Even though there are many Japanese dialects, the Japanese that is taught over the world that is considered is the Tokyo dialect. And because of this. people harder every notices the second biggest Japanese dialect known as Kansai dialect. People in Japan usually calls Kansai-ben but there are more formal ways in say it like “Kansai hogen” or “Kinki” dialect. The Kansai dialect isn’t really spoken around the country other than Japan because the Tokyo dialect is considered the most standard Japanese. This also means that in schools in Japan that even if you speak the Kansai dialect, the Tokyo dialects way of talking is the ones taught in the textbooks. Pretty much everyone in the Kansai region speaks the Kansai dialect and it’s also known as “Kinki” dialect because “Kinki” is another name for Kansai. It’s also important to know the Kansai region is mainly from the two cities Osaka and Kyoto. The only people who speak Kansai dialect as a second language are the mainly people who move to the Kansai region.
The attitude that describes the Kansai dialect should definitely be aggressive. People in the Kansai speak fast and louder than normal because they want their words to be heard. Especially in Osaka, people there are known to have less patience and high temper which results in many arguments. The Kansai dialect is also unique because they change many of the words from the standard way taught to fit their own dialect. For example, “Todemonai” is the usually way to say “no way”, but in the Kansai dialect people use “Akan”.According to the article “The Beauty of Japanese Dialect” by Fabien Mizart, “akan” is most well known characters to people who know the Kansai dialect but might not speak it. What makes phrases unique like this is how most people can still understand words like “Akan” even if they aren’t taught the same dialect because the word make sense to the context and the meaning. For example, “akan” depending on contect can also mean “not good” and “It can’t be done”. But these words are still unusual to those who hears it for the first time and at the same time a good shows the speaker is from the Kansai region.
Even though people in Japan perceive the Kansai dialect as an aggressive dialect, they actually don’t discriminate people who speak the Kansai dialect at all. In the article “Osaka vs Tokyo People: Are They Really That Different?” by Yuka Fiujiwara, it shows how Japan people think of the the Kansai dialect as loud and aggressive but also friendly. They might keep in mind that the people speaking the Kansai dialect is short tempered though and be more careful when they talk. The people who live in Kansai are proud of their own dialect and they often get mad when people make fun of how they talk. But those people who make fun of them are mostly unfamiliar with the language or first time approaching it. Overall, the Kansai dialect is mainly just a dialect they use in the Kansai region and no one in Japan really discriminates against it. This dialect is pass down through the Kansai region as a tradition as everyone speaks this way. Even including the teachers who teach from the textbooks where the content mainly teaches the Tokyo dialect, they would adjust characters to match their dialect into the context so it makes sense.
Work Cited:
Mizart, Fabien. “The Beauty of Japanese Dialects.” SAMURAI MEETUPS, 23 Aug. 2017, samuraimeetups.or.jp/lauguage/the-beauty-of-japanese-dialects.
Fujiwara, Yuka. “Osaka vs Tokyo: The Differences Between Them Might Surprise You.” The True Japan, The True Japan, 19 Oct. 2017, thetruejapan.com/osaka-vs-tokyo-people-are-they-really-that-different/.
Questions:
Should I use more Kansai dialect words as examples?
Should I have to add on or split between paragraph since it might look weird with 3 long paragraphs?
From what I understand, you’re talking about how the Kansai dialect is but I don’t think you talked much about how it’s perceived by a different group, say someone who spoke Tokyo Japanese or a completely different dialect. Also, I think you should include more of an introduction and a few more paragraphs just so you can reach the minimum requirement of 3 pages. Overall, I think you’re off to a good start!
something that could help you to improve your essay is to proof read, You gave some great key points, but you need to organized them more, because the introduction was a bit confusing while trying to read it.