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Sherri
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Posts: 749
Location: The Big Island, Hawaii
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 Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 4:48 am Post subject: |
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Yes, Rorschach, that is what I meant. It drives me crazy, all the Japanese speakers have proper kanji and hiragana used, but non-Japanese are given katakana.
I have also noticed that second and third generation Japanese (from the US for example) have their (Japanese) surname written in katakana. So I guess it is to emphasize the fact that they are no longer "Japanese".
Another slightly related thing, have you ever noticed how the single word "honto" can be written in kanji, hiragana or katakana depending on the nuance of the way the word is being used? |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 5:14 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Another slightly related thing, have you ever noticed how the single word "honto" can be written in kanji, hiragana or katakana depending on the nuance of the way the word is being used? |
I've noticed that a ton of words that are truly Japanese are written in katakana only, no matter who is speaking. This drives me crazy. There doesn't seem to be any rational explanation for it. What I learned for the few, specific purposes of katakana back in university days doesn't seem to apply to the real world. Infuriating. |
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gaijinalways
Joined: 29 Nov 2005
Posts: 2279
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| Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 8:07 am Post subject: foreigners on Japanese TV |
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| Sorry, I haven't heard of that channel you mentioned, and of course the 60 minutes segment is just the end of the show, not the whole theme. And of course, Andy Roooney's show is meant to be comedy, whereas Kitano's show is more like a Geraldo or a Donahue talk show, with some serious discussion. The Japanese guests in the episode I mentioned, the kids, blew me away that they already had this 'don't like it, go home mentality' drilled into them. |
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fluffyhamster
Joined: 13 Mar 2005
Posts: 3292
Location: UK > China > Japan > UK again
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| Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 8:19 am Post subject: Re: foreigners on Japanese TV |
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| gaijinalways wrote: |
| The Japanese guests in the episode I mentioned, the kids, blew me away that they already had this 'don't like it, go home mentality' drilled into them. |
At least us foreigners always have that option. Maybe the kids were just secretly jealous?  |
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Nismo
Joined: 27 Jul 2004
Posts: 520
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| Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 1:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Another slightly related thing, have you ever noticed how the single word "honto" can be written in kanji, hiragana or katakana depending on the nuance of the way the word is being used? |
I've noticed that a ton of words that are truly Japanese are written in katakana only, no matter who is speaking. This drives me crazy. There doesn't seem to be any rational explanation for it. What I learned for the few, specific purposes of katakana back in university days doesn't seem to apply to the real world. Infuriating. |
Are you being facetious? Sarcasm doesn't play out so well in text. As Glenski seems to be pointing out here, katakana used on single words that are normally written in kanji or hiragana is to emphasize stress, much like we do in English with underlined, bold, or italicized text.
But, on the other hand, what Sherri was saying earlier is that every single word a foreigner says on Japanese shows is in katakana, much like how every single word in this sentence is simultaneously boldened, italicized, and underlined.
Imagine if they subtitled shows in English like that whenever a Japanese person was talking, regardless of their English skill. |
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gaijinalways
Joined: 29 Nov 2005
Posts: 2279
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| Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 3:04 pm Post subject: foreigners on Japanese TV |
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| Ha, ha, you mean the Japanese are trapped here forever!? |
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markle
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Posts: 1316
Location: Out of Japan
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| Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 3:53 pm Post subject: Re: foreigners on Japanese TV |
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| gaijinalways wrote: |
| , the kids, blew me away that they already had this 'don't like it, go home mentality' drilled into them. |
Haven't met many fifth grade kids back home have you? |
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ObaGol
Joined: 29 Nov 2005
Posts: 11
Location: Somewhere thats not here
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| Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 4:32 am Post subject: |
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I remember late at night there was this White guy with bleached hair, sometimes it was dyed. Anyways he was with a Japanese woman and they would teach English. This guy would use playful kiddie Japanese, then speak in a serious tone of English. It was so wierd. But this guy just drove me nuts, just looking at him, and watching him speak Japanese was a whole different story. hahahahaha  |
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goodcdnkid
Joined: 20 Sep 2005
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 6:13 am Post subject: |
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| Anne0 wrote: |
| That sounds like the same thing that goes on in the US. They have this show on Spkie TV where they show this Japanese game show that's dubbed in English but it's not a translation of what's actually being said. They make up stuff that make the hosts and players look stupid so everyone can laugh at how silly those Japanese people are. |
I have seen that show on Spike TV. It is called "Takeshi's Castle" if i remember correctly. Lots of my buddies from back home love that show. It is pretty funny, imo. Crazy people doing almost anything to get on the TV. Not much different from Japanese TV now is it? Can you say Hard Gay? Whoooo!!! |
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pnksweater
Joined: 24 Mar 2005
Posts: 173
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 7:33 am Post subject: |
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| PAULH wrote: |
Someone told me that when Mel Gibson was playing "Mad Max" in the US they needed subtitles because Americans couldnt understand his thick Australian accent. Now he speaks like an American there are no problems understanding him.
Katakana is used for visual effect when something says something funny or off the wall. There are also many Japanese hearing impaired people as well so subtitles are used for people who can not follow spoken conversations. |
Ummm unless something else was released in the theaters, Mad Max in America certainly did not have subtitles... though there have been a few movies I wish had them... like for Brad Pit in Snatch. Now *that's* hard to understand.
The katakana thing dawned on me a while back. I didn't have trouble understanding what the gaijin was saying any more than the Japanese celebrities... so why the need for katakana subtitles?
At anyrate, I can go both ways with foreigners on Japanese shows... sometimes it's alright, sometimes I want to beat who ever came up with the concept over the head with my TV. There are some comercials that really get me though. The one for the shampoo "Asiance" just drives me up the wall. Can't a Japanese girl feel good about her hair without making all white women look like old bitchy hags who apply thier make up with trowles and have the worst home perms in the world? Sheesh! |
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canuck
Joined: 11 May 2003
Posts: 1921
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 1:56 pm Post subject: |
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| pnksweater wrote: |
Ummm unless something else was released in the theaters, Mad Max in America certainly did not have subtitles... though there have been a few movies I wish had them... like for Brad Pit in Snatch. Now *that's* hard to understand. |
The movie was dubbed for the US. |
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casual
Joined: 13 Oct 2003
Posts: 105
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| Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 3:09 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="canuck"][quote="pnksweater"]
[b]Ummm unless something else was released in the theaters, Mad Max in America certainly did not have subtitles... though there have been a few movies I wish had them... like for Brad Pit in Snatch. Now *that's* hard to understand.[/quote]
The movie was dubbed for the US[/b].[/quote]
Really!? Jesus! Lol
For British people the London accent is probably the most easy to understand. In snatch part of the joke is that you arent supposed to understand Brad Pitts accent
Back home in England the only English speaking film that I have seen dubbed is The Harder They Come. The jamaican accent is easy to pick up but the patois can be a bit tricky if you dont have jamaican friends or you dont listen to reggae. |
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Jizzo T. Clown
Joined: 28 Apr 2005
Posts: 668
Location: performing in a classroom near you!
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| Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 5:39 pm Post subject: |
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| goodcdnkid wrote: |
I have seen that show on Spike TV. It is called "Takeshi's Castle" if i remember correctly. |
Are you talking about Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (MXC)? I often wish they would go by the translation instead of dubbing it...it'd probably be a better show if they did. Still funny, though! |
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ntropy
Joined: 11 Oct 2003
Posts: 671
Location: ghurba
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| Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 11:10 pm Post subject: Re: Foreigners on Japanese TV... |
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| matador wrote: |
| There is a long background to this but to cut a looooong story short: Are foreigners depicted in a positive light on Japanese TV? |
da.mn that's a good one.
Back in the day, there used to be a show called "Bikkuri Za Woruldo" whose sole purpose was to ridicule gaijin or instruct Japanese how different and ethically untrustworthy we are.
My favourite was a schtick on Las Vegas strippers with 40+ inch busts smuggled into a men's onsen and then literally attacking the male patrons with their "assets". Back in the studio, they invited male studio guests to come and weigh the *beep* in question.
Great family fare and no doubt sponsored by Monbusho to teach the populace more about the outside world. |
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