日本語

kuwisdelu

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People say that English absorbs lots of words from other languages. I've heard the metaphore that other languages borrow but English hunts you down, beats and robs you, then leaves you lying sensless in an alley. Which isn't all that innacurate in a way.

But Japanese is pretty crazy about taking words too. If the word is remotely useful, it will end up in Japanese as a katakana word, eventually it may change to hiragana. Some professor type will at some time try to make a similar word with proper kanji, but those words rarely survive.

Part of why I find this stuff so cool is that part of my interest in the Japanese language is so I can better understand my tribe's language, Zuni. Both are language isolates that have ended up borrowing from nearby languages over the years, and their true origins are difficult to determine. So I have an interest in how extant language isolates evolve, and for obvious reasons Japanese is far more thoroughly documented than my tribe's (which I can't even speak).

I like how English and Japanese steal from each other, too. :)

I only just learned the English "honcho" as in "head honcho" comes from 班長.
 
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Debio

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I only just learned the English "honcho" as in "head honcho" comes from 班長.

I didn't know that. But once pointed out, yeah, I see that.

I did know that the word skosh, as in just a skosh, is japanese sukoshi 少し. I learned that from my grandmother when I was a kid, some thirty odd years ago.
 

kuwisdelu

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I did know that the word skosh, as in just a skosh, is japanese sukoshi 少し. I learned that from my grandmother when I was a kid, some thirty odd years ago.

That one gets pointed out a lot, but I can't remember the last time I ever actually heard anyone say "skosh."
 

StephanieZie

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I didn't know that. But once pointed out, yeah, I see that.

I did know that the word skosh, as in just a skosh, is japanese sukoshi 少し. I learned that from my grandmother when I was a kid, some thirty odd years ago.

I had to google that. I've never heard the word "skosh".
 

Shaba

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Question. I've started back up my Japanese. I've been going strong for more than 2 months now. My kanji is weak still, so bear with my romanji.

Is there really any difference between:

Otokonoko to obaasan wa ie no naka ni imasu.

vs.

Otokonoko to obaasan wa ie ni imasu.
 

slashedkaze

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Question. I've started back up my Japanese. I've been going strong for more than 2 months now. My kanji is weak still, so bear with my romanji.

Is there really any difference between:

Otokonoko to obaasan wa ie no naka ni imasu.

vs.

Otokonoko to obaasan wa ie ni imasu.

Not as far as I can tell.

My Japanese is at JLPT N2 level, by the way. Well, I took the exam December 2012, kind of sad I haven't improved since then. :D
 

Osulagh

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Question. I've started back up my Japanese. I've been going strong for more than 2 months now. My kanji is weak still, so bear with my romanji.

Is there really any difference between:

Otokonoko to obaasan wa ie no naka ni imasu.

vs.

Otokonoko to obaasan wa ie ni imasu.

:scared: I've been reminded how much I hate romanji. Even if your kanji is bad, couldn't you type it out in kana?
I'm so very happy that I didn't start learning Japanese from romanji and was forced to learn kana.

Both read fine to me, the first just references that they are inside the house as appose to just -at- house (though, I'm unsure if there's a better particle to note existence at than に).
 

Shaba

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I'm sorry. I probably should have written it in kana. My hiragana and katakana are superb.
 

Lironah

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日本語出来ますが、日本人じゃない。

I've done fan-subbing so I'm at a pretty high level, though I wouldn't consider myself an expert.
 

juniper

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Help with Japanese website?

Hello all. I'm hoping one of you can help me decipher a Japanese website.

I didn't renew a .com website a few years ago and someone else snapped it up. What's funny is that I don't know why anyone else would want that domain name ...

katjuniper (dot) (com)

It was attached to my blog and then I lost it through non-renewal. I'd like to get it back.

There's no English on the page. I clicked a link on it that led to another Japanese page, and then another - only photo I see is for a special shampoo -

I'm not sure who to contact about buying my domain name back, since everything is in Japanese.

If anyone could help me with this, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!
 

Lironah

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Juniper: There's nothing helpful that I can find, not even a parent website. However, there are ways to find out who owns a domain other than the site itself. Do a web search for 'whois data', and that should point you in the right direction.
 

juniper

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Thanks, Lironah. I wonder why they took my domain name? Does Kat or Juniper have some special meaning in Japanese culture? Can't imagine what but seems odd that they wanted my domain.

Is all that text just advertising for their shampoo?

Maybe they'll not renew it at some point and I can get it back. I can't really afford to buy it, unless it's really cheap.
 

Lironah

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Thanks, Lironah. I wonder why they took my domain name? Does Kat or Juniper have some special meaning in Japanese culture? Can't imagine what but seems odd that they wanted my domain.

Is all that text just advertising for their shampoo?

Maybe they'll not renew it at some point and I can get it back. I can't really afford to buy it, unless it's really cheap.

No special meaning. I think it's just a link spammer; they've added 2 unrelated links now.
 

Reziac

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Juniper: There's nothing helpful that I can find, not even a parent website. However, there are ways to find out who owns a domain other than the site itself. Do a web search for 'whois data', and that should point you in the right direction.

Any domain that is allowed to lapse WILL be squatted, by some outfit that makes a business of squatting domains. They hope that someone will want to buy it back (prices tend to be up in four figures to start) and meanwhile, it earns good money hosting advertising (but is never used for a real site, with the rare exception of scams where people might mistake the domain for something else). I'd guess the asking price (given that it's made from recognisable words, the most valuable sort of domain) will be around $4000, but it could be a good deal higher. Remember you're competing with ad revenue of around $3000 per year.

There are also domain buying services; one is run by GoDaddy, and I think there's one associated with Sedo as well. They make a commission, so they're not exactly on your side when it comes to the price.

The best course, if you're not made of money, is to keep an eye on the domain, and when the expiration date rolls around, check it -- and if by some chance it's not renewed, grab it. I got one of mine that way -- it had been squatted for 8 or 9 years, then the squatter went out of business and apparently didn't sell their assets first, and by sheer luck I got to it before anyone else.

Info on the current owner:

WHOIS search results for: KATJUNIPER.COM (Registered)
Domain Name: katjuniper.com
Registry Domain ID:
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.discount-domain.com
Registrar URL: http://www.onamae.com
Updated Date: 2014-10-01 21:13:50.0
Creation Date: 2012-07-09 11:02:42.0
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2015-07-09 11:02:42.0
Registrar: GMO INTERNET, INC.
Registrar IANA ID: 49
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: [email protected]
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone:
Domain Status: ACTIVE
Registry Registrant ID:
Registrant Name: Whois Privacy Protection Service by VALUE-DOMAIN
Registrant Organization: Whois Privacy Protection Service by VALUE-DOMAIN
Registrant Street1: Chuo-ku Minamisenba 3-1-8
Registrant Street2: MinamiSenba Dream bldg.
Registrant City: Osaka
Registrant State/Province: Osaka
Registrant Postal Code: 542-0081
Registrant Country: JP
Registrant Phone: +81.0662416585
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax: +81.0662416586
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email: [email protected]
Registry Admin ID:
Admin Name: Whois Privacy Protection Service by VALUE-DOMAIN
Admin Organization: Whois Privacy Protection Service by VALUE-DOMAIN
Admin Street1: Chuo-ku Minamisenba 3-1-8
Admin Street2: MinamiSenba Dream bldg.
Admin City: Osaka
Admin State/Province: Osaka
Admin Postal Code: 542-0081
Admin Country: JP
Admin Phone: +81.0662416585
Admin Phone Ext:
Admin Fax: +81.0662416586
Admin Fax Ext:
Admin Email: [email protected]
Registry Tech ID:
Tech Name: Whois Privacy Protection Service by VALUE-DOMAIN
Tech Organization: Whois Privacy Protection Service by VALUE-DOMAIN
Tech Street1: Chuo-ku Minamisenba 3-1-8
Tech Street2: MinamiSenba Dream bldg.
Tech City: Osaka
Tech State/Province: Osaka
Tech Postal Code: 542-0081
Tech Country: JP
Tech Phone: +81.0662416585
Tech Phone Ext:
Tech Fax: +81.0662416586
Tech Fax Ext:
Tech Email: [email protected]
Name Server: ns111.forthepeople.jp
Name Server: ns112.forthepeople.jp
DNSSEC:
URL of the ICANN WHOIS Data Problem Reporting System: http://wdprs.internic.net/
Last update of WHOIS database: 2014-10-01 21:13:50.0
 
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juniper

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Thx. Definitely I'm not made of money so I'll just put a note in my calendar and check for the renewal. And remember to renew all my others.

Btw - how do you know what their ad revenue is? Just curious.
 
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Reziac

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I tripped over a forum where domain squatters discuss ad revenue and the value of squatted domains, and sell them to each other.

I have my domains on auto-renew, which helps prevent accidental lapses. :)
 

Bryan Methods

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[FONT=arial, sans-serif] [/FONT]今晩は! Lovely typhoon weather we're having!

I've recently relocated to Tokyo - anyone else out here and writing?
 

Lucia.Kaku

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This thread seems a bit dead, but if there's anyone out there interested in Japanese still hanging around, it's a pet favorite topic of mine~
 

Lucia.Kaku

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Been a long time since I saw that! Used to live in Tokyo, but I've got rice fields out my apartment window, and no movie theater within three hours of me right now. No harajuku girls here :p
 

Ken

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If I espy another harajuku girl I will direct her your way :)
(According to the reading I have done they have the ability to materialize outta nowhere.)
 

Lucia.Kaku

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I do live in a very cool place! I'm very nature-oriented and love history, so the home of the majority of Japanese mythology where hardly anyone lives is basically perfect for me. ^__^ It's so beautiful. And the shrine where all the gods go on vacation to chat about how the year went is here in Shimane! You should come on out sometime, I much prefer it to Tokyo. (But I'm not a big city kind of girl, either.)
 

Tocotin

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Heh heh, I'm not overly fond of big cities either, but I live in a very quiet area. This is why I love Tokyo – it has everything, from concrete jungles to forests. :)
 

Lucia.Kaku

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The only thing I miss that I wish was closer was a movie theater (three hours from ever'where!), but other than that, I don't miss being far from the concrete jungles. I prefer the wooden ones ^__^