Re: [tlug] (OT) The enigma of Japan (was: UNIX jobs on TLUG)

[Martin Killmann <martin@example.com>]

On Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:40:50 +0900 
"Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com> wrote:
> 
> Footnotes: 
> [1]  The Nipponized cop in Crichton's "Rising Sun" notwithstanding,
> you will never be able to speak Japanese fluently, if only because the
> Japanese can't speak it fluently to you.  You cannot speak Japanese
> properly to a person unless you know the standing of both in the
> social total order, and gaijin are, well, gaijin.  Rising Sun captures
> some of Japanese business culture ... the vicious side.  It all
> actually happens, but it's rare that that much nastiness gets packed
> into one place.  Easy to forget, though, so read it with salt shaker
> in hand.  You can ignore Tom Clancy, he's ineducable (although fun to
> read).  van Wolferen's "The Enigma of Japanese Power" is a must-read,
> IMHO, although it might scare you back to the Lower East Side where
> it's safe. :-)

I hope my irony detector failed here...

Of course it is possible to learn how to speak Japanese fluently, of
course Japanese will speak fluently to you. It's just a long and hard
way to get there. There are quite a lot of frustrations to overcome
until you see some light and can finally just use the language without
thinking about it too much.

But if you plan to stay in Japan for longer than 5 years learning
Japanese properly is essential. Otherwise there will always be a barrier
between you and what's happening in the country.

As for Wolferen's book, that one was introduced to us in class with the
words: "He was in Japan for 12 years and he still didn't speak Japanese".
(the worst insult in Japanese Studies)
If you want to get an understanding of Japan that leads to practical
insights, stay away from all books that try to sell Japan as "unique",
"mysterious", "better than $COUNTRY" or "worse than $COUNTRY".

Martin