http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/rss Micamelia's latest journal entries Lang-8 Inc. Tue Feb 14 07:54:09 UTC 2012 Tue Feb 14 07:54:09 UTC 2012 Lang-8 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Lang-8 One is 落第 (rakudai).
落 (raku) means "to drop", and 第 (dai) is a Chinese-derived word for exams.
So it literally means "to fail an exam".

The other is 留年(ryunen); 留 (ryu) for "to stay", and 年 (nen) for grades.
This one means "to stay / repeat the same grade".

In terms of the literal meanings, the latter word seems more positive.
In fact, however, both of them sound very negative because Japanese people generally regard flunk as very shameful. (Especially at the compulsory education stage.

How about in your country?
How do you call flunking in your language and what is its literal meaning?
Do you have a good image for it?

I hear some Dutch people think flunk is a good thing, and sometimes repeaters are regarded as cool.
What do you think?

Posted at Thu May 19 15:10:47 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/935587 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/935587 Micamelia Thu May 19 15:10:47 UTC 2011
Phew! I posted my first Dutch entry.

I studied the basic verbs 'zijn' and 'hebben' today.
I found it interesting that their bare forms are used only for plural subjects.
Perhaps they used to have 6 different forms for each subject pronoun, but came to be simplified for some reason, I guess.
It is also very interesting that 'she' and 'they' are the same form in Dutch.
(Both of them are 'zij.')
Hmm... There may be some historical or ideological reasons for it.
I like the history of English, so that of Dutch will also be interesting to me!

Posted at Tue May 03 15:08:58 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/914089 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/914089 Micamelia Tue May 03 15:08:58 UTC 2011 (At first, the magnitude was said to be 8.8 or 8.9, but it turned out to be 9.0, which is the largest one that Japan have ever had.)

Fortunately, all of my family members were home (can I say "at home" here?) then, and were all right.
My place, Yokohama, is not so near the earthquake center, but I felt as if I had been on a ship in heavy seas... It was really scary!!

We're still having some aftershoks and worried about the lifelines, particularly lack of electricity.

Thanks a million for the prayers and supports from all over the world!! We really appreciate them!

Posted at Sun Mar 13 05:55:12 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/845979 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/845979 Micamelia Sun Mar 13 05:55:12 UTC 2011 I'm writing this entry as a response for some comments on it.

Some of you might think it doesn't work, but there are not a few reports which show it's working well.

There are several kinds of schools practicing this idea, one of which is called a 'democratic school.'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_education
At democratic schools, there are no specific subjects or curricula, and it is students who decide what, when and how they learn.
Another unique point is that they don't divide classes by students' age.
I think that to mix children with different ages is very effective in learning.
Children innately like to imitate others, so in such age-mixed classes, they can learn lots of things by seeing and imitating what the seniors are doing.

According to Mimsy Sadofsky, a founder of a famous democratic school in the US called 'Sudbury Valley School,' about 90% of the students go to colleges or higher education institutions after graduation.
I think it's a proof that free-will learning does work well.

Then, is the style of democratic schools always the best for any children?
I'll write about it next time since this entry is getting so long! :P

Thanks for reading!! ;-)

Posted at Sat Jan 29 14:13:20 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/786773 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/786773 Micamelia Sat Jan 29 14:13:20 UTC 2011
What do you think is important for learning?
I think it's free will.
I believe that the appropriate timing to learn something is different from person to person, so children themselves, not their teachers or parents, should have a right to decide when and what they will learn.
There are many merits to let them decide it.
- Their motivation is higher than it is when their teachers or parents force them to do it.
- They can really enjoy learning it because it's what they want to.
- They come to think about themselves more seriously because they have a responsibility for what they do.
... and so on! (I stopped here because there are too many merits to write here!)
In this style, the role of teachers and parents is not to direct them to do something but to support or facilitate their learning.

My brother refused to study English when he was a student.
He didn't even know what 'after' means then.
But he got interested in overseas after graduation and started studying English in his 20s.
Do you think it's too late for language learning?
Well, it was not.
Now he can speak English, not broken one, fluently and lives in the UK with local friends.
For him, it was the best timing!

Posted at Thu Jan 27 15:43:32 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/784085 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/784085 Micamelia Thu Jan 27 15:43:32 UTC 2011 Then I made a haiku, a Japanese traditional style of verse with seventeen syllables.

彼岸花　目には秋とて　風まだ温し
（ひがんばな　めにはあきとて　かぜまだぬるし）
(Higambana meniwaakitote kazemadanurushi)
Spider lilies - autumn for eyes, summer still in air .

By the way, this is my 100th entry! Yay!!


Posted at Fri Oct 08 15:16:26 UTC 2010
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/649699 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/649699 Micamelia Fri Oct 08 15:16:26 UTC 2010 I thought it's not so difficult for me because I'd studied Spanish before, but it seems it is!!
For example, Italian has much more articles than Spanish does.
I guess there are more complicated things with it that I haven't encountered yet...
(An Italian friend told me it has more tenses than Spanish does.)

Anyway, I added 'Italian' to the settings of my keyboard, and now I can type à, ì, ù, è, é and ò!
I'll buy a textbook for the NHK radio Italian programme today, the first lesson of which is coming on the next Monday.
I can't wait!! XD

Posted at Sat Sep 25 04:23:41 UTC 2010
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/633731 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/633731 Micamelia Sat Sep 25 04:23:41 UTC 2010 The movie version of it will be released in Japan tomorrow!
Has anyone seen it already?

This novel is a kind of an autobiography of the author, who is in her mid-thirties, just after a divorcement, and searching for a new way of living peacefully.
She goes to Italy first to explore pleasure, then goes to India to explore divinity, and finally goes to Indonesia to find a true love. (I don't really know about the latter part since I haven't reached there yet.)

Her trip was for a year, four months for each country.
Where would you go and what would you do if you could go on a trip for a whole year? :-)

I'll write my answer in the next entry!

Posted at Fri Sep 17 04:19:49 UTC 2010
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/624855 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/624855 Micamelia Fri Sep 17 04:19:49 UTC 2010

I tried photo styling again yesterday.
The theme is 'autumn'.

I used some setaria, a small apple called as 'hime ringo', which literally means 'a princess apple', and cotton. (See the first image.)
I put them in a pot and took lots of pictures with different positions and angles. The second image is the one I like best.

I often feel it's difficult to write short explanations like the ones below.
Image 1: The materials to use. (See the next image.)
Image 2: The completed piece.
I'd be really happy if you'd tell me other ways of saying them. :) Thank you!

Posted at Thu Oct 29 01:45:55 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/270465 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/270465 Micamelia Thu Oct 29 01:45:55 UTC 2009
I can't add pictures to the photo album on facebook with a system error since yesterday.
Is that only me?? x(

I wanted to add the attached picture.
My cat Chuppy loves to sleep with a blanket.
Looks so sweet, don't you think? :)

P.S. Now it's working well. Thank you!

Posted at Wed Oct 28 15:28:38 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/270173 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/270173 Micamelia Wed Oct 28 15:28:38 UTC 2009
Today I read an article about the relationship between humans and animals in English.
It would be awesome if you could help me with the following two questions.

1) I thought the pronoun of "a child" was "he or she," but is it okay to use "it" for it?
The original text goes, "a children can form a relationship with an animal even when it cannot do so with an adult."
I know the pronoun of "an infant" can be "it." Is it the same case?

2) I couldn't get the clear meaning of the following sentence.
"Having to keep one jump ahead of a smart canine companion keep the owner alert and exercise his or her mind."
Does this mean that the owner has to keep running a little ahead of his/her dog, so he/she becomes careful and powerful?

Thank you!

Posted at Mon Jun 22 15:16:16 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/177440 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/177440 Micamelia Mon Jun 22 15:16:16 UTC 2009
I went to a buffet restaurant for dinner today.
Uh, I ate too much.. :p
There were electrical waffle irons with which we could make Belgian waffles.
It was fun! :D

Well, tomorrow is a friend's wedding day.
I'm going to play the violin with the bride, but I haven't been playing it for a long period.
The last time we played together was 3 years ago, at another friend's wedding party.

I hope everything is going to be okay!
I may as well go to bed soon and prepare myself mentally. Haha.

Posted at Sat May 30 16:25:42 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/160574 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/160574 Micamelia Sat May 30 16:25:42 UTC 2009
The story is as follows.
Mike is a 37-year-old man.
He used to be a very good basketball player when he was a highschool student, and expected to be a star player in the college league as well.
But he abondaned it because his girl friend got pregnant and he decided to be a father.
It seemed a wonderful life started for them.
However, he has been complaining about his decision since then.
'If I had gone to a college, I would be better paid,' or something like that.
His wife is tired of his complaints and attitude, so she decided to split.
His daughter and son don't respect him at all, and pay no attention to him.
One day, he went to his highschool and thought, 'I wish I could go back to my highschool days and change my life.'
After a few days, he found his body was transformed to what he was at the age of 17.

Some parts are very funny, and some are touching.
This film is nice in the point that he did not live a whole new life but lived for his family members.

If I could become 17 years old again, I would want to go to another school and experience totally different things.
(I don't mean that I disliked my school or I regret the past. I just wondered what I would do if it happened to me.)

Posted at Sun May 17 15:22:51 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/150325 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/150325 Micamelia Sun May 17 15:22:51 UTC 2009

This is a Japanese sentence made by substituting /P/ for each consonant.
Can you guess the original sentence?
If it's read with the right intonation, most Japanese speakers can easily guess what it means.
On the other hand, it's very difficult if it's read with different vowels.
It shows the importance of vowels in the Japanese language.

The original sentence of the sentence above is:
わたしは、ねこがすきです。
watashi wa neko ga suki desu. (= I like cats.)
You can substitute other consonants as well:
MaMaMi Ma MeMo Ma MuMi MeMu.
KaKaKi Ka KeKo Ka KuKi KeKu.


Stage actors and actresses often practice their lines with only vowels so that they can pronounce every word very clearly.
(i.e. "ああいあ、えおあういえう" for "わたしは、ねこがすきです".)
Therefore, I recommend you try to be conscious of vowels when you practice speaking Japanese. :)

Posted at Fri May 15 16:49:13 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/148735 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/148735 Micamelia Fri May 15 16:49:13 UTC 2009
There seemed to be something wrong with my cat this morning.
Her right eyelid was red and puffy.
After I fed her, she went somewhere and wouldn't show herself for a while.
I thought it was strange because she loved being near someone in my family.
(Cats have a habit of hiding themselves when they are injured or feel sick.)

So my mother and brother took her to a hospital this afternoon.
The doctor said he didn't know what was wrong with her because her eyelid seemed better then.
However, we need to watch her carefully.
Perhaps I'm worried too much though... x(

It seems OK now. She's sleeping at her home position. :)

Posted at Mon May 11 14:27:58 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/145327 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/145327 Micamelia Mon May 11 14:27:58 UTC 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmCgdeo26CA

In the video, I said:
Today, I'm going to introduce my cat, Chuppy!
She's about 17 years old.
But she doesn't look so old, does she?
She is like my sister, and is a very important member of my family.

今日は、ペットのちゅっぴを紹介します。
ちゅっぴは１７歳くらいなんですけど、そんなに歳をとって見えないでしょ？
ちゅっぴは私の妹みたいなもので、とっても大事な家族の一員です。


Sorry it was a bit dark... (because she was sleeping!)
It was a little difficult to speak alternately English and Japanese.
(My Japanese was a little odd... Sorry!)
I wanted to speak with a British accent this time, but almost failed. :P

Posted at Sun May 10 15:20:36 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/144554 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/144554 Micamelia Sun May 10 15:20:36 UTC 2009
I usually sing with the pitch names.
Yes, I am a perfect-pitch person. :-)
Each instrumental note sounds with its Italian pitch name, such as Do, Re, or Mi, to me.
It sounds as if the pitch names were the lyrics of the song.

When people listen to music, they generally use only the auditory area in their brain; on the other hand, the pitch percept by perfect-pitch people is executed both in the auditory area and the language area!
It can be said that they regard music as a kind of languages.

When it comes to vocal music, the pitch names sound less prominent
to me.
I think it's because I unconsciously regard the lyrics, which has meanings, as more important information than the pitch names.

It is natural that people prioritize the lyrics over the pitch names.
Suppose, for instance, you hear two language at the same time, and one is your mother tongue and the other is a foreign language.
I guess you can easily recognize what was said in your mother tongue, but it's hard to catch the other one.
It's the information choice: you unconsciously choose the information that is more relevant to you, or that requires less efforts to understand.
It is obvious that the lyrics have higher importance than the pitch names for songs, so they make less effort to catch pitch names.


Well, I think I'm writing too much today, so I'm going to stop here.
I'm not sure if I wrote what I wanted to say logically... x(
Any candid comments would be greatly appreciated!!

Posted at Sun May 03 12:49:41 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/138488 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/138488 Micamelia Sun May 03 12:49:41 UTC 2009 We talked about 変換ミス(へんかんみす = converting mistakes?) in Japanese.

When we type in Japanese, we once type it in Hiragana, and convert it to Kanji afterward.
Then, unexpected kanji conversion sometimes comes up.

Here is my favorite one:

リスト表を送ります。（りすとひょうをおくります）
I'll send you a list.
　　　　　↓
リスとヒョウを送ります。（りすとひょうをおくります）
I'll send you a squirrel and a leopard.
(リス=a squirrel, ヒョウ=a leopard)

This looks interesting, don't you think? :)

Posted at Mon Apr 27 17:22:32 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/134260 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/134260 Micamelia Mon Apr 27 17:22:32 UTC 2009
I was surprised that not a few people started learning Japanese because it seemed difficult for them!
Wow! You guys are great challengers!! (^_-)b
http://lang-8.com/journal/125961

I agree that Japanese and Indo-European language family are different in many ways, and it's not so easy to master.
I often make mistakes in articles (a/the), plural/singular, and verbal inflections which we do not have in Japanese.
However, I like English because its history, especially etymology, is very interesting and I love its sound!
One of my favorite is the east Irish accent.
It was very difficult for me to catch when I first heard it though!
I think it sounds soft and lovely. :)
(The image above is me playing the violin with Irish musicians at a pub)

My favorite English words are "lovely" and "briliant" because I like "L" sound.
I like the way British people say "lovely" for "thank you."
It always makes me feel very happy! :)

What are your favorite words in Japanese or English? :-)

Posted at Fri Apr 24 02:08:26 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/131422 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/131422 Micamelia Fri Apr 24 02:08:26 UTC 2009

Hi everyone!
Thank you very much for answering the questions in my previous entry.
http://lang-8.com/journal/125961
I'm very interested in why so many people are learning Japanese and what they want to know about Japan/Japanese.

- - - - - - - - -
I came back from a trip to Nagano prefecture today.
Nagano is located in the Tokai area, and is the place where the Winter Olympics in 1998 was held.

Unfortunately, the Ohanami season was over, and I couldn't see the famous cherry blossoms in Takato.
But I found another kind of cherry blossoms in the Hokke temple.
(See the images above.)
The color of the blossoms were brighter than that of normal cherry blossoms, which looked very lovely!

Posted at Mon Apr 20 16:37:01 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/128839 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/128839 Micamelia Mon Apr 20 16:37:01 UTC 2009
I came home around 0:00 ish because I have a demanding project at work... (^_^;
Fortunately, my boss ordered in some Italian food for us, and got me an ice cream after that! Yay!! :)
Thanks boss!


Today, I have a few questions to you all who like Japan and/or have been learning Japanese. :)

1) What in Japanese culture are you interested in?
If it's a specific anime, drama, actor/actress, or singer, please tell me what/who.

2) What are your favorite sites on Japan/Japanese?

I'd greatly appreciate your answers!

Posted at Thu Apr 16 17:09:30 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/125961 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/125961 Micamelia Thu Apr 16 17:09:30 UTC 2009 http://lang-8.com/discuss/2207

外国語の中には、聞きとりにくい音や単語、区別が難しいもの、発音しにくいものってありますよね。
それをみんなで助け合って克服しよう！という企画です。

この企画の楽しみ方
１）自分でその音/単語を録音したものを投稿して、ネイティブからフィードバックをもらう。
２）「この音（単語）が苦手です」と表明して、ネイティブにその音（単語）の録音を投稿してもらう。
などなど。

どうぞお気軽にご参加ください♪

★Voice/Video Boggers' community
http://lang-8.com/group/354

★Sounds Learning Project
http://lang-8.com/discuss/2207

★音声ブログの作り方
http://lang-8.com/discuss/1795

Posted at Mon Apr 13 14:57:32 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/123546 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/123546 Micamelia Mon Apr 13 14:57:32 UTC 2009 I'm going to post the following suggestion to the voice/video bloggers' community.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What are confusing sounds in your target language?

Every language has their unique sounds, and some of them are very confusing or difficult to pronounce for learners.
For example, there are no distinction between L and R sounds in Japanese, so it's difficult for Japanese speakers to distinguish them.

Tell us the sounds or words that you think are difficult.

You can enjoy this project in two ways:
1) You can post a recording of your pronunciation and get feedbacks from native speakers of that language.
2) You can ask native speakers to post recordings of the sounds that you think are difficult to catch.

This would be a great mutual support!

i.e.
びょういん(byoin) and びよういん(biyoin) in Japanese
Rice and lice in English
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

If you are interested, please feel free to join the community and this project! ;-)
http://lang-8.com/discuss/2207

Posted at Sun Apr 12 13:19:05 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/122653 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/122653 Micamelia Sun Apr 12 13:19:05 UTC 2009
I saw the movie "Red Cliff II" today.
It describes women's feelings during the war more than the last one.

The most impressive line for me was "knowledge makes our lives more well-rounded" by Zhuge Liang.
「知識は、人生を豊かにする。」

This line reminded me of my trip to India in 2006.
When I visited a school in South India, I found a sign read "Knowledge is Power."
(See the image above.)

I know that knowledge is not everything, but I agree with Zhuge Liang.
I respect him for his inteligence and understanding for people.


Suppose you say these lines, what would you substitute?
xxxx makes our lives wonderful.
or
xxxx makes our yyyy zzzz.

i.e.
Friendship makes our life wonderful.

Posted at Sat Apr 11 15:41:35 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/122103 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/122103 Micamelia Sat Apr 11 15:41:35 UTC 2009 e.g. bera-bera and pera-pera, gira-gira and kira-kira, guru-guru and kuru-kuru, dara-dara and tara-tara, etc.

I think that the voiced ones are usually the emphasized version of the voiceless ones.

Let's see some examples.
1) きらきらひかる(kira-kira hikaru)
2) ぎらぎらひかる(gira-gira hikaru)
We usually use 1 to refer to something shining brightly.
星がキラキラ光る。
(ほしがきらきらひかる。 = Stars are shining brightly.)
If I used 2, it would imply that the light were too bright.
Gira-gira is often used for the strong sunshine in a very hot day.
太陽がギラギラで、すごく暑かった。
(たいようがぎらぎらで、すごくあつかった。
= The sunshine was so strong that it was very hot.)
When you use gira-gira for a person, it implies that he/she is adoring
himself/herself too much.

The voiced ones are not always used for negative meanings; they can express your admiration.
When people say 彼は日本語がベラベラ(bera-bera)です(He speaks Japanese fluently), they might more admire him for his fluency in Japanese than saying 彼は日本語がペラペラ(pera-pera)です.

They can mean both "very nice" and "very bad" : in most cases, it's just a matter of vocal cues and context.

-Special thanks to Bread, who gave me helpful advice on this entry.

-----
Btw, I have a question.
How can I say the following questions in one sentence?
- How many rackets do you want?
- What color of rackets do you want?
"How many rackets in (of?) what color do you want?"?
"How many and what color of rackets do you want?"?
I'd greatly appreciate your help! m(_ _)m　*bow*

Posted at Thu Apr 09 01:22:51 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/120329 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/120329 Micamelia Thu Apr 09 01:22:51 UTC 2009 This is my first language exchange with skype!
We spoke both in English and Japanese.

When you use each language in each sentence, it's called "code-switching."
(I don't think this explanation is good enough. How can I explain it more clearly?)
An example of code-switching is as follows:
Speaker 1: It was really nice talking to you today!　ありがとう！
Speaker 2: こちらこそ。ありがとう！Laters!

On the other hand, when you change languages in the midst of a sentence, it's called "code-mixing."
e.g. I like Peter Rabbit. だって、he's so cuteだから！

I would use code-mixing a lot in my travel diary in 2004.
For example:
People in Oxford were 本当に kind to me...
Just talked for a wholeなのに・・・。感動！
(People in Oxford were really kind to me...
We talked just for a whole, though... I was impressed!)

Some people say that it's not good for language learners, but I think it's fun as a play on words!

The code-mixing sentences that we used today were:
A: It's very nice place to visitよ！
B: Reallyね？
A: Reallyよ！

Sounds interesting, don't you think?

Posted at Tue Apr 07 16:33:26 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/119454 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/119454 Micamelia Tue Apr 07 16:33:26 UTC 2009


I went to the Odawara Castle and enjoyed an Ohanami, or a cherry blossom party yesterday!

Odawara is one of the historic cities in Kanagawa prefecture. It takes about an hour from Yokohama to Odawara by train.
The castle was built in the 15th century, the Muromachi era.

We can rent a period costume there, and take some pictures. (See the third image.)
It's not a kimono but is like a coat, so I could wear it without any difficulties.
It was a lot of fun!!
I was surprised that some visitors asked me if they could take a picture of me.
They might have thought I was a member of the tourist agency or something. Haha.

Posted at Mon Apr 06 14:55:37 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/118707 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/118707 Micamelia Mon Apr 06 14:55:37 UTC 2009 When I first heard it, I thought that it sounded like "bera-bera" in Japanese.
We use "bera-bera" to describe somebody who talks much, or who can speak a foreign language very well.

i.e.
1) かのじょは、なんでもベラベラはなす。
She tells others anything.
2)かれは、えいごがベラベラです。
He speaks English fluently.
（You can also use "ペラペラ(pera-pera)" in both cases.)

Though "blah-blah-blah" and "bera-bera" are different in the usages, it's interesting that both are for speech sounds.
I guess it's because the bilabial sounds such as /b/, /p/, or /m/ are the most basic consonants for human speech.
Baby talk has many bilabial words, doesn't it?
i.e. mama, papa, manma (="food" in Japanese), baba(="grandma" in Japanese).

Btw, another word that sounds similar to "blah," I think, is "bella" in Italian, which means beautiful. :)

Posted at Thu Apr 02 15:24:33 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/116534 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/116534 Micamelia Thu Apr 02 15:24:33 UTC 2009 It was really nice and funny!

The guy played by Jim Carrey had been always saying "no" to anything.
However, once he started saying "yes" to everything, his life became wonderful.

I found the lists of "Yes Man" in Smart.fm!!
http://smart.fm/users/YES_MAN
Three lists are available now, and I added all of them to My Lists. :)
I hope more will come soon!

Posted at Sat Mar 28 00:31:39 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/113130 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/113130 Micamelia Sat Mar 28 00:31:39 UTC 2009 I talked with a friend of mine for more than 4 hours.
Haha, most of you might think that we talked too much, but it was a serious discussion about our new project... :)

BTW, can I say "I skyped with a friend of mine today"?

"Skype" is not used as a verb in Japanese, but I found other Japanese verbified nouns!
タクる(takuru) = to use a taxi
ミスる(misuru) = to make a mistake
バグる(baguru) = to introduce a bug? (Sorry, but I'm not sure about this translation.)
N.B. These are very casual words, which are used only in casual speech.

Posted at Thu Mar 26 15:05:48 UTC 2009
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/112375 http://www.lang-8.com/30490/journals/112375 Micamelia Thu Mar 26 15:05:48 UTC 2009