Is Tokyo-ben used in Japanese dramas?

[bonehelm]

Hello everyone, I'm bonehelm, a new member here at JR. I am a grade 11 (17 years old) high school student in Vancouver, Canada, that just started learning Japanese 4 months ago. よろしくお願いします。

I have a question for you, I just recently learned that there are many different dialects used in Japan, some being very popular (e.g. Kansai-ben) while some are less well-known (e.g. tosa-ben used in Tozashimizu). So what is the dialect they use in most doramas aired on broadcasting corporations such as NHK, TBS and FujiTV? I'm guessing it's standard Japanese, is it right? But would'nt that sound a bit too formal for daily conversations which are an important part of the drama's script? I thought the Japanese people ALWAYS communicate with each other in their own local dialects in social situations, and only use standard Japanese in formal situations. Seeing as Tokyo-ben is the dialect that is closest to Standard Japanese, is it also the dialect used in dramas then?

If what I think is correct, then common phrases and expressions such as "そうか" or "本とに"　are standard Japanese right?

Arigatou gozaimasu for reading my first post and question! :cool:

[orochi]

Depends where the drama takes place and who the actors are portraying.

[epigene]

I've decided to move your thread to "Learning Japanese."

I could have moved it into Entertainment but decided this might be a better place to get responses. :relief:

[chickie]

Hello bonehelm-san:wave:

As orochi-san posted, it depends.
But I think most of the time they use standard Japanese(or must I say "standard spoken Japanese"?) in TV dramas.

I guess Tokyo-ben is similar to standard Japanese because standard Japanese is based on one of the major Tokyo-bens, Yamano-te-kotoba.

"そうか" and "本当に" are common expressions. Younger people tend to use "まじで(informal)" instead of "本当に" though.

[bonehelm]

Thanks all for answering :):cool: