I think what I fell in love with the language is by the way it sounds - it is a very musical language. Like most Asian languages (and unlike most Western languages), Japanese does not use emphasis (stress) to mark accent. This gives the language its distinctive, rather "flat" sound-- even long words do not have a stressed syllable. However, Japanese does use pitch-- high and low-- to distinguish words.

Japanese is literally a unique language. Linguistics scholars have classified all modern languages into huge "families" that are related through their grammars and vocabularies. For instance, English and other familiar European languages such as French and Spanish are in the Indo-European family (English is in the Germanic branch, while French and Spanish are in the
Italic branch). However, despite the breadth of modern linguistics categories, there are several holdout languages that simply do not have cognates in any other currently spoken language. These include Basque, Ainu, and Japanese.


I always had a passion to learn about other cultures and help those cultures interact with and understand each other better. Learning a foreign language can reconceptualize your view of your own native language. This is a specific example of the general principle that true understanding of anything requires viewing it from an outside perspective. You don't understand India until you have traveled in other parts of the world. You don't understand science until you have studied art, religion, and literature (and vice versa). Once you begin studying Japanese, you will see quirks of your native language that were hidden from you before. That in itself is an end, whether you end up mastering Japanese or not.

For people learning Japanese for the first time, I'd say that whether you plan to learn the language just for a couple of years or whether you're prepared to make the committment to learn it over the many, many years that are required to attain fluency, you have to be ready to realize early on that learning Japanese takes daily discipline and an extraordinary amount of time and a lot more commitment. But I have to also say that it is an incredibly rewarding experience.

Come on... let's learn a few basic words in japanese..

Ohayou gozaimasu --> Good Morning.

Konnichiwa ---> Good Afternoon.

Konbanwa ---> Good Evening.

Sayounara ---> Farewell.
(Don't over use sayounara. It is normally only used when you will not be seeing the person you're departing from for a long period of time. It is even used when seeing someone for the last time. But it should not be used when you will be right back.)

Jaa mata atode ---> See you again.

Doumo arigatou ---> Thank you. These are very standard ways to say "thank you". Arigatou is similar to saying "thanks".

Arigatou gozaimasu ---> Thank you.
This version of "thank you" is much more polite than just plain arigatou.

Doumo arigatou gozaimasu ---> Thank you very much.
This is the most polite version of "thank you".

Dou itashimashite ---> You are welcome.

Shibaraku desu ne ---> Long time no see.

Ohisashiburi desu ---> It's been a long time.

Tanjoubi omedetou ---> Happy Birthday.

Akemashite omedetou ---> Happy New Years.

Ogenki desu ka ---> How are you?

Hajimemashite ---> Nice to meet you.
literally means meeting you for the first time.

Onamae wa nan desu ka ---> What is your name?

huuhhh... Quite Easy isn't it..??

Well if you find the above stuff interesting, check out the following link for more information...

http://www.freejapaneselessons.com/

Happy Learning..!!!!

Look no further! Google Video has an iPod option for most of their videos.

Select”Video iPod/Sony PSP” and click Download. It will send you to a MP4 file that you can easily add to your iPod.

Also, if you haven’t checked out Apple’s Multi Touch screen movie, I’d highly recommend it...!!!

Check out this link...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/16/AR2006031600192.html?nav=hcmodule

Quite interesting...!!!!!

I feel compelled to comment on the tragic incident that happened today morning. i was on my way to office, the driver of my cab was driving at a very high speed (in spite of our repeated warnings..!!)... It all happened in a fraction of second... An accident.... A poor dog was killed under the wheels... I saw the dog fraction of a second before it hit the car; I didn't see the hit but I heard it and I felt it.. All of us were completely helpless.. Dogs are part of homes; legally there's probably no "hit and run" penalty for hitting a pet... despite the diligent work of shelters and canine adoption agencies, three to five million dogs are put to death across the world every year...

I felt very sorry for it.. Up to the minute the dog had died, it would have had a good life, with people surrounded, who cared for it; never abused or hurt. It would have known happiness; love. This was a dog whose life would have been good until the moment it died. For a dog, you can't ask for much more. You can't ask for much more if you're a human, either..

Don’t Kill the Dogs. Respect its nature. Shape its character. Love it for life....

Nowadays I find myself getting really irritable for almost no reason? Or suddenly feeling down without knowing why? Going from sadness to anger to joy in a matter of minutes..?? Dealing with constant change and pressure may be one reason. It might feel as though there just isn't enough time to do everything.
I feel that I want to be on my own and make my own decisions, but it can also seem overwhelming and even a bit lonely at times. I think I'm under depression...!!!!

Many people think of depression as feeling sad, but depression can also bring feelings of moodiness, impatience, anger, or even just not caring. When depression gets in the way of enjoying life or dealing with others, that's a sign when one needs to do something about it, like talking to a counselor or therapist who can help us deal with it.
Here are some things I do (which I've learnt !!) that might make those bad moods a bit easier to handle:

• Recognize that I'm not alone.
• Catch my breath. Or count to 10. Or do something that lets me settle down for a few moments, especially if I'm feeling angry or irritable.
• Talk to people I trust Keeping feelings inside can make me feel much worse..!!
• Exercise. I try to get enough sleep Being tired can lead to more sadness and irritability.
• Create. Put my feelings into my artwork.
• Cry. There's nothing wrong with crying; in fact, it often makes a person feel better..!!
• Wait. Just as you can get into a bad mood for what seems like no reason at times, that mood can also pass.

Above all Understanding that almost everyone goes through mood swings during their life time makes my life easier to handle these situations... in a better way...!!!!

What we anticipate seldom occurs what we least expected generally happens...!!!

If you paint in your mind a picture of bright and happy expectations, you put yourself into a condition conducive to your goal.... but in reality.. most of the time... 'We expect everything and are prepared for nothing..!!!'

Expectations lead to dissapointments... however when one has NO expectation, everything is a surprise.... Everyone likes surprises... and ofcourse you won't feel the pain when things are not in favour to you... No disappointment, beyond satisfaction, a surprise.... On the contrary you can even expect the worst always, and you will never be disappointed.....

Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised....