The Message Behind Words | Learning About "Kindness" from Drama Dialogue and Kansai Dialect

Hello, this is R. It's Friday's chill column.

This time, for our communication chat session, I'd like to write about the "power of words."

The "words that stayed in my heart" from my favorite drama

For the first time in a while, I looked forward to following and watching a terrestrial drama this season.
It was "A Vote for the Galaxy"
. Even after the final episode aired just recently, I picked out my favorite scenes to rewatch on Netflix and have already gone through it three times (lol).
But every time, I find myself crying my eyes out as if it were fresh.
It's not that it's sad, but rather it feels like my heart is being cleansed by kindness.

If I were to express my overall impression in one word, it would be
"Everyone has their own justice they believe in."
. Now, throughout the drama, there were several words that left an impression on me and encouraged me.

For example,

"Kireigoto" (pretty words/platitudes) and "Kireina koto" (beautiful things) - just by inserting the particle "na," the meaning changes 180 degrees.
It was an eye-opener.
It resonated with me so much that I felt like these words were directed at me.
I felt once again that words have the power to encourage people.

Things I want to make excuses for regarding words

And speaking of words...
Let's talk about our Kansai dialect.
Generally, people from other regions might say it sounds "harsh" or "scary."

But, as a Kansai native, let me defend it!

Kansai dialect is interesting.
A characteristic feature is that it uses a lot of personification.

For example, when you can't find your smartphone.
"The smartphone isn't here"
instead of that, we say
"The smartphone went off somewhere," as if the smartphone decided to go out on its own.
And this personification is sometimes adapted and used for kindness as well.

For example, words used when getting angry

It's a way of getting angry by isolating only the part that caused the issue as if it were a separate personality (lol).

I once heard an expert talk about this feature of the Kansai dialect, saying,
"It is based on the idea of not breaking human relationships by not denying the whole person, but focusing on a specific part, such as their words or actions."

It's like "hate the sin, not the sinner." When you look at it that way, don't you think Kansai dialect is not just "strong words," but also "kind words"?Though, the loudness and intensity of Kansai people might make that kindness hard to see (lol).

A small afterword

I grew up in Kansai, but my parents are from Fukuoka and Tokyo.
Because of that influence, even though I grew up in Kansai, I'm actually not very good at the Kansai dialect (lol).
I'm often thought to be from the Kanto region.
But people from Kanto seem to think, "Something feels a bit off... where are you from?"

Thank you for reading until the end this time as well.
If you'd like, I'd be happy if you could give me a "Like♡" or follow me.

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