The Missing せめ

[elfs]

I've been following the Japanese lessons from Japanese Pod 101, which is just a fabulous resource if you want to learn the language. You can actually hear the rocky start, and then the experimentation with opening music, and then the routine they fell into after about two weeks, so it has the sense of a real podcast. They have a reliable schedule and a willing sponsor, so they're doing well. The podcasts are free, but if you want any of the written materials and reading lessons, it costs $60 a year. I haven't bought in yet, but the spoken lessons are excellent, and they only take ten to fifteen minutes a day. (Usually more like fifteen, meaning that at the end of every episode Peter, the English speaker of the team, apologizes for "going over again.")

I was listening to an episode I missed, Survival Phrases Lesson 2, and Natsuko and Kazunori are invited to say "Kampai!" together, they do, and then Peter says, "That was a very interesting phrase you used there, Natsuko. What was it?"

The lesson then goes on to explain "Se'eh No," an expression derived from "initiate" or "attack," and basically has the same meaning as "Ready, Go!" in English. Natsuko used it to provide the beat on which she and the male voice will speak at the same time.

I rewound it three times to check: they edited out Natsuko's original "Se'eh No." It's missing from the recording. Although the editor faithfully and reliably left it in for the initial lesson, Natsuko's first use of the phrase, the one that sparked Peter's comment, is missing. There's no context for what he's saying.

Nothing particularly remarkable about this, but it was a good lesson about editing: your audience will hear everything, especially your mistakes.

Comments

[polydad.livejournal.com]

I got a 404 on the link. Could you check it, please?

best,

Joel

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Fixed!

Starting out?

[datapacrat.livejournal.com]

If you don't mind my asking, is this a good place to start learning for somebody whose current skill at Japanese is limited to "Kanpai!" and the occasional word picked up from manga, anime, or video games?

Re: Starting out?

[elfs.livejournal.com]

There are two great resources: the first is the URL listed above. The other is Pimsleur's Speak and Learn Japanese, which you can usually get from your local library. It's more intense: you have to commit yourself to at least 30 minutes a day for 90 days, but by the end you'll be able to pick up enough conversation and grammar from the anime that you can build an ear-training vocabulary.

[davidlevine]

I'm having a little trouble figuring out the Japanese Pod 101 site. I could subscribe to the feed, but that would start me off in the middle of the lessons. If you want to start from the beginning, do you just manually download a lesson each day from the archives? Or are the lessons written so that you can pick up anywhere?

[elfs.livejournal.com]

I would recommend going back to December 20th or so (that would be day 1, yeah) and listening to them in order. If you can stand it, do two a day until you've caught up. I'm still catching up myself, having found the site only a month ago, and I'm around lesson 43. Basically, they're lessons: listen to them in order and accept that, for them, the dates are off; it'll be late May and they'll be talking about Christmas and New Years'.