JapanNewbie

Learn Kansai-ben from a Book

Posted on 10. Sep, 2009 @ 8:58 am by harvey in Books, Language Views: 655

I often talk about TV shows, movies, and car navigation systems that are fun to use to learn some Kansai-ben, but I had almost forgotten about this actual book that’s available for Kansai-ben instruction.

Learning from a book! Who woulda thought!

Colloquial Kansai Japanese

Of course, if you’re still learning basic Japanese it might not be a good idea to seriously study Kansai dialect quite yet… Especially if you’re struggling to keep up with your usual homework… But taking a peek at Kansai-ben structure will take some of the mystery out of the Kansai-ben that will inevitably seep into your ears during your regular Japanese-permeated life.

That is to say, if you’re doing more with your Japanese than just reading textbooks, you will surely encounter Kansai-ben whether you realize it or not.

There’s nothing worse than listening to Japanese as a learner for a while and thinking… What in the world… Are they speaking… Yeah… that sounds like Japanese… but it’s kinda weird… Is that Korean!? Only to find out that it was just Kansai-ben or some other Japanese dialect later. Trust me, I know. I’ve been there.

The first time I heard a really thick dialect used by a friends grandmother down in Kagoshima I was shocked at my inability to communicate in Japanese. Shocked! And it was so weird because this lady could understand me fine, but I couldn’t understand anything she was saying back to me! That’s another story though. Anyway, the point is, don’t let Kansai-ben catch you the same way.

Kansai-ben is the most widely spoken dialect in Japan so it’s hard to avoid. You’ll hear Kansai-ben in Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, and variants of it spoken all over West Japan. Kansai-ben is used in many aspects of Japanese pop culture such as anime, TV dramas, and manga. There are even some bands that sing in Kansai-ben.

This means that if you’re doing even a tiny bit of extra work and seeking out Japanese on your own (as you should be), you’re bound to run into Kansai-ben sooner than later. Having a brief Kansai-ben background will help so that you’re not completely thrown off when you do.

If books aren’t your thing, you can also get some Kansai-ben instruction elsewhere on this blog, as well as with our Kansai-ben iPod Application which will cost you less than your lunch today.

Happy dialect learning!

- Harvey