| View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
spurrymoses
JLPT Helper
Joined: 24 Apr 2005
Posts: 399
Location: Sydney, Australia
|
 Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 3:30 pm Post subject: Old People's words in Exam |
|
|
Did you notice a very strange wording in the exam on page 6.
It said something like:
先生：「山田くん, レポートを 終わったかい。」
You might ask, as I did, what is the extra い doing on the end?
I thought it was a mistake, so I ignored it, but I've since asked 2 experts and apparently it's some sort of men-only/old-people casual speak.
It's not even something you'd learn in grammar class. I think you'd have to be living in Japan to know this...?
Which adds even further weight to my idea that I will have to live in Japan for at least 1 year before I can pass any higher grades. What do other people think about this?
Last edited by spurrymoses on Thu Dec 29, 2005 3:56 pm; edited 2 times in total |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Sarevok
JLPT Starter
Joined: 23 Jul 2005
Posts: 91
Location: Yamato, Japan
|
| Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 3:45 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Yep I noticed it too. I even was confused if it was a question or a statement. Glad you remembered it though. :wink: And so a new mystery has been born...
I guess they made it that way so that no 外国人 can get the exam perfect. Naaah, just a wild guess. :wink: |
|
Back to top |
|
|
spurrymoses
JLPT Helper
Joined: 24 Apr 2005
Posts: 399
Location: Sydney, Australia
|
| Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 11:39 am Post subject: |
|
|
I just discovered that this grammar (mentioned in previous posts above) is in the grammar list for Level 3!
So it wasn't in the exam as an 'exception' but rather it's one of the grammar points that are required. Here's an example from the spec (although it uses the word whiskey):
「このビール、飲むかい。」
But note, I'm assured that only middle-aged to older men use this grammar. Ultimately, not all that useful. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
JanneM
JLPT Helper
Joined: 12 Jun 2006
Posts: 313
Location: Osaka
|
| Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 5:28 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| spurrymoses wrote: |
But note, I'm assured that only middle-aged to older men use this grammar. Ultimately, not all that useful. |
Well, at some point you can't really avoid becoming a middle-aged man, at which point you're sure to be happy you already learned how to speak properly. ^_^
Also, I find that I hear this used quite a bit in practice; it may only be middle-aged men using it, but that's not exactly a rare subgroup in any society. It's like your grandmother words - you may not belong to that particular subgroup, but you still need to know the language when you want to communicate with someone who is. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
spurrymoses
JLPT Helper
Joined: 24 Apr 2005
Posts: 399
Location: Sydney, Australia
|
| Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 5:55 pm Post subject: |
|
|
 You're right. I was probably a bit hasty with that last comment.
My grandmother-in-law said this when she walked out of a restaurant into the brisk night air: 「さむいや！」
Which is grandmother speak for... well you can guess...
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Kates
JLPT Starter
Joined: 06 Jun 2006
Posts: 63
Location: Novi, MI
|
| Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 11:51 am Post subject: |
|
|
I've heard "kai" quite a bit in manga/anime, and not just from the old farts. ^_^ I even noticed it in a Do As Infinity song. I think it's a lot more common than you may believe~ |
|
Back to top |
|
|
JanneM
JLPT Helper
Joined: 12 Jun 2006
Posts: 313
Location: Osaka
|
| Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 5:28 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| spurrymoses wrote: |
You're right. I was probably a bit hasty with that last comment.
My grandmother-in-law said this when she walked out of a restaurant into the brisk night air: 「さむいや！」
Which is grandmother speak for... well you can guess... |
Of course, the "や" ending is not grandmother speak in Kansai; one of the most persistent dialectal features here is replacing "だ" with "や" wherever and whenever you can. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
ichigo19
JLPT Starter
Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 1
Location: Winchester,VA
|
| Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 1:19 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
先生：「山田くん, レポートを 終わったかい。」
You might ask, as I did, what is the extra い doing on the end? |
かい is used to mark yes or no question for informal male speech. It can only be used for questions asking for a yes or no response.
だい is used for who,what,where,when,how and why questions in informal male speech. Can not be used for yes or no questions. dai is the copula plus i so it can only follow nouns, na adjectives, and noun equivalents so to have an i adjective or verb before dai you must add no the nominalizer or n da and i to form n dai. they are used in the same place ka is usually used to form questions.
grammatical points from "A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar" writen by Seiichi Makino and Michio Tsutsui. Published by the Japan Times. This is a indispensible grammar resource for anyone studying japanese. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
|
