二十年ごの私、Final Draft

二十年のご　私は　四十六さいです。こどもが　二人と　ねこが　三びき　ほしいです。りょうしんの　ちかくに　いたいです。毎日　りょしんは　うちへ　きましたから。私は　おおきな　うちが　ほしいです。うちの　うしろに　とても　きれいな　にわが　あります。私の　かのじょは　ガーデニングが　すきですから。ジョージアの　アトランタに　います。おおきな　ホテルで　はたらきたいです。おおきな　ホテルは　ちいさい　ホテルより　おもしろいですから。一週間に　四日　はたらきたいです。　そして、　一週間に　一日　大学で　ホテルの　クラスを　おしえたいです。　とても　たのしいです。毎年はるに、　私たちは　どこか　うみの　ちかくに　りょこうを　します。

[Twenty years from now, I will be 46. I want to have two children and three cats. I want my parents to live nearby. That way, they can come to my house every day. I want to have a big house. Behind the house, there will be a beautiful garden. This is because my girlfriend loves gardening. We'll be in Atlanta, Georgia. I want to work in a big hotel, because big hotels are more interesting than small ones. I'd like to work for four days every week. And every week, for one day I want to teach a hotel class at a university. It'd be very fun. Every spring, we'll go take a vacation somewhere near the ocean.]

Katakana Analysis Final

1A. 「マリオットホテル」(Located on a map provided to Japanese tourists visiting New York)

The expression of these words in カタカナ appears to be for multiple reasons. The first word, "マリオット," is understandable; it is simply a sounding out, in Japanese, of a "foreign" word. In this case, "Marriott" was originally a surname, originating in France or England (though Mr. Marriott himself was entirely American). The second word, "ホテル," is at first glance simply part of the name -- the property in question is indeed named the "Marriott Marquis Hotel." Colloquially, however, it is not referred to as such; it is "The Marquis," or "The Marriott," or as shown on this particular map, a "Marriott hotel." While I am uncertain if this is a common form of usage in Japanese, in American English -- where a "Marriott" is assumed to be a hotel -- referring to the place you stay at as "Marriott Hotel" would sound somewhat awkward in spoken conversation, as if you asked someone for a "Kleenex tissue," or a "Bandaid Adhesive Bandage."

So the term "ホテル" appears to have been expressed in カタカナ for several reasons. One, it implies that the location is an American hotel, with all the amenities, service, and expectations one would assume to find in an American property versus a traditional Japanese establishment. Though I have never stayed at a Japanese hotel before, I have been told that there are many subtle differences.

Additionally, by expressing the word "hotel" in カタカナ, emphasis is placed on the word, drawing a reader's eye. As it is located on a map provided to Japanese tourists by a Japanese traveler's agency, the  implication seems to be that they wish to remind the traveler they are traveling in "exotic" lands. 

1B. 「メトロネットワーク／エクスプレス／ピル」(Located on a map of the Toykyo subway system)

Here, although the majority of the writing is in かんじ -- the names of towns, cities, destinations and streets -- occasional words appear in カタカナ. The most prominent of these phrases is the name of the system, メトロネットワーク, or "Metro Network." There are a few reasons for expressing their name in this way. One is that it is a common abbreviation for such systems in English speaking countries, shortened from "Metropolitan," referring to the location of the system. Brand names are also often expressed with カタカナ to indicate that this is not a "real" noun. It may also be shorter to refer to the network as the "Metro" rather than a longer, more complicated phrase.


Similarly, several basic nouns are referenced in カタカナ here; エクスプレス for "express,"  ピル for "pier," and ライン for "line." These may have been represented in カタカナ because the foreign word was shorter, simpler, or simply to emphasis the difference between a particular line and the others.

2. Like English, where use of font, color, style, size, and placement is known to be effective in directing attention, focus, and eliciting emotion, use of カタカナ can serve the same purposes. By giving emphasis (think, perhaps, italics?), or as a subtle reminder of the "exotic" nature of a word, product, location, or service, the writer draws attention to that word.


Brevity and emphasis on the difference between specific lines also seem like strong possibilities. I am not yet advanced enough to know many town names, but with the extensive array of kanji that exist, it seems possible that particularly with smaller fonts (the subway map I have is only 3" x 4"), there are kanji that are visually very similar to each other. By putting some stop names in katakana, which are simpler in shape and form, the town name will be easier to read and the difference between stops that ordinarily look very similar will be easier to see. 

As to the tourist map of New York, the names of buildings there, while translatable, are often well known under their English names. The map *could* simply list the Rockefeller Center as a shopping center -- which it most certainly is -- but the Rockefeller Center has a famous name and a well-known reputation, as do many of the other tourist attractions. Others less well known (and I'm not sure which attractions are preferred by Japanese tourists) may simply be listed as what they are, rather than their specific title/name.

3. As to the textbook, it is not particularly surprising to find so many different explanations for what appears to be the same thing. Languages evolve over time; Japanese is no exception. Describing the history of a language is like describing the history of a people; it will be different every time it is told. Different historians remember, emphasis, quote, and focus on different things about the same event, and  the more complex an event, the greater the differences between all of these reports. Even strictly factual reports -- say, the number of deaths in a battle -- tend to be reported, even interpreted, differently across multiple sources.


So having begun with the incredible complexity of the development of a language, which cannot in any case be described in all its details in a matter of a few paragraphs, adding the difficulty of translating that description into another language adds yet another layer of obscurity.


In the case of the explanations for カタカナ, this seems to be the case. Like viewing an identical paragraph translated from Japanese into English by several different authors, in each case there will be small differences .. and perhaps different mistranslations or misunderstandings. The message will, barring grievous error, be largely the same, as the given descriptions of カタカナ. In all cases it is used to imply that the things item or items are "different" somehow, whether that difference is their foreignness, their importance, or the fact that they are not actually words, but sounds.

Katakana Literary Work, Final

きょ年の八月に　かのじょうと　ニューヨークへ　来ました。かのじょうは　大学いん生ですから、わたしは　いつも　うちで　一人です　いました。じゃあー、たんじょ日は　十月三十日です。きょ年のたんじょう日に　二か月　ニューヨークに　いましたから、ともだちが　いません。しごとが　マリオット＊マキスで　ありましたが、うちで　一人で　いました。

かのじょうは　わたしに　あいましていましたから、きょ年のわたしの　たんじょう日に　ねこを　もらいました。

わたしたち　九月に　ちかてつと　バスで　どうぶうほご　センター*へ　行きました。二時かん　かかりました。そこで　しんせつな　おんなの人に　会いました。な前は　カタリンさんでした。

ねこが　たくさん　いました。とても　かわいかったです！でも、こねこが　ほしいでした。もう　ねこが　いましたから。**

ちいさい　へやへ　行きました。へやの　中に　こねこが　いました。しろいと　くろい　こねこを　みました。とても　ちいさかったです。かのじょは　すきでした。

すぎの　ベージュ　こねこを　みました。わたしの　ての　中に　ねました。だいすきでしたよ。

よくありませんでした。わたしは　ベージュこねこが　すきでしたが、かのじょは　しろいと　くろいこねこが　すきでした。なにを　しましたか。

わたしたちは　くろいこねこと　ベージュこねこを　かいました。こねこは　バスが　だいきらいでした。二時かん　『ニャーニャー」いってました。

今、こねこは　いっさいです。とても　かわいいです。わたしのねこは　モイラです。「モイラ」は　スコットランドの　な前です。かのじょのねこは　リースです。「リース」は　本の　な前です。わたしたちの　ねこが　すきです。

* どうぶうほご　センター　"Animal Shelter Center." In other words, the ASPCA. :)

** Because cats are territorial, when you have older cats it's sometimes recommended to get a kitten instead of another older cat -- the older cats can more easily adjust to a kitten.

<In August last year, I came to New York with my girlfriend. Because my girlfriend is a graduate student, I was always alone at home. Well, my birthday last year was October 30th. Because I'd been in New York for two months, I did not have friends. I had a job at the Marriott Marquis, but I was alone at home. 

Because my girlfriend loves me, for my birthday last year she gave me a cat. 

In September, we went by train and bus to the animal shelter (ASPCA). It took two hours. There we met a nice lady. Her name was Catherine. 

There were lots of cats. They were very cute! But, I wanted a kitten because we already have cats. 

We went to a small room. Inside the room there were kittens. We saw a black and white kitten. He was very small. My girlfriend liked him. 

Next we saw a beige kitten. She fell asleep in my arms. I loved her! 

This was bad. I liked the beige kitten, but my girlfriend liked the black kitten. What to do?

We bought the black kitten and and the beige kitten. The kittens hated the bus! For two hours they said "Meow! Meow!" 

Now, the kittens are one year old. They are very cute. My kitten is "Moira." "Moira" is a Scottish name. My girlfriend's kitten is "Rhys." "Rhys" is a name (from?) a book. We love our kittens!>

あなたは なにが じょうずですか。

あなたは　なにが　じょうずですか。

わたしは　りょうりが　あまり　じょうずじゃ　ありませんが、コーキや　ピーなどが　りょうりが　じょうずです。ははに　ならいました。

ははの　かぞくは　おかねが　あまり　ありませんでしたから、よく　うちで　しょくじました。ははは　りょうりが　じょうずですから。

いつも　クリスマスに　ともだちに　キャンディーを　もらいます。 ：）とても　おいしいです。


わたしは　うたも　あまり　じょうずじゃ　ありません。でもいいですよ。うちだけ　うたを　します。


わたしは　かきものと　よみものが　いちばん　じょうずです。だいすきですから、アパートで　本や　えんぴつや　かみなどが　たくさん　あります。


(What are you good at?

I'm not very good at cooking, but I'm good at cooking things like cookies, pie, and other things. (Baking.) My mom taught me. 


Because my mom's family did not have very much money, they often ate meals at home. Because of this she's good at cooking. 


On Christmas, I always give my friends candy. :) It's very delicious!

I am also not very good at singing. But it's okay! I only sing at home.

Reading and writing are what I'm best at. Because I love it, my apartment has lots of things like books, pencils, and paper.)

My Short Story

きょねんの八月に　かのじょうと　ニューヨークへ　きました。かのじょうは　大学いんせいですから、わたしは　いつも　うちで　ひとりで　いました。じゃあー、きょねんの　たんじょ日は　十月三十日でした。二か月　ニューヨークに　いましたから、ともだちが　いません。しごとが　マリオット＊マキスで　ありましたが、うちで　ひとりで　いました。

かのじょうは　わたしに　あいましていましたから、きょねんのわたしの　たんじょう日に　ねこを　もらいました。

わたしたち　九月に　ちかてつと　バスで　どうぶうほご　センター*へ　いきました。二時かん　かかりました。そこで　しんせつな　おんなのひとに　会いました。な前は　カタリンさんでした。

ねこが　たくさん　いました。とても　かわいかったです！でも、こねこが　ほしいでした。もう　ねこが　いましたから。**

ちいさい　へやへ　いきました。へやの　中に　こねこが　いました。しろいと　くろい　こねこを　みました。とても　ちいさかったです。かのじょは　すきでした。

すぎの　ベージュ　こねこを　みました。わたしの　ての　中に　ねました。だいすきでしたよ。

よくありませんでした。わたしは　ベージュこねこが　すきでしたが、かのじょは　しろいと　くろいこねこが　すきでした。なにを　しましたか。

わたしたちは　くろいこねこと　ベージュこねこを　かいました。こねこは　バスが　だいきらいでした。二時かん　『ニャーニャー」いってました。

いま、こねこは　いっさいです。とても　かわいいです。わたしのねこは　モイラです。「モイラ」は　スコットランドの　な前です。かのじょのねこは　リースです。「リース」は　ほんの　な前です。わたしたちの　ねこが　すきです。

* どうぶうほご　センター　"Animal Shelter Center." In other words, the ASPCA. :)
** Because cats are territorial, when you have older cats it's sometimes recommended to get a kitten instead of another older cat -- the older cats can more easily adjust to a kitten.


<In August last year, I came to New York with my girlfriend. Because my girlfriend is a graduate student, I was always alone at home. Well, my birthday last year was October 30th. Because I'd been in New York for two months, I did not have friends. I had a job at the Marriott Marquis, but I was alone at home. 

Because my girlfriend loves me, for my birthday last year she gave me a cat. 

In September, we went by train and bus to the animal shelter (ASPCA). It took two hours. There we met a nice lady. Her name was Catherine. 

There were lots of cats. They were very cute! But, I wanted a kitten because we already have cats. 

We went to a small room. Inside the room there were kittens. We saw a black and white kitten. He was very small. My girlfriend liked him. 

Next we saw a beige kitten. She fell asleep in my arms. I loved her! 

This was bad. I liked the beige kitten, but my girlfriend liked the black kitten. What to do?

We bought the black kitten and and the beige kitten. The kittens hated the bus! For two hours they said "Meow! Meow!" 

Now, the kittens are one year old. They are very cute. My kitten is "Moira." "Moira" is a Scottish name. My girlfriend's kitten is "Rhys." "Rhys" is a name (from?) a book. We love our kittens!>

Composition 2 - Final Draft

山田さんへ、
おげんきですか。そちらは　いいてんきですか。こちらは　ちょっと　さむいですが、ふゆが　すきです。わたしは　ステーシー＊スプラウスです。わたしは　がくいんせいです。いま　コロンビアだいがくで　日ほんごを　べんきょうします。しごとに　おかねを　もらいましたから。月よう日から　木よう日まで　まい日　じゅうじに　日ほんごのクラスが　あります。それから　だいたい　ホテルで　はたらきます。じゅういちじに　かえります。ろく月ようかに　日ほんへ　ひこうきで　いきます。山田さんの　まちへ　でんしゃで　いきます。えきで　あいませんか。ありがとう。
よろしく　おねがいします。
ステーシー＊スプラウス

カタカナ Analysis Draft

1A. 「マリオットホテル」(Located on a map provided to Japanese tourists visiting New York)

The expression of these words in カタカナ appears to be for multiple reasons. The first word, "マリオット," is understandable; it is simply a sounding out, in Japanese, of a "foreign" word. In this case, "Marriott" was originally a surname, originating in France or England (though Mr. Marriott himself was entirely American). The second word, "ホテル," is at first glance simply part of the name -- the property in question is indeed named the "Marriott Marquis Hotel." Colloquially, however, it is not referred to as such; it is "The Marquis," or "The Marriott," or as shown on this particular map, a "Marriott hotel." While I am uncertain if this is a common form of usage in Japanese, in American English -- where a "Marriott" is assumed to be a hotel -- referring to the place you stay at as "Marriott Hotel" would sound somewhat awkward in spoken conversation, as if you asked someone for a "Kleenex tissue," or a "Bandaid Adhesive Bandage."

So the term "ホテル" appears to have been expressed in カタカナ for several reasons. One, it implies that the location is an American hotel, with all the amenities, service, and expectations one would assume to find in an American property versus a traditional Japanese establishment. Though I have never stayed at a Japanese hotel before, I have been told that there are many subtle differences.

Additionally, by expressing the word "hotel" in カタカナ, emphasis is placed on the word, drawing a reader's eye. As it is located on a map provided to Japanese tourists by a Japanese traveler's agency, the implication seems to be that they wish to remind the traveler they are traveling in "exotic" lands. 

1B. 「メトロネットワーク／エクスプレス／ピル」(Located on a map of the Toykyo subway system)

Here, although the majority of the writing is in かんじ -- the names of towns, cities, destinations and streets -- occasional words appear in カタカナ. The most prominent of these phrases is the name of the system, メトロネットワーク, or "Metro Network." There are a few reasons for expressing their name in this way. One is that it is a common abbreviation for such systems in English speaking countries, shortened from "Metropolitan," referring to the location of the system. Brand names are also often expressed with カタカナ to indicate that this is not a "real" noun. It may also be shorter to refer to the network as the "Metro" rather than a longer, more complicated phrase.

Similarly, several basic nouns are referenced in カタカナ here; エクスプレス for "express,"  ピル for "pier," and ライン for "line." These may have been represented in カタカナ because the foreign word was shorter, simpler, or simply to emphasis the difference between a particular line and the others.

2. Like English, where use of font, color, style, size, and placement is known to be effective in directing attention, focus, and eliciting emotion, use of カタカナ can serve the same purposes. By giving emphasis (think, perhaps, italics?), or as a subtle reminder of the "exotic" nature of a word, product, location, or service, the writer draws attention to that word.

3. As to the textbook, it is not particularly surprising to find so many different explanations for what appears to be the same thing. Languages evolve over time; Japanese is no exception. Describing the history of a language is like describing the history of a people; it will be different every time it is told. Different historians remember, emphasis, quote, and focus on different things about the same event, and the more complex an event, the greater the differences between all of these reports. Even strictly factual reports -- say, the number of deaths in a battle -- tend to be reported, even interpreted, differently across multiple sources.

So having begun with the incredible complexity of the development of a language, which cannot in any case be described in all its details in a matter of a few paragraphs, adding the difficulty of translating that description into another language adds yet another layer of obscurity.

In the case of the explanations for カタカナ, this seems to be the case. Like viewing an identical paragraph translated from Japanese into English by several different authors, in each case there will be small differences .. and perhaps different mistranslations or misunderstandings. The message will, barring grievous error, be largely the same, as the given descriptions of カタカナ. In all cases it is used to imply that the things item or items are "different" somehow, whether that difference is their foreignness, their importance, or the fact that they are not actually words, but sounds.

私は 週末に 何を しましたか。

先週末は　よくありません　でした。かのじょと私の　友だちは Weddingが　ありました。アトランタでありました。ひこきの　きっぷは　だめでした。だから私たちへ行きませんでした。

金曜日に　どこも　行きませんでした。土曜日に　Statue of Libertyへ　行きました。いいてんきでした。とてもたのしいです。八時に　えきへ　あるいて　行きました。South Ferryへ　ちかてつで　行きました。それから　ふねで　Statue of Libertyへ　いきました。Ellis Island Museum へも　行きました。Ellis Islandで　昼ご飯を　たべました。お土産を　買いました。私のかのじょは　かばんを　買いました。

土曜日のばんに　ちゅごくのたべものを　たべました。

日曜日に　どこも　いきませんでした。日本語を　勉強しました。それから　私の猫は　日本語の本を　たべました！　いま 本は　かばんの中です。

ありがとう。
よい一日を！

(Last weekend was not good. A friend of my girlfriend and I had a wedding. It was in Atlanta. The plane tickets were wrong. And so we didn't go.

Friday we didn't go anywhere. Saturday we went to the Statue of Liberty. The weather was good. It was very fun. At 8 o'clock we walked to the train station. We took the subway to South Ferry. And then we took a boat to the Statue of Liberty. We also went to the Ellis Island Museum. At Ellis Island we ate lunch. We bought souvenirs. My girlfriend bought a bag.

Saturday night we ate Chinese food.

On Sunday I didn't go anywhere. I studied Japanese. And then my kitten ate my Japanese book! Now the book is in my bag.

Thanks.
Have a good day!)

私のしごとが好きです。

私のしごとが好きです。毎週末はたらきます。休みは金曜日と土曜日と日曜日じゃありません。大抵やすみは火曜日と木曜日です。三時から十一時まではたらきます。時々十一月と十二月に十六時間はたらきます。いいですよ。どうしていいですか。ホテルではたらきます。

毎日私はみなさんと話します。エギリス人と話します。中国人とフランス人とオーストラリア人とドイツ人も話します。みなさんは元気です。時々日本人は私のホテルへ来ます。私はてーちょがあります。日本語のれいばんの中です。私は日本語で手を書きます。毎晩手は日本人のドーアの下です。

れい：（私の手）

わなたべさまへ、

お元気ですか。ちょとさむいですね。あしたも　ちょとさむいです。

ニューヨーク・マーリオット・マーキスへ　よこうそ。りょこうは　たのしんでますか。どこから　きましたか。

スーテーシです。フロントで　はたらきます。八っかいです。日本語を　勉強します。たのしいです！

どうも　ありがとうございます。

よい一日を。

スーテーシ・スプラウス

「フロント」

I like my job. I work every weekend. I don't have Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays off. Usually I have Tuesdays and Thursdays off. I work from 3 o'clock to 11 o'clock. Sometimes, in November and December I work for sixteen hours at a time. It's good! Why is it good? I work at a hotel! 

Every day, I talk to everyone. I talk to British people. I talk to Chinese, French, and Australian people, too. Everyone is happy. Sometimes Japanese people come to the hotel. I have a little notebook. In it I have Japanese example sentences. I write letters in Japanese. Every night the letters are under the door of the Japanese people. (I couldn't figure out how to say I put the letters under their door .. anyone know?)

Example: (of my letters) 

Mr. Wanatabe, 

How are you? It's a little cold, isn't it? Tomorrow it will also be a little cold. 

Welcome to the New York Marriott Marquis! Are you having fun on your trip? Where have you come from? 

I'm Stacy. I work at the Front Desk. It's on the 8th floor. I'm studying Japanese language. It's fun! 

Thank you very much, 

Have a good day. 

Stacy Sprouse
[Front Desk]

おととい 何をしましたか。

おとといに日本語のきょうしつへいきました。あの人は　コロンビアの前に　いました。どうして？　私は　コンピュータを　しました。ここです。

クーリック

(The day before yesterday, going to Japanese class. There were men in front of Columbia. Why? I went on the computer. Here it is.)

*Sorry about the very basic Japanese .. this kind of strained the limits of what I know how to say! But if you were in the 12 o'clock class on Thursday, and noticed the minor disturbance out in front of the gates, this is apparently what they were protesting. If you didn't notice it, it was kind of scary/interesting. Some men were hassling each other up and down the sidewalk, shouting something in another language, waving posters, shaking their fists .. several police officers showed up, and ended up having to arrest several men, because they started surging out in to the street, and throwing things at cars. Of course, this being New York, more than one tour bus passed by, with people snapping pictures .. figures.

A Southern Influence

When people ask me why I chose Japanese--out of all the languages I could have learned--I laughingly refer to my Southern-US accent as the cause. I did try German in high school, I explain, but it didn't work out so well; as languages go, German is full of harsh consonants one after another. Japanese, like my southern accent, leans towards a heavy use of vowels. For someone who can say the word "southern" with more than three syllables, the vowel-laden syllabaries of Japanese are a relief.

This is, of course, not the entire reason, though it makes for an excellent introduction and often leads to dicussions of what actually makes the Japanese language different from other languages. For me, many of these reasons also help explain why I selected Japanese as my language of interest; its peculiar history and unique composition make it a fascinating study. Of my native language, English, the best that historians can say (after asserting that British and American English may as well be different tongues) is that it is a hodge-podge of different tongues, much of it so bewildering as to be untraceable.

[In one of my favorite movies, the title character--a British professor in 1900-1910--complains that English people seem incapable of speaking their own language correctly. In fact, he laments:

"Why, there even are places where English completely disappears--In America they haven't used it for years!"] "My Fair Lady," (1964)

Despite its confusing past, I have always loved both reading and writing in my native tongue, and traditionally Japanese have a strong respect for both the written and the spoken word, seeming to appreciate that even the smallest change in a single phrase can have a great change in meaning. How can I not admire a culture where language is taken so seriously? To me, language is something magical, and the written language is particularly so; there is something astonishing about being able to make a series of marks upon paper that convey, in the words of Johnny Cash, "the truth in the heart of the far-off man." 

To have open to me an entire new culture, a new literature that I have not read, is a giddying thought. 

I have no doubt there will be challenges and things that I find difficult (reading Japanese, for instance, is worlds easier for me than translating English sentences into Japanese ones--which is nothing to speaking it, something that often causes me to freeze in uncertainty and terror), but I am fortunate to consider these challenges to be both enjoyable and rewarding.

はじめまして。

はじめまして。なまえはスーテーシです。コロンビアのだいがくいんせいです。私は日本語をべんきょうします。日本語をきれいです。

きょねん、アトランタ からきました。ニューヨークが大好きです。でも、たかいですね！

私は二十五さいです。猫があります。なまえはモイーラです。いっさいです。

ありがとうごうざいます。
どうぞよろしく。

Moira sleeping peacefully.

<How do you do? My name is Stacy. I'm a Columbia Graduate student (or a close approximation of one--any guesses on how to say "Post-Baccalaureate Student?" :) ). I'm studying Japanese. Japanese is a pretty language.

Last year, I came here from Atlanta. I love New York! But it's expensive.

I'm 25 years old. I have a cat. Her name is Moira. She's a year old.

Thank you very much.
It's a pleasure to meet you!>