Why do most Japanese women sound like they are talking to babies? [Archive]

ghettocities

Jun 11, 2006, 13:25

Why do the majority of Japanese women sound like they are talking to babies?

Everywhere you go in Japan every woman talks to you like you are a baby. You turn the TV on and all the commercials sound like they are talking to babies and well I personally don't know too many babies who are in the market for a 52" SONY megaman plasma television set, do you?

What's the deal? I'm 23, I ain't no kid no more... And I've done homestays where the housewives even talk like that to their husbands who are like 50 years old!

Does anyone know why? Is this a post war thing? Why do most Japanese women sound like they are talking to babies?

Josh

Dutch Baka

Jun 11, 2006, 16:07

Haha, Yeah I know what you mean. I got a short story about this: My wife does not talk like that, and have well a normal voice?. but when she was working in an hotel they actually told her: Mayuko you have to change your voice! plus wear a pink outfit. and she was like whatt.. so yeah she left in one day.

But still I think it is soo funny, yeah you have to change your voice.

Interesting question

godppgo

Jun 11, 2006, 16:31

Personally, I like it very much

nice gaijin

Jun 11, 2006, 16:58

Many think it's cute for women to speak like that. they aren't so much talking like their audiences are children, but rather they're speaking like they are adolescents. This is apparently attractive to a large number of men (otherwise it wouldn't be such a common practice).

mad pierrot

Jun 11, 2006, 20:31

It drives me NUTS. Women should not sound like muppet babies. What the heck is cute about that? God, one of the people I work with talks like that all the time. I want to smack her in the face so bad.

Mikawa Ossan

Jun 11, 2006, 20:36

I don't mind it all.

What I hate is when you go to some store or listen to the radio, and the person on the airwaves is speaking in half-Japanese half-English. It makes me want to go deaf, I swear!

Alma

Jun 11, 2006, 20:57

i wonder how that sounds? i think it can be very annoying

anyway.. i understand that Japanese women do so much stupid things like this.. to be more attractive to Japanese men.. I'm trying to understand why, but it's quite hard..

Ewok85

Jun 11, 2006, 21:16

Its supposed to be "feminine" and its whats practically beaten into them all the way through to adulthood. So glad my gf can talk like a sailor and never, ever says kawaii.

godppgo

Jun 11, 2006, 22:03

Alma

Jun 11, 2006, 22:14

The way I look at it is this. The feminine expressions sooth my turbid mind and relax my strained nerve. It's like the sound of a caring mother tending to an insecure child. It just makes me feel so satisfied and safe....

that is true.. but all the time and for everybody to speak like that? it's too much, i think.

Elizabeth

Jun 11, 2006, 22:29

that is true.. but all the time and for everybody to speak like that? it's too much, i think.
I can't stand it either and whether men find it 'soothing' or 'cute or whatever it's ultimately part of an image keeping all women in the low place they find themselves today that will become difficult for any of them to ever get taken seriously.

And it's across all levels of society. I've heard female professors, economics reporters and journalists sound like they were station attendants or nursery school teachers...must be incredibly humilitating to have to keep such a sweet and silly face to the public eye. :okashii:

godppgo

Jun 11, 2006, 22:41

And it's across all levels of society. I've heard female professors, economics reporters and journalists sound like they were station attendants or nursery school teachers...must be incredibly humilitating to have to keep such a sweet and silly face to the public eye. :okashii:

How do you know they feel humiliated expressing their feminine side of personality?
Moreover, what's so humiliating about a female sounding feminine?

Elizabeth

Jun 11, 2006, 23:16

How do you know they feel humiliated expressing their feminine side of personality?
Moreover, what's so humiliating about a female sounding feminine?
I'm sure a certain percentage, particularly housewives and nonprofessionals, are used to it. All I meant was that most women are forced into it as part of their socialization from a very young age, as others have all said. I don't know anyone who talks that way when they don't think they have to.

It certainly is a factor also in keeping sex discrimination policies in the workplace and the expectation that women will quit their jobs to raise a family. That's almost too obvious to mention. If you had managed to reach
a certain position of achievement (company, academic...) when everything around is still so male dominated would you want the focus on keeping men happy with childish vocal intonations or on your skills, knowledge and abilities ? :okashii:

mad pierrot

Jun 11, 2006, 23:27

It also happens to be the same tone of voice you hear all Japanese girls use in porno flicks.

Coincidence?

I think not.

Mars Man

Jun 11, 2006, 23:58

Now wait just a second...the lady at the house here never talks to me like that !! What's wrong !! Is Japan going down the drain? hee...hee....hee...

While I agree with especially the couple of posts or so above, I still think that perhaps one main thing is the idea of politeness--although that may still very well be bias against women.

Hey, don't worry mad-pierrot san, I won't tell ...

godppgo

Jun 12, 2006, 00:03

I'm sure a certain percentage, particularly housewives and nonprofessionals, are used to it. All I meant was that most women are forced into it as part of their socialization from a very young age, as others have all said. I don't know anyone who talks that way when they don't think they have to.
It certainly is a factor also in keeping sex discrimination policies in the workplace and the expectation that women will quit their jobs to raise a family. That's almost too obvious to mention. If you had managed to reach
a certain position of achievement (company, academic...) when everything around is still so male dominated would you want the focus on keeping men happy with childish vocal intonations or on your skills, knowledge and abilities ? :okashii:

Isn't childish vocal intonations a valid technical skill? People are taught to use various vocal pitches and expressions in a professional presentation to attract audience. To me, feminine expressions and behaviors can be used to a female's advantage in a professional environment just as men who do things they hate inorder to climb up the corporate ladder. (eg, making hysteric laugh when the topic of interest isn't amusing at all)

Many people view housewives as nonprofessionals, but I beg to differ. First of all, being an housewives is no easy task (if not one of the hardest job a human being can endure). It is not fair to judge housewives using the conventional ideas of "professionals" or "technical skills". The so- called "professionals" are merely people who have gained enough technical knowledge so that they can function in an environment where their technical skills are needed. The mental skill required for housewives is what makes their jobs so unique and hard to endure. In my opinion, In terms of contribution to the society as a whole, housewives are much more respectable than many other so-called professionals out there.

Of course, its' all about personal choices for each individual what role they prefer to play in the society.

godppgo

Jun 12, 2006, 00:18

It also happens to be the same tone of voice you hear all Japanese girls use in porno flicks.
Coincidence?
I think not.
I think it's just sexual preference...there are all sorts of Japanese porno out there...

ArmandV

Jun 12, 2006, 00:26

I am trying to figure out what exactly the "tone of voice" this thread is referring to. I've never noticed anything except Japanese women clerks are still prattling on even though it should be obvious I can't understand them.

Is it a higher pitch?

nishino_aiki87

Jun 12, 2006, 00:53

I think that this is part of Japanese culture

Elizabeth

Jun 12, 2006, 00:54

Isn't childish vocal intonations a valid technical skill? People are taught to use various vocal pitches and expressions in a professional presentation to attract audience. To me, feminine expressions and behaviors can be used to a female's advantage in a professional environment just as men who do things they hate inorder to climb up the corporate ladder. (eg, making hysteric laugh when the topic of interest isn't amusing at all)

A technical skill that even children can master may be one strategy for climbing the corporate ladder or dealing with the public which is why it becomes much less obvious in the higher realms of management ? -- certainly to women superiors I doubt you see those sorts of cute, unthreatening mannerisms much at all.

And while they might be comfortable out of habit and social expectation, many men I knew secretly also hold women like that in contempt intellectually. At the very least, as you say godppgo, refusing to talk down to customers, co-workers, etc shouldn't be a factor that is imposed on anyone or costs them their chance at a job.

yukio_michael

Jun 12, 2006, 01:40

I can only find a german (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burikko) wiki for what is termed 鰤子 burikko, or the act of prentending to be ko, or a child.

When you watch Japanese television this vocal intonation is pretty prevalent, even arround the house my girlfriend would mis-pronounce words in a childish way, such as chamui chamui instead of the correct, samui for cold, using words like nene, adding the prefix -chan to words that normaly don't take them, such as oha-chan~!...

The whole burikko infantilized Japanese female culture did not start until the 70s. There was no equivalent of Morning Musume in the 60s or 70s. In the mid-80s, Onyanko Club (The [wink!] Pussycat Club) comes on the scene, but opposed to the 90s mass-girl groups, Onyanko is all about selling underage sex and lolita fantasies to older men. Everyone accuses Morning Musume of doing this, but they are sexless and spayed compared to the Onyanko who had lyrics like "Please don't make me take off my sailor school uniform." (Se-ra-fuku wo nugasanaide!)from the once irrepressible marxy, link: here. (http://www.pliink.com/mt/marxy/archives/2004_10.html)

Burikko (jap. 鰤子) is a Japanese Slang expression for a gekünstelt childlike behavior of women. The expression sits down together from kanji 子, (ko, child) and 鰤 (buri), a certain Thunfischart designation, in reality is however 振る (buru, behave as) meant the verb. [...]

Burikko behavior manifests itself in high voice[...] -exceprt translated from ger. wiki.

Ma Cherie

Jun 12, 2006, 02:24

That is one of the reasons why I do not like nor listen to most jpop music, the voices are too high pitched for me and I cannot stand that. I remember watching a documentery on PBS a long time ago, something to do with the Japanese economy, anyways there's a woman who was talking in that same baby-ish tone. It didn't seem right to me, because I think that woman was almost thirty.

yukio_michael

Jun 12, 2006, 02:26

That is one of the reasons why I do not like nor listen to most jpop music, the voices are too high pitched for me and I cannot stand that.My secret shame is that I love this sort of Jpop, songs which are mostly shrill girlish (oddly all writen by older men) paeans to love... I listen to it with the headphones on though. ;)

doinkies

Jun 12, 2006, 02:37

So do I...really embarrassing...XD but I can't resist doinky bubblegum pop!

Though not all female J-pop singers have squeaky voices...just the ぶりっ子 ones, mostly...

Nakashima Mika, for example, has a deep husky voice, not very squeaky at all. ^^

Elizabeth

Jun 12, 2006, 02:39

I think that this is part of Japanese culture
Yeah, a lot of the culture is exactly like that and dumbed down to some extent. It's why there are detailed, and of course animated, signs in stations explaining how to buy a ticket, in cafeteria lines on how to pick up a tray, choose your food, deposit the tray, on bridges not to jump into the water and drown :p
why everything is repeated a million times in a painfully slow drawl...etc

These standards are societal, though, and not necessarily internalized at all so
it doesn't imply anyone is expected to be incompetent (just the opposite in my experience) or certainly not impolite if they don't relate to people this way.

yukio_michael

Jun 12, 2006, 04:30

Yeah, a lot of the culture is exactly like that and dumbed down to some extent. It's why there are detailed, and of course animated, signs in stations explaining how to buy a ticket, in cafeteria lines on how to pick up a tray, choose your food, deposit the tray, on bridges not to jump into the water and drown :pI find it sort of cute that from going shopping in Shibuya, to getting airline tickets at HIS, and everywhere there are cute-childish cartoons penned to accompany the texts, your train ride, your menus, etcetera...

A lot of people describe this as a sort of infantile side of Japan, but it doesn't bother me so much. Japan does however have the unfortunate side effect of almost as you say of being treated as if it were a child.

ghettocities

Jun 12, 2006, 04:56

I find it sort of cute that from going shopping in Shibuya, to getting airline tickets at HIS, and everywhere there are cute-childish cartoons penned to accompany the texts, your train ride, your menus, etcetera...
A lot of people describe this as a sort of infantile side of Japan, but it doesn't bother me so much. Japan does however have the unfortunate side effect of almost as you say of being treated as if it were a child.

But why would the people of Japan want Japan itself to be their (sort of,) mother. And someone had asked on the first page they didn't know what sound(s) we were referring to -- there is no way you couldnt have heard it yet! Like people were saying Japanese pop music, a great example, almost seems structured that way. I remember listening to it (the JPOP I listen to is from the 90s before this whole hiphop/rap beat influence) and thinking to myself 'do kids sing a long to this or what? or am I the only guy rocking out to this? I mean it sounds like it's for kids but i'm rocking out to this and so is it for kids? because I mean, you could really rock out to this.'

Does Japan need this type of babying?

A better question: If you take it (all the baby-talk,) away would it effect Japan, would it make the people of Tokyo more lifeless than they are looking already? Whats the point? That's what I really want to know. Everything has a purpose, a meaning, everything has had thought put into it, so... I don't know, maybe Japan realizes that life itself is just death in tin foil and so if they speak like they are speaking to new life it's appreciated more than speaking to near death.

Josh

GodEmperorLeto

Jun 12, 2006, 14:57

Have you ever watched Japanese (and Korean, for that matter) movies? They are extreme opposites on the spectrum. Chinese, English, and American movies can be really violent, and really sappy, too. But the Japanese/Korean violent movies are ultra-violent, and their "heartwarming", or "romantic" flicks are ultra-sappy.

This whole cutsy-girl thing is part of that.

As an aside, one of my Japanese students tried to hook me up with one of her Japanese friends. Well, the girl speaks fluent English, but she also speaks with that high-pitched squeaky, baby-talk voice, and it drove me up the wall. Interestingly enough, my student has a very nice alto voice, very soothing to listen to. I could imagine myself sitting on a veranda, sipping sake at a teahouse, while the rain falls lightly in a Japanese garden, listening to her talk with my eyes closed. But the baby-talk girl? Hellz no!

yukio_michael

Jun 13, 2006, 00:21

Sitting on the veranda would probably have you sitting right underneath the laundry. ;)

ricecake

Jun 13, 2006, 16:24

Its supposed to be "feminine" and its whats practically beaten into them all the way through to adulthood.

Agree ..... it's part of upbringing for Japanese girls to act FEMININE.

Heck,Japan is the ONLY NATION has cooking school for bride-to-be's.

GodEmperorLeto

Jun 13, 2006, 23:27

Sitting on the veranda would probably have you sitting right underneath the laundry. ;)
I said it was a dream, dammit!!! Leave me my fantasies!!!

*Hangs head in shame*

Elizabeth

Jun 14, 2006, 00:18

Does Japan need this type of babying?
A better question: If you take it (all the baby-talk,) away would it effect Japan, would it make the people of Tokyo more lifeless than they are looking already? Whats the point?
It works to relax and soften around the edges a bit a still very hierarchical and strictly status conscious society, in my opinion...

dreamer

Jun 14, 2006, 21:22

Some people like it, some other hate it... that's the way it is...

yukio_michael

Jun 15, 2006, 01:28

A pretty good example of girl-pop that took Japan by storm:

Ai Outsuka, Sakuranbo (http://wiki.theppn.org/Sakuranbo), Video: here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGzvObVChQI).

...and, another good example of burikko style:

3nin Matsuri, Chu chu natsu paati (Kiss Kiss, Summer Party) (http://wiki.theppn.org/3nin_Matsuri), Video: here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvVGAzEjtQw)

Some people like it, some other hate it... that's the way it is...Exactly. This is the middle ground between apathy & fanatacism.

ishnar

Jun 21, 2006, 15:08

This is not strictly a female thing, nor are they talking like you're a baby. It is part of keigo. Not only does the language change depending on your status but it is also humbling to raise your voice an octive to show the other person they have higher status. These same women might also lower their voice an octive in addition to using a more masculine language to show that they consider themselves above you. Essentially, it's a way to be a little more humble than -masu without going all the way to super polite, formal language.

Males will do it too at times to increase their politeness. They just do it less often because males have higher status than females. More often you'll see guys dropping their voice an octive to be more assertive.

Glenn

Jun 21, 2006, 15:15

You sure it's an octave? That's quite a difference in pitch (twice as high as they normally speak).

ghettocities

Jun 21, 2006, 15:18

This is not strictly a female thing.
The trying to sound like they are talking to a baby thing is strictly a female thing. Talking quieter is for both sexes, the family who has adopted me and my unacceptable-to-most happenings has this cousan I go to see at this certain sunkus just because he says "Irrashaimase" like it's a nursery rhyme.
I told him he should get a job at QVCjapan or the shop channel just because whenever he talks I buy stuff. He talks soothingly though and not like I'm a baby. There is a big difference,
like you listen to all JPOP and no JPOP has guys sounding like they are talking to kids unless they are kids singing but then that's their target audience it's not a kid singing to grown ups when it's a male. You see what i'm saying?
Girls on the other hand, sing in JPOP like they are talking to babies and you can go around Akihabara and nerds are all singing the songs like their mom had just sang them a lullaby.

You make it sound all scientificult, it's just Japanese womens' baby talk and I'm trying to figure out why they do that, I'm not trying to figure out how to clone DNA or dissect a frog.

Josh

gaijinalways

Jun 22, 2006, 23:23

It is a taught politeness for women, part of keigo for ladies. Fortunately my wife doesn't use it at home with me. That high register would give me a headache, total 'falsetto speech'!

yukio_michael

Jun 23, 2006, 00:40

I think there is a difference between the polite speach of women, and, what you see on television & popular music etcetera, what we are talking about here, burikko...

doinkies

Jun 23, 2006, 01:21

Yeah, most women don't speak as high-pitched as a burikko. XD

yukio_michael

Jun 23, 2006, 01:39

Yeah, most women don't speak as high-pitched as a burikko. XDNow, I'm just confused about the original post... as most women in Japan don't speak in a 'high-pitched voice'...

Women's speach is different from men's speach, for me (and probably a lot of people) it's easier to understand compared to rough men's speach... Its slower and more carefully pronounced...

There is a difference of course between how women speak in the office versus how they speak between each other in conversation outside of the office, but I've never attributed this to anything but custom, not especially tonality...

ed: re-reading the original post, it's definitely refering to burikko, nothing to do with how Japanese women really speak to each other during daily life, and I'd imagine, if a Japanese woman spoke in the office the same way she would if she were selling laundry detergent on television, she'd quickly be shown the door.

ArmandV

Jun 23, 2006, 02:00

When I first read the beginning of this thread, I really didn't know what this baby-talk thing was all about. I was imagining someone walking into a sushi restaurant in Japan and a girl/woman talking in a high-pitch saying, "You here for some sushi-wooshie, snookums?"

Glenn

Jun 23, 2006, 02:34

It is a taught politeness for women, part of keigo for ladies. Fortunately my wife doesn't use it at home with me. That high register would give me a headache, total 'falsetto speech'!

Technically it's head voice. Women's falsetto is rarely heard, unless you listen to Mariah Carey. /off-topic

Minty

Jun 23, 2006, 07:18

Taiwanese girls also talk in this way.

ghettocities

Jun 23, 2006, 11:31

I often tell people while talking about Japanese girls I've been with "she had an anime voice," and they all know what I mean. That should probably tell me something right there.

Josh

Ewok85

Jun 23, 2006, 11:45

That should probably tell me something right there.

... that anime voice actors/actresses are Japanese??

yukio_michael

Jul 1, 2006, 23:33

I think the answer to this question is that they are either a) paid to do so to appeal to some demographic or other, or b) to appeal to men who expect them to appear defenseless and child-like, read non-threatening...

Shortened version: because they are expected to. Real women who speak to each other, their husbands, their boyfriends do not speak like this.

Personally, I find it adorable if someone talks to you like this, if you are paying for company at mizu shoubai--- you are definitely paying for fantasy at the same time.

gaijinalways

Jul 2, 2006, 00:55

Personally, I find it adorable if someone talks to you like this, if you are paying for company at mizu shoubai--- you are definitely paying for fantasy at the same time.

Ah, now I know why we are different,; you are rich and living in a fantasy world

PS Rumored I look like Bill Gates' brother and have more charm, but alas little of my brother's money!

yukio_michael

Jul 2, 2006, 06:04

Ah, now I know why we are different,; you are rich and living in a fantasy world.Sometimes, I wish that I were.

GodEmperorLeto

Jul 2, 2006, 13:35

Shortened version: because they are expected to. Real women who speak to each other, their husbands, their boyfriends do not speak like this.
Personally, I find it adorable if someone talks to you like this, if you are paying for company at mizu shoubai--- you are definitely paying for fantasy at the same time.
No, man, I know some Japanese girls who even speak English with that high-pitched baby-talk anime voice because it is their natural voice. Now, granted, natural doesn't sound that bad. But when they are trying to sound like that, my God, it makes me cringe.

yukio_michael

Jul 3, 2006, 02:28

Now, granted, natural doesn't sound that bad. But when they are trying to sound like that, my God, it makes me cringe.The majority of the women I've met are in there thirties... so I'm not sure... maybe it's an age thing!

I've not met anyone who spoke like this in normal conversation--- but I'm sure it occurs... I think the problem is that we all probably have a different idea of what constitutes as burikko...

nhk9

Jul 25, 2006, 14:25

Burikko is probably the type that tries to create a "kawaii" image by not only projecting a high-pitch voice, but also by touching, slapping, kicking others of the opposite sex in an attempt to gather the attention of those they find attractive. I heard that burikko are often disliked by fellow women. Nonetheless, most burikko are probably younger, ie <30yrs

As for the traditional high-pitch of Japanese women, I think the reason why you see why more women using the high-pitched voice than men is because of the traditional value of a "yamato nadeshiko". (大和撫子） A nadeshiko in the old days would be a prized treasure for anyone who has power. They are expected to speak in a soft, effeminate voice with perfect keigo, walk in small, light steps, and serve tea to their masters/husbands when called upon. Nowadays, people still see the ability to perform the above to be extraordinary skills. And in the marriage-conscious Japanese society, having such skills would mean greater chances at getting husbands with height, social status, and great incomes.

Talitha_Cumi

Jul 25, 2006, 21:26

I don't even understand the meaning of the original post:? imiwakannai

koolkool

Jul 31, 2006, 11:27

But i like this kind of voice personally...ahaha..I like the voice in the train loudspeaker when a female Japanese voice tell me the next destination..:cool: :cool:

kohlrak

Jul 31, 2006, 11:34

ROFL actually i'm not reading all the post, but i find the voices so adorable. X'D Seemingly asians look younger (to me) than they really are. my friend lizzie (in korea) is about 14 but she looks to be 5, 6, maybe 7 years old.

ricecake

Jul 31, 2006, 11:55

Seemingly,Asians look younger (to me) than they really are.my friend lizzie (in korea) is about 14 but she looks to be 5, 6, maybe 7 years old.

:lol: .... You friend probably suffers from mal-nutrition :worried:

One question,is she a natural born dwarf ( little person ) ?

kohlrak

Jul 31, 2006, 12:11

Alma

Jul 31, 2006, 18:01

No, she's well fed. She wasn't born a dwarf. In fact, one of my ex gfs is half korean. She's 12 or 13 right now, but she looks and acts like a 3 year old. It's a nice way to be a pedofile without the moral issues. lol Though the fact she looked like she was 3 was not why i liked her so much. lol
:o
i hope you exaggerate :souka: i agree, asian girls look a lot younger then they are, but for 13 year old girl to look like she's 3? :mad:

kohlrak

Jul 31, 2006, 18:08

ok, maybe not look like she was 3... but she acts like it.... she's scared of the dark and stuff. I always found that cute, she actually looks to be about 9 or 10 but when you hear her, her voice is like 5... She acts like she's 3... then you just see her looks as about 3... lol

Alma

Jul 31, 2006, 18:14

:relief: i'm relieved :-)

so, can you tell us (do you even know) her reasons for acting like that? i don't say that behaviour is wrong, but it's quite unusual...

kohlrak

Jul 31, 2006, 18:22

Well... Aside from the fact her friends are just like her, she hadn't really gotten "the talk" till really late. lol

ricecake

Jul 31, 2006, 18:36

:lol: .... As an Oriental woman,I can only agree some petite Asian grown

women look 12 year-old girls with visible baby-face and 5 feet short stature.

kohlrak

Jul 31, 2006, 18:40

I think short girls are adorable... they always look up to you, literally. The girl i have the hots for (despite how close we're not actually going out) is about 5 foot, she dosn't like being so short and i tell her how adorable it is... i swear she's precious. lol Thus why i gave her the japanese name "すてき." But, asians are adorable...

nice gaijin

Jul 31, 2006, 18:55

lol Thus why i gave her the japanese name "すてき." But, asians are adorable...
Just out of curiosity, is she aware that "suteki" is not a Japanese name?

kohlrak

Jul 31, 2006, 18:58

She probably dosn't care. =p As for it not being a name i don't see why it woudln't be. Has 2 entries on enamdict and many japanese names i saw were adjatives or nouns.

寿天希 - すてき - Suteki (f)

捨己 - すてき - Suteki (g)

The G stands for "given name" which can be male or female. F stands for female given name.

nice gaijin

Jul 31, 2006, 19:22

I asked around to see how Japanese people would react to someone with that name. They all laughed and asked if it was from an anime.

Why not say "I'll call you suteki 'cause you're fantastic!" I'm sure she'd get a kick out of that, if she knew what it meant.

kohlrak

Jul 31, 2006, 19:25

I already told her. X'D She liked it. lol

pipokun

Jul 31, 2006, 22:59

http://www.saishunkan.co.jp/domo/cm/images/im_cm_07.jpg
She is just 62 yrs old!
http://www.saishunkan.co.jp/domo/cm/

doinkies

Aug 1, 2006, 02:31

I think that 寿天希 would probably be one of the featured entries on the DQN Name Ranking (http://dqname.selfip.net/)...

(DQN is Japanese netspeak, which means "really bad" or "really stupid"...it originated on 2ch and is pronounced ドキュン)

kohlrak

Aug 1, 2006, 05:45

I can't tell if i got any search results. lol Anyway... I'm tickled we're even having this debate for the reson below...

So as to avoid unnecessary questions and spare time to our staff and other members, check the available online data below before asking vocabulary or kanji questions. Check our Japanese-English/English-Japanese Dictionary on JREF's homepage.

Alternatively, if you are looking for a translation of a Japanese word/expression into English, French, German or Russian, first check Jim Breen's Dictionary. This is the best online dictionary to my knowledge. It contains the following dictionary (select from the menu) :

- KANJIDIC and KANJD212 for Kanji

- EDICT for English translations (100.000 entries)
- COMPDIC for terms used in the computing and (tele)communications industries
- ENAMDICT for Japanese proper names (place-names, surnames and given names)
- J_PLACES for place names from the Postal Code database
- FINMKTDIC for financial, business & marketing terms
- LIFSCIDIC : Japanese-English Life Science dictionary
- ENGSCIDIC for words related to engineering and science
- MISCDIC for other specialised vocabulary (legal, technical, linguistic...)

- JDDICT : Japanese-German dictionary
- J-RUSSIAN : Japanese-Russian dictionary
- J-FRENCH : Japanese-French dictionary

- THE_LOT is a combination of most of the above files

To find a Kanji, go here and type the reading in romaji or kana, or the numer of strokes. For multiradical (i.e. complex) kanji, choose the radical(s) from this page.

You can easily translate Japanese words from any websites by just copying it and pasting it in the Word Search. It gives you the reading and translation !

Alternatively, Goo also has a English-Japanese/Japanese-English and Japanese-Japanese dictionary.

note, the underlined, bold, and italisized (sp?) word was my own doing, but the word itself was in the original post. Now, let's stop hijaking peoples' posts and start talking about the subject, ok?

They sound like they're talking like babies simply because it was years and years of secret government experiments to make japanese more and more adorable.

nice gaijin

Aug 1, 2006, 06:03

doinkies, that link is hilarious! I'll bet those are in enamdict too :p

Mamoru-kun

Aug 1, 2006, 16:35

If I may, back on the topic once again, my wife told me, only two weeks ago when I asked her the exact same question, that if shop-woman stopped speaking like babies...customers would then notice something strange is happening. In other words, for my wife, speaking like that became like a custom. She is used to hearing woman speaking that way, and would feel strange if it was not the case, I've been said...

kohlrak

Aug 1, 2006, 16:38

Mamoru... This is true... That reminds me of a very good government joke... The scariest thing that could ever happen is some one knocking on your door saying, "We're from the government, and we're here to help."

Checker

Aug 1, 2006, 20:50

I personally like Japanese woman speaking in their squeaky voices. I find it quite cute and attractive. :bluush: I'm quite used to it as well what with all the anime I watch, lol.

kohlrak

Aug 1, 2006, 20:51

I find more than their voice attractive... lol Squeaky voiced females are precious. X'D

breez

Aug 10, 2006, 21:38

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2006-08-10T093322Z_01_T123700_RTRIDST_0_OUKOE-UK-JAPAN-PHONE.XML&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-C2-AlsoToday-11

A Japanese man was arrested this week after making 37,760 silent calls to directory enquiries because he wanted to listen to the "kind" voices of female telephone operators.

So there! :p

I can see someone is very fond of the polite speech! :blush: