Thursday, June 11, 2009

Homework - Names and Addresses

1. Are feelings, emotions and facial expressions universal across borders, happy, sad, etc..?

I am not sure but my guess is that no, feelings, emotions, and facial expressions are not universal. I think that in some cultures, people do not show emotion easily.

Try to name as many feelings as possible in Japanese.

うれしい - happy
かなしい - sad
さびしい - lonely
うらやましい - envious
ねむい - sleepy
いたい - pain
つかれた - tired
げんき - energetic/spirited
きもちわるい - feel bad
おなかがついた - hungry

I had to use my dictionary! haha.

3. Are there any feelings in Japanese that cannot be translated into English?


I am not sure, what does everyone think?

Homework - Greetings

1. How do you greet members of your family? (mother, father, older sister, grandparents, etc.)

I greet all members of my family the same. After I wake up, if I see a member of my family, I say, "Good morning". Otherwise, I usually just say, "Hi". I do not give them a handshake or hug.


2. How do you greet people that are important in society?

If I am meeting someone important in society, I do not change my greeting much. If the person offers their hand for a handshake I will shake their hand but it really depends on the situation. My verbal greeting is the same for everyone though, I say, "Hi" or "Good morning".

3. Do you greet people from the opposite sex in a different way?

I generally greet males and females the same way but there are certain greetings that I would not do to women and vise versa. For example, sometimes when I meet a male friend, we shake hands. If I shake hands with a female friend, I think it is very strange. Also, sometimes when I see a female friend, we will hug and cheek kiss. If I did that with a male friend it would be awkward.

4. Do you hug anyone? If yes, who and when. If no, why not?

Yes, I hug my family and friends. I actually do not hug my family members very often. We usually hug when I leave or go back home to Hawaii. If I have not seen my friends (male or female) for a long time, we hug. Sometimes my friends and I hug even if we saw each other the day before.