Nathan Algren (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shiroi_tiger) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2010-01-11 06:04 am
shiroi_tiger) wrote in fandomhigh2010-01-11 06:04 am
Entry tags:
Japanese Etiquette & Tradition, 1/11/10, Period 5
The classroom setup today was decidedly similar to the setup last week, with the mat at the door, and the slippers, and the cushions for sitting on. Once again, Algren had said 'screw it' to the conventional classroom setting, and had gone with what he was most comfortable with.
Also, he went ahead and provided donuts from J-GoB, which weren't Japanese in the least, but they were jelly-filled, which Algren figured gave them bonus points, somehow. Don't make a mess on the floor or on your cushions, or he might be forced to look at you disapprovingly. And then make you stay after class to clean up after yourselves. Which does happen to be proper Japanese classroom etiquette.
"Today, we'll be taking a look at Japanese honorifics," he said, once it looked as though everybody was about as settled down as they were going to get. "There are several different levels of formality within Japanese speech, and possibly the one that stands out the most to anybody new to the language would be the suffixes that are appended to the names of others. Such honorifics exist to refer to practically anybody, from those who you have a great respect for, right on down the line to people who you outrank or look down upon. Generally, it's considered more polite to refer to people by their family name, as opposed to their given one."
Algren looked at his class for a moment, raising an eyebrow.
"I wouldn't worry too much about that in this classroom, as half of you don't appear to have family names."
Ah, Fandom.
"Fortunately, these honorifics can be added to family names and given ones, so you don't have any need to feel terribly left out." Lucky you! "We're going to cover those honorifics that are most commonly used in this day and age, because if I were to attempt to teach them all to you, we would be here all day."
And the last thing that Algren wanted to do was stay late, today.
"The first honorific that we'll be covering today is 'san.' San is the most commonly used honorific in Japan, and can be added to nearly anybody's name. It's the Japanese equivalent of 'Mr.,' 'Miss,' 'Mrs.,' or 'Ms.' You might refer to, say, Miss Gregson as 'Gregson-san,' or to 'Elena-san,' just as readily as a husband might use it with his wife, or a business rival might tack it to the end of his competition's name. When in doubt, you'll probably be the safest using this one.
"The next ones that we're going to cover will be 'chan' and 'kun.' Both of these suffixes are used when referring to someone that you're quite probably very familiar with. Typically, chan is used when referring to females, generally younger ones, and kun is used in reference to similarly youthful boys. You wouldn't go around calling somebody of a higher social standing than yourself by either of these, because they would think you were being condescending. And if you were to refer to a superior with a suffix for the wrong gender...?" Algren smirked faintly. "Well, let's just say that the first person to call me 'Algren-chan' gets detention for a month. I'm neither effeminate nor am I particularly adorable.
"'Sama is a suffix used to denote a great deal of respect. If I were to stretch this example somewhat, one might refer to our Dean as 'Stinson-sama,' for lack of anybody more fitting here on the island." A beat. "I wouldn't recommend calling yourself by this one. You'll only come off as extremely arrogant. Unless you're fine with being seen as arrogant, but in that case, just remember that it isn't my job to keep other students from beating you up outside of this classroom."
Very helpful, Algren.
"The last three honorifics that I'm going to cover today will be 'Sensei,' which is most commonly used in reference to a teacher, or a doctor, or any other such authority figure, 'Senpai,' for use in referring to a senior colleague in school and business, and 'Kōhai,' which refers to a junior colleague, playing counterpoint to Senpai. It's worth noting that any one of these three honorifics do not necessarily need to be appended to the end of a name. You can call me 'Algren-sensei' or simply 'Sensei,' and I won't take offense. Senpai isn't an uncommon phrase to hear in a school environment, but I wouldn't refer to Principal Winchester, my boss, as my Senpai. Professor Durden, who has been teaching here longer than I have, certainly fits the bill. Kōhai, you can pretty much ignore. It isn't usually used as an honorific, anyhow."
Algren reached for a donut and smiled at the class.
"Your assignment for today is to take each of the honorifics I've spoken about today, san, chan, kun, sama, sensei, and senpai, and then write a list of examples of people that you know who you might use each of them for. Take a donut, and feel free to discuss your options with a classmate if you think you might need to do so."
[OCDon the way up. Have at thee!]
Also, he went ahead and provided donuts from J-GoB, which weren't Japanese in the least, but they were jelly-filled, which Algren figured gave them bonus points, somehow. Don't make a mess on the floor or on your cushions, or he might be forced to look at you disapprovingly. And then make you stay after class to clean up after yourselves. Which does happen to be proper Japanese classroom etiquette.
"Today, we'll be taking a look at Japanese honorifics," he said, once it looked as though everybody was about as settled down as they were going to get. "There are several different levels of formality within Japanese speech, and possibly the one that stands out the most to anybody new to the language would be the suffixes that are appended to the names of others. Such honorifics exist to refer to practically anybody, from those who you have a great respect for, right on down the line to people who you outrank or look down upon. Generally, it's considered more polite to refer to people by their family name, as opposed to their given one."
Algren looked at his class for a moment, raising an eyebrow.
"I wouldn't worry too much about that in this classroom, as half of you don't appear to have family names."
Ah, Fandom.
"Fortunately, these honorifics can be added to family names and given ones, so you don't have any need to feel terribly left out." Lucky you! "We're going to cover those honorifics that are most commonly used in this day and age, because if I were to attempt to teach them all to you, we would be here all day."
And the last thing that Algren wanted to do was stay late, today.
"The first honorific that we'll be covering today is 'san.' San is the most commonly used honorific in Japan, and can be added to nearly anybody's name. It's the Japanese equivalent of 'Mr.,' 'Miss,' 'Mrs.,' or 'Ms.' You might refer to, say, Miss Gregson as 'Gregson-san,' or to 'Elena-san,' just as readily as a husband might use it with his wife, or a business rival might tack it to the end of his competition's name. When in doubt, you'll probably be the safest using this one.
"The next ones that we're going to cover will be 'chan' and 'kun.' Both of these suffixes are used when referring to someone that you're quite probably very familiar with. Typically, chan is used when referring to females, generally younger ones, and kun is used in reference to similarly youthful boys. You wouldn't go around calling somebody of a higher social standing than yourself by either of these, because they would think you were being condescending. And if you were to refer to a superior with a suffix for the wrong gender...?" Algren smirked faintly. "Well, let's just say that the first person to call me 'Algren-chan' gets detention for a month. I'm neither effeminate nor am I particularly adorable.
"'Sama is a suffix used to denote a great deal of respect. If I were to stretch this example somewhat, one might refer to our Dean as 'Stinson-sama,' for lack of anybody more fitting here on the island." A beat. "I wouldn't recommend calling yourself by this one. You'll only come off as extremely arrogant. Unless you're fine with being seen as arrogant, but in that case, just remember that it isn't my job to keep other students from beating you up outside of this classroom."
Very helpful, Algren.
"The last three honorifics that I'm going to cover today will be 'Sensei,' which is most commonly used in reference to a teacher, or a doctor, or any other such authority figure, 'Senpai,' for use in referring to a senior colleague in school and business, and 'Kōhai,' which refers to a junior colleague, playing counterpoint to Senpai. It's worth noting that any one of these three honorifics do not necessarily need to be appended to the end of a name. You can call me 'Algren-sensei' or simply 'Sensei,' and I won't take offense. Senpai isn't an uncommon phrase to hear in a school environment, but I wouldn't refer to Principal Winchester, my boss, as my Senpai. Professor Durden, who has been teaching here longer than I have, certainly fits the bill. Kōhai, you can pretty much ignore. It isn't usually used as an honorific, anyhow."
Algren reached for a donut and smiled at the class.
"Your assignment for today is to take each of the honorifics I've spoken about today, san, chan, kun, sama, sensei, and senpai, and then write a list of examples of people that you know who you might use each of them for. Take a donut, and feel free to discuss your options with a classmate if you think you might need to do so."
[OCD