Easy Japanese

Are you familiar with 'Easy Japanese'?

Especially when you want to convey something to foreigners, it means expressing things in simple words because Japanese is too difficult!!

'Easy' Japanese, I think, is a play on both
'kind' and
'simple' in Japanese.

Yesterday, there was a training session at the neighboring ward office, so I asked to participate.

Previously, when I was in charge of disaster prevention measures, I promoted the introduction of this 'Easy Japanese,' but since I learned it again and had various realizations and reconfirmations, I would like to output them.

1. Japanese is difficult!!

Yes, this sentence is very difficult.
I think you can read it normally, but...
'idiomatic compounds' are already incomprehensible.
If written in kanji, the meaning is understood and conveyed, but for people who don't know kanji, it is difficult to convert the meaning in their heads.

Yes, I don't understand anymore.
Thinking it's 'easy', but then 'not'.
Which is it? (lol)
The phrasing is roundabout, or rather, it's a bad sentence as Japanese to begin with, but there are also ways of speaking like double negatives, aren't there?

Instead of saying things like 'it is not easy,' it is better to speak straight by saying it is difficult or I don't understand.

2. In a sense, Japanese is wonderful

I'll digress a little, but
the more I think about it, the more difficult Japanese is, but
I felt that it is a wonderful language.

As for vocabulary, there are various words.
There are beautiful words, wonderful words, and words appropriate for expression.

There are many words that express subtle feelings.

There are quite a lot of adjectives, and
as mentioned above, various words are created by combinations of kanji.

Also,
there are things that change from their original form, such as honorifics, humble language, and polite language.

There is the culture of hospitality, and
we respect others and express ourselves humbly.

Also, it can be said to be a language composed of hiragana, katakana, and kanji,
a language where various cultures are intermingled.

I realize that Japanese is wonderful.

3. That's why it's difficult!! (laughs)

Yes, back to the main point.
We have been using and trained in this difficult Japanese language since we were old enough to understand things.
Even in daily conversation and situations requiring polite responses, we still face the difficulty of the Japanese language.

Let alone every morning, writing a text of around 2000 characters like this, I rack my brains.

It would be impossible for foreigners to master this vast and difficult Japanese language immediately.

When we became junior high school students, English was written in simple sentences in our English textbooks, wasn't it?
I think it would be good to express things simply, just like that.

4. The situation of foreigners in Japan

This is what I learned in yesterday's training.

It seems that about 2% of the population in Japan are foreigners.
I felt that was quite a lot. That's one in 50 people.

Recently, it seems that the number of international students and technical interns has increased significantly.
So, it means that there are more people who have come from abroad temporarily rather than for permanent residence.

I learned about the ratio in Kitakyushu City, and it seems that 80% are of Asian descent.
Realistically,
it doesn't seem like foreigner = you can get by if you speak English.

And since we are speaking in Japan,it seems we should speak in Japanese.Rather than trying to speak in English that neither party understands, or in Chinese, Korean, or Vietnamese that we don't understand,
it seems easier for the other party to understand if we speak in Japanese.

That is exactly why!
Let's speak in "Easy Japanese".

5. Tips for "Easy Japanese"

It has become long.
This is the main point of the output.
I have organized the tips I learned yesterday in my own way.

o Let's use simple words.

As mentioned earlier, words that have become idioms are difficult, aren't they?
It is better to use plain language, or words that even a child can understand.

○ Let's express things straightforwardly.

Japanese is full of modest (haha) expressions, but it is easier to get your point across if you speak straightforwardly rather than beating around the bush, isn't it?

"That is not very good" ← We tend to say that, don't we?
"That is not allowed" ← Let's say it straightforwardly.

○ Use gestures too

At the end of the day, I think body language is also important.
It is difficult to convey things using only words.
It is also easier to understand if you explain while showing the actual objects.
I think conveying things through gestures and facial expressions is the most powerful communication method for all of humanity, universal to all countries.

○ Add furigana (ruby)

It seems it is good to add ruby (furigana) to kanji and such.
Kanji is difficult after all, isn't it?
If you can read it in hiragana, it also conveys the sound.

○ Be careful with Japanese-made English

This was a surprise.
Among the loanwords and everyday words we use in katakana,
it seems there are many so-called "Japanese-made English" terms.

Examples given in the training included
trouble, laptop, lifeline, unit bath, and plastic bottle.

○ Keep sentences short

Come to think of it, it was the same during English tests. I can't understand long sentences! (haha)
Sentences with many periods that are cut cleanly and sharply are easy to understand.

Short sentences ending in a period.
I think it is easier to understand if the next sentence follows with words like "therefore," "because," "so," or "however."

It would be good if you could shorten each sentence.
I learned that you should have one meaning per sentence.

○ Try using "wakachigaki" (word spacing)

I learned the term 'wakachigaki' (word spacing) for the first time.

This is a method of separating words with spaces to make them easier to understand.

If you put a comma after every word, it becomes hard to read, so leaving spaces like this makes it easier to read, doesn't it?

Apparently, this is called 'wakachigaki'. I learned something new!

I tried using full-width spaces to make it easier to understand, but half-width spaces like this are also fine.

6. Easy Japanese is kind to everyone!

Today's conclusion is this part.
As an introduction, I have been proceeding with the example of foreigners to make it easy to convey, but
for the elderly,
for children,
for everyone,
'Easy Japanese' is very kind, I think.

We tend to end up using difficult words,
or trying to sound cool by choosing foreign words or complex terminology,

but I think it is better to choose words that are easy to understand, simple, direct, and short.

For my part, I do keep this in mind a little when writing my articles every morning.
Do not use difficult words.
Use commas to make it easier to read.
Choose kanji, katakana, and hiragana well.
If a word can be written in either kanji or hiragana, write it in hiragana.
I try not to make sentences too long, and I am conscious of line breaks and paragraphing so that it is easy to read on a smartphone screen.

From today, in addition to these,I would like to write with 'Easy Japanese' in mind as well.I would also like to practice it in my daily conversations.

This was a wonderful learning experience.

I would like to thank everyone at the International Exchange Association and the International Policy Division.

Thank you for reading again today.

<Article from 'today' one year ago★>

(lol) I need to update this article too... (lol)