Just got out of class, we started 警護 today. Even the smart kids were almost in tears. - Feed Post by Kakka_rotSRL
Just got out of class, we started 警護 today. Even the smart kids were almost in tears.
I have Japanese friends who say they use it maybe twice a week,でも、 俺の恋人は「毎日を使う」と言う、 (しかし、彼女は会社員だ). Anyway, some of my gaijin friends say it is annoying, while others say it is not so bad. What is the general consensus?
I have Japanese friends who say they use it maybe twice a week,でも、 俺の恋人は「毎日を使う」と言う、 (しかし、彼女は会社員だ). Anyway, some of my gaijin friends say it is annoying, while others say it is not so bad. What is the general consensus?
posted by Kakka_rotSRL
Comments 4
警護 ? :D
I read that as being pronounced "keigo" anyway, and almost immediately knew what you were actually on about before I'd even noticed it was the wrong kanji. I was thinking "wait, hang on a second, 警 'commandment' (kanji used in 'policeman' 警官) + 護 'protection'... what kind of class were you doing?", haha.
I kind of like 敬語 and appreciate how civilised it is. I think It would take a lot of getting used to using it though. English has vaguely similar concepts, but of course it's nowhere near as rigid and formalised as in Japanese. I think these aspects of it are what might make it slightly annoying to me.
I was like "police what? AH, KEIGO, that annoying thing." But to be honest it's not so bad. Think of it this way: 敬語 exists because Japanese culture demands that you address certain people in certain ways, and that in itself speaks to its richness, which is really fascinating for me. It is in its own way an entirely different part of learning the language, I believe, and not just some irritating form of speaking that can be interchanged at will.
For us learning Japanese, 丁寧語 is more than enough; however, if you ever want to have a respectable job using Japanese, you're gonna have to learn it whether you want to or not.
It's easier to learn than you think, though. For the past 6 years, I've worked at both elementary and junior high schools for hours upon hours just hearing keigo used constantly. If you listen closely enough, you can hear the different patterns. Once you've internalized how they're used, you can manipulate them accordingly. When you're constantly hearing it, 自然に覚えられる.
I love keigo. I think it sounds beautiful. I use it every chance I get, but I never over do it. Though, I'm so used to speaking casual Japanese every day that it's getting harder and harder to maintain just polite Japanese!
I use keigo when I have to, which as an ALT, thankfully isn't much. My current principal calls me out when I use it as I should speak more casually, so about the only time it is expected - yet not demanded, because foreigner trumps demands on language - is when I am the only one available to answer the phone. At one of my schools in the past I was expected not only to attend meetings (guh) but run ones regarding the ALT joint lessons (guh) and they wouldn't even let me run them in English (since one of the English teachers at that school... can't speak English...). I also have problems about sometimes speaking my mind too easily - which can be done in Japanese, it just sounds crude, is all.
