Japanese Lesson With TheAnimeMan

#theanimeman #japan #irl

[blueblur]

Australian English is primarily swear words to indicate formal conversation. My college buddy's Australian soccer coach used the C word as a verb.

[laurensmith]

English did have this but has since shed it. For example, 'you' is actually the formal version of 'thee'.

[nidohime]

Back in the day it was the same in many countries, is just we got more informal over the years.

[Rychleji]

I think most languages actually do differentiate formal and informal (although it usually doesn't change the entire vocabulary)
English is pretty rare with it's lack of in/formal and lack of word genders

[arthurconrad]

Spanish surprisingly also has a formal and informal set of vocabulary for different situations

[mukashimukashi]

No, you guys don't get it---it's not that English doesn't have words and ways you can sound more formal (e.g. "may I" versus "can I"), it's that, in Japanese, nearly all the verbs and nouns literally *change* and you would never use them in an informal setting and vise versa. For example, to ask someone if they ate sushi casually in japanese, you can say "すしを食べた?" (sushi wo tabeta?), but formally it would be "おすしを食べましたか。" (Osushi wo tabemashitaka. (using "?" is considered informal, and "o/go" is added in front of sushi like many words to make it more formal). Any verb modifications you do HAS to follow the formality, for example to add a sense of 'finality' or 'to my horror' to the verb eat, casual and formal would conjucate the following way "食べちゃった" vs "食べてしまいました." (tabechatta vs tabeteshimaimashita). And this goes for EVERY SINGLE VERB. All the conjugations change, rules of which nouns can be used differ (e.g. "but/however casually " けど" and formally "ですが" (kedo vs desuga), and there's even a higher level of formality where the verb becomes a new word entirely and to eat, 食べる (taberu), becomes お召し上がる (omeshiagaru).

[kinai]

Many other languages have a Formal Version my native language is Romanian. And there is definitely a formal Version, so does Russian. I believe all romance languages have a Formal version

[ellimiller]

He's slightly mistaken, as English and most languages have different registers for formality. For instance, you would usually NOT say to your boss "No, that's a stupid fucking idea", you would say "Considering the situation, I believe there may be issues with the execution of this idea. Could I offer a few suggestions?" Distinctions are made in word choice and grammatical complexity.

However, Keigo is more linguistically marked to make the words being used exclusive. This is especially seen in the sets of words that contrast "honoring others" 尊敬語 and "humbling yourself" 謙譲語

[prasoonjoshi]

Same with hindi also, where "you" is the only word to say, but in hindi "tu", "tum" "aap" are used according to the people . If someone older than you then "aap" is used and "tu" is casual

[yangyangjeong]

Most Indian languages have this aspect too. The pronouns, verbs, etc everything changes when you're talking to someone who is elder than you or someone who has position of authority

[willyvereb]

Yeah, most languages besides modern English have distinct formal and informal manners which is expressed in more ways than just being respectful. German, in many ways a major element of English, has this. Hungarian, my weird chimera of a mother's tongue, also has this (albeit less rigorously enforced than Japanese). Fun fact, Hungarian uses the Eastern name order of family name and then the given name of the person. Some regions or contexts in Europe also practice something similar but Hungary is the only country in Europe where it's universally the accepted format.

[KhaarlM]

That’s why I prefer Czech subtitles (over English ones) for some shows, because we also have the formal vs informal distinction

[lordraiden]

I get his point. English as a language compared to other languages definitely does not have that much of a distinction between formal and informal speech. But I also think that over simplifies the complexities and nuances that do occur in formal and informal English. Like many other comments have already pointed out, English as a language has a vaste vocabulary. We also have a lot of words that essentially mean the same thing. And I would argue that there is a hierarchy amongst those words. For example, the word "thinking" is commonly used for when you have something on your mind, but an elevated version of that word is "pondering." Which means the same thing essentially, but it isn't necessary used in everyday speaking. That word would be more appropriate in an academic setting, like writing an essay or paper. We have a lot of these words that are generally only used in certain settings, and these settings hold their own levels of informality or formality. I guess my point is that although English does not have a distinct or seperate set of words, grammar, etc., for formal speech- there is a distinction between formal and informal language in English. It is just way more subtle than other languages and doesn't follow the same level of strict rules. All this to say, I am not well versed in other languages and their structures. This video just got me thinking, and I wanted to share my thoughts.

[namedrop]

I think what he means isn’t formal or informal grammar (which English has)

Or in/formal diction (which English has)

Or in/formal tone (which English has)

But honorifics, which aside from sir/madam, English uses less

[Noctis]

Professionalism in speech is formal and a lot of times people are just under educatied to realize formal vs casual speech in these situations. Japanese just takes it to a new level with age and rank

[DembaiVT]

There is what we call corporate language, which i argue is the new formal language. It's strategic politeness that leaves no legal or personal loopholes. And it is only used in certain formal aettings.

Another form of formal language that does harken back to the original form is what my mom called 100 dollae words. You elevate your speech by ultilizing heavyhanded forms of the language, resulting in lower retention and, therefore, comprehension of the stated ideas being brought forth.

I used to talk like that all the time but learned really fast that people dont like cashiers that sound smart.

[jebalifyouplz]

What some comments don't get is that while yes, in English we have different codes switches, or codes of conduct within our language depending on social context, in Japanese (and Korean and other languages) it's literally almost a whole entire different version of the language. Its not just using full words or no slang or intricate vocabulary. It's a defined distinction with regards to everything from honorifics to greetings to how you end a question. And it's not suggested, it's almost entirely required unless you'd like to be a complete social outcast and not have a job or you want to be uninvited to gatherings. It's to do with age and social hierarchy and family relationship and it's an entire different way of speaking and behaving that is different depending on those things. It's so so much more than just sounding official.

Like yeah we code switch in English but we don't technically have formal and informal speech any longer. I do disagree with him that in English we don't speak differently depending on who it is though... Cuz we do. I'm not gonna talk to my boss the way I'd talk to my Twitter oomf like...

[AnnanyaRana-dm]

True, there are only a handful of languages in the world thay have this distinction. In India, for instance, Hindi is one of the languages that has this feature. Both the words "aap" and "tum" mean YOU, however "aap" is used to adress and elder person, while "tum" is used to address someone who is your age or younger than you. There may also be other languages in India that have this distinction, that I am not aware of.

[kurotsuchiiwa]

German has something similar but not for all words. For example the word sie might mean she but when addressing a superior it is a formal way to say you

[Zoe_viper]

This aspect of japan kinda matches with my country's (Bangladesh 🇧🇩) language bangla