September 24, 2008

honorific adjectives in Japanese grammar

ai adjectives in Japanese become long o in honorifics

examples

hayai becomes hayo^ gozaimasu or hayou gozaimasu thus when someone says o-hayou gozaimasu we are really saying it is honorifically fast or good-morning

abunai - goes to abuno^ gozaimasu

mijikai - goes to mijiko^ gozaimasu

semai - goes to semo^ gozaimasu

chisai - goes to chiso^ gozaimasu -

September 20, 2008

On African Americans in Japan - The Shock Factor

Here is a question about racism in Japan, and here are the way. Are Japanese People racist against black people? I plan to go to Japan, so I want to know. I don't want to have a bad time you know (Please - I don't want to offend any Japanese people so I am sorry If I offend anyone of you.)

The Japanese are not racist in general. All Japanese people are not racist like the kkk would be in America. They pretty much are a changed nation since they got atomicized in two of their major cities. The thing is, is that kokujin are rare, extremely rare in Japan, and you may be looked at as an oddity, or rarity. You are for sure going to get special care because you are so rare. They will marvel at you. For in Japan you guys aren't born there naturally. Even me a white guy from america is pretty rare so I was always looked upon in amazement because my nose is so tall, and my eyes are so round, and I am generally taller because I ate more potatoes than rice and fruit loops than miso soup etc.

Gaijin as a whole are stereotyped and are poked fun of usually but it is all in jest with no serious racial prejudices against anybody. Gaijin is any foreigner that is not Japanese. Kokujin is the rare type of gaijin that has different features yet so they are going to be shocked.

If you plan on going to Japan and you are an African American be prepared to shock the Japanese people. You are basically going to shock at least a few people that you will come across. But the Japanese people are a modern peaceful nation, some of the Japanese may have never seen kokujin so they are naturally going to be shocked that there are other types of the same brothers of the human race than they.

Take heart you are going to love their treatment of you, you are rare, so live it up and soak all that extra attention in without getting upset because you like me are still just gaijin and xenophobia does exist that is my words for you.