2級 Grammar 131-135

Another week, another grammar entry. I actually wrote all the definitions down really early today, but then stopped when I realized there was nothing really on my mind that could yield 5 example sentences. I also figured I'd get started on this sooner...but I figure a lot of things.

SO. In the interest of finishing these off so I can hunker down over some more kanji before sleeping, the sentences for this week are going to be about...things in my range of vision. Fair warning, though, I will embellish freely when appropriate, and sometimes when not.

131)　～につれて, X
as ~, X also happens
~ happens along with X
～とともに
～にしたがって

Knowing "つれて"'s usual meaning, this is a pretty simple point. The only part to look out for is that につれて　can only come after the plain dictionary form of a verb.

Ex. 僕は毎週の文法を書いて始まるにつれて、大事な電子辞書を開く。でも今日忘れたので、想像な辞書を使ってしまう。


132)　～にとって　・　～にとっては　・　～にとっても
for ~,
～からみて (pt 3o)

This is another one that you've probably already heard if you've been immersed in Japanese for a length of time, my first usage of this one went something like "英語しか話せない外国人にとって、日本語はやっぱり難しいだろう。". "For foreigners who only speak English, Japanese is, as expected, difficult." The clincher - only use it after nouns.
Ex.　僕の彼女はきれいなことが好きだから、いつもなんかが汚れられたら、彼女もうすぐに掃除する。僕にとって、食べかけのパスタやぬれたタオルを置きっぱなしでいいでしょう。


133)　～にとっての
for ~
see above

This one is almost exactly like 132, with the grammatical difference that it must be followed and preceded by a noun, and it's possessive. I couldn't change the example sentence I snuck into grammar point 132's explanation because I'm not saying "the foreigner's Japanese". Another way to put it - the using this grammatical form makes the subject whatever comes AFTER the grammar point instead of before it.
Ex.　友達にとっての一番の忘れたものはシャツです。例えば、ソファから三枚を見える。


134)　～に伴って　・　～に伴い　・　～に伴う　（伴＝ともな）
as ~,
See 131

The only difference I see between につれて　and に伴い is that the former is more sequential, ie A changes, then B changes along with it. For に伴い, though, the two are closer to simultaneous. Remember, though, that A and B in these cases are not interchangeable. Just because as A happens, so does B, does NOT mean as B happens, so does A. The other big difference - this one can be paired up with verbs and nouns alike.

Ex.　テレビのリモートコントロールの電源ボタンを押すに伴ってテレビが爆発した。それは変でしょう？普通はそのボタンを押すとホットココアに注がれる。　

(you are crazy if you think I'm googling "chocolate shower")


135)　～に反して　・　～に反する (反＝はん）
To be inconsistent with~
Contrary to ~,
The OPPOSITE of 85, ～とおり

反 is a good kanji to know all by itself as a general opposition kanji. 反対, 反面教師, etc etc. Knowing this makes this definition more or less self-explanatory. When using the ~に反する version, there should be a noune on either side. For ~に反して, just a noun to the left will do. It is most commonly paired with 予想, 期待 and other predictiony/evaluative words.

Ex.　任天堂Wiiの天候チャンネルの予報に反する雨が上海に降っている。

Fun with yojis

I came across something today that's all kinds of fun and even somewhat relevant to this blog!

Check it out:
http://usokomaker.com/yoji/

Essentially, you put your name (or, I guess, anything you like...) into the little box and it creates a "yoji jukugo" that expresses your essence. I use the quotes because they aren't really legitimate yoji-jukugo, more like niji-jukugo that are put together in funny ways.

Post your funnier ones in the comments! I'll start with what I got when I tried putting the katakana spelling of my name:

http://usokomaker.com/yoji/?a=Maker&oo=%A5%CB%A5%E9%A5%F4

自給自足

じきゅうじそく
jikyuu jisoku

This is an important yoji to know, but for some reason, I thought Jeff had done this one already so I ended up going over a bunch of less pertinent phrases instead.

I, and I suspect many of you, live a fairly urban life, or perhaps sub-urban, lifestyle. I have a place of residence, a place of study/work, commute back and forth, and buy my food and clothing at local stores. I live within an interconnected and increasingly globalized network of production and consumption. Depending on your values, this is a good thing or a bad thing.

The place that you see and hear the phrase 自給自足 most these days is in the context of the "slow lifestyle." I can't claim to be an expert, but my understanding of it is that this mode of living puts a premium on non-industrial, organic, and community-based products and production. Taken further, many people opt to grow all of their own food, and even sometimes make all of their own clothing. Looking at the characters themselves, we see "self," "grant," "self," and "fulfill." I think it's fairly easy to see how this comes together. You might hear about people who retire from their big city jobs and begin farming their own food, or communities that share their resources so they don't have to buy anything from the outside or far away.

A related, and sometimes closely linked, concept is 自給率　じきゅうりつ　jikyuuritsu. Literally, 自給率 talks about your "rate of self-sufficiency," or how much of a given resource or commodity (oil, rice, ability to write long-winded posts about uninteresting concep... wait...) you can provide for yourself. This is a word you commonly see used to talk about whole countries, rather than just an individual or group of individuals. It appears that economists (and The Economist) sometimes profess to being driven mad by this, but this is often placed at a premium politically in Japan, especially when talking about things like food and fuel, where so much of it is imported. In this context, as well, 自給自足 is often touted as an ideal.

Which brings us to our

Definition:
自分の生活に必要となるものを作り、その必要を充足すること

Translation:
Self-sufficiency

Example Sentence:
ここ何年間、都会の生活のせいでストレスためててもう限界だった。仕事を辞めて田舎に帰って、農業でもやりながら自給自足に生きたい。
These last few years, city life has really been stressing me out, and I'm at my limit. I want to quit my job, go home, be a farmer or something, and life a self sufficient life.

2級 Grammar 126-130

This marks the first day that I have cracked my Japanese study books open since I've returned to America. My prolonged LACK of studying is an ANTI-accomplishment that I can only describe with one word: やばい。 I need to get back on my game and FAST, cause otherwise I'm not gonna be ready for the JLPT in December. So today, I'll bring you the next five grammar points, and let my example sentences explain just why I've been so busy.

126) ～については　・　についても
Take a good long re-read over grammar point 125 in Brett's Tuesday post, because you'll need it for this one and the next. Got it? Good. This usage of について is only an explanation of how to attach particles to make it fit into different situations.
As Brett said について書く or について考える is to write about or talk about. 戦争について本 also works. By attaching は at the end however, you're making your 'about whatever' the subject of the sentence. Does that make sense? 戦争について本　is a sentence about a book. Check this one out: 今、経済について章です。戦争については後で書いてあるのかな？
についてもworks the same way. You're just attaching the idea of "also about:" この本は経済だけではなく、政治についてもいっぱい書いてあります。

Ex. やっぱ、例文を作るのが難しいので、アメリカの生活については後で伝えます。家族のことについても書こうとします。

127) ～についての
Reference the previous point. Anytime you want to use について followed by another noun, you have the option of using it with の. In my book's examples, the nouns that follow are all preceded by honorifics, so I'll assume that this is the way to use について + noun in situations that call for formality.

Ex. Aさん: Jeff様のご両親は日本についてのご質問をたくさんありますか？それとも、日本の事は、もう、詳しくごぞんじますか？
Jeff: いや、それとはちょっと違うですね。私、日本のことをよく話しますが、相手が聞きたいかどうか。。。良く分かりません。

128) ～につき
~because of
~ per

This is used just like なので. You attach it to a noun that serves as the explanation for the clause that comes next. When should it be used instead of なので? As reader Mark let me know in the comments below, it's a formal expression WRITTEN on SIGNS and BULLETINS. All of my book's examples would fit neatly on a sign, flier, or notice.

Ex. 姪子のＫａｌｉちゃんは昼寝中につき、私もじぶんの寝室に限られている。うるさくなって、赤ちゃん起こさないようにね。

129) ～につけ
~ whenever (implies something invariable)

The book, in its ultimate wisdom, defines this as の時、いつも。It's used when you want to say When X happens, Y ALWAYS. X provokes the same reactions, feelings, or outcome, invariably.　There's another usage as well, which involves doubling up on your につけs. If you want to say "In this case, or in that case, the result will always be Y," you can say: 私が料理すると、味が薄いにつけ、濃いにつけかぞくから文句が出る (book's example.)

Ex. フロリダは一年中暖かいので、フロリダに帰るにつけ、毎日、実家のプールで泳ぎます。



130) ～につけても
~no matter what

This one is almost universally used with 何 or 何事 to form "no matter what." そのものだよ。

Ex. アメリカの生活は忙しくて楽しいよ。だが、プールがどんなに気持ち良さそうでも、Ｋａｌｉちゃんがどんなにかわいくても、日本語の勉強はいくらしないといけなくても、何事につけても、マンガを読む時間が一番大事でしょう？

Yes, I am that much of a geek.

Daily Double: 主客転倒 and 本末転倒

しゅかくてんとう
shukaku tentou

This yo-ji has always had a certain amount of nostalgic value for me, because its the first 四字熟語 that I learned as such. At the time I was thoroughly confused, not the least of which was due to the fact that 主客 can also be read as しゅきゃく, but also because we learned it as the subject of part of a larger argument about why Japan was going down the drain by some sort of disgruntled commentator or another. You could write a book (and many people have) about the genre of writing about Japan's downfall and its place in the larger discourse about Japanese-ness, but it would probably have almost nothing to do with yoji-jukugo, so I won't waste any more of your time on the subject.

This yoji has a variety of uses, all of which fall under the general category of having the wrong priorities. If you look at the characters, you have 1) a host, 2) a guest, 3) turning, and 4) falling over.

Definition:
本来の立場・秩序が逆転しているさま

Translations:
1. Putting the cart before the horse
2. Taking the means as the end
3. Getting your priorities mixed up

Example Sentence:
この店のウェーターはいつも不機嫌だから、常に気を使わなければいけない。こっちが客なのに・・・全く、立派な主客転倒だ。
The waiters here are always grouchy, so you have to constantly watch how you treat them, even though you're supposed to be the customer. This is a serious case of mixed-up priorities.

So now you may be wondering where the second yoji comes in. Well, let's start with the reading.

ほんまつてんとう

I can't profess to have a 100% accurate understanding of the difference between 本末転倒　and 主客転倒, but then again, it seems to me that most people don't, either. Though most people I've talked to about it use the two in essentially interchangeable ways, apparently there is a slight difference in the nuances. 主客 has more of a connotation of "host-client;" you will often see it used to complain about the laziness and corruption of government employees, who are supposed to be "public servants," but instead treat citizens as their personal cash cows. The difference with 本末 is that you have two concepts, one of which is supposed to be complementary or even just sort of ornamental to the other. The thing is, for whatever reason, that ornamental thing has become more important. It has less of a connotation of social norms, I think, than of straight out priorities.

Example Sentence:
社員の野球部を作ったのは仕事でたまったストレスを解消するためだったのだが、部員は仕事をさぼるまで試合に夢中になってむしろ周りの人に迷惑をかけてしまった。こう本末転倒しているのでは、会社の野球部をやっている意味がない。
The reason we made the company baseball team was to give everyone an outlet for their stress, but the people on the team have gotten so into it that they're actually putting more stress on their coworkers. With priorities this out of whack, there's no point in having a company team.

Yes, I know, my priorities are out of whack, and I should be studying. But I'm not, so too bad.

2級 Grammar 121-125

I don't know if last weeks Tuesday post served to rouse anybody's interest, but rest assured steps are being taken to make good on the promise. Until then, I have employed the help of my friend Vanessa to make today's sentences and pictures. Just like with Jeff, I was given five random words. Completely unlike Jeff, I got to choose my own pictures. I will, however, leave them in the order she gave me. HERE WE GOOO!

121)　～に相違ない
~must be so.
~is definitely the case.
Undoubtedly, ~.

If you know that "相違" （そうい） means dissent, difference, and other negating words, this one comes naturally. Another note - this is a very formal way of saying it, so save it for your boss. We have one for your friends down the page.
Ex.　それで最初の人間対ワニの両手じゃんけん大会は終わりました。もちろん来年も同じ悲劇で終わりたいに相違ない。理由は：面白かったです。



122)　～に沿って　（～にそって）
along with ~
parallel to ~

This one can be used with both physical and intangible things. You can go alongside the river to the ocean just as well as you can follow along with fashion trends.
Ex.　奴隷解放宣言以上に、アメリカの内乱戦争に沿ってこの超美味いぺろぺろキャンディーが出ました。やっぱり時々戦う価値がある。


123)　～に対して　・　～に対する　（～にたいして・する）
towards~
to~
for~

Lots of potential uses for this guy. The fact that one of the definitions is simply "~に" should emphasize how many different potential uses you're looking at. Not sure how to clarify it down any more than that...
Ex.　やっと、このでかいレンチで本物のガンダムに対する作る可能性があった。


124)　～に違いない　（～ちがいない）
There's no mistake that ~
~ is definitely the case.

This one lends itself to easy explanation, since "違う" just means "wrong". So "違いない", but a tiny leap of imagination, can mean naught but...well... "not wrong". This is the less formal equivalent of number 122, and arguably the easier remembered of the two.
Ex.　「我慢！」顔しても、ペッパースプレーがありえないぐらい痛いに違いない。

125)　～について
about ~
concerning ~

Anybody who reads this page enough undoubtedly knows this grammar point already, or at least they should since I'm certain I've used it multiple times in example sentences. Arguably the less formal form of "に関する", this phrase's pre-built-in "て" makes it easy to verb about something. For example, "何々について書く" is "to write about something, "何々について考える" is "to think about something". It's naturally not limited to this use, but it's good to know nonetheless.
Ex.　日本にいる時間は一週間以上に過ごすとアメリカのハムサンドについて夢をよく見るようになる。でもそれはただの夢だよ、この写真みたいなサンドが全然ないから。

Aannnd that wraps up Tuesday, even thought today is a national holiday. I swear, the things I do sometimes for you people...

As ever, your comments and feedback are appreciated. Feel free to guess the exact words that led to these images getting found. The award for our winner - MORE GRAMMAR POINTS!

2級 Grammar 116-120

Consider this a preview of what should be updated by later today - Grammar points! My apologies for not having them fleshed out earlier, but this long weekend was long on the activities, short on the free time. I've glanced through the definitions and example sentences, and I can say there will be a few surprises in the definitions. These terms aren't all as clear-cut as they seem.

Update: So I ended up not being able to update these yesterday, and things look a little iffy on whether or not I'll be strictly on time with Thursday's update. But seeing as yet again I don't have a lot of time, I'm cutting this foreword short and going to the grammar points. Also, this week's subject: hints of a possible expansion on the Daily Yoji.

116)　～にしたら
In the case of ~,
From the perspective of ~,

This is one of the most plain-cut of this week's group, since it more or less adheres to its "~たら" roots. Use after a noun!

Ex.　このブログは日本語を勉強している人にとって便利です。しかし、もっと面白くてやばい日本語について興味があるけど文法とかを知らなくてもいい人にしたら、なんかつまらないでしょう。そうすればいいかな。


117)　～にしても
Even for ~,
~, also,

Again, another one with few surprises. Like so many of the others recently, only hook this up with a noun.

Ex.　ザ・デーリー・四字は皆のためブログです。アメリカ人や日本人も読んでくれています。小さい子どもにても読んで分かる。だから悪い言葉とかあんまり使えない。


118)　～にしては
even though ~,
Considering that ~,
For ~,

Some clarification is needed for the definitions to make sense. It only works when the second half of the statement is contradictory to the first. "Considering he has no experience, he did quite well". "For a fat girl, you sure don't sweat much". Feel free to use that second one as a pick-up line. Oh, and after nouns...AND dictionary forms of verbs. Cool beans.

Ex.　これは「何を書いてもいい」ブログにしては、日本語の裏を氷山の一角くらい見せました。


119)　～にしろ　・　～にせよ
Even if,
Whether ~ or ~,
It doesn't matter if ~,

This one was kind of a surprise as I expected more of a command-form, as "せ" and "ろ" usually lend themselves that way. It can be used in a sequence of things, as in "It doesn't matter if it's chocolate or vanilla, I don't like ice cream", or just one thing. "Even if he works all day, he'll never finish this paper."

Ex.　四字熟語にしろ、文法にしろ、俺らは日本語の全体を見せてあげたい。


120)　～にすぎない
Nothing more than ~.
Merely ~.

Another one that makes perfect grammatical sense after learning up to 3級! If すぎる is too much, then すぎない is not too much, nothing in excess. Piece o` cake!

Ex.　このヒントは始めにすぎない。ちゃんと発表を楽しんでね～

Oof - that's it! Sorry for the sparseness of pictures, though maybe Jeff's last post made up for it.