Letters to Japan: Instructions for Teachers

JCCC ORIGAMI CRANE PROJECT – WRITING LETTERS / MODEL LETTERS
Letters to Japan: Instructions for Teachers Thank you for taking time out of your schedules to participate in the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre’s Origami Crane project. We really appreciate your support. To make writing letters easier for students here, and more meaningful to students receiving them in Japan (who may not be able to read English well), we have prepared 4 model letters in English and Japanese that you may wish to make available to them. Students can fill‐in some simple information about themselves (their grade level, their hobbies, where they were born – if outside of Canada), and add their own personalized English messages in the blank column on the far left. They can also simply circle the expression that matches the type of school they attend: 小学校= elementary school; 中学校= middle school/junior high; 高校=high school You may want to copy these letters onto colored paper and let students decorate them. You may also want to encourage students to write the name and address of the school on the back of their letters, to increase the likelihood of their receiving a reply. If students want to try to write their own names in Japanese, we have also provided materials (attached) to enable them to do this, including a sample list of names, as well as Japanese phrases for common hobbies, and many countries from which students may have immigrated to Canada. If students find it too difficult to copy the Japanese characters, they could cut and paste them onto their letters. Or, alternatively, our volunteers can help students to complete this part of their letters when they visit the school. If you have access to a computer lab, Google translate can translate most names accurately into Japanese (phonetic) script, which students may be able to copy. (Students should be discouraged from using it to translate whole sentences into Japanese, however, because it cannot do this well – the two grammars are too different.) We hope that these materials are helpful, useful, and enrich the experience for the students even further. If you have any questions about how best to make use of them, please do not hesitate to contact us, or ask for help from our volunteers when they visit your school. The Origami Crane Project Team, JCCC Hello. My name is ______________________. I am a ____ grade student in _____________ school. My hobby is ________________. What grade are you in? What is your hobby? こんにちは。私の名前は_________________________です。小学校・中学校・高校の＿＿年生です。私の趣味は＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿です。あなたは何年生ですか？趣味は何ですか？もしこの手紙に、お返事をもらえたらとても
うれしいです。みんなで力を合わせてがんば
りましょう。
＿＿＿＿＿＿より
B a s i c 2 I would be really happy to receive a reply to this letter. Let’s join our strength together and do our best! From, ____________________ The disaster in Japan came as a great shock to us. I hope in my heart that your friends and family are well. I’m cheering for Japan, and I believe that a day will soon come when you can again smile from your heart. B a s i c 1 日本の災害について、私たちもとてもショッ
クを受けています。みんなさんの家族や友達
がみんな元気であること心から願っています
。日本のことを応援しています。また心から
笑える日が来ることを信じています。
From, ＿＿＿＿＿＿ I would be really happy to receive a reply to this letter. Be well. もしこの手紙に、お返事をもらえたらとても
うれしいです。お元気で。
＿＿＿＿＿＿より I’ve been worried about people in Japan and wondering how they are doing after the earthquake. How are your friends and family? I hope everyone is well. 日本で起きた地震で日本のみんなが大丈
夫かどうか心配しています。あなたの家
族と友達は、お元気ですか？みなさんが
元気でいる事を祈っています。 Hello. My name is ______________________. I am a ____ grade student in _____________ school. My hobby is ________________. What grade are you in? What is your hobby? こんにちは。私の名前は_________________________です。小学校・中学校・高校の＿＿年生です。私の趣味は＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿です。あなたは何年生ですか？趣味は何ですか？ JCCC ORIGAMI CRANE PROJECT – WRITING LETTERS / MODEL LETTERS
もしこの手紙に、お返事をもらえたらとても
うれしいです。お元気で。
＿＿＿＿＿＿より日本で起きた地震で日本のみんなが大丈
夫かどうか心配しています。あなたの家族
と友達は、お元気ですか？みなさんが元気
でいる事を祈っています。 From, ＿＿＿＿＿＿ I would be really happy to receive a reply to this letter. Be well. I’ve been worried about people in Japan and wondering how they are doing after the earthquake. How are your friends and family? I hope everyone is well. I was born in ________________, but now I live in Canada. ＿＿＿＿＿に生まれて、今カナダに住んでい
ます。 Hello. My name is ______________________. I am a ____ grade student in _____________ school. My hobby is ________________. What grade are you in? What is your hobby? From, ＿＿＿＿＿＿ I would be really happy to receive a reply to this letter. Be well. I’ve been worried about people in Japan and wondering how they are doing after the earthquake. How are your friends and family? I’m praying for Japan, and I’m sure God will protect you. My name is ______________________. I am a ____ grade student in _____________ school. My hobby is ________________. What grade are you in? What is your hobby? Hello. S p i r i t u a l こんにちは。私の名前は_________________________です。小学校・中学校・高校の＿＿年生です。私の趣味は＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿です。あなたは何年生ですか？趣味は何ですか？もしこの手紙に、お返事をもらえたらとても
うれしいです。お元気で。
＿＿＿＿＿＿より日本で起きた地震で日本のみんなが大丈
夫かどうか心配しています。あなたの家族
と友達は、お元気ですか？日本のために祈
っています。神様がきっとあなたを守っ
てくれるはずです。こんにちは。私の名前は_________________________です。小学校・中学校・高校の＿＿年生です。私の趣味は＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿です。あなたは何年生ですか？趣味は何ですか？ JCCC ORIGAMI CRANE PROJECT – WRITING LETTERS / MODEL LETTERS
Special (for students born outside of Canada) JCCC ORIGAMI CRANE PROJECT – WRITING LETTERS / MODEL LETTERS
How to write your name in Japanese… Using the Katakana Syllabary, find syllables that match the sounds of your name, but not necessarily the spelling. So, if you have an ‘s’ that sounds like a ‘z’ (or a ‘ch’ that sounds like a ‘k’) in your name, use one of the characters that starts with ‘z’ (or ‘k’). Example: Chris = クリス (ku ri su) A few rules: •
If your name ends in ‘r’ ( ar, er, ir, etc.), this syllable will become a long ‘a’. So just put a long dash, that looks like this ー, after the previous character. (The dash indicates a long vowel sound) Example: Peter = ピーター (pi i ta a) (See also Aster, below) •
If your name ends with a ‘d’ or ‘t’, you can add a little ッ(tsu) before the final syllable of your name. This creates a little pause that puts stress on the final syllable. (See Mohammed and David, below.) アンドレアアイーシャアスターアンソニー a n do re a a i i sha a su ta a a n so ni i Andrea Ayesha Aster Anthony キャサリンクリスティンデイビッドジョルダン kya sa ri n ku ri su ti n de i bi do jo ru da n Catherine Christine David Jordan ホアンラキシャンマルコマイケル ho a n ra ki sha n ma ru ko ma i ke ru Juan Lakesan Marco Michael モハメッドラドワンシャネイスラシガ mo ha mme do ra do wa n sha ne i su ra shi ga Mohammed Radwan Shanae Thulasiga イーンユーンジャオザキア i i n yu u n ja o za ki a Ying Yoon Xiao Zakia JCCC ORIGAMI CRANE PROJECT – WRITING LETTERS / MODEL LETTERS
Writing letters in Japanese… Using one of the model letters, tell your new friends in Japan: your grade level, the kind of school you go to, what your hobbies are, and where you were born – if it was outside of Canada. You can also add your own English message on the left side. All Japanese young people study English from Grades 7 through 12, so they will understand some of your writing. But keep your expressions simple and the sentences short. Good luck, and have fun writing in Japanese! HELPFUL HINT: If it’s too difficult to copy these words and expressions, why not cut them out and glue them onto your letter? Grades / Schools Elementary School 小学校 Grade 1 １年生 Grade 2 ２年生 Grade 3 ３年生 Grade 4 ４年生 Grade 5 ５年生 Grade 6 ６年生 Junior High/Middle School 中学校 Grade 7 １年生 Grade 8 ２年生 High School 高校 Grade 9 １年生 Grade 10 ２年生 Grade 11 ３年生 Grade 12 ４年生 Hobbies / Interests playing sports スポーツ soccer swimming サッカー水泳 hockey アイスホッケー jogging / running ジョギング skateboarding スケートボード surfing the Net ネットサーフィン computers パソコン playing video games テレビゲーム watching movies 映画を見ること watching TV テレビを見ること listening to music 音楽を聞くこと piano guitar ピアノギター dancing ダンス singing songs 歌を歌うこと shopping 買い物 volunteering ボランティア reading 読書 reading comics マンガを読むこと drawing 描くこと writing 書くこと Countries / Places of Birth Afghanistan Bangladesh アフガニスタンバングラデシュ Colombia Croatia コロンビアクロアチア Iran Iraq Ireland イランイラクアイルランド Malaysia Mexico マレーシアメキシコ Portugal Russia ポルトガルロシア South Africa Sri Lanka 南アフリカスリランカ Bosnia ボスニア Hong Kong 香港 Ivory Coast コートジボワール Nepal ネパール Tibet チベット Saudi Arabia サウジアラビア Spain スペイン Brazil ブラジル India インド Ethiopia エチオピア Pakistan パキスタン Serbia セルビア Sudan スーダン China 中国 Indonesia インドネシア Korea Taiwan 韓国台湾 Philippines フィリピン Somalia ソマリア Venezuela ベネズエラ JCCC ORIGAMI CRANE PROJECT – WRITING LETTERS / MODEL LETTERS
The Katakana Syllabary A
ア a CH
チャ cha チ chi チュ chu チェ che チョ cho B
バ ba ビ bi ブ bu べ be ボ bo ビャ bya ビュ byu ビョ byo C/K
カ ka キ ki ク ku ケ ke コ ko キャ kya キュ kyu キョ kyo D
ダ da ディ di ドウ
N
ナ na 二 ni ヌ nu ネ ne ノ no ン n ニャ nya ニュ nyu ニョ nyo O
オ o E
エ e デ de ド do F
ファ fa
フィ fi フ fu フェ fe フォ fo P
パ pa ピ pi プ pu ぺ pe ポ po C/S
サ sa シ *shi ス su セ se ソ so ピャ pya ピュ pyu ピョ pyo シャ *sha シュ *shu ショ *sho du
G
ガ ga ギ gi グ gu ゲ ge ゴ go ギャ gya ギュ gyu ギョ gyo H
ハ ha ヒ hi フ *fu へ he ホ ho ヒャ hya ヒュ hyu ヒョ hyo I
イ i J
ジャ ja ジ ji ジュ ju ジェ je ジョ jo L/R
ラ ra リ ri ル ru レ re ロ ro リャ rya リュ ryu リョ ryo M
マ ma ミ mi ム mu メ me モ mo ミャ mya ミュ myu ミョ myo T
U
V
W
Y
Z
タウヴァワヤザ ta u va wa ya za ティヴィウィイージ ti vi *u i *ii *ji ツヴウーユズ tsu vu *uu yu zu テヴェウェイぇゼ te ve *u e *ye ze トヴォヲヨゾ to vo wo yo zo トウ tu Because every syllable ends with a vowel – except ン (n) – many sound combinations we use in English are not possible. However, the vowels of some characters – like シ(shi) and ス(su) – are often not voiced, so words can end in ‘s’, ‘sh’, or ‘n’, without a final vowel. JCCC ORIGAMI CRANE PROJECT – WRITING LETTERS / MODEL LETTERS
The Japanese Writing System Japanese is written using 3 different sets of characters: Chinese ideograms, which represent things or ideas (月 moon,日 sun/day, 火 fire), and two syllabaries – one for native words (ひらがな hiragana), and one for foreign words (カタカナ katakana). In almost any Japanese sentence, you can see these 3 different kinds of characters: Chinese ideogram + hiragana ‘no’ Chinese ideograms hiragana ‘ha’ (pronounced ‘wa’) katakana (foreign name)
hiragana (verb ‘to be’)
私の名前はピーターです。 watashi no  namae  ha  piitaa  desu.  My name (topic marker)
Peter is. A syllabary is different from an alphabet because each character represents one syllable – usually a consonant (b,d,f, etc.) plus a vowel (a,e,i, etc.) – rather than just one sound. Japanese actually has about a dozen fewer sounds than English. It has no sounds for th (either the windy version, ‘teeth’, or the buzzing version, ‘the’), nor does it have the buzzing ‘s/ge’ sound of words like ‘treasure’ or ‘beige’. Japanese also has only 5 basic vowel sounds, whereas English has more than 20: ア a イ i ウ u エ e オ o (sounds like ‘aw’, as in ‘saw’) (sounds like ‘ee’, as in ‘feet’) (sounds like ‘oo’, as in ‘loop’) (sounds like the ‘e’ in ‘pet’ or ‘met’) (sounds like ‘oh’, as in ‘hope’) A few more vowel sounds can be created by combining these vowels. アイ ai エイ ei オイ oi (as in ‘I’ or ‘eye’) (as in ‘I got an A!’, or ‘Canadian, eh?’) (as in ‘boy’) Modern Japanese borrows many words from English, so they’ve found ways to simulate English sounds – like ‘v’ – that are missing from Japanese. Here are some common English words used in Japan. セーターバスケットスターバックスマクドナルド sehtaa basuketto sutaabakkusu makudonarudo = sweater = basketball = Starbucks = McDonald’s (The little ッ(tsu) you see in some of these words is not voiced. It represents a tiny pause in speaking – another unique feature of Japanese.)

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