Dialect - ben（弁）

Through the people I meet and the classes I take I'm starting to realize how diverse Japan is. Diverse in not only ethnic minorities but in regions. While the US has states, Japan instead has Prefectures or ken (plus two fu and one dou.) Each ken has a different way of speaking Japanese which is metcha omoroi (very interesting in Kansai ben) to learn. The standard Japanese is considered Tokyo-ben because it is supposedly the center of Japan. Learning different accents and other ways of pronouncing Japanese is new to me. I knew about the Kanto-ben (Tokyo and Yokohama) versus Kansai-ben (Kyoto and Osaka) but apparently every prefecture has its own variations. So Japanese people from certain areas cannot understand other Japanese people from other prefectures. When you watch TV in Japan especially in Osaka, there are subtitles. Apparently, it is because the people speak too fast and not everyone understand the accents.

Today was an interesting day because we talked about this in my Issues in Contemporary Japan class. Japanese's perceptions of other prefectures depends on where they came from. What I learned is that Kansai's sterotype is that they are less rigid, funnier, and more carefree. Kanto from Kansai's point of view is seen as too cold, regimented, and serious. I haven't been to Tokyo yet but I like living in Osaka so far. I'm comforted by the fact that I can see Japanese people here 'break' the unspoken rules like eating while walking/riding a bike, talking on the trains/bus, and crossing the sidewalk when its red and when there are no cars around. Maybe it is just Kansai region...we'll see if my view changes the longer I stay in Japan.