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Hoser · Joined: 19 Mar 2005 Posts: 694 Location: Toronto, Canada

I watched the movie "Yamato" the other night on DVD. It was all in Japanese with no subtitles so I understood very very little. However not understanding the language lets you pick up other things that aren't quite so obvious. For example 'these guys sure spend a lot of time yelling at each other! Now granted, it's a war movie so of course there is a lot of yelling. But I couldn't help but think of other instances of this in my everyday life. Whether it's the variety shows, or trying to make myself heard over the din of a 5 kid class or any other conversation by a group comprised mainly of men, there sure seems to be a lot of yelling going on! Is this a cultural thing or is it all a figment of my imagination?

Venti · Joined: 19 Oct 2006 Posts: 171 Location: Kanto, Japan

What are you talking about?!! There's no yelling going on here?!! It's just your imagination?!! I've been here for years and I haven't been affected by any yelling culture?!! You're too sensitive?!!

c-way · Joined: 19 Nov 2004 Posts: 226 Location: Kyoto, Japan

Spend 4 1/2 minutes in Shanghai and you will quickly change your tune.

fat_chris · Joined: 10 Sep 2003 Posts: 3198 Location: Beijing

Spend three minutes in my fourth grade inner-city class in a public school of the New York City Department of Education.

THAT'S YELLING!

J. · Joined: 03 May 2003 Posts: 327

is that everybody over the age of 5 is deaf, including me, (from travelling on trains, loud traffic and construction noise, loudspeaker cars and Right-wing buses and festival music) so they have to shout to hear each other. Seriously, though, they're loud here in the country, even the school girls are loud on the trains, and don't get me started on people shouting into their cell-phones.

Has anyone else ever noticed when you switch from English to Japanese on the bilingual function of your TV that the Japanese is much louder? Maybe it IS cultural. I've also noticed that people here like very bright rooms filled with artificial light over slightly dimmer ones with more natural light, don't know why.They turn down the heat to save electricity, but every light has to be on.

TK4Lakers · Joined: 06 Jan 2006 Posts: 159

This is a pretty interesting thread.

My thoughts are that Japanese people do like to yell in general (and I base this on my Japanese father and sister, but who doesn't have a nuclear family who doesn't yell?).

If you think about the Japanese language, it doesn't really have any defined cuss words, compared to, say, the English language.

That's why I think the tone you use these words in makes it more offending. I believe a way of cussing in Japanese is to yell and come off really rude and disrespectful with your words. So yea, I think yelling is somewhat embedded in its culture.