Page 541 - Basic Japanese

Chōnan wa isha ni nari, jinan wa kyōshi ni natta (no de aru).

They have no money and can’t buy food.

O-kane ga nakute, tabemono o kau koto ga dekimasen.
O-kane ga naku tabemono o kau koto ga dekinai.

v. Nouns are sometimes strung together in a series without
a connecting particle (we would expect to or ya in the

polite style). There is often, but not always, a pause after
each item except the last, which is usually followed by
the appropriate particle to link the entire phrase up with

the rest of the sentence.

Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe are all in Kansai.
Kyōto ya Ōsaka ya Kōbe wa minna Kansai desu.

Kyōto, Ōsaka, Kōbe wa mina Kansai de aru.

2. The plain style

The most down-to-earth way of talking in Japanese is that of the
plain style (also called the familiar style, the intimate style, the
ordinary style). This sort of speech is used among workers,

students, club members, and others in a situation where a
certain amount of camaraderie is inherent. It is also often used

within the family, with truly intimate friends, and in certain set
phrases (like proverbs), which are inserted into otherwise polite-
style speech. The foreigner seldom has occasion to use much of
this style himself, but he hears a good deal of it around him.

Here are some of the characteristics of this style of speech:

i. Difference between women’s speech and men’s
speech.
In the polite style, there is very little difference between the

way women talk and the way men talk. Women will sometimes
choose a more elegant expression, are expected to use the