Ask me anything about Japan/Japanese

[Victor]

boris, pics of gf pls.

[Soh]

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How easy is it to go to a pro wrestling show in Tokyo? In another major city? There are like 10 major independent promotions in Japan (compared to ~5 in America), I'm wondering if there are wrestling shows every week, every month, or what.

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My knowledge is very limited regarding to wrestling in Japan. I think K-1 is very popular.

[kagame]

Is Zen a large part of Japanese culture still?

Do you see things like rock gardens and temples regularly while meandering about the country?

How would an American get a job there?

[Soh]

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Is Zen a large part of Japanese culture still?

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Not so much. I won't be surprised if more Americans know about Zen than Japanese.

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Do you see things like rock gardens and temples regularly while meandering about the country?

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If you go to a place like Kyoto, then you'll see some rock gardens and temples, but it's very possible that you go to Japan and don't see a single rock garden, if you just spend your time in Tokyo or Osaka. In terms of temples, it's all over the country.

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How would an American get a job there?

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English teacher.

[KRANTZ]

any good books to read about learning japanese?

[UnlikelyNinja]

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what do the Japanese think of www.engrish.com ?

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People praise me all the time how good my English is for a Japanese guy, especially my pronunciation, but I still have trouble distinguishing the difference between "l" and "r." There's no such thing as "r" in Japanese, so instead, we use "l" to pronounce things. If "l" or "r" is somewhere in the middle of a vocabulary, sometimes I have to look up the dictionary, like I just typed "vocaburary" instead of "vocabulary."

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If you grew up without the l-r distinction, it can be hard to figure out. 'R' serves two functions in General American English: it serves as an approximant ("rope"). It also serves as part of a vowel, such as "star". When it's part of a vowel, it's not pronounced as an approximant. No one says "sta-ruh". Note that many accents of English don't use r in a vowel. The British don't, and neither do folks from New York City and Boston, as well as many from the American South and many black Americans.

'L' also has two functions. It serves as a lateral approximant, such as "like". When it follows a vowel, it takes on a sound called Dark L, as in "milk". When it follows the vowel, it's actually more like closing the mouth where you would make a 'k' or 'g'.

The difference between the approximants, such as "leap" and "reap", is where the air escapes the mouth. In the L, the air goes out the sides of the mouth. In the R, it goes out the front. The letters are otherwise identical.

[I StackManz]

Im living in Tokyo at the moment. Anybody living out here that plays poker? If you do give me a shout.

One

[4drugmoney]

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Im living in Tokyo at the moment. Anybody living out here that plays poker? If you do give me a shout.

One

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I live near tokyo. I frequent a few home games that are extremely soft. PM me. Although I will be out of the country for about a month next week.

[Soh]

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what do the Japanese think of www.engrish.com ?

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People praise me all the time how good my English is for a Japanese guy, especially my pronunciation, but I still have trouble distinguishing the difference between "l" and "r." There's no such thing as "r" in Japanese, so instead, we use "l" to pronounce things. If "l" or "r" is somewhere in the middle of a vocabulary, sometimes I have to look up the dictionary, like I just typed "vocaburary" instead of "vocabulary."

[/ QUOTE ]

If you grew up without the l-r distinction, it can be hard to figure out. 'R' serves two functions in General American English: it serves as an approximant ("rope"). It also serves as part of a vowel, such as "star". When it's part of a vowel, it's not pronounced as an approximant. No one says "sta-ruh". Note that many accents of English don't use r in a vowel. The British don't, and neither do folks from New York City and Boston, as well as many from the American South and many black Americans.

'L' also has two functions. It serves as a lateral approximant, such as "like". When it follows a vowel, it takes on a sound called Dark L, as in "milk". When it follows the vowel, it's actually more like closing the mouth where you would make a 'k' or 'g'.

The difference between the approximants, such as "leap" and "reap", is where the air escapes the mouth. In the L, the air goes out the sides of the mouth. In the R, it goes out the front. The letters are otherwise identical.

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Thanks for the detailed explanation. The other thing that we never seem to get is whether we need to put "a/an" in front of certain word or not, like is it "...of "a" certain word..." or "...of certain word..."?

[pokerbobo]

What makes fish sushi grade?