• booty [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    yeah but tones in japanese only affect dialect like you're talking about, right? so sure the dumb white guy talks like a valley girl but if he tries to speak chinese he accidentally insults your mother. sounds like japanese is still straightforward relatively lmao

    • Nagarjuna [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      There are words that entirely change meaning with tone. Not as many as Chinese, but still a lot

    • constellation [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      No, they're an integral part of the language. It's just that textbooks don't seem to mention it, and that reflects the poor state of pedagogy in Japanese learning. I'm convinced the people who write textbooks don't want anyone to learn, because more people speaking Japanese would diminish their own accomplishments and make them feel less special.

      • booty [he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        I had no idea, that's interesting. Where could I read more about this?

        • constellation [none/use name]
          ·
          2 years ago

          I quit studying Japanese long ago in favor of Chinese. Tones are definitely there, though. Heck English has tones.

          • booty [he/him]
            ·
            2 years ago

            English just has one tone that's grammatically meaningful though, and even then you can do without it through context.

              • booty [he/him]
                ·
                2 years ago

                No they don't. There are at most two meanings between these 4 things, and both of those meanings could be extracted from context by a person speaking in a monotone.

                • constellation [none/use name]
                  ·
                  2 years ago

                  All I have to say is that we have very different views of what tones mean in speech. Having studied tonal languages, I'm sticking with my view.

                  • booty [he/him]
                    ·
                    2 years ago

                    What a lame response. Why even comment? "I've decided you're wrong and I know more than you, but of course I can't articulate why." Did I accidentally log into reddit today?