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Learning a foreign language opens us up to new experiences, work opportunities, and allows us to meet people we may never have otherwise. More than that, research has shown learning a language can also physically change brain structure and adjust perception.
When we learn a language, we create new neural pathways in our brain, which can lead to noticeable changes. The left hemisphere is generally believed to be the logical part of the brain and is where many of our language skills originate. However, a 2012 Swiss study observed that learning a foreign language later in life is associated with thickening of the cerebral cortex — a layer of neurons specifically responsible for memory, thought, consciousness and, of course, language. This increased thickness can lead to better memory and sharper thinking later in life.
Learning a new language doesn’t just change the physical makeup of the brain. Based on a theory known as linguistic relativity, learning a new language can also change the way we see the world. This is specifically true in relation to our color perception. For example, Japanese speakers have far more words to describe the color blue, and as a result are generally able to see more shades of blue than English speakers. On the other side of the spectrum, the Himba tribe of Namibia in Southern Africa have only five words to describe all the colors in the world. Researchers have observed that, without a word for the color blue, the Himba struggle to tell it apart from green — an easy feat for English speakers.
Infographic by the team at Sunbelt Staffing
If you’ve been learning Japanese for a while, especially if you’ve visited Japan and heard things you’ve never heard in class or seen in a textbook, you’ve probably come to realize there isn’t just one kind of Japanese.
Hokkaidō-ben 北海道弁, or more formally Hokkaidō-hōgen 北海道方言, is the dialect spoken in Japan’s northern island. Thanks to Hokkaido’s history of settlement much of it comes from other parts of Japan, particularly Tohoku. Many of the words I’ll be sharing here are also found in other parts of Japan, because Hokkaido is unique in that it is a melting pot of many different dialects. There are also regional differences within Hokkaido. The Tohoku influence is strongest on the coast and is called Hama-kotoba 浜言葉 or seashore dialect, while in urban Sapporo people speak more standard Japanese. Even though Hokkaido is considered part of Eastern Japan, there are also influences from Northwestern Honshu, the Hokuriku region. Another ingredient in the stew of Hokkaido-ben is the native Ainu language. This is most easily seen in the place names, but we’ll get to that later.
Super interesting read guys!
I enjoyed this as I’ve heard a lot of Hokkaido-ben recently (I watched Boku dake ga inai machi and I’m currently watching
Itsuka kono koi wo omoidashite kitto naite shimau)
Though learning dialects shouldn’t be at the top of your priority list, it’s nice to explore the differences in the language, and to maybe help in the future if you’re faced with somebody with a very thick accent. Standard Japanese will get you by always, but don’t always expect the same in return! :D
Here’s a master post for video lessons #51-#100 in the Learning Japanese video series, all view-able for free on YouTube! That’s right, each topic gets its own episode! All arranged in order and linked below. Check out all 200+ video lessons at the official YouTube channel here and the other Master Posts: 1
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Takehisa Yumeji 竹久夢二 (1884-1934)
Sabishii yoru 寂しい夜 (Lonely night) - Japan - 1920s
1068/2000
JLPT: N1
School Grade: Junior high school
This character is a combination of 匕 spoon, and 日 a simplification of 甘 sweet. Here 日/甘 also has connotations of “lingering in the mouth.” All together this gives “something sweet which is spooned into the mouth and (whose taste) lingers.” This came to mean “tasty,” and “good,” in a broader sense. “Gist” and 旨’s other meanings resulted from borrowing.
1064/2000
JLPT: N1
School Grade: Junior high school
This character is a combination of 氵water and 炎 flames. Here 炎 is a phonetic element working to express “plain,” though its semantic role is unclear. Together with 氵this gives “plain water,” as in water with nothing mixed in. Though this may seem to suggest pure water, instead it came to mean insipid and uninteresting, with the meanings of “light,” “faint,” and “pale” coming about through association.
Even if I spread my arms
I cannot fly in the sky at all.
But the bird that can fly
Cannot run on the ground as fast as I.
Even if I shake my body,
I cannot produce pretty sounds,
But the bell that can ring
Doesn’t know as many songs as I.
The bell and the bird and I–
All are different and all are good.
If I say “Let’s play,” you say “let’s play.”
If I say “stupid,” you say “stupid.”
If I say “I don’t play no more,”
you say “I don’t play no more.”
Later on, I feel lonely.
If I say “I’m sorry,” you say “I’m sorry.”
Is this an echo to repeat anyone’s words?
No, it happens to anyone.
1019/2000
JLPT: N1
School Grade: Junior high school
This character is a combination of 歹 bare bones/death and 朱 red. Here 朱 is a phonetic element expressing “cut down/attack” while also lending its own connotations of inside the body/trunk. Originally 殊 meant to “cut someone to the very bone” and “kill them.” This symbolized an extreme attack, leading to the meanings of “extremely” and “especially.”
Japanese grammar is presented differently to those studying it as a second language (日本語教育), and how it is presented to Japanese kids in their Japanese lessons at school (国語教育). This post looks briefly at conjugation.
