October 21, 2017　=========

☆  dialect  方言

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One of my most favorite and funniest memories of Japan is when I visited my friend’s house in Ishigaki. Everyone I met, spoke the local dialect, so even though I thought my Japanese ability was OK, I couldn’t understand anything they were saying! We stayed at her grandmother’s house, and one morning, I finally spoke. I said, “ohayo gozaimasu” to her grandmother.

Her grandmother was so excited!! She said I spoke wonderful Japanese (just from that one greeting!) It was quite funny! Unfortunately, after that, everyone started speaking in the local dialect again, so just like the Sofia Coppola movie from 2003, everything was “lost in translation.” 🙂

Are you from an area in Japan with a dialect? Do you find it difficult to understand people from other regions of Japan, or is it pretty easy for Japanese people to manage all the different dialects?

Bye,

Chris