As I wrote about before, I’ve fallen in love with Hulu. Hulu has a huge library of movies to watch. There are a few hidden gems and a few duds. I’ve taken to watching a few while doing odds and ends around the house.
I thought this week I would write up some journals about what I watched and see if I could translate them into Japanese. It was a lot tougher than I imagined because the journals are pretty conversational and used a lot of things I didn’t actually know the word for in Japanese.
I actually found that there just isn’t the same variety of expressions in Japanese as there are in English. I guess I kind of knew that before, but it was made more apparent while translating these journals.
Frustrated with limited Vocabulary
It reminds me of one of the biggest hurdles people smash into when they learn a language is the frustration that comes from having something to say, but not knowing the words to say it. It’s terrible feeling.
You are used to being an adult with the whole vocabulary that goes with it. The ability to express so many things, because you have been practicing with it for your whole life. And you will probably always be able to express yourself the best in your native language. And that is unfortunately something you need to get comfortable with.
But, the more times you practice, the more you will find that you don’t need as big a vocabulary as you think you do to communicate. You don’t really need advanced grammar either. A well-practiced speaker can communicate a lot with just N4 level grammar and vocabulary. So don’t be afraid to try it out.
Test Out your Reading Skills
Try to read the Japanese journal first and pick up as much as you can. Then, check the English translation to see if your understanding is correct. Keep in mind that the English translation may not match the Japanese word for word. Actually, in some situations I had to rephrase a lot of what was being communicated in order to have it make sense in Japanese. Just use the English as a general guide.
Journal 1
フールーでの人気の映画リストを調べていてビーンの映画は上位にあるから、試してみようと思った。インターネットでこまごまとした仕事をしながら何か観るものが必要だった。
これは最悪な映画の完璧な例だと思った。ビーンはあまり前に出ない映画には、素晴らしい端役俳優だが、全てビーンについての映画はひどすぎる。物語の設定はコメディの映画の基準からしてもひどかった。そして、ネタは古くすぐに飽きた。
ビーンというヤツは大好きになるか大嫌いになるかのどちらかに違いない。 私は後者だと思う。
普段はめったに映画を途中で見るのをやめないが、これは絶対にやめなければかった。 映画に集中さえ出来なかった。ひどいな。
English Translation for Journal 1
Journal 2
さまざまな点でドゥ・ザ・ライト・シングはすばらしい。まず、映画に登場するキャラクターと台詞には、真実味がある。ご存知のようにスパイク・リーは現実世界に生きる人々をよく知っている。そのためより一層真実味がある。
この映画には、とても強いメッセージがあり、また人種差別がどのように制御不能になって簡単に爆発してしまうのかとか。この映画のようなことがあった時に、私達が目にする統計は実在の人物であり、その人々は隣人なのだということを教えてくれている。そういうところに私は好感を持つ。
これは黒人月間のためにはいい映画鑑賞だ。この映画は大局的な見方を与え、人種差別理解の助けとなる。
Journal 2 – English Translation
Your Turn
How about you give a try this time? Write up a journal about your favorite movie, get it checked by somebody at lang-8.com and share it with us.
Photo by Kenneth Lu
Interesting that you mention dealing with a limited vocabulary. Haruki Murakami brought that up in an essay he wrote. He talks about writing parts of an early novel in English rather than Japanese:
There can be a kind of elegance to it, too. I think if you can get your point across in simple words, than you are a lot better at communicating than a lot of other people. It’s just really frustrating to deal with at first.