1. 日本人の知らない日本語 (Japanese that the japanese don't know) Episode 4
Ikea Anne Natividad
1st Period

2. Japanese vs. Chinese Readings of Kanji
Long ago, before the Japanese had an alphabet, they turned to the Chinese characters in order to memorize the names of things.
Example: 山 (mountain) = "yama" vs. "shan"
Japanese vs. Chinese Readings of Kanji

3. Kanji & its misreadings
振り仮名 (furigana) = Hiragana placed above Kanji for easier reading
Some Kanji may have incorrect Furigana, thus leading to misreadings of these characters.
Examples (correct vs. incorrect): 本気= "honki" (seriousness) vs. "maji" (serious) 失恋= "shitsuren" (unrequited love) vs. "shitsukoi" (to be inconsistent)
Kanji & its misreadings

4. Standard Japanese vs. Common Japanese
標準語 (hyojungo) = Standard Japanese - This is the result of powerful people in old Japan wanting to speak a single way of Japanese
共通語 (kyoutsuugo) = Common Japanese - This is the Japanese people normally use;doesn't sound you're telling people what to do
Standard Japanese vs. Common Japanese

5. Words like"desu" and "masu" were spread by samurai in the Meiji era learning that geisha in Edo spoke with those two words.
花魁 (oiran) = courtesans Courtesans were like celebrities, so their use of "zamasu" (to be) spread and became an elegant way of speech.
"De arimasu" originated from Yamaguchi
"Oikora!" is typically used in anger, but it started in Kagoshima was a way to get attention.
Common japanese