The On reading for the character 絆 is "han" or "ban". It's Kun readings are "kizuna" or "tsuna(gu)". I'm in a bit of a rush tonight because I'm leaving for Kyoto early tomorrow morning so I don't have time to investigate further.
Anyways, I took a whole pile of photos last night and tonight of the snow sculptures carved for this year's Yonezawa Snow Festival. The festival officially started today so the grounds were much more crowded than last night where it was the last of workers carving their snow lanterns and a handful of the curious wandering around. I did enjoy the energy of the crowd tonight. Plus the light show made things more interesting.
Ah yes, "wandering around". I taught a class yesterday where I wrote "wander around" on the board and said the phrase. One of the students said "Arisu"? That had me stumped because I suspected she meant "Alice". The connection eluded me for half a minute. Then I figured it out. Yes, this student had thougt "wander around" sounded like "wonder land". It happens...I suppose.
Enjoy your pop rocks, sir.
15 years ago
1 comment:
Interesting the way your student is engaged and making connections.
Learning a language is similar to making a bird call or learning to sing. You have to have a very good ear. Then you have to have the ability to mimic what you hear.
Languages are also like modes in music. Some modes do not contain the notes found in other modes, just as Japanese does not have some of the phonetic structures of English. (Which is what makes Engrish so much fun. I once heard a ladies chorus earnestly perform Elvis's, "Rub me Tenda" which gives a whole new spin to the request. But I digress.)
Similarly I've known expats who were not served beer when they attempted to order it in Japanese. Sumimasen, we don't have a building. The subtleties are key.
But I love the evidence of a young mind at work trying to figure it out.
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