Grammar: Hard Translations

Grammar:  Hard Translations:  Kyle is my sensei (teacher) or kyoshi.  A hard translation gives the words in the order they are presented.  In English, we construct our sentences with subject, verb, and object.  In Japanese they construct their sentences with subject, object, and verb.  So the sentence"I am a teacher" becomes "I teacher am" or Watashi wa kyoshi desu.

"I write a postcard in Japanese" with a hard translation is "Wa Japanese de postcard o write" or watashi wa nihongo  de  hagaki o  kakimas.

Kyle explained this very clearly in five minutes.  My Japanese phrasebook waited until page 32 to explain the same concept.  Arigato (thanks).

Pictured above it the Ohio version of a Japanese maple tree.  It is beautiful in the summer and spectacular in the fall.  The maple is slow growing and a good metaphor for learning Japanese.