It's time to talk about the Japanese school and its features. We have long been accustomed to the fact that Japan is a slightly different planet with its own special traditions and rules. But what can be said about the Japanese school? Most anime and dramas are dedicated to Japanese school, and girls' school uniforms have become a model of Japanese fashion. How is the Japanese school different from the Russian one? Today we will talk a little about this topic.
Fact No. 1. Japanese school levels
The Japanese school consists of three stages:
- Junior School (小学校 sho:gakko:), in which children study for 6 years (from 6 to 12 years);
- high school (中学校 chyu:gakko:), in which students study for 3 years (from 12 to 15 years);
- high school (高等学校ko:to:gakko:), which also lasts 3 years (from 15 to 18 years)
Junior, middle and high schools are individual establishments and separate buildings with their own statutes and procedures. Junior and high school are compulsory levels of education and most often they are free. High schools generally have tuition fees. It is not necessary to graduate from high school if a person does not intend to enter a university. However, according to statistics, 94% of all Japanese schoolchildren graduate from high school.
Fact No. 2. Academic year in a Japanese school
Academic year in Japanese schools it starts not in September, but in April. Schoolchildren study in trimesters: the first - from April to the end of July, the second - from early September to mid-December and the third - from January to mid-March. So called summer holidays in Japan they last only a month to a month and a half (depending on the school) and fall on the most hot month– August.
Fact No. 3. Class distribution in a Japanese school
We are used to studying with the same people throughout our entire career. school life. But in Japan everything is completely different. We have already said that junior, middle and senior schools are separate institutions, but that’s not all. Every year classes are formed in a new way. All students of the same parallel are distributed into classes randomly. Those. every year a student enters new team, which is half made up of new people. By the way, before being assigned, Japanese schoolchildren can write their wishes on special pieces of paper: their name and two people with whom they would like to be in the same class. Perhaps management will listen to these wishes.
Why is this necessary? This strange “shuffling” is necessary to develop a sense of collectivism. The student should not get hung up on the same people, but should be able to find a language with different peers.
Fact No. 4. Clubs and circles
After finishing school, students usually do not go home, but go straight to the clubs in which they are enrolled. Clubs are something like Russian circles. And, as a rule, every student is a member of at least one club (by the way, participation in them is not necessary). Diversity and a large selection of sections are a sign of the prestige and wealth of the school. There are clubs of all kinds: sports, artistic, scientific, language - for every taste and color.
Fact No. 5. Japanese uniform and replacement shoes
Almost all middle and high schools in Japan have uniforms. Moreover, each school has its own. Each student is given a school uniform individually and included school uniform necessarily includes a winter (warm) version of the uniform and summer option. Moreover, each school charter specifies rules regarding the wearing of socks, school bags (bags are often issued along with the uniform), sports uniform and even hairstyles.
In Japan, all schoolchildren have the same removable shoes. Usually its role is played by either slippers or uwabaki - school shoes that resemble sports slippers or ballet shoes with a jumper. TO replacement shoes Japan has very strict requirements, especially regarding the color of the sole: the sole must not leave black marks on the floor. That's why most often uwabaki white(interspersed with other colors). The color of the slippers or uwabaki depends on the class you are in. Each class has its own color.
By the way, in elementary school there is usually no uniform. Unless it's Panama hats a certain color and stickers on briefcases - so that the student primary school on the street it was visible from afar.
Fact No. 6. Individual rooms in Japanese schools
Each student in a Japanese school is assigned an individual number, which consists of 4 digits. The first two digits are your class number, and the last two are your personal number, which is assigned to you in your class. These numbers are used on cards in the library and on stickers on bicycles. Students use these numbers to sign all their tests (student number, then student name).
Fact No. 7. Timetable
Every week, the lesson schedule for Japanese schoolchildren changes. Usually students learn about the new schedule only on Friday. Therefore, it can be difficult to predict in advance, for example, which lesson will be the first on Monday in two weeks. IN Russian schools, you see, everything is quite predictable in this regard.
Fact No. 8. Japanese schools and cleaning
There are no cleaners in Japanese schools: the students themselves do the cleaning every day in the afternoon. Schoolchildren sweep and mop floors, wash windows, throw out trash and do much more. And not only in his class, but also in the toilets and in the assembly hall, for example.
Fact No. 9. Desks in Japanese schools
Each student in a Japanese school has his own desk. In other words, one person sits at one table. Not two (as, for example, in most Russian schools).
Fact No. 10. Grades in Japanese schools
In Japanese schools, teachers do not give grades for the presence or absence of homework and the degree of readiness for the lesson. If you have done something, the teacher circles the task in red, and if not, you are left with your debt for the future.
However, grades cannot be completely avoided even in a Japanese school. Tests are carried out periodically in all subjects (especially towards the end of the term), and these tests are assessed on a 100-point scale. We should not forget about the exams that plague secondary and high school.
Fact No. 11. Pens or pencils?
Japanese schoolchildren practically do not write with pens, but use pencils for these purposes. Pens are mainly needed to fill out a diary. Everything else is work in class (or lecture), homework, tests must be written in pencils.
Fact No. 12. A little about using cell phones in class
In a Japanese school you are not allowed to reach out in front of the teachers. Cell Phones. If a teacher sees your gadget in class or hears an alert signal, then your smartphone will most likely be taken away, and you can only return it with your parents.
In fact, all of the listed facts are far from exhaustive information that can be told about the features Japanese school. We will be glad if you provide your examples in the comments to this post.
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From today's article you will learn several interesting facts about the language of the samurai. I think it will be educational.
Fact No. 1. The Japanese language is missing some sounds
The Japanese language is very, very poor phonetically. For example, if you look at the very top, you will see that it does not contain the sounds “l”, “zh”, “z”, “v”, which are familiar to all residents of our country. Thus, many words are pronounced completely differently than we are used to.
Fact No. 2. If you know English, then learning Japanese is easier
Unexpected, but you can’t argue with the facts. Of course, pronunciation English words somewhat distorted due to the absence of some sounds and a different alphabet, but the essence remains the same. It also has a huge number of borrowings from English, and this allows us to say that it is really easier for someone who knows English to learn Japanese. A bunch of modern words, used in youth environment in Japan, and completely migrated directly from English.
Fact No. 3. Japanese honorific forms are very difficult for foreigners
To begin with, it is worth saying that “honorative” forms are such words and grammatical structures, which are an indicator of a special degree of politeness.
Everyone knows that in Japan for many centuries there has been a clear and very strict hierarchy in society. For example, elders are revered here, people holding higher positions are respected, and so on. All this is reflected in the speech. Even the most common verb “to drink” has as many as three forms. One is intended for your equals, the second for those who are lower in the hierarchy, and the third for people you especially respect, in order to emphasize your attitude towards them.
Fact No. 4. The Japanese are perhaps the most polite people in the world.
About the politeness of the inhabitants of the Country rising sun You can talk for a very long time and sometimes it can be seen in the most unexpected situations. For example, the Japanese call their father “chichi,” but if we're talking about about the father of his interlocutor, then the word “oto:san” is used.
In general, in Japanese There are a lot of names for the same relative, because all Japanese strive to be polite and courteous.
Fact No. 5. Hieroglyphs should not be drawn, but written
Many people have a somewhat distorted idea of hieroglyphs and consider them to be drawings. In fact, hieroglyphs are signs that store information, and not a set of “sticks and ticks,” as it seems to us. All hieroglyphs have their own meaning and they really need to be written, as this is a way to express your thoughts.
As you can see, the Japanese language is not easy, but you can still learn it, especially if you devote the right amount of time to it.
Japan is one of the most developed countries peace. Japan's population is about 125 million. About 2.5 million Japanese citizens live in Brazil, North and South America, London, Paris and New York. That is why Japanese is considered one of the most important languages in the world.
1. Learning Japanese is more difficult than other foreign languages.
The Japanese language can be a little difficult to learn, but if you are planning to visit Japan or even want to get a job at one of the large Japanese companies, then it is definitely worth the effort. In Japanese, the verb always comes at the end of the sentence. That is why it is important to listen carefully to Japanese speech in order to correctly establish the subject of discussion.
Some aspects make spoken Japanese easier than others: noun gender, no definite article, and a total of 48 sounds, consisting of 5 vowels and 11 consonants. Written Japanese can be more challenging because there are 4 ways of writing, such as Kanji and Katakana. Some of these methods use Chinese characters.
2. The Japanese love tongue twisters.
The Japanese love tongue twisters. Here is one of them: "Nama mugi, nama gome, nama tamago" . It means: "Raw wheat, raw rice, raw egg" .
3. The Japanese language has its quirks.
The Japanese are famous for their politeness and are often hesitant to express their opinions. There is very little in Japanese kind words. This is why the Japanese take twice as long to say something.
4. Japanese is spoken in various countries.
In addition to the Japanese population, Japanese is spoken all over the world: in Brazil, the United States, South America and some Asian countries. Canada and Australia also have significant numbers of Japanese citizens, immigrants, students or temporary workers. In 2001, there were 44 Japanese in Ukraine.
5. The Japanese language has a rich history.
The history of the Japanese language goes back to the 3rd century AD. Japanese is similar to Korean, but grammatically different from Chinese language. Japanese writing developed in the 18th century AD.
6. Some words in Japanese are best avoided.
Many people sometimes say "chin-chin" when raising their glass for a toast. It's better not to say this in a Japanese bar, because Japanese children use this word to describe their manhood.
7. Japanese poetry is one of the most famous uses of the Japanese language.
The most known form Japanese poetry- haiku. It is characterized by a rigid construction: the first line consists of 5 syllables, the second - of 7, the third - again of 5. One of the most famous poems The haiku was written by Matsuo Basho:
Furu ike ya
Kawaz Tobikomu
Mizu no oto.
This poem has hundreds of translation versions. Here is the literal translation:
Ancient pond
Frog jumps in
Sound of water
8. There are several Japanese dialects.
There are many different dialects Japanese language depending on factors, the main one of which is territorial location. The two main dialects are Tokyo-shiki (Tokyo type) and Keihan-shiki (Kyoto type). The third, less common spoken dialect is the Kyushu type. With the development of the Internet and other means mass media, in the process of standardization of education, in common use today a standardized dialect of Japanese.
9. It is important to know the forms of address.
One of the features historical development Japan - long-term isolation that lasted until the mid-19th century. This has had a noticeable effect on the Japanese language: linguists are still not sure where it originates from. The theory of its relationship with the Altai group of languages is more popular; another version leans towards Austronesian languages, represented in particular in South-East Asia and Oceania.
1. Japan is a small country, but very densely populated. Thanks to this, the Japanese language (“Nihongo”), according to data for 2009, is in 9th place in the world in terms of the number of people who consider it native - 125 million. Its immediate neighbors are: in 8th place - with 167 million original media, in 10th place - just over 100 million.
2. Mountain landscape and island location Japan has made communication between different regions of the country very difficult in the past. Because of this, more than two dozen dialects arose in the Japanese language. And the dialects of the southern Ryukyu Islands are generally distinguished into a separate Ryukyu language. The dialects are so different from each other that their speakers often would not understand each other - if not compulsory study literary Japanese in all schools in the country.
3. The sound of the Japanese language can be very unusual for the Slavic ear. One of the reasons for this is that in Nihongo there are practically no separate consonant sounds; syllables are used instead. For example, one of the jokes in the style of “You are too keen on Japanese if...” reads: “... if you think for a long time about how many syllables are in the word “tractor”.” In fact, a Japanese who has no special training, will read this word as “torakutoru”. The only “pure” consonant is “n”.
At the same time, the Japanese in many cases “swallow” the vowel sounds “u”, “i”. For example, the word "moon" - 月 ("tsuki") - is usually pronounced as "ts'ki".
4. In addition, there is no “l” sound in Japanese. IN foreign words it is replaced with “p” - for example, “teresukopu” (telescope). This "r" is one of the most striking features Japanese accent. Which, by the way, is the second world war successfully used by American Marines on Pacific Ocean: A word like "lollapalooza" could not be pronounced correctly by any enemy infiltrator, making such words very convenient for use as passwords.
5. However, there are also difficulties in transmitting some Japanese sounds in other languages. For example, the sound of the syllable し is something between “si” and “shi”, じ - between “ji” and “ji”. As a result, linguists from different countries use different rules transmission of Japanese words in writing. For example, the word 地震 (earthquake), according to the Polivanov system adopted in Russian, will be written as “jisin”, and according to English system Hepburn - "jishin". The situation is aggravated by the abundance of dialects mentioned above: in different regions the pronunciation can be either very loud (“ji”) or muffled (“ji”).
6. Many are sure that the Japanese, like the Chinese, use hieroglyphs to write. This is only partly true: along with hieroglyphic writing, there are two alphabets in the Japanese language - hiragana and katakana. However, characters (kanji) are still the main way of writing today. They came from China, and many retained their original meaning. Thanks to this, a Japanese and a Chinese, without knowing each other’s languages, are quite able to communicate with each other in writing - not without misunderstandings, of course, but still.
7. In the very big dictionary There are 50 thousand characters in the Japanese language. At the same time, the standard for a Japanese high school graduate is knowledge of about 2 thousand hieroglyphs; and in order to read a book or a daily socio-political newspaper without any difficulties, you need to remember about 2.5 - 3 thousand characters.
8. Hiragana and Katakana syllabaries (united under general term"kana") play a supporting role. Hiragana is used in particular to write suffixes and Japanese words for which there is no character. It can also be used instead of hieroglyphs by those who do not know the language well - for example, children or foreigners. Katakana is used mainly for borrowed words. For example, the above-mentioned “tractor” came into Japanese from English and is written as トラクター (“torakuta”, from the English pronunciation).
9. By the way, about borrowing. In Japanese they are called “gairaigo”, and there are many such words, mostly from (although this is not limited to). For example, classmates may be called “kurasumeto”, from the English “classmate”, and one of the simplest types of housing - a specific one-room apartment - is designated by the word “apato”, from “apartment”. From German language the word “baito” (from Arbeit, “work”) came, meaning part-time work (by the way, as in); There are many borrowings from the Germans in medical vocabulary. The word “tabaco” (tobacco) was given to the Japanese by the Portuguese, and “ikura”... yes, yes, it’s Russian “caviar”.
Many borrowed ones were so modified that it is very difficult to recognize them. For example, Personal Computer The Japanese call it “pasokon” (distorted “perso-com”), and local truckers drive around in decorated trucks called “dekotora” (from “decorated truck”).
Decorators in natural environment a habitat.
Interestingly, gairaigo is often used in cases where the word has a native analogue: for example, a wife can be called “waifu”, in the same English manner.
10. Characteristic feature Japanese national character consider restraint. This is also noticeable in the language. Eg, traditional address husband and wife to each other - “anata”. This is the same word that means "you/you" when addressing to a stranger; the fact that the address here is personal and means “dear/darling” is clear only from the context. The word “s’ki” can mean both love between a man and a woman, and the feeling from the series “I like kittens.” However, there are several more terms for love: “ai”, “aijo” means burning passion, “koi” is used only if the feeling is mutual, and even the tracing paper from English love - “slave” - is also found in speech.
11. Another feature of Japanese society, reflected in the language, is a strict social hierarchy. In Nihongo, there is a whole range of suffixes added to names depending on who the person is to the speaker; some of these suffixes are related to personal relationships, others to professions.
An example for clarity. A young Japanese man named Yamazaki Ryuji (the first word is a surname, the second is a given name) works as a teacher in a high school:
- Homeowner, bank clerk, etc. they will call him "Yamazaki-san".
- Students and colleagues - "Yamazaki-sensei" ("sensei" literally means "teacher", and in in this case this word is used as a suffix).
- Friends and buddies - "Yamazaki-kun".
- A fellow student at the institute who entered a year later is “Yamazaki-senpai” (“senpai” means “senior”, is also used as a separate word).
- Close friend - by first name or last name, without a suffix.
- Favorite girl - "Ryuji-chan" (or even "Ryu-chan").
And these are just the most simple examples, there are a great many nuances.
12. It’s not easy to speak in Japanese not only about other people, but also about yourself and your loved one. Our “I” in Japanese corresponds to many different words, also depending on the context of the situation and personal characteristics speaker. The most neutral form - the literary "watashi" - is acceptable for any person, but if you lengthen it to "watakushi" ("watak'shi") - and we get pure female version, and very mannered and aristocratic. Purely male forms- “boku” and “ore”, with the first only slightly familiar, and the second is considered boastful and is used to emphasize one’s own “coolness”. There are other, rarer and more specific options.
13. Negation in Japanese is usually placed at the end of a sentence (in this way, by the way, it is similar to German). In fact, all the speaker needs to do is add the negation “nai” at the end of the tirade, and the entire meaning of what was said is reversed.
14. The Japanese consider 4 to be the unluckiest number. Moreover, in Japan they fear it even more than in the West they fear the number 13. For example, in floor numbering, hospital wards and so on. they try to avoid not only the number 4 itself, but also combinations ending in four - 14, 24, etc. And on the 4th of every month, the number of deaths from cardiovascular diseases increases noticeably (however, there is no mysticism here - people are nervous about the “unlucky” day). A similar superstition arose due to the peculiarities of the language: the original reading Chinese character四, meaning the number "4", is very similar to the sound of the word "death".
However, in fairness it must be said that the fear of the four is characteristic not only of Japan, but also of other countries that use Chinese writing- in particular, China itself, as well as Korea. For example, the photo above was taken in Hong Kong.
15. There is no future tense for verbs in Japanese. At all. There is only the past and the non-past (present). That is, for example, the phrases “I’m going to the store” and “I’ll go to the store” will sound the same in Japanese. Specific meaning is inferred from context or clarification (“I’ll go to the store at three o’clock”).
By the way, they like to cite this fact as proof of the conservatism and traditionalism of Japanese society: they say, even in the language they did not provide for the future tense.
P.S. Not really a fact, more like historical anecdote. After the end of World War II, the Americans decided to analyze all the factors of victory over the Japanese in the Pacific. And, among other things, they allegedly discovered that average length words in English language is 5 sounds, and in Japanese - 13. That is, roughly speaking, while the Japanese are still in command, the Americans are already shooting. This may, of course, be fiction. However, today's Japanese fighter pilots use English in radio communications.
Studying foreign languages, for example, Japanese, should not be ignored interesting facts about the Japanese language- they will brighten up the training and, perhaps, even call for more more attention to the language being studied.
- Most people still believe that the Korean, Chinese and Japanese languages are almost the same; mentality and culture are also attributed to them. But this is not at all true - Japanese is so isolated that linguists still don’t know which language system count him. According to some theories, Japanese developed along with Korean, but, surprisingly, the roots of Turkish and Austronesian are also found in it. To understand that the differences with Chinese are colossal, you only need to listen to speech in both languages for a couple of minutes. It's like English and German.
- Japanese is not as difficult to learn as it seems. If you compare it with Chinese, it has no tones. That is, the task is already simplified for foreigners at least with this (“khata” means “flag”, for example).
- The Japanese write in hieroglyphs, which they borrowed from the Chinese many centuries ago.. Moreover, there are two alphabets in the language. Hiragana and katakana. Originally written down first Japanese words and ancient borrowings, on the second they are written foreign names And Difficult words. But that’s not all: the Japanese write using a syllabic system in which each character is a designation separate sound or even a syllable.
- Once upon a time, blue and green in Japanese were denoted by one word - aoi, and only in the middle of the last century did they appear various names colors . But aoi is still used to indicate the color of plants. Green Only man-made objects are called, and blue is used for natural objects.
- The Japanese keyboard is not very different from the one we understand. It uses 47 characters that are part of the Hiragana alphabet. At the same time, some programs can immediately replace several characters with a suitable hieroglyph.
- The language may seem unusual to the ear of a Russian person. The thing is that in Japanese, instead of individual consonants, syllables are used. Only they pronounce “n” “purely”, not as a syllable. Also, residents of the Middle Kingdom often do not swallow “u” and “i” when speaking.
- The letter “l” is not pronounced in this country.. IN foreign words it is replaced by “r” - this letter is one of the most striking features of the language.
- To translate some sounds into another language, you will have to think, because often in different countries different readings of the same syllable are used. There is, for example, a syllable that is read as a cross between “si” and “shi”. In addition, in different regions, syllables can be pronounced differently, in some places they are louder and in others they are more dull.
- The largest dictionary contains 50 thousand hieroglyphs. But, of course, no one knows that much. The norm for a high school student is 2 thousand hieroglyphs. With their help, he can easily read a book or newspaper.
- The language has quite a few borrowed words (they are called gairaigo). Most of all - from English. An example of such a word would be “apato” - housing. The word is similar to the English “apartment”.
- The language is as reserved as the Japanese character. Husband and wife address each other as “anata”. The same word also means addressing a stranger to a stranger.
- The speech also reflects the hierarchy in society. It is distinguished by suffixes - they are added to names, and their choice depends on who this person is in the hierarchy for the speaker.
- Talking about yourself is just as difficult as talking to others.. “I” can be called big amount words that need to be used depending on the context and personality of the speaker. Anyone can use “watashi” in speech, but if you add a syllable, you get “watakushi” - only women call themselves this way, and this is a mannered address.
- To say negative sentence, you need to add this very negation at the end. That is, you can write a sentence, and at the very end put nai and it turns out that everything that is written is negated.
- In Japan, it is customary to write not in a line, but in a column, vertically. At the same time, proposals are also written in reverse side- from right to left. But the Europeans still influenced the culture a little; now they write from left to right. If you have decided to learn this language, you must remember that texts are read vertically and backwards.
