#kansaiben

[tsumtsumland]

Having a breakdown over people writing the kansaiben as a southern American accent again.

Please understand the ONLY reason it’s translated like that in the anime/manga is because it’s the only way to tell there’s an accent difference.

[nandeyaneeeenn]

FIRST - the namesake

Ah, the true pinnacle of Kansai-ben. So over-the-top. So dramatic. So many uses!

なんでやねん (nande ya nen) is, like, the foundation of Japanese comedy. Literally watch any Japanese variety TV show and the token Kansai guy will say it, much to the mirth of the audience and other panel members. 

Japanese comedy, especially manzai, is a staple of the Kansai region. You can’t have one without the other. Kansai culture exists because of manzai. And manzai exists because it was born and is continuously shaped by the changing Kansai region.

What does なんでやねん even mean, though?

The simplest answer is that it’s like a surprised reaction to something that’s unbelievable or stupid.

For example: 

“For my friend’s birthday, we surprised him by taking him to Okinawa. We told him we were going to Tokyo, even though there were no flights leaving for Tokyo at the time.”

“And he didn’t realise? なんでやねん”

“And then the plane ride took twice as long as it would’ve to Tokyo. He was just happily dancing to his own music the whole time.”

“なんでやねん. Did he realise when you landed?

“Nope. Had no idea. Goes, ‘God, it’s hot for Tokyo!’ when we get off the plane. There’s a huge sign saying “WELCOME TO OKINAWA” in the entrance to the airport. Doesn’t realise until we lose our shit at him for being so thick.”

“Wow, is this guy an elementary school kid?”

“He’s 35.”

“なんでやねん？！”

(This Is A Real Story. No joke. Most hilarious trip of my life.)

[chouhatsumimi]

I was looking up something about Kansai-ben and found this interesting example, with translation to regular Japanese.

From https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q14101745669

“A typical example of a funny Kansai conversation.

Are, chauchau chau? Chauchau. Chauchau chau tte. Iya, chauchau yaro. Chauchau chau tte. Chauchau chau n?

Regular Japanese:

Are, chauchau (inu) ja nai? Chigau chigau. Chauchau ja nai yo. Iya, chauchau desho. Chauchau ja nai yo. Chauchau ja nai no?”

English:

Hey, isn’t that a dog? - No, no. It’s not a dog. - No, I think it’s a dog. - That’s not a dog. - It’s not a dog?

[punipunijapan]

Learn Japanese Kansas dialect! Kansas-Ben! #japanesewords #japaneseclass #japanesevocabulary #kansai #kansaiben #kansaidialect #osaka #nihongo #japaneseteacher #japaneseschool #japanesetutor #learnjapanese #dialect #dialects #osakaben #azumangadaioh #osakajapan #punipunijapan #kakehashi

[jibunstudies]

ok so i know little to nothing about pitch accents, but can you expand on the difference between kansai-ben and standard japanese?

Just in general, Kansaiben is pitched all over the place. Even the way a lot of Kansaiben speakers count holds pitch, while someone from Tokyo would count without much pitch in their numbers.

Most dialects differ from standard Japanese (標準語（ひょうじゅんご）) in some way, but one of the funny characteristics of Kansaiben is that they’ve gone to great lengths to be opposite 標準語.

One of the most common examples used is their greetings, such as おはよう and こんにちは, as well as their sayings of gratitude such as ありがとう.

In standard Japanese, ありがとう has a slight pitch on り, so it’s more like ありがとう (low to high), but in Kansai, the pitch comes on と, so it’s more like ありがとう (high to low). The same goes for おはよう, which in 標準語 is おはよう, but in Kansai it’s おはよう. 

The second most common example – and the one that shows their opposite use of pitches – is the difference between はし (bold is used to show high pitch).

標準語　　　　　　関西弁はし　　　　　　　はし　　　　　　箸 chopsticksはし　　　　　　　はし　　　　　　橋 bridgeはし　　　　　　　はし　　　　　　端 edge

The also do this with くも (雲 cloud, 蜘蛛 spider) and various other words.

This is why, even when a person from Osaka speaks standard Japanese, they’ll likely still sound like they’re from Osaka, because beyond the grammatical differences between 標準語 and 関西弁, their pitch accents are different as well! I have a lot of friends that were born and raised in Kansai and say that they have no idea how to speak true standard Japanese.

Beyond this, Kansaiben speakers tend to drop long vowels, so phrases like どこか行こうか become どこか行こか, as well as words like おもしろい/おもしろくない becoming おもろい/おもない. しんどい is also used instead of つかれた. さむい becomes さぶい because they tend to replace M with B, and so on. 

It’s also worth noting that Kansaiben actually umbrellas quite a few dialects, including Osakaben and Kyotoben, as well as variations in dialects spoken in Hyogo and Shiga and other surrounding areas, so sometimes pitch accent can change even within Kansaiben (such as the case with Kyotoben).

I speak a Kansaiben closer to Osakaben, since that’s where I’m closest to, and whatever variation is spoken within Hyogo as well.

[mandraco]

[nihongogogo]

Japanese Dialects

Japan has a wide variety of distinctive regional dialects. While the spread of standard Japanese, referred to as hyōjungo, has made it easier for people from different areas to communicate, many feel that local vernaculars convey greater warmth and friendliness.

日本 has a 広い variety of distinctive regional dialects. While the spread of standard Japanese, referred to as hyōjungo, has made it easier for 〜人 from different areas to communicate, many feel that local vernaculars convey greater warmth 又 friendliness.

[orenjisupeesu]

研修が急に大阪に変わったので、関西弁の勉強を始めた。