Japan...hello?

[Cruzz563]

Right, so I was chatting in the channel (w00t, go #gear!) and I thought, we have nearly every country here, either on these boards or in the channel, except Japan. Where's Japan?! I mean, to stereotype, are they too smart for us? But the Swedes and Germans and others are mixed in with the Americans, so it can't be that. What is it....

[andyhui01]

I guess maybe it could be a language barrier as alot of Japanese don't really know English

[Cruzz563]

Really? I didn't know that...I'm trying to learn Japanese with that Rosetta Stone proggie. So far I know "neko to karuma" which is "cat and car"


That can't be it tho...can it?

[rinat2r]

Yup. Alot of Japanese don't know how to read English and that will probably stop them from coming here, but there are some Japanese who do watch Top Gear!~ I keep seeing mentions of it on the BBS boards and there's even a blog of sorts: http://blog.goo.ne.jp/kosy1987

Edit: Took out the full stop (Thank you peter3hg2)

[Peter3hg]

Originally Posted by rinat2r

Yup. Alot of Japanese don't know how to read English and that will probably stop them from coming here, but there are some Japanese who do watch Top Gear!~ I keep seeing mentions of it on the BBS boards and there's even a blog of sorts: http://blog.goo.ne.jp/kosy1987.

Remove the full stop at the end of the link.

[jensked]

lol that site is full of ??????????????? ????? ????????, ????? ????! ???? ??????????? ????.

No maybe those guys keep connecting to:
/join #geal

There aren't any French or Italians IIRC. Northwest europe FTW!

[mgkdk]

Originally Posted by jensked

There aren't any French or Italians IIRC.

Yes there are

Originally Posted by jensked

Northwest europe FTW!

Agree with that

[Byte]

Man that would so rock to have japanese highschool chicks in school uniforms who love cars in the channel...!!!

Errrmmm....that of course was meant to be thought and not spoke out loud

[andyhui01]

Originally Posted by Byte

Man that would so rock to have japanese highschool chicks in school uniforms who love cars in the channel...!!!

Errrmmm....that of course was meant to be thought and not spoke out loud

you're watching too much Fast and furious

[Carsightings]

Originally Posted by andyhui01

you're watching too much Fast and furious

his going to love Fast and furious 3.

[Kebab gud]

there like 5 Japanese duds here .. there just not big posters...

[SellSpeed]

Most likely they are here to just download the episodes. This is a good site to get updates. So...

[Z Draci]

Originally Posted by Kebab gud

there like 5 Japanese duds here .. there just not big posters...

I'm one of those. But I live in the States.

Japanese people have problems speaking English. They have no problem reading it though. There's also the huge culture barrier that Clarkson always talks about. Our social and behavioral patterns are so different from the West that we are like an alien species.

Honestly, the Japs are hard to understand unless you pick up a book like this and learn how we think.

[SellSpeed]

Originally Posted by Z Draci

I'm one of those. But I live in the States.

Japanese people have problems speaking English. They have no problem reading it though. There's also the huge culture barrier that Clarkson always talks about. Our social and behavioral patterns are so different from the West that we are like an alien species.

Honestly, the Japs are hard to understand unless you pick up a book like this and learn how we think.

Sounds like an interesting read, I might pick it up.

[Viper007Bond]

I think there's just something in the air in Japan that makes them all crazy.

[andyhui01]

Originally Posted by Z Draci

I'm one of those. But I live in the States.

Japanese people have problems speaking English. They have no problem reading it though. There's also the huge culture barrier that Clarkson always talks about. Our social and behavioral patterns are so different from the West that we are like an alien species.

Honestly, the Japs are hard to understand unless you pick up a book like this and learn how we think.

Japanese people also don't seem to be understand Sacarsm for some reason as well... and yea Z draci, that book sounds interesting, might pick it up

[swek]

While a large homogeneous society with everything availble in their own native language might partly explain it, it can't be the sole cause. The same applies to Germany, where everything from Films, Books and Messageboards is videly available to the native speaker. That's why many Germans never feel the need to learn English beyond school level. And yet we see a relatively large ammount of Germans participating on Finalgear.

To make matters worse fo the Japanese there isn't only a language barrier to overcome but a cultural barrier aswell. While we (As in Europeans and Northern Americans) might speak different languages, we still do share similar cultural roots. The ways we think and the concepts we believe in are are almost identical.

The Japanese don't share this privilege. Add a school system that mainly relies on the folowing concepts and you have your explanation.

About 130 years ago, when the new Meiji government took the place of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Japanese government leaders thought that it was important to introduce institutions from the West, and their concatenated advanced technology, to the underdeveloped country of Japan. Japanese students were required to gain the ability to read, and translate into Japanese, various material written in other languages such as German, French, and English. Reading/translating ability was regarded as more useful than speaking or writing ability. Even after massive governmental reforms of the 1940's, the educational system continued to place more emphasis on reading and translation. Teachers thought that it was their higher duty to help students gain the ingenuity to learn and refine technologies invented in the United States and European countries, rather than to force students to blaze into new territory alone.

Students are carefully taught to regard the word of the dictionary as absolute, and to meticulously look up every single word in a sentence. Discussion of the ideas in the text, or relating the ideas in the text to the students' lives, is rare. A "Writing" class is one in which Japanese students are given disassociated English sentences and required to translate these into Japanese. The concept of several sentences combined in one paragraph--a topic sentence with sentences of supporting detail--is not explicitly taught. This important concept is not taught in Japanese-language classes, either. Students in "Writing" or "English Composition" classes memorize basic English sentence patterns, and practice by applying the patterns to Japanese sentences. Students are rarely taught how to relate one sentence to another, or how to create a coherent paragraph--the smallest unit of writing which conveys an idea to a reader. This is not communicative writing.

Source: http://iteslj.org/Articles/Gilfert-LetsWrite.html

[Viper007Bond]

Ouch.

[Byte]

Originally Posted by Carsightings

his going to love Fast and furious 3.

Those movies SUCKED ASS! My statement was more a cross-over of my interests and the still fresh impression that "Daydream" left

[jayhawk]

Originally Posted by Z Draci

I'm one of those. But I live in the States.

Japanese people have problems speaking English. They have no problem reading it though.

are you sure? www.engrish.com