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Pronouns -
08-08-2007, 03:53 AM
I'm am completely confused on this... I just started learning Japanese, and I was reading on it, and it said that Japanese was a Pro-drop Language. Ok, great! I'm watching Animes (not learning from it, using little of what I know to it) and they say things like "suki" for love. When one says "I love you" They leave out the "I" and the "you". Same thing with like, baka da. Ok well, who are you talking about, my mom? It's so confusing to me. If somebody could explain it to me, that'd be greatly appriciated.
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08-08-2007, 05:12 AM
I'll explain really simply, and then maybe if you apply what I say to the anime you watch it will start to make sense.
First of all, congrats on entering the world of Japanese language study. You will hit a series of plateaus where things don't make sense. This is one of them. I hope I can help you through it a little. It's hard to study a language like Japanese without the context of Japanese culture. Japanese culture, and language is one of subtle direction. This means that communication is made like throwing a paper airplane, not shooting a gun. The experienced Japanese listener can tell where the speaker meant for the paper airplane to land, even if it landed in a completely different place. (meaning even if the actual words are different than the meaning.) In English we say exactly what we mean, and put all responsibility on the speaker to get the message accross. In Japanese it is 50-50. Whether that helps or not, it's a good thing to remember. So in Japanese, things that don't need to be spoken are left out. So in English we are very clear. I love you. No mistakes about who is talking to who. In Japanese it feels a bit pushy to be so direct. "Watashi wa anata ga suki desu" is a fine sentence, but if I am looking at you in the face (or we are the only ones in the room) then I can drop the "I" and the "you" and just say "suki desu". Remember, communication is 50-50. You are expected to understand that the speaker is talking about his/her feelings about the listener. So I am in a cafeteria and I drop my plate onto the floor. Someone yells out "Baka da!". I know they aren't talking about their own mother or the prime minister, but about me. But with insults like this we ofter hear pronouns (but not always). "Baka da" "Anta baka da" Omae, baka" "Baka jya nai?" "Aho ka, Omae" (Kansai flavor) There are dozens of varieties all meaning the same thing, basically. You are an idiot. If you are a new learner, then don't worry about all these direct insults (well, maybe just for anime viewing), but do know that "baka" and "aho" can mean everything from "silly monkey" to "f***ing a**hole" depending on the situation, so should not be used around anyone but the best of friends (unless you want to start a fight). I'll leave it at that for now...
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08-08-2007, 05:26 AM
hmmm... a'ight. That helped a lot, thanks!
To make things more clear, basically, they'll drop the pronoun when the Contex is clear, but if their talking about somebody else, or something else, they'll use the pronoun? (Sorry, I'm just trying to get this straight)
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08-08-2007, 05:29 AM
It happens in English too - although you may not have noticed.
If you do something stupid, and someone says "What an idiot." - I think there is NO doubt who they`re talking about. When the context is clear, it`s not necessary to clarify.
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08-08-2007, 05:37 AM
I do think it`s something that you catch on to...
It can also be really helpful in the beginning, when you first start learning. Instead of constructing a long and detailed sentence, you can generally express yourself in a few words if the context is clear.
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08-09-2007, 03:22 AM
Glad to be of help!
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