Japn 401: Structure of the Japanese Language
Course Description
This course aims to develop basic understanding of structural features of Japanese language. Students will be introduced to basic phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, and discourse levels of Japanese. Taught in Japanese.
This course aims to develop basic understanding of structural features of Japanese language. Students will be introduced to basic phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, and discourse levels of Japanese. Taught in Japanese.
Course Narrative
JAPN 401 is a course focused primarily on linguistics. This course made me realize how little I know about grammatical rules in English while exploring those rules in Japanese. I had a lot of "A-ha!" moments throughout my time in this course. It allowed me to focus on my weaknesses within Japanese grammar. This course fulfills MLO 1.1 as well as 1.2. We discussed something that has interested me in the past, which is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). We also went over phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, discourse analysis, and second language acquisition. As this was a course that was taught in an advanced level of the Japanese language, I had to navigate through my thoughts and interpret them into coherent sentences to my professor and peers which was very challenging at times. I also learned about why there are certain rules to the various grammar we've learned in Japanese which is very challenging yet satisfying at the same time while I increased my proficiency and understanding. My greatest challenge I recall was with transitive and intransitive verbs, however my professor did me the honor of teaching me to make connections and find patterns. I primarily noticed on my own that I should focus on the particles to know for sure to differentiate between the two.
One thing I recognized and thought was very interesting was the subject of pitch-accents. I learned about mora's, the Japanese sound unit, and the various rules that encompass pitch-accents. For example, an easy rule I learned for loan words (katakana) is that the pitch accent usually falls on the third to last mora. In relation, I learned about how different prefectures can have the change in pitch on a different mora of the same word which can mean the opposite meaning. For example, Osaka's and Tokyo's way of saying rain (雨) is different in terms of pitch. While I've heard that most people can understand what you mean if you don't follow the pitch-accents, I've felt more passion to strive for more fluency by studying the rules. A good way I was taught to do this was through shadowing, a method where one closely follows another speaker while copying them to get a better fluidity of the language. We were also given a new resource which fits MLO4: Research and technology as we were introduced to OJAD, a system that tries to mimic Japanese pitch-accent. This course has really honed my skills and understanding while also challenging and questioning the knowledge I had prior.
JAPN 401 is a course focused primarily on linguistics. This course made me realize how little I know about grammatical rules in English while exploring those rules in Japanese. I had a lot of "A-ha!" moments throughout my time in this course. It allowed me to focus on my weaknesses within Japanese grammar. This course fulfills MLO 1.1 as well as 1.2. We discussed something that has interested me in the past, which is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). We also went over phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, discourse analysis, and second language acquisition. As this was a course that was taught in an advanced level of the Japanese language, I had to navigate through my thoughts and interpret them into coherent sentences to my professor and peers which was very challenging at times. I also learned about why there are certain rules to the various grammar we've learned in Japanese which is very challenging yet satisfying at the same time while I increased my proficiency and understanding. My greatest challenge I recall was with transitive and intransitive verbs, however my professor did me the honor of teaching me to make connections and find patterns. I primarily noticed on my own that I should focus on the particles to know for sure to differentiate between the two.
One thing I recognized and thought was very interesting was the subject of pitch-accents. I learned about mora's, the Japanese sound unit, and the various rules that encompass pitch-accents. For example, an easy rule I learned for loan words (katakana) is that the pitch accent usually falls on the third to last mora. In relation, I learned about how different prefectures can have the change in pitch on a different mora of the same word which can mean the opposite meaning. For example, Osaka's and Tokyo's way of saying rain (雨) is different in terms of pitch. While I've heard that most people can understand what you mean if you don't follow the pitch-accents, I've felt more passion to strive for more fluency by studying the rules. A good way I was taught to do this was through shadowing, a method where one closely follows another speaker while copying them to get a better fluidity of the language. We were also given a new resource which fits MLO4: Research and technology as we were introduced to OJAD, a system that tries to mimic Japanese pitch-accent. This course has really honed my skills and understanding while also challenging and questioning the knowledge I had prior.