Translation Party/ GIBAMASHAI!

Translation Party!

If you are ever bored and are a huge language nerd this is the website for you.

Also, for my faithful fourth year Japanese students, please enjoy some local dialect.

In Japan there are many different dialects- some differ so much it would be hard for a person in one prefecture to understand the speech of another. Like America, there is a standard dialect (go midwest!!) which is the Tokyo dialect or kyōtsūgo 共通語. Mostly everyone speaks to me in the kyōtsūgo but sometimes they let some Izumo-ben, or Izumo dialect, slip. Here are some of my favorite examples so far:

だんだん dan dan 　＝　ありがとう　arigatou = thank you
This is the most common izumo-ben, plus it sounds cute. We went to the Dan Dan Festival that first week!
ばんじまして banjimashite　＝　おやすみ oyasumi = Good night!
I used this one once and got told I sounded like an old lady. Oops.
そげそげ　soge soge ＝　そうかそうかsouka souka = Hmm, is that so?
ぎばむ　gibamu ＝　がんばる ganbaru = Do your best/good luck.
I think when people use this verb in command form it sounds like gibamashai! Very odd.
ぐすい gusui　＝　かるい karui = dark

For more check out this handy Izumo-Ben Dictionary (good luck though, I had trouble with all the kanji). I was told that after coming to Shimane I would sound in Japanese like a country girl, and with any luck this dream can come true ;)

GIBAMASHAI!!!!