Since Sam was very proficient in the language, I usually message him in Japanese. As he was one of the first Malaysians I met when I came to Tokyo, and one of the few who took the effort to console me when my granma passed away, he was naturally concerned about my current status.
The other day I happened to use the computer downstairs while cooking. In between idle time, I decided to log in to MSN and saw that he happened to be online too. Not wanting to change the default settings, I decided to just type in English this time.
Sam : wah... finally see u speak in english... how r u?
me : coz not my pc. malas wanna change languae
Sam : haha so... wazzup
me : you mesg me first.. i shud ask u
Sam : just to say hi
me : hehe
Sam : so... hows the food
me : hehe cooking with my housemates. so its kinda fun. and i end up eating a lot haha
Sam : no wonder... anw, good life?
me : so far so good
Sam : good.... glad to hear
me : enjoyig spring weather
Sam : u know... maybe is my japanese not that good. the way u tell me in japanese and the way u tell me in english. i felt so different. u sound so mad in japanese. but in english... it sounds so much like u
me : sound so mad??? really arh hahahaha
Sam : so angry
me : zen zen la (translated : not at all)
Sam : haha maybe i translated wrongly
me : or i need to soften my japanese... wat did i say to give you that impression la
Sam : aha.. everything... from start
me : like what
Sam : i don know. the meaning u try to express thru japanese... hard to tell u. from start... i already like hearing complains... haha japanese should not be use like english... for gals... should use it more softly... use words softly like だよ、おねがいします、かもしれない、のかい、 i don know. try to make ur japanese sounds more softer... don make it like a guy speaking type... eventhough in english it can.. but japanese express it like angry for gals...
me : hahahh i have been watching gokusen recntly. and learning yakuza language
Sam : no wonder eesh.... sounds really rough.... for a gal, as if u r scolding or angry... or just being a man....
me : HAHAHAHAHAHA zen zen la
Yes, like I said, I have improved quite a bit in my Japanese. What I
The traditional male-chauvinist society of Japan is such that the women are supposed to conform to certain societal etiquette and this includes the speech pattern too. Words such as "I" and "you" are different for male and female. In addition, sentence ending patterns differ between both gender as well.
Not only is the Japanese language highly contextualised, I have to make sure I sound feminine enough by using the right gender word patterns!
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