new Japanese words or phrases each time! A person – ひと(Hito) and multiple people – 人々 (Hitobito). The reason why Hitobito is not Hito Hito is because of Rendaku! When two or more words come together to form a single word, the first consonant of the second word sometime changes to a voiced sound. In a written form, it’s usually marked with a little dakuten (゛) and handakuten (゜) symbol.