Dear Language Enthusiast,
Welcome to the Transparent Language Free Japanese Language Newsletter.
For those of you new to our community, we offer these newsletters to help you keep your
Japanese skills fresh, as well as to remind you of the benefits of learning another
language.
The best way to retain and develop any language is to be constantly active in it. Reading
is a great way to expand your vocabulary and familiarize yourself with natural Japanese
word structure. The topic for this newsletter is current events. In spite of the worst
economic recession since World War II, Japanese people are trying to cheer themselves up
with the help of summer events. We hope you enjoy reading about the lives of the Japanese
people and are even inspired to search out Japanese publications on your own!
Tips for using JapaneseNow! are included at the end of the newsletter.
Sincerely,
Transparent Language
www.transparent.com
In English:
Waiting for Dawn in the Land of the Rising Sun
Nihon (sometimes pronounced Nippon) is the Japanese name for Japan; it means "the
source of the sun." That's why Japan is often referred to as the land of the rising
sun.
Recently, however, many Japanese have felt forsaken by the sun because, metaphorically
speaking, it isn't rising at all. In fact, for more than six years it's been eclipsed by a
series of nightmares that have been haunting the economy of this once vital country.
According to a July report published by the National Police, the number of people who
committed suicide in 1998 increased by 35 percent, an unbelievable 32,863 people. Even
more alarming, the number of people who have died in their forties and fifties due to
risutora (corporate downsizing or literally "restructuring") has increased by 70
percent. Clearly, the current economic turmoil is far more serious than anybody could have
imagined.
Despite the gloomy mood blanketing the nation, people are making their best efforts to
enjoy a pleasant summer. Fortunately, summer brings many sports events and festivals to
cheer them up. Everyone's favorite is the annual baseball tournament called Koshien.
Japanese love baseball as much as-if not more than-Americans do, but in a different way.
Every year thousands of people watch the high school baseball tournament on television. Of
course, they know that high school students are not as good as professional baseball
players, but they just thoroughly enjoy watching students play ball with a sort of samurai
spirit. Calling baseball yakyu, Japanese have loved this American sport for more than 50
years.
Speaking of baseball, this summer the Japanese have followed the games of five Japanese
major leaguers playing on U.S. teams. Some people stay up late watching the games on
satellite TV. When the two pitchers, Hideo Nomo of the Milwaukee Brewers and Hideki Irabu
of the New York Yankees, both won games on July 11, most Japanese were astounded. Until
recently, nobody ever imagined that Japanese baseball players could even cross the Pacific
Ocean to compete not to mention become tournament winners.
Another popular sports event in July is the sumo tournament. Interestingly, we have an
alternate version of crossing the Pacific Ocean. As for this most ancient Japanese
sport-its history goes back more than a thousand years-Japanese never guessed Americans
would be sumo champions. In 1991 the first American wrestler to win the title yokozuna,
meaning grand champion, was Akebono. And amazingly, this summer we have witnessed yet
another American wrestler, Musashimaru, winning the title: the 67th yokozuna. Sumo, very
nearly a sacred Japanese tradition, has become internationalized just like American
baseball.
You don't have to be a baseball or sumo fan to prevent gloomy feelings because mid-August
brings an event that everyone looks forward to: Bon. Originally a Buddhist holiday that
welcomed the souls of ancestors back to earth for four days, in modern times it also means
summer vacation when everybody visits the family home for a week. Even though the whole
nation has been modernized and westernized, some of the traditional religious rites
remain. For example, some families hang paper lanterns, prepare special foods, and enjoy
bon-odori, a dance festival to entertain their invisible guests. At the end of bon, some
participants have special ceremonies called shoryo-nagashi when they float paper lanterns
down rivers, sending the souls of ancestors back to the other world. Those bidding
farewell sometimes walk down the riverbank following the lanterns while others just watch
them fade away. This is one of the most profound moments of the year. People feel
spiritual and pray for good health and prosperity. This year, however, prosperity seems as
ephemeral as the souls of visiting ancestors. Everybody-not just business people-is
fervently praying for a new dawn in the land of rising sun.
JapaneseNow! Tips
Don't worry about sounding silly when you practice your pronunciation with JapaneseNow!.
Only your computer will hear you, and with enough practice, you'll soon be speaking like a
native. To take a role in a real foreign language dialog, start Conversation Practice by
choosing Activities / Conversation Practice. (Dialog Titles only)
You can learn a lot by comparing the way the same word or words with similar
characteristics are used in different contexts. To quickly search for other occurrences of
the current word, root, or part of speech, click Word Tools and select Find Word, Find
Root, or Find Link.
Power Japanese Tips
Particles are a very important aspect of the Japanese language, and Power Japanese
contains many explanations and activities to help you easily learn these crucial elements.
Pay close attention to those topics, which begin in Section II, Dialogs and Grammar.
The Homestretch section of Power Japanese will introduce you to verb conjugations and
auxiliary verbs. By completing the games and exercises in that section of Power Japanese,
you'll gain a thorough understanding of these words and processes.
