@bomaran I would say that Japanese people are just very polite and allow you to make mistakes rather than jump down your throat and correct them.
In my very limited experience, they are just happy that you are trying to learn. I told some Japanese customers of mine (I work in a grocery store) and their first reply was “sugoi.”
I wouldn’t be upset that they aren’t correcting you-- be happy that they respond this way and with a “gambatte kudasai.” afterwards.
Just my two cents. I think everything else has already been said.
A Japanese friend told me that once during a conference call with a foreign customer, the customer kept referring to her using the pronoun 貴様 (kisama) – while trying to be super polite (since 貴 means precious, esteem, honor + the sama honorable suffix). Of course kisama in modern Japanese is very rude.
She told me that she didn’t correct the customer (I think she didn’t want to embarrass the customer) – and that she appreciated that the customer was trying to be nice. She did say she tried her hardest not to crack up during the call.
I understand that they are being polite but my point wasn’t really about whether they are being rude or polite but rather that it doesnt help me to not be corrected.
I know why they don’t correct but there is a nice way to correct someone at times (I do it with English) that If you think about it helps them. In a wider way I honestly feel that’s why many people going the other way (learning English in a Eng speaking country) seem to learn way quicker and better.
After living in Japan for years now I have seen people go to America or Canada for a few months and come back speaking incredibly well.
I think it’s a two fold thing:
Maybe unpopular opinion but I genuinely think English is an easier language to learn.
Notice I didn’t say “master” I said to learn. I heard on a show on US news sometime ago that you can get away with knowing 100 words in English and basically survive.
Comparatively, virtually no one wants to learn Japanese. Especially depending on location
We forget in our community since we are all Japan enthusiasts and enjoy Japanese that the vast majority of the world doesn’t care or use Japanese in anyway.
Even for me, and I’m a millennial, up until like middle school everyone Asian was just referenced to as “chinese” and no one cared to learn or about their language.
In any case, it’s just a hurdle we have to get over in a world of everyone trying to learn English. As it’s the language of the world. Pretty much old men at the izakaya may not care enough about English to speak with you in Japanese only and be nice.
I can say anecdotally most people who will speak Japanese only are old nice men in bars, or people who won’t want to deal with you as they don’t like English or foreigners here.
Someone brought up italki so I’ll have to pay for that and ask to be harshly corrected. I do think I’ll see some help here
At my izakaya the old men always seem to pick an English word of the day and ask me to correct their pronunciation then repeat it amongst themselves over and over. This week we had “thank you” with emphasis on getting the proper “th” sound, “persimmon”, and for some unfathomable reason, “racial discrimination”.
But you are right that they don’t want to have full conversations in English with you.
I have been studying Japanese for 27 years now and cannot pass level 2. I lived in Japan for 18 years so my speaking is pretty good although I am better at listening and reading. Since I moved back to the US my speaking ability has suffered a bit. My goal is N1 for personal reasons not for work. My wife is Japanese so I want to keep my language skill.
This is a marathon not a sprint. Props to you for getting N2 so fast but at what cost? Did you really learn as much as you thought. Unless you have a reason to get N1 so fast I say relax and enjoy Japan. Get on a train and go get lost somewhere. The further you get away from Tokyo the more your Japanese is needed to get around. Keep studying and you will get better.
