Teaching English, seeking Japanese tuition

[sarvodaya]

Originally Posted by yumyumtimtam

こんにちは　サルボダヤ("sarvodaya" in Japanese)さん

Thank you; I have now been named!

わたしもげんきです！

You like to ask as well!

I had many chances to start practising Karate and Aikido, because quite a few of my friends were doing it and often asked me to join them, but I didn't... when I was about 10 years old...I was busy playing with friends like...going to the mountain and river to catch こんちゅう、めだか、ざりがにetc and playing ソフトボール、ドッジボール、バスケットボール や おにごっこ.

softball, dodge-ball, basketball and tig. You just transliterate them directly!

My mother made me to go to Piano lesson because I was always acting like a boy so she thought it's a good idea,but in 1 year I quit. I preferred running around.
I think I should have practised Karate or Aikido or something to learn self-discipline.

Nonetheless, it all sounds quite idyllic! In any case, it's never too late to start.

はい、よくわかりました。ありがとうございます。

どういたしまして

Yes, I think I was very lucky and it was a big adventure for me.
I arrived at Heathrow nearly mid-night, so I decided to stay in the airport to save money.I was a little scared because there were just many men looking strange...but I guess for them I looked strange too, so nothing bad happened.

Next day, I waited for the information centre to open and they arranged an B&B accommo in London for me.There were 4 girls in the dormitory room.They were from Australia and Argentina.I enjoyed talking to my room mates and walking around the city to look at all the famous things with many tourists around, but I really wanted to meet local people, so on the 2nd day I went to Walthamstow to have a look at the street market there.
When I got there, I thought "this is it!".I was so excited just to be there with the local people around!
I was walking down the street and found a real ["real estate" is American English, in the UK we just say "estate agent", but obviously it's a personal choice for you] estate agent and the door was open, so I just popped in and asked them like..."I know it's strage to ask you this, but do you have any room for rent for a week?"

Gosh, that was brave!

I knew they would say of course not, and they did, but the ladies were very friendly and asked me "What's on the earth a Japanese tourist is doing in Walthamstow? There are many famous places to go and take photos in London! Anyway take a seat! Let's have some cup of tea" then we started chatting. They made a list of "must see in London" for me. I had a wonderful time there. When I was just about to say thank you and leave there, a lady made a phone call to an owner of a house nearby and asked him to rent me a room for a week!and soon he said OK! not only that, the owner and the real estate agent ladies brought me many sheets and blankets and a TV! and not only that! The owner asked me to join him and his friends for a drink at the corner pub.(That's where I heard a lot of "ish" conversation) I had an amazing time there.
There are 2 girls sharing the same house(each room has its own door for the outside,but they share the bathroom and the kitchen). A student from Africa and a local girl.They said they don't talk much to each other.It was very interesting that they gave me really different information about London.
After the wonderful one week stay in that room, the real estate ladies invited me to stay at their places too. After London, I visited Hastings and Dover.
I just loved England very very much.I think I was very lucky.


rude? NO!!!!! It's wonderful ! Thank you very very much! I really appreciate it.
ありがとうございます！

I'll probablly make a lot of mistakes and Im afraind I already did in here.
So please do not feel like you have to.
I'd like you to enjoy this Japanforum and I don't want to be too much trouble for you here.
I will try not to make too many mistakes!
がんばります！


とても　よくわかりました！
ありがとうございました

Please leave your questions or just type anything you leant and practice!

I'm glad to help with mistakes, and if we don't make mistakes we can't learn, so don't worry!

I'm glad you had such a good visit, I'd love to hear more some time. It was a very good idea to get a feel for the daily life amongst the hoi polloi in that way.

As I was explaining to Yuri, I'm right at the beginning of my studies, and I don't have many useful questions yet, but if you can just give me a couple of basic sentences in the beginning, I'll be happy. We can then see if some questions arise from that. Feel free to carry on asking, even if it is not balanced in the beginning, because I will certainly have a great many more questions later on once I'm a bit more advanced.

Now I'm going to sleep!

[yumyumtimtam]

Originally Posted by sarvodaya

Thank you; I have now been named!

Oh, would you like to be called サルボダヤさん？
If you like it I (we) will call you so, but...
I guess it sounds a little too long (too many syllables maybe?)...mmm... let me think...
oh actually,let US think! I'd like to ask YuriTokoro (I call her ゆりPさんor ゆりさん) and
Sashimister(He is called like...組長（くみちょう),SMおじさん and I call him SM先生 or 教授)!
My (yumyumtimtam) nickname here has got shorten or totally different even!)
ゆりさん calls me ヤムさん and SM教授 calls me こいさん,ヤムやん,etc.

http://www.japanforum.com/forum/japa...haracters.html
3 of us chat there often in Japanese.
ゆりさん and SM教授 are very intelligent
I have been learning a lot of things from them!

I am very happy to meet you too サルボダヤさん!

Well... back to your nick name...
I thought we could call you サルさん, but...サルmeans...(do you know the meaning?)
I like サル very much though!(I love any kinds of animals)

『ゆりさん、SM教授！アイディアください』

Actually, I searched (should I say googled? but I didn't use google!) the word sarvodaya.
I didn't know anything about it, but now I am very much interested!
Am I right to understand that "sarvodaya" means "the welfare/happiness of all" in Sri Lankan language?

You like to ask as well!

サルボダヤさん、sorry I didn't quite understand...this.
Did you mean that I like to ask you how you are?

softball, dodge-ball, basketball and tig. You just transliterate them directly!

正解（せいかい）です!
I didn't know you call おにごっこ tig, I was told that it was called tag, but that's American way isn't it?
I didn't know this word "transliterate" I only knew "translate".

Nonetheless, it all sounds quite idyllic! In any case, it's never too late to start.

そう いって くださって うれしいです。
ありがとうございます。

そうですね！
おそすぎる　ということは　ないですね！
私（わたし）も　そう　おもいます！

(Would you like me to write these in English too?
or you will enjoy tackling?

Gosh, that was brave!

Well... I think I was young so I wasn't afraid and I tend to believe in people very easily...
I guess I could have been in a big trouble.I was just lucky.ほんとうは　あぶないこと　ですね。

I'm glad to help with mistakes, and if we don't make mistakes we can't learn, so don't worry!

ありがとうございます！
はい　私も　そう　おもいます！

I'm glad you had such a good visit, I'd love to hear more some time. It was a very good idea to get a feel for the daily life amongst the hoi polloi in that way.

hoi polloi ! I went to Greece too!

As I was explaining to Yuri, I'm right at the beginning of my studies, and I don't have many useful questions yet,
but if you can just give me a couple of basic sentences in the beginning, I'll be happy. We can then see if some questions arise from that.

No worries (do you use this in England too? I just came back from Australia 6days ago!)
I wrote some Japanese as you see but if you feel it's too much or too less, please let me know.

Feel free to carry on asking, even if it is not balanced in the beginning,
because I will certainly have a great many more questions later on once I'm a bit more advanced.

Thank you so much!
Im looking forward to tackling to your questions!

サルボダヤさん、また　質問（しつもん）が　あります 。
I am not sure when to use "so", I mean Thank you "very" much or Thank you "so" much.
I was told not to say Thank you "so" much but "very" much (at an English school in Australia).
The teacher didn't explain why because at that time my English wasn't good enough to understand the complicated things.

Now I'm going to sleep!

Oh Im sorry, サルボダヤさ～ん！ My story was too long wasn't it?
I do that... talking too much. That's my problem!

Well, I think I should go to bed too, it's quarter to 3!

おやすみなさい m(_ _)m

[YuriTokoro]

Originally Posted by sarvodaya

Kawasaki, I see that's near the Tama Hills, where "Pom Poko" was set if I'm not mistaken! (I'm a bit of a Studio Ghibli fan.)

こんにちは。

Yes, you are right. Tama city is next to Kawasaki, and “Pom Poko” was set there.
Many people love Studio Ghibli here, too. Then, one of your goals can be to watch their films in Japanese language.
スタジオジブリ - STUDIO GHIBLI
This is their site in Japanese. Why don’t you try to read that!?

I studied Kamishin Ryu under Sensei Phil Snewin.
I studied 上新 流 under 先生 フィル Snewin.

Is that right? Is there a way to transliterate "Snewin"?

It’s スヌーイン.
You should call him スヌーイン先生 or フィル・スヌーイン先生.

In Japanese language, a title comes after a name.

I must say your English is quite excellent, Yuri.

Thank you!

I will be teaching myself Japanese. That is how I learned the patchy bit of Russian I know, but I would rather be more thorough with Japanese, especially as I very much want to visit Japan one day. I am really at the beginning and still becoming familiar with the kana. I have been working my way through this website:

Teach Yourself Japanese

This site seems to be really good.
Do you have any ways to listen to the pronunciation?

This site may help you.
Japanese Language Education System for Speech on an On-demand Network (LESSON/J)

http://sp.cis.iwate-u.ac.jp/sp/lesson/j/indexj.html

I may have jumped the gun slightly in asking to set up an exchange so early, but in fact I am happy to offer as much help as anyone needs and get to know some people here on the forum before I have a great many questions myself. At least in this way I will have some Japanese friends to ask about the language when I do become more advanced. As a corollary of this, please do not feel guilty if, to begin with, you are asking more questions than me, as I'm sure that will balance out in time! Besides, I enjoy helping, and in fact I put some stock in the phrase "homines dum docent, discunt".

I’m looking forward to being asked a lot by you.

Learning by teaching is おしえること　で　まなぶ（教えることで学ぶ）
おしえる＞teach
おしえること＞teaching
まなぶ＞learn
The word order is kind of in reverse….

As I can see you are quite an advanced English speaker, do feel free to ask more involved questions. Part of my work at the Oxford English Dictionary involves a lot of research into the history of the English language, as well as requiring an intricate knowledge of grammar, so if there are any more esoteric questions you have then I'd love to tackle those too.

If you have time, could you correct my short composition #708?
http://www.japanforum.com/forum/engl...ntence-71.html

That sounds appropriate. As we start out, please could you include a couple of basic sentences in your post, which I can try and tackle and deal with any issues that arise from there. How does that sound?

Do you know what to say to people you just meet for the first time?
If you don’t know yet:
English has many versions to say hello and you don’t just repeat what other people have said, but in Japanese, most people who first meet you would say like this to you and you can repeat this.
(In English, you don’t like repeating what other people have just said, right? However in Japanese, you can repeat what you have just been said when you are saying hello.)

「はじめまして。
（your name）です。（=I’m Sarvodaya.）
よろしく　おねがい　いたします(よろしくお願い致し� �す)」


よろしく　おねがい　いたします。　is a politer version of よろしく　おねがい　します。

Very Polite: よろしくお願い致します。
Polite:よろしくお願いします。
Casual:よろしく。

Most Japanese people often say this, and it is very hard to translate this word into English.
Maybe this site will be able to help you.
“よろしく”の検索結果（211 件）：英辞郎 on the Web：スペースアルク

If you have any expressions you want to know, tell me.

I...still have a lot of difficulties writing and speaking English.

It is slightly more natural to say "I still have a lot of difficulty writing and speaking English", but this is an extremely minor point!

A lot of difficulty, not difficulties. I see. Thank you.

Actually where you say:

I’m a housewife, used to work as a pharmacist.

Now I know this is only a casual introduction, but strictly this sentence is not grammatical as the two clauses are disconnected. You could say:

I’m a housewife and I used to work as a pharmacist.

or

I’m a housewife, who used to work as a pharmacist.

or even

I am a housewife but used to work as a pharmacist.

While it is also strictly correct to elide "I am" to "I'm" and still have a second verb relying on the same subject, thus:

I’m a housewife and used to work as a pharmacist.

it doesn't flow as naturally.

If you wanted to maintain the disconnected clauses, you would need a semicolon and a repetition of the subject of the verb, thus:

I’m a housewife; I used to work as a pharmacist.

I hope that helps!

I have believed that you don’t like using “I” two times in a sentence.
When you use semicolon, do you think the sentence was divided and becomes two sentences?
I didn’t know “I’m a housewife and used to work as a pharmacist.” was not very natural.

ありがとうございました。

[YuriTokoro]

＠ヤムさん!

「サルさん」は、それはあなた、あまりにもあんまりで しょう!
（ヤムさんの、そういうセンスが好きではあるんだけど ねっ）
たしかに「サルボダヤさん」は長すぎる。
「サルボさん」もちょっと変だ。
ありきたりに「サーさん」か、あるいは意味の「覚醒」 から「覚さん」なんていかがでしょうか？

[YuriTokoro]

＠sarvodayaさん。

I think 「覚さん（かくさん）」would be good as your nickname.
覚さん is from the meaning of sarvodaya 覚醒（かくせい）.
“覚醒”の検索結果（220 件）：英辞郎 on the Web：スペースアルク
This name sounds like a Japanese man.
What do you think?
If you have this name, you should write why you are Kakusan in your signature (I don’t know the correct words here. I mean sentences under your posts. What’s that in English?).

[sarvodaya]

こんにちは。

Originally Posted by yumyumtimtam

I thought we could call you サルさん, but...サルmeans...(do you know the meaning?)

Ah, yes, I looked it up. Monkey! But it looks like when you use it for a person it might be more like "cheeky monkey", or something indicating a sly person. Is that correct?

I like サル very much though!(I love any kind of animals)

Yes, I like サル too, especially orangutans and gorillas, although of course they are actually apes! But I see サル often means the Japanese Macaque. It's lovely to see them bathing in the hot springs surrounded by snow:

『ゆりさん、SM教授！アイディアください』

Actually, I searched (should I say googled? but I didn't use google!) the word sarvodaya.

ヤムさん, people do say "googled" now, but obviously not when they don't use google! Also, here is a point of style. In English we tend to move meaning away from the verbs towards the nouns and adjectives, so that if there is a chance to use a simpler verb and a more complex nounal phrase, we will take it. So it might be more natural to say "I did a search" or even "I did a google search" although that sounds longer.

I didn't know anything about it, but now I am very much interested!
Am I right to understand that "sarvodaya" means "the welfare/happiness of all" in Sri Lankan language?

Yes, that's right. It was a term used by Ghandi in his translation of a work from the 1860's by a chap called John Ruskin called "Unto This Last", which I'm currently reading. See wikipedia for more info:

Sarvodaya - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

サルボダヤさん、sorry I didn't quite understand...this.
Did you mean that I like to ask you how you are?

I'm sorry. I completely misread this somehow. You were saying that you are also well!

正解（せいかい）です!

That's right!

I didn't know you call おにごっこ tig; I was told that it was called tag, but that's American way isn't it?

正解です!

I didn't know this word "transliterate"; I only knew "translate".

When you convert from romaji to ひらがな or to カタカナ, or vice versa, you are transliterating. A transliteration is a representation of the same sounds in a different writing system.

Transliteration - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

そう いって くださって うれしいです。

I think this is "I am glad you say so", but I don't quite understand the role played by "くださって"? Forgive me!

ありがとうございます。

どういたしまして

そうですね！

That's the way it is.

おそすぎる　ということは　ないですね！

hrrm. Would this be something like: "Indeed, when speaking of instruction, it is never late"?

私（わたし）も　そう　おもいます！

"I also think so"

ほんとうは　あぶないこと　ですね。

"Indeed, the truth is that it was a dangerous situation."

ありがとうございます！

どういたしまして!

はい　私も　そう　おもいます！

Yes, I also think so.

hoi polloi ! I went to Greece too!

Of course in English we say "the hoi polloi", which means, the the many! Aren't we silly!?

No worries (do you use this in England too? I just came back from Australia 6days ago!)

Oh yes, we use that expression here. G'day; no worries, mate!

I wrote some Japanese as you see but if you feel it's too much or too little, please let me know.

ありがとうございます。

Thank you so much!
Im looking forward to tackling to your questions!

サルボダヤさん、また　質問（しつもん）が　あります 。

"Sarvodaya, I have another question."

I am not sure when to use "so", I mean Thank you "very" much or Thank you "so" much.
I was told not to say Thank you "so" much but "very" much (at an English school in Australia).
The teacher didn't explain why because at that time my English wasn't good enough to understand the complicated things.

You can say "Thank you so much". However, this too is a fairy colloquial expression. It is slightly more emphatic than "Thank you very much". It often appears alongside expressions such as "Oh, that's so helpful" or "That's so kind of you".

As you probably already know, the word "so" is usually used in a phrase like "he was so drunk that he couldn't find his way home" or "she was so polite that I couldn't possibly have thought ill of her". However, it doesn't always need a "that" clause to conclude. However, as I say, this use without an explicit "that" clause tends to be more colloquial, as in:

"He's such a strange fellow"

"James is such a talented violinist"

and

"Thanks so much!"

So, you can say "thank you very much" in a slightly more formal setting, or when writing a formal letter, but when speaking to a friend you can say "Thank you so much" to indicate an added closeness, emphasis and even slight excitement.

I hope this is clear; please let me know!

Oh Im sorry, サルボダヤさ～ん！ My story was too long wasn't it?
I do that... talking too much. That's my problem!

Not at all ヤムさん! I enjoyed reading it.

Well, I think I should go to bed too, it's quarter to 3!

おやすみなさい m(_ _)m

ありがとうございます。
I hope you slept well.

[sarvodaya]

Originally Posted by YuriTokoro

Yes, you are right. Tama city is next to Kawasaki, and “Pom Poko” was set there.
Many people love Studio Ghibli here, too. Then, one of your goals can be to watch their films in Japanese language.
スタジオジブリ - STUDIO GHIBLI
This is their site in Japanese. Why don’t you try to read that!?

Indeed!! It may be some time before I manage that, but I look forward to that day!

It’s スヌーイン.
You should call him スヌーイン先生 or フィル・スヌーイン先生.

In the Japanese language, a title comes after a name.

Ah, I forgot; thank you. Also, I didn't know about the 中黒, so I looked it up, thank you.

So:
フィル・スヌーイン先生
ありがとうございます。

Do you have any ways to listen to the pronunciation?

So far I had just been using the examples on that site for individual vowel-sounds.

This site may help you.
Japanese Language Education System for Speech on an On-demand Network (LESSON/J)

http://sp.cis.iwate-u.ac.jp/sp/lesson/j/indexj.html

ありがとうございます, this looks very useful; I will investigate!

Learning by teaching is おしえること　で　まなぶ（教えることで学ぶ）
おしえる＞teach
おしえること＞teaching
まなぶ＞learn
The word order is kind of in reverse….

Ah, this is very helpful ゆりさん. So when you add こと this makes the present participle, or is it more complicated than that?

If you have time, could you correct my short composition #708?
http://www.japanforum.com/forum/engl...ntence-71.html

Of course, ゆりさん. I will write a separate post to follow here.

Do you know what to say to people you just meet for the first time?
If you don’t know yet:
English has many [versions of saying hello / ways to say hello] and you don’t just repeat what other people have said, but in Japanese, most people who first meet you would say something like this to you and you can repeat this.
(In English, you don’t like repeating what other people have just said, right? However in Japanese, you can repeat what you have just heard when you are saying hello.)

「はじめまして。
（your name）です。（=I’m Sarvodaya.）
よろしく　おねがい　いたします(よろしくお願い致し� �す)」


よろしく　おねがい　いたします。　is a politer version of よろしく　おねがい　します。

Very Polite: よろしくお願い致します。
Polite:よろしくお願いします。
Casual:よろしく。

Most Japanese people often say this, and it is very hard to translate this word into English.
Maybe this site will be able to help you.
“よろしく”の検索結果（211 件）：英辞郎 on the Web：スペースアルク

If you have any expressions you want to know, tell me.

Ok, I see, so I start out:

はじめまして。
hajimemashite
覚醒です。
I'm Kaku.

and then either

よろしくお願い致します。
よろしくお願いします。
or よろしく。

depending on the situation. I will practise saying these!

A lot of difficulty, not difficulties. I see. Thank you.

どういたしまして。

I have believed that you don’t like using “I” two times in a sentence.
When you use semicolon, do you think the sentence was divided and becomes two sentences?
I didn’t know “I’m a housewife and used to work as a pharmacist.” was not very natural.

ありがとうございました。

どういたしまして。

I don't think it's a terrible thing to say "I" more than once in a sentence. The only thing is that, if you have a lot of verbs with "I" as the subject, it can be quicker and easier to say "I" only once, for example:

"I swim, play golf, go running and play bridge on Thursdays."

In a sentence like that, if you repeated the "I", then it would sound as though you were repeating it for some dramatic effect, such as in this case to emphasise that you do a lot on Thursdays, especially in comparison to someone else:

"I swim, I play golf, I go running and I even play bridge on Thursdays"

Obviously the context would clarify if this was the case.

However, all of this really only applies when all the verbs have the same simple form; particularly, if they are all in the same tense. You said...

"I’m a housewife, used to work as a pharmacist."

...which of course begins in the present tense, I *am*... and ends in the imperfect, I *used to*...

When we have two verbs in different tenses like this, it begins to feel a bit strained to relate both verbs to the same subject. As I say, you can do a lot that's permissible in English and there are some things that may well be technically correct, but that sound odd to the ear of a native. So, in this way you can see that it really is a minor point, but as your English is advanced I think it must be appropriate for you to consider such things.

When you use a semicolon, it is useful to think of it as something half-way between a comma and a full-stop. We use it when we want to add something to the sentence, but what we want to add is not sufficiently separate to form its own sentence. You will get a feel for when to use a semicolon over time. The two portions before and after a semicolon can be treated grammatically as two separate sentences. As such, it is strictly incorrect to begin a clause following a semicolon with "and" or "but", just like when you begin a sentence.

In truth, I could write a thousand-page treatise on the semicolon, and many people find it irritating! If in doubt, you can almost always use a full stop instead. There is an increasing trend towards shorter sentences in modern English in any case, so I don't suppose anyone will notice!

As you can tell, the use or otherwise of semicolons is to some extent an issue of personal style, and so it will take time for you to develop your own instinct for the semicolon.

Originally Posted by YuriTokoro

＠sarvodayaさん。

I think 「覚さん（かくさん）」would be good as your nickname.

Ah, that sounds like the name of 加來 道雄, but it is spelled differently...

覚さん is from the meaning of sarvodaya 覚醒（かくせい）.
“覚醒”の検索結果（220 件）：英辞郎 on the Web：スペースアルク

Indeed, the meaning would be more appropriate than the sound. Is that really the same meaning, though? This says things like awakening, awareness, disillusion, which is related, but Sarvodaya is something like 'universal progress', emphasising the interconnection between all individuals and the resulting necessary nature of genuine progress. Perhaps there isn't a word for this specialised meaning!?

When I look up this kanji, it also gives me a meaning of satori — a mythical being that can read minds...!

This name sounds like a Japanese man.

Ah, well then it is appropriate.

What do you think?

It sounds like a good name, and I am honoured that you have given it to me. That honour is more than sufficient for me to accept it. Thank you.

If you have this name, you should write why you are Kakusan in your signature (I don’t know the correct words here. I mean sentences under your posts. What’s that in English?).

Yes, it is a signature. I will add it.

Now I will see to your short composition!

[sarvodaya]

Ok, here we are ゆりさん, below is my correction of your short composition. Please don't hesitate to ask if anything is unclear. I thought it was a very interesting observation, and I'd like to discuss this some more. I actually grew up in an intensely multicultural society, and I feel greatly enriched by it. I will write about it tomorrow.

Originally Posted by YuriTokoro

Hi.
Could someone correct my English?


How I was astonished recently.

One of the Japanese TV stations broadcast a Harvard University course in philosophy April to June of last year. The title was Justice with Michael Sandel (a heated class in Harvard).They talked about what the right things to do are, and this program was very interesting. [This sentence is a little ambiguous, and not in a native style. Depending on exactly what you mean, you might consider replacing it with something like either "They discussed the correct methods of philosophical reasoning" or "They talked about how to determine what is morally correct behaviour".]
However, what astonished me most in the lecture was when the professor spoke as follows, (This was said when they were talking who should enter Harvard. )；
The common good is served, is advanced, if there is a racially and ethnically diverse student body. Everyone benefits.
He said this as if it was common sense. This was the premise upon which their discussion was based. I was really shocked.
Is this global standard?
I’m sure that most Japanese people would not understand or agree with the Idea.
I don’t know about any great professors, but common Japanese prefer a non-diverse society; so Japan absorbs few immigrants.
Japanese people generally prefer not to say every word that comes into their head, and those listening are supposed to understand what the speaker has left unsaid. Many Japanese people aren’t used to saying all the things we need to say [this sentence is a little ambiguous, perhaps you mean "Many Japanese people aren't used to saying everything explicitly" or "Many Japanese people aren't used to spelling everything out in detail"?]. This is possible only when people have the same values and cultures.
I know that other countries have many immigrants and I have thought that you just like it. I didn’t imagine anyone thought that a diverse culture benefited everyone.
I think Japanese people can’t speak English fluently without overcoming this cultural difference.
On the other hand, learners of Japanese should also know that Japanese culture is quite different from what you might expect.

Thank you.

どういたしまして。
I hope this helps.

[YuriTokoro]

Originally Posted by sarvodaya

Indeed!! It may be some time before I manage that, but I look forward to that day!

I look forward to chatting to you in Japanese.

Ah, I forgot; thank you. Also, I didn't know about the 中黒, so I looked it up, thank you.

Wow! Now you know what nakaguro is! Great!

Ah, this is very helpful ゆりさん. So when you add こと this makes the present participle, or is it more complicated than that?

Actually, it IS a little bit more complicated than that.
“Verb ＋こと” is called 名詞節(めいしせつ). There is also “verb ＋の”.
At this moment you can just keep in mind that Japanese grammar is completely different form English’s, because the usage is depend on the predicate of the head clause(主節の述語/しゅせつ　の　じゅつご), and to understand this grammar, you need to read the whole sentences.

Ok, I see, so I start out:

はじめまして。
hajimemashite
覚醒です。
I'm Kaku.

and then either

よろしくお願い致します。
よろしくお願いします。
or よろしく。

depending on the situation. I will practise saying these!

You pronounce 覚醒　Kaksei.
When you write it with alphabet, it is Kakusei, but we say it Kaksei.
When you pronounce it as a noun, the accent is on “sei”, and when as your name, the accent can be on “Ka”.

However, all of this really only applies when all the verbs have the same simple form; particularly, if they are all in the same tense. You said...

"I’m a housewife, used to work as a pharmacist."

...which of course begins in the present tense, I *am*... and ends in the imperfect, I *used to*...

When we have two verbs in different tenses like this, it begins to feel a bit strained to relate both verbs to the same subject. As I say, you can do a lot that's permissible in English and there are some things that may well be technically correct, but that sound odd to the ear of a native. So, in this way you can see that it really is a minor point, but as your English is advanced I think it must be appropriate for you to consider such things.

Yes, it must be appropriate for me.
Your concern is appreciated.

In truth, I could write a thousand-page treatise on the semicolon, and many people find it irritating! If in doubt, you can almost always use a full stop instead. There is an increasing trend towards shorter sentences in modern English in any case, so I don't suppose anyone will notice!

I think I can understand what you feel.
Although having said this, a thousand-page treatise on the semicolon might be a little too long.

As you can tell, the use or otherwise of semicolons is to some extent an issue of personal style, and so it will take time for you to develop your own instinct for the semicolon.

ありがとうございました。
I will note semicolons when reading.

Indeed, the meaning would be more appropriate than the sound. Is that really the same meaning, though? This says things like awakening, awareness, disillusion, which is related, but Sarvodaya is something like 'universal progress', emphasising the interconnection between all individuals and the resulting necessary nature of genuine progress. Perhaps there isn't a word for this specialised meaning!?

Hmm….
覚醒　can means awakening, awareness, disillusion, but there is something more than that.
Attaching the web site was indiscreet of me.

The term sarvodaya was first coined by Mohandas Gandhi, and he dedicated his life to the wider purpose of discovering truth, or Satya. He tried to achieve this by learning from his own mistakes and conducting experiments on himself.(From Wiki.)

This discovering truth is called Satori(悟り/さとり), and it can also be said 覚醒.
悟り is the final aim of the old Buddhism.
To get 悟り, Buddhist monks do 修行（しゅぎょう）.
You would understand what 修行　is, because you have done 修行 practicing Karate.
You don’t use the word　修行 when you enjoy sports. 修行 can means discipline your mind, maybe. (Sorry, my English is not enough to express things.)

You would think 悟りwould be better, but 悟（さとる）is too common here(悟りcan’t be a name.), and I believe 覚醒　is cooler.

When I look up this kanji, it also gives me a meaning of satori — a mythical being that can read minds...!

覚りの妖怪!
Hmm…悟り can means the yohkai, but 覚醒never means such Yaoguais.

It sounds like a good name, and I am honoured that you have given it to me. That honour is more than sufficient for me to accept it. Thank you.

I’m happy if you like the name.

Ok, here we are ゆりさん, below is my correction of your short composition. Please don't hesitate to ask if anything is unclear. I thought it was a very interesting observation, and I'd like to discuss this some more. I actually grew up in an intensely multicultural society, and I feel greatly enriched by it. I will write about it tomorrow.

Thank you for correcting my composition.

One of the Japanese TV stations broadcast a Harvard University course in philosophy April to June of last year.

Actually, it was not last year. It was this year. Only one month ago.
What should I have said?

丁寧な添削、ありがとうございました。

[sarvodaya]

Originally Posted by YuriTokoro

Actually, it IS a little bit more complicated than that.
“Verb ＋こと” is called 名詞節(めいしせつ). There is also “verb ＋の”.

こんにちは。 I think this is what we call the gerund in English. It is the noun formed from the verb.

At this moment you can just keep in mind that Japanese grammar is completely different form English’s, because the usage is depend on the predicate of the head clause(主節の述語/しゅせつ　の　じゅつご), and to understand this grammar, you need to read the whole sentences.

It does seem very different generally; it will take some time to get used to it.

You pronounce 覚醒　Kaksei.
When you write it with alphabet, it is Kakusei, but we say it Kaksei.
When you pronounce it as a noun, the accent is on “sei”, and when as your name, the accent can be on “Ka”.

ありがとうございました。

Yes, it must be appropriate for me.
Your concern is appreciated.

どういたしまして。

ありがとうございました。
I will note semicolons when reading.

どういたしまして。

Hmm….
覚醒　can means awakening, awareness, disillusion, but there is something more than that.
Attaching the web site was indiscreet of me.

The term sarvodaya was first coined by Mohandas Gandhi, and he dedicated his life to the wider purpose of discovering truth, or Satya. He tried to achieve this by learning from his own mistakes and conducting experiments on himself.(From Wiki.)

This discovering truth is called Satori(悟り/さとり), and it can also be said 覚醒.
悟り is the final aim of the old Buddhism.
To get 悟り, Buddhist monks do 修行（しゅぎょう）.
You would understand what 修行　is, because you have done 修行 practicing Karate.
You don’t use the word　修行 when you enjoy sports. 修行 can means discipline your mind, maybe. (Sorry, my English is not enough to express things.)

Yes, I understand. I don't think we have a single word for it in English, but probably the most accurate single word to describe it is "training".

You would think 悟りwould be better, but 悟（さとる）is too common here(悟りcan’t be a name.), and I believe 覚醒　is cooler.

覚りの妖怪!
Hmm…悟り can means the yohkai, but 覚醒never means such Yaoguais.

I’m happy if you like the name.

ありがとうございました。 You have explained it well, and I like it all the more now.

Thank you for correcting my composition.

どういたしまして。

Actually, it was not last year. It was this year. Only one month ago.
What should I have said?

Oh, I see. In that case you can just say "One of the Japanese TV stations broadcast a Harvard University course in philosophy from April to June."
For added qualification, you might say "One of the Japanese TV stations broadcast a Harvard University course in philosophy from April to June just gone."
The latter is slightly more colloquial, though.

丁寧な添削、ありがとうございました。

"It was a thorough correction, thank you kindly."

どういたしまして、ゆりさん。

It is late now, but I must write something about multiculturalism tomorrow.

おやすみなさい。