This is AI LOG ACADEMY. Isn't it a perfect rip off? But it's okay, the cue for me writing this blog was MORI LOG ACADEMY.
Mr. Mori's is really smart; I think he's clearly a genius. He sees every possible point of view in the world. I honestly don't think I'm able to understand half of what he's saying. (Momo-chan said this, but I think the same thing.
I'm leaving for Vietnam on the 24th.
For three reasons I'm writing this blog:
1. I want to give and for everyone to know the local state of affairs.
2. This output for my thoughts gives an objective way to see what I'm thinking
3. To strenghten my writing ability and my power of expression.
I think I'll write about things concerning Japanese and Japanese education. However, since I am thinking I will also be fundamentally focusing on daily life and private things--about 40%--please bear with me.
Now, without further ado, I'll start writing about things connected with Japanese: like I wrote in the title, animate and inanimate subjects.
I recently overheard this conversation at my job.
(Names are changed.)
山上さん:「ねーハムがないんだけどー。ハムハム。どこにあるんだー!?」
アイリン:「冷蔵庫の奥とかにないですかー?よく奥の方にいっちゃたりする時あるから」
山上さん:「あーー!いたいた!こんなところにいた!」
アイリン:「ほらね。よかった!」
Can you see the unnatural part in the conversation?
If I were 山上さん, I would say,「あーー!あったあった!こんなとこにあった!」
Thinking,「ハムがいた,」 is unnatural. It gives a firm image of a ham with arms and legs inside the refrigerator. However, lately 山上さん has not been the only person that I've heard speaking this way. There have been others.
Now, in Japanese education we use two words for expressing existence of a subject: います and あります. Now I'll teach why for animate subjects, we use います, and for inanimate subjects we use あります.
When what is present is animate and moves by itself, います is used. People and animals belong in this category.
Examples:
1、あそこに赤いワンピースを着た女の子がいます。
2、公園の中に犬が2匹います。
あります is used when what is present is inanimate or does not move by itself. Things, plants, and places belong in this category.
Examples:
1、冷蔵庫の中に納豆があります。
2、図書館があります。
For this reason, to say「ハムがいた」is completely unnatural。If it's to be proper, it should be「ハムがあった.」
So, do you see why 山上さん is incorrect in saying「ハムがいたー!」?
And something I want to say... Japanese that make mistakes in the Japanese language aren't Japanese. There is nothing what they want to say. They're the people that constantly vary their language. For example, think about the omission of ら.
「このDVD見れないよー」
「納豆なんて臭くてとてもじゃないけど食べれない」
Properly these would be:
「このDVD見られないよー」
「納豆なんて臭くてとてもじゃないけど食べられない」
Expectedly, this will happen. But currently the upper「見れない」and「食べれない」is used more. There are many people that use the ら omission because it already became popular earlier.
Again, using います for inanimate objects--e.g.「ハムがいたー!」--makes things sound closer to oneself, make it seem like there is attachment, makes it seem like a mental case is at work, but I don't know.
Who knows though, from now one, perhaps expressions like「あ、携帯こんなところにいたし!」or「財布いたー?」common.