正文翻譯

Do Japanese people like foreigners who try to speak Japanese?

日本人喜歡那些試圖說日語的外國人嗎？

評論翻譯

Johnny Smith
, lives in Japan
Yes… but only to a point. Japanese people tend to find foreigners (and anyone that doesn't look Asian, even if they were born in Japan and can only speak Japanese) cute if they speak broken Japanese (especially if they are women, and they expect them to speak broken Japanese), but if they can speak fluently, then they are no longer “cute” as if a child had suddenly grown up to be an adult who can express himself articulately. Is this some kind of racism, elitism, supremacism, etc? In a way yes and in a way no…
See, most Japanese (wrongly) believe that the ability to speak a language has to do with blood and genetics. So they believe that if you are white, then you can somehow speak English (never mind that there are other European languages) from the moment that you were born. It's the same for the Japanese’s ability to speak Japanese, it's supposedly in-born. In the other way, many Japanese believe that they have an inherent lack of ability in speaking English, and hence Japanese often speak in broken English. So that they are amazed when someone can speak a language that they were not “born with", as if he/she has some sort of a special talent.
However, this doesn't really apply to say Chinese or Koreans, because they’re expected to speak Japanese fluently and they often do, especially the Koreans, because those languages are similar.
Some if not many Japanese do believe that Japanese is so unique and so difficult to learn that it's impossible for the non-natives to master.

是的......但只是在一定程度上。日本人傾向于認(rèn)為外國人（以及任何看起來不像亞洲人的人，即使他們出生在日本并且只能說日語）如果說一口蹩腳的日語（特別是如果她們是女性，他們希望外國女性說蹩腳的日語）是很可愛的，但是如果他們能夠流利地說話，那么他們就不再"可愛"了，就好像一個孩子突然長大了，成為一個能夠清楚地表達自己的成年人。這是不是某種種族主義、精英主義、至上主義等等？在某種程度上是的，在某種程度上也不是...
你看，大多數(shù)日本人（錯誤地）認(rèn)為說一種語言的能力與血統(tǒng)和遺傳有關(guān)。所以他們相信，如果你是白人，那么從你出生的那一刻起，你就能以某種方式說英語（別忘了歐洲還有其他語言）。日本人說日語的能力也是如此，據(jù)他們說是與生俱來的。從另一個角度看，許多日本人認(rèn)為他們天生就缺乏說英語的能力，因此日本人經(jīng)常用蹩腳的英語說話。所以當(dāng)有人能說一種他們并非"與生俱來"的語言時，他們會感到驚訝，仿佛他/她有某種特殊的天賦。
然而，這并不適用于中國人或韓國人，因為他們被期望能說一口流利的日語，而且他們也確實經(jīng)常這樣做，尤其是韓國人，因為這些語言很相似。
有些日本人（如果不是很多的話）確實認(rèn)為，日語是如此獨特，如此難學(xué)，以至于非本地人根本不可能掌握。

David Kanda
I agree that Japanese do believe their language is too difficult for a foreigner to master. It's the reason I took it upon myself to become perfect even though, at first, I was faced with many obstacles. But after having totally mastered the entire language including the ability to read, write and think in Japanese, they were no longer able to deny that I was as good as they were. For some it was intimidating, especially the older generation. But for most of my Japanese friends, they considered it to be natural and never questioned it. I just blended in with the rest. We worked and played together, and I never felt as if I was being singled out. Even those who didn't know me were impressed and complimented me. I also had some inherent ability to pick up on the written language extremely quickly and would decipher Kanji in the same way a person having grown up with Chinese characters would which has led me to believe that in another life I was born Asian and was therefore familiar with Chinese characters already.
All in all, my experience with the Japanese language, culture and its people has been a positive one, and its important to remember that the effort you put into learning a language will determine how good you become. My having the opportunity to live and work in Japan for a very long time and allowing myself to assimilate and absorb the culture and the Japanese way of thinking resulted in my ability to overcome practically all the barriers that a common foreigner would face when attempting to breach what to many may seem so elusive.

我同意，日本人確實認(rèn)為他們的語言對外國人來說太難掌握了。這也是我主動要求變得完美的原因，盡管起初我面臨著許多障礙。但在完全掌握了整個語言，包括用日語閱讀、書寫和思考的能力之后，他們再也無法否認(rèn)我和他們一樣優(yōu)秀。對有些人來說，這很嚇人，尤其是老一輩的人。但對我的大多數(shù)日本朋友來說，他們認(rèn)為這是自然而然的事情，從來沒有質(zhì)疑過它。我只是與其他人融合在一起。我們一起工作，一起玩耍，我從來沒有感覺到我是被孤立的。甚至那些不認(rèn)識我的人也對我印象深刻，并對我表示贊許。我也有一些與生俱來的能力，能極快地掌握書面語言，并能以那些從小寫漢字的人的方式破譯日語漢字，這使我相信，在另一個人生中，我出生在亞洲，因此已經(jīng)熟悉了漢字。
總而言之，我對日本語言、文化及其人民的體驗是積極的，重要的是要記住，你為學(xué)習(xí)一種語言所付出的努力將決定你變得有多好。我有機會在日本生活和工作了很長時間，并允許自己吸收文化和日本人的思維方式，這使我有能力克服一個普通的外國人在試圖突破對許多人來說可能是如此難以捉摸的障礙時所面臨的幾乎所有障礙。

Rei Miyasaka
> Some if not many Japanese do believe that Japanese is so unique and so difficult to learn that it's impossible for the non-natives to master.
It’s not difficult to achieve literacy, but in all my time working with bilinguals of all sorts, I have yet to meet more than a few who I can say have “mastered” the language the way, say, a French speaker can “master” English over a decade and with enough diligence. And all but one of the fluent bilinguals I know have been bilingual since at least as early as seven years old.
I also have yet to meet anyone who’s said the ability to speak a language is genetic. It’s just extremely different.

> 有些日本人（如果不是很多的話）確實認(rèn)為，日語是如此獨特，如此難學(xué)，以至于非本地人不可能掌握。
識字并不難，但在我與各種類型的雙語者打交道的過程中，我還沒有遇到過幾個可以說是"掌握"了這門語言的人，就像一個講法語的人經(jīng)過十年的努力，可以"掌握"英語那樣掌握它。在我認(rèn)識的所有流利的雙語者中，除了一個人之外，其他人至少從7歲起就開始使用雙語了。
我也還沒有遇到過誰會說講一種語言的能力是遺傳的。它們只是非常不同。

J.M. Adams
i appreciate your answer, and i've heard the sentiment before, but i've lived in japan for almost 20 years, in three cities, speaking japanese most of the time, and i can't remember getting that feeling from anyone. i know that was a popular belief 100 years ago (including the first great japanese shakespeare scholar of all people), and there may be some still, but now there are just too many well known non-japanese people on tv, etc, who are disproving it every day. of course there is an inferiority complex that shows up here and there and may be related.

我很欣賞你的回答，我以前也聽過這種感覺，但我在日本生活了近20年，在三個城市，大部分時間都在說日語，我不記得從任何人那里得到過這種感覺。我知道這在100年前是一種流行的觀點（包括日本第一個偉大的莎士比亞學(xué)者），現(xiàn)在可能還有一些，但是現(xiàn)在有太多知名的非日本人上電視等等，他們每天都在推翻這種觀點。當(dāng)然，這可能和某種自卑情結(jié)相關(guān)。
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Peter Skov
I’m not perfectly fluent but I can make complex sentences and get through a conversation, and Japanese people have often told me that they feel relieved that I can speak as well as I do because it means they can have a conversation with a foreigner and not feel nervous. It’s easier for them to help me explain my thoughts in their native language than for them to try to make themselves understood in English.
So, based on my experience, yes, they are pleased when a foreigner can speak Japanese.

我說得不是很流利，但我可以寫復(fù)雜的句子并進行對話，日本人經(jīng)常告訴我，他們對我能說得這么好感到欣慰，因為這意味著他們可以和一個外國人進行對話而不感到緊張。對他們來說，用他們的母語幫助我解釋我的想法，比讓他們試圖用英語去理解更容易。
因此，根據(jù)我的經(jīng)驗，是的，當(dāng)一個外國人能說日語時，他們很高興。

Suzanne Yoon
The korean and Japanese languages are not similar in any way. Japanese language has a sing-song voice inflection whereas korean tends to sound glottal and “rough.”

韓國和日本的語言沒有任何相似的地方。日語的聲調(diào)如歌唱般婉轉(zhuǎn)，而韓語聽起來很“粗糲”。

John Buchan
The words are not difficult to pronounce. But all those characters to memorize….

單詞并不難發(fā)音。但所有這些要記住的字符就....

Chris Tom
, Professional Japanese Translator
It depends on the situation and the person.
During the time I lived in Japan, I encountered people who were thrilled that I could speak fluently, those that were indifferent, and those that were blatantly disrespectful. I noticed most young people tended to be more thrilled or indifferent, whereas with older people it was a mixed bag.
I will tell a story of a thrilled person, and of somebody who turned white as a sheet when they realized I understood Japanese.
When I was working as an intern as an interpreter at a small manufacturing company in Nagoya, there was a Konbini (convenience store) that I traveled to on a near daily basis. There was a young person working behind the counter who came off as very shy but he didn’t look the type to be shy. Later on, he asks me a question in Japanese about the food I ordered that was a little bit above the usual speaking level of a foreigner. When he realized I spoke Japanese, all of the sudden he was no longer shy. He seemed very happy and told me he hadn’t really spoken with a foreigner before and was glad I was learning the language. After that, we spoke almost every day until the end of my internship.

這取決于情況和人。
在我住在日本的時候，我遇到過一些對我能說流利的日語感到很興奮的人，也遇到過無動于衷的人，還有一些對我公然無禮的人。我注意到大多數(shù)年輕人傾向于感到興奮或無動于衷，而對于年長的人，則是兩者交雜。
我將講述一個有人對此很激動的故事，以及一個當(dāng)他意識到我懂日語時臉色發(fā)白的人的故事。
當(dāng)我在名古屋的一家小型制造公司擔(dān)任實習(xí)翻譯時，我?guī)缀趺刻於紩ヒ患襅onbini（便利店）。有一個在柜臺后面工作的年輕人，看起來非常害羞，但他看起來不是那種害羞的人。后來，他用日語問了我一個關(guān)于我點的食物的問題，這個問題有點超出了一個外國人通常的會話水平。當(dāng)他意識到我會說日語時，突然間他就不再害羞了。他似乎非常高興，并告訴我他以前沒有真正和外國人說過話，很高興我在學(xué)習(xí)這門語言。從那以后，我們幾乎每天都交談，直到我的實習(xí)期結(jié)束。

On the other hand, there are people who are not so benevolent. My friend from the States had come to visit me during my winter vacation while I was studying at a Japanese university, and we decided to go out to one of the major shopping districts of Nagoya. There was this one small shop with cheap “charai” (gaudy) clothing obviously ordered from China being sold at a ridiculous price. I must admit, I wasn’t wearing my best clothes that day as I was a volunteer farmer to help the elderly with their fields. So, upon entering this store, the owner looks at me and says in English, “no second class.” Obviously, I am horribly confused and shocked, so I decide to try to clarify with him in Japanese what he meant. I asked him, “どういう意味？,” (what do you mean?) and his face goes completely white and I could see his chest retract from tightened breathing. That's when I knew what he originally meant. Afterwards, he goes on trying to carefully explain that things are expensive in his shop and I don’t look like the type who could afford it. I decide to just quietly leave and ignore his ignorance.
But dang, even my friend couldn't believe it.
另一方面，也有一些人不是那友善。我在日本大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)期間，我的美國朋友在寒假期間來看我，我們決定去名古屋的一個主要購物區(qū)逛逛。有一家小店，里面擺放著明顯是從中國訂購的廉價 "charai"（艷麗）服裝，售價卻高得離譜。我必須承認(rèn)，那天我沒有穿我最好的衣服，因為我是一個幫助老人種地的農(nóng)民志愿者。因此，在進入這家商店時，店主看著我，用英語說："沒有符合你穿的"。很明顯，我感到非常困惑和震驚，所以我決定嘗試用日語問他是什么意思。我問他："どういう意味？"（你是什么意思？），他的臉完全變白了，我可以看到他的胸口因呼吸緊促而縮了回去。這時我才知道他原來是什么意思。之后，他繼續(xù)試圖仔細解釋說他店里的東西很貴，而我不像是能買得起的類型。我決定就這樣靜靜地離開，無視他的無知。

無語啊，連我的朋友對此都難以置信。