English and My First Language

       Listen carefully when you talk to people who speak English and Japanese. These languages have differences and similarities.  One example of differences is about describing themselves. When people speak English and say “ I ”, there is only way to indicate self. But Japanese language has many ways to say “ I ” such as Watashi, Watakushi, Atashi, Boku, Ore.  People change how they indicate self depending  on they are a male or female, situations and people who they talk with. The other example of differences is when we listen to English; we will know the result beginning of sentences. For example “I don’t eat fish”. People say “don’t” after “I”.  So people can understand “you don’t eat fish” at the beginning of the conversation. But when people speak Japanese, you should listen carefully. That’s because people tell you the result at the end of sentences. For example “Watashi wa sakana wo tabemasen” . In this case, tabemasen is “ don’t eat”, so if you don’t listen to what people say until they finish speaking, you won’t be able to understand them.  However, these languages have similarities. For example Japanese use English words such as “table”, “glass”, “fork”, “knife”, and “kiss” in their daily lives. So if English speakers listen to these words in Japanese, they will understand what people say. Even though these languages are spoken in different countries, some words are similar, but please don’t forget to listen to Japanese carefully until they finish speaking. Also if you pay attention to the differences and similarities, you may think it's interesting and you will enjoy learning these languages.