About the lecture on Tuesday

Sorry for the short notice!

In this Tuesday’s lecture, I’ll be focusing on the anime “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.”
In particular, I’d like to look at how different characters use language differently, and what their lines reveal about their personalities.

In our lessons, we mainly practice a variety of expressions based on polite forms, and one of the main characters in this work primarily speaks using this style, so you’ll come across many familiar expressions.
In addition, there are characters with a wide range of personalities and social positions, so I’d like to introduce some of the distinctive features of their speech as well.

What I am going to cover in this lecture:

• 文体（ぶんたい - buntai） — style / register
  → The overall level or style of language (formal vs informal, polite vs casual).
  Example:
  • Polite: “kyou wa atsui desu”
  • Casual: “kyou wa atsui”
    → Same meaning, different style/register.
• 終助詞（しゅうじょし - shuujoshi） — sentence-final particles
  → Small words at the end of a sentence that express the speaker’s attitude or nuance.
  Example:
  • “atsui yo” (informing / emphasizing)
  • “atsui ne” (seeking agreement)
  • “atsui wa” (adds a soft or emotional tone, often gendered in nuance)
• 待遇表現（たいぐうひょうげん- taiguu hyougen） — honorific expressions / politeness markers
  → Language forms that show respect or social relationships.
  Example:
  • Dictionary form: “taberu”
  • Polite: “tabemasu”
  • Honorific: “meshiagaru” (used for someone of higher status)

👉️Register here

By learning to recognize these signals—how speakers express nuance, stance, and relationships—you’ll be able to enjoy Japanese movies/comics etc on a deeper level:)

Whether you’ve seen the show or not, if your schedule allows, I’d be very happy to have you join!

I hope you have a lovely rest of your Sunday.

Mari