Yuzuru Hanyu: 2014-15 Season

[SuzyQ]

Practice makes perfect. I think this is very true with speaking any foreign language. Why Japanese are not good at speaking or listening English is, maybe because we do not have almost no occasion to use it, or we do not have to use it in our usual daily life, at work, at school, etc.

Besides, our tendency to be afraid of making a mistake in speaking English is maybe another impedance. We have to overcome our embarrassment in making mistakes :hopelessness:

Guys, guess how much embarrassment I have faced so far, and still experiencing it

My husband was asked by an Australian where he could see a horse race in Japan, and wondered "what is horse rice?" You see, even Australians are not good at speaking English

In any case, Japanese pronunciation is not so difficult, because the pronunciation rules are simple according to what is written with small number of exceptions, not like English. So, you can easily master it. Don't think about difficult Kanji. Hiragana, Katakana (about 50 letters each) and some easy Kanji letters that elementary school kids learn will be enough for you. So, why don't you start challenging Japanese?

But, it may be true that this simple pronunciation system without variations might be one reason why we strugle with the pronunciation of foreign languages :disapp:

http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/complete/writing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrXHizFaol0

 

[Sorrento]

Poor MCM had a brief moment in the sun, but they re-did the video and now it's just Yuzu.

I'm afraid the boots at the beginning secs are not Yuzu, I think those must be Patrick Chan's...:think:

 

[treeloving]

i am not sure if it was posted but i am sure THIS wasnt posted now who still wants yuzuru with blonde hair??
and pamina i really love your stories

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! :shocked:

 

[Hanmgse]

I love it. It's actually quite difficult to switch hair like that. It goes to show they both have the right color hair as they are and shouldn't dye it.

yes, no blonde for Yuzu plz

 

[cruzceleste]

I'm afraid the boots at the beginning secs are not Yuzu, I think those must be Patrick Chan's...:think:

Should we care about whose the boot´s belong to? And I´m asking with all the respect. Is a nice campain, is funny he got to play a little with boxing, so maybe we shouldn´t care so much about the boots... just saying

 

[shiroKJ]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! :shocked:

That's alot of O's I think the hair style has alot of do with its hideousness. Someone needs to photoshop Yuzu with his own hair in blonde Or I can do it once I get off work lol

 

[Rissa]

That's alot of O's I think the hair style has alot of do with its hideousness. Someone needs to photoshop Yuzu with his own hair in blonde Or I can do it once I get off work lol

To be honest, I don't think it looks so bad. Erase the mullet at the back of his head, and that's what dyed-blond! Yuzuru would look like, it just takes some time to get used to. The one who got the short end of the stick in that Photoshop is Plushy. Black is OK for him but he needs that mullet. I never thought a guy could look better with a mullet than without.

 

[Sorrento]

Besides, our tendency to be afraid of making a mistake in speaking English is maybe another impedance. We have to overcome our embarrassment in making mistakes :hopelessness:

Guys, guess how much embarrassment I have faced so far, and still experiencing it

I will give you one phrase. Say whatever you want in English, as good as you can. And if anyone's reaction would be strange simply add: "That's my way of speaking English!" That's it. Nobody's perfect. We can still try and learn. People will never overcome their fear of making a mistake unless they let that perfection thought go and still speak. Speak!

 

[Sorrento]

I think the main problem is distinguishing it from "L" sounds in English.

There are many sounds/syllables used in other languages, that simply do not exist in Japanese. Without proper training to learn those extra syllables, Japanese people will simply subsitute the nearest-sounding Japanese syllable instead. And the English "R" and "L" sounds typically both translate to the single Japanese "R" sound - they don't have enough sounds/syllables in Japanese, to make the distinction.

So eg. "Crowd" and "Cloud" both sound exactly the same to untrained Japanese ears.

And even if they learn to pronounce foreign syllables, it can still be very difficult to distinguish those sounds when listening to native speakers, and it's also easy to forget whether a particular word should use the "R" or the "L" sound...

You know it is actually funny that R and L syllables are onese of the most problematic for some kids which native languages have them both, differentiated from each other. Some kids actually struggle pronouncing them in the right way? I was like that. I mastered L because it was easy. But I still pronounce R with my small tongue, my big tongue is lazy and I never really tried to speak any different. So my own R sounds French, haha, and I am not French. I find it funny and I don't care. People still understand me very well.

 

[cheerknithanson]

Adding to talking about language: I took French in school from 7th grade to 12th grade and I'm definitely not fluent. But I definitely know some stuff. And I'm the first to admit that I'm better at reading and writing in French than listening to it and speaking it. Probably I'm a visual learner and plus my hearing was kind of weird when I was younger. I wasn't deaf, but I had some impairment due to a condition I have. Though it's gotten a lot better with therapy.

My point is sometimes when we read it, we think we know what it's saying in terms of sound, but when we hear it, we can become lost due to that we're not native speakers so it makes it harder to hear it especially when native speakers talk fast.

And I must say, as a native English-speaker, there are some things about the English language that I do not understand myself. And nearly all of them is about spelling/pronunciations of some words.

 

[Pamigena]

In any case, Japanese pronunciation is not so difficult, because the pronunciation rules are simple according to what is written with small number of exceptions, not like English. So, you can easily master it. Don't think about difficult Kanji. Hiragana, Katakana (about 50 letters each) and some easy Kanji letters that elementary school kids learn will be enough for you. So, why don't you start challenging Japanese?

But, it may be true that this simple pronunciation system without variations might be one reason why we strugle with the pronunciation of foreign languages

The easiest way (ehhh, well, easy might be the wrong word) to really understand the pronunciation problem is probably to learn Katakana, since they're used to transcribe words that are borrowed from other languages. The differences will soon jump into your face. And then they will slap you silly and slowly drive you crazy This is a really fun game I liked to play during my holiday.

Step 1: Find a word: シートベルト
Step 2: Try to read it and transcribe it in your head: shiitoberuto
Step 3: Try to understand: ……… :shocked:
Step 4: Try not to cry
Step 5: Try to say the word and figure out how it might sound when spoken
Step 6: Try out every single pronunciation you can think of for this combination of syllables
Step 7: Try to figure out from which language the word might be borrowed (English is usually a good bet)
Step 8: Either bang your head against a wall because it's so obvious, or give up and ask for help. (Or, and this is a really neat trick, just look at the pictures surrounding the word, because quite often the answer is right in front of you)

And don't be surprised if people start looking at you funny. I was soon known for something called "the confused thinking face". And believe me, I've made a fool of myself more than once embarrassment was usually a two-way street

 

[nagini]

Practice makes perfect. I think this is very true with speaking any foreign language. Why Japanese are not good at speaking or listening English is, maybe because we do not have almost no occasion to use it, or we do not have to use it in our usual daily life, at work, at school, etc.

Besides, our tendency to be afraid of making a mistake in speaking English is maybe another impedance. We have to overcome our embarrassment in making mistakes :hopelessness:

Guys, guess how much embarrassment I have faced so far, and still experiencing it

My husband was asked by an Australian where he could see a horse race in Japan, and wondered "what is horse rice?" You see, even Australians are not good at speaking English

In any case, Japanese pronunciation is not so difficult, because the pronunciation rules are simple according to what is written with small number of exceptions, not like English. So, you can easily master it. Don't think about difficult Kanji. Hiragana, Katakana (about 50 letters each) and some easy Kanji letters that elementary school kids learn will be enough for you. So, why don't you start challenging Japanese?

But, it may be true that this simple pronunciation system without variations might be one reason why we strugle with the pronunciation of foreign languages :disapp:

http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/complete/writing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrXHizFaol0

Thanx for the links, really helpful!

 

[gsyzf]

My husband was asked by an Australian where he could see a horse race in Japan, and wondered "what is horse rice?" You see, even Australians are not good at speaking English

Actually that's a typical Australian accent. Australians pronounce vowels differently from Americans and British. Aussies pronounce a as i ( not exactly the same as i, but closer to i than a). So race would sound like rice. It's not that Australians are not good at English. That's Aussies' way of saying things. If you are not used to their accent, you may find their English very unusual.

 

[tzazu]

The easiest way (ehhh, well, easy might be the wrong word) to really understand the pronunciation problem is probably to learn Katakana, since they're used to transcribe words that are borrowed from other languages. The differences will soon jump into your face. And then they will slap you silly and slowly drive you crazy This is a really fun game I liked to play during my holiday.

Step 1: Find a word: シートベルト
Step 2: Try to read it and transcribe it in your head: shiitoberuto
Step 3: Try to understand: ……… :shocked:
Step 4: Try not to cry
Step 5: Try to say the word and figure out how it might sound when spoken
Step 6: Try out every single pronunciation you can think of for this combination of syllables
Step 7: Try to figure out from which language the word might be borrowed (English is usually a good bet)
Step 8: Either bang your head against a wall because it's so obvious, or give up and ask for help. (Or, and this is a really neat trick, just look at the pictures surrounding the word, because quite often the answer is right in front of you)

And don't be surprised if people start looking at you funny. I was soon known for something called "the confused thinking face". And believe me, I've made a fool of myself more than once embarrassment was usually a two-way street

Really true!

 

[oriquey]

Actually that's a typical Australian accent. Australians pronounce vowels differently from Americans and British. Aussies pronounce a as i ( not exactly the same as i, but closer to i than a). So race would sound like rice. It's not that Australians are not good at English. That's Aussies' way of saying things. If you are not used to their accent, you may find their English very unusual.

Yeah. I totally agree. For me, Australian English more of an English dialect more than an accent. Even within British English, there are so many different dialects. I had a hard time understanding the Cockney dialect and had to really listen to the speakers carefully.

 

[nagini]

The easiest way (ehhh, well, easy might be the wrong word) to really understand the pronunciation problem is probably to learn Katakana, since they're used to transcribe words that are borrowed from other languages. The differences will soon jump into your face. And then they will slap you silly and slowly drive you crazy This is a really fun game I liked to play during my holiday.

Step 1: Find a word: シートベルト
Step 2: Try to read it and transcribe it in your head: shiitoberuto
Step 3: Try to understand: ……… :shocked:
Step 4: Try not to cry
Step 5: Try to say the word and figure out how it might sound when spoken
Step 6: Try out every single pronunciation you can think of for this combination of syllables
Step 7: Try to figure out from which language the word might be borrowed (English is usually a good bet)
Step 8: Either bang your head against a wall because it's so obvious, or give up and ask for help (Or, and this is a really neat trick, just look at the pictures surrounding the word, because quite often the answer is right in front of you)

And don't be surprised if people start looking at you funny. I was soon known for something called "the confused thinking face". And believe me, I've made a fool of myself more than once embarrassment was usually a two-way street

Hahahaha been there My fiends usually look at me like

 

[Plumededragon]

Yeah. I totally agree. For me, Australian English more of an English dialect more than an accent. Even within British English, there are so many different dialects. I had a hard time understanding the Cockney dialect and had to really listen to the speakers carefully.

I understand well. French here has the same thing, with the language being different depending on which country. For example, I know that in Québec the first difference is the accent (and there're already quite a lot of accents and dialects in France, some I can barely understand lol), but the issue can be with the vocabulary. Some words don't mean the same things. Some don't even exist in France.

So no matter the language, it's always very hard to be totally fluent because you can always have issues if they don't speak the same way you do, despite the language being the same. But that's not all negative, since we can always find a way to be understood and not create confusion. Aside for the vocabulary, accent and other issues, Yuzuru can have a hard time speaking English, but it can indeed depend on who he's talking to. No surprise he'll be much more at ease speaking English with Brian, people of his team and non-Japanese friends, than with journalists and commercial people he doesn't know. :yes:

 

[hamaguri]

Thank your guys for interesting discussion about foreign language skills! Learn something new every day. When I write English, I always fear to make any mistake. I always think, “Is it precise? Grammatically correct? To the point?” After making a mistake, I get disappointed to feel as if I were a fool. Sometimes, I’m totally tired and think why I’m not a bilingual or a master of English.

My point is sometimes when we read it, we think we know what it's saying in terms of sound, but when we hear it, we can become lost due to that we're not native speakers so it makes it harder to hear it especially when native speakers talk fast.

And I must say, as a native English-speaker, there are some things about the English language that I do not understand myself. And nearly all of them is about spelling/pronunciations of some words.

Yeah, Speed is a big factor to make listening difficult. I can mostly understand News like BBC, academic lectures, speech or so. In general, speakers speak clearly and respectively slowly. I've never been to countries where their mother tongue is English and have no surroundings to hear English native speaker in my daily life, but I feel daily conversation of native speakers is totally another. When I watch English drama on TV, what they talk about is sometimes beyond my understanding. (I recently watched American drama “Newsroom”, but their conversation is too fast and full or slang or idiom for conversation, I gave up.)

Spelling/pronunciation is the key. I shall keep in mind. I unconsciously make spelling mistake. Spell-check function in Word or so sometimes doesn’t help. For example, when I type "correct" instead of "collect," the spell-checkers won't catch that, since they both are correct spellings.
Further, as you know, pronunciation is most difficult part, especially our Japanese. I have a long way to go…

 

[Jo de Souza]

Thank your guys for discussion about foreign language skills! Learn something new every day. When I write or speak English, I always fear to make any mistake. I always think, “Is it precise? Grammatically correct? To the point?” After making mistakes, I get disappointed to feel as if I were a fool. Sometimes, I’m totally tired and think why I’m not a bilingual or a master of English.



Yeah, I mostly understand News like BBC, or academic lectures. In general, speakers speak logically and clearly. But, when I watch English drama on TV, what they talk is sometimes beyond my understanding. (I recently watched American drama “Newsroom”, but their conversation is too fast and full or slang or idiom for conversation, I gave up.)

Spelling or pronunciation is the key. I shall keep in mind. I unconsciously make spelling mistake. Spell-check function in Word or so sometimes doesn’t help. For example, when I type "form" instead of "from," the spell-checkers won't catch that.
Further, as you know, pronunciation is most difficult part, especially our Japanese. I have a long way to go…

Os japoneses ao falarem o português não conseguem pronunciar o "L" e trocam pelo "R", apesar de morarem no Brasil a anos.

 

[xibsuarz]

Os japoneses ao falarem o português não conseguem pronunciar o "L" e trocam pelo "R", apesar de morarem no Brasil a anos.

Hi! Welcome to the forum! If I understood correctly you're saying that the Japanese who speak Portuguese struggle with pronouncing the L and R differently even when they've lived in Brazil for years? Sorry I don't speak Portuguese it's what I kind of understood