Self-Introduction

     It's been quite some time since I've updated this blog. If you don't feel like scrolling through past entries, then I'll just go ahead and re-introduce myself now!

     My name is Sarah Swanner and I live in the United States. I'm eighteen years old and I will be starting my senior year in high school this coming fall. Learning languages was always something I enjoyed, and when I was ten years old I began to have an interest in the Japanese language through my favorite anime, Inuyasha. Since then I have self-studied Japanese for around eight years now, and my exchange trip to Japan really helped me develop the communication skills necessary to have a fluent conversation. It was always my dream to be an exchange student, and during my sophomore year I discovered the AFS website and I sent in my preliminary application.
     I participated on the 2013-2014 academic year program (March 19, 2013 - February 11th 2014) to Japan through AFS Intercultural Programs, and it had to be the best decision I've ever made for myself.  I lived in Osaka and traveled around the surrounding prefectures.
     Since I have returned home, my time is spent either studying for the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) or preparing college applications. My goal is to return to Japan as an exchange student in college and study Japanese and/or Asian studies. I hope to be a source of information for any incoming exchange students to Japan for the years to come.
   
     I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue using this blog or not, but I have a new purpose for it now. I've been in contact with some of next year's prospective exchange students to Japan, and I want to share my experience in Japan with everyone who is interested.

     If you are interested in going on an exchange program to Japan one the academic semester or year program in 2015-2016, or if you will go during the summer of 2015 then follow this link to the Facebook page they have created. All of the prospective exchangers gather in this group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/423235941139012/

↑ Here you go!

     I am a member of the group as well, although I am a Returnee. I joined to help them out with any questions regarding the application process or the language and culture.

     Feel free to join the group!

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みんなさん

みんなさんってあってるの？

     Hello, everyone! Today I`d like to talk about something that I see a lot, and it has to do with the Japanese word for `everyone.` I have seen many learners of Japanese make this same mistake over and over, so I hope to maybe inform those of you who were not aware of this mistake and of it being wrong. Let`s get started!

First off, I`m sure many of you have seen this word before: みんなさん
Or, perhaps you may have seen this one pop up somewhere as well: みんなさま

If you didn`t already know, these two words are both incorrect Japanese and are not used in either spoken Japanese or written Japanese. If you see it written, it is a mistake.

Let me explain why this is. Let`s go way back to the beginning! At first, we had the word みな. This also means `everyone,` but it is not used often at all. In fact, the only time I have ever seen this word was in old Japanese script written entirely in Chinese characters, called 漢文　（かんぶん）. Here is the link to the script: http://www5.airnet.ne.jp/tomy/koten/soji/soji_d.htm You may have the opportunity to learn classical Japanese in your host school, but of course, this depends upon the school and what classes they choose for you, if you`re not participating in all of them.

In line 13, you can see that the word 人皆 is used, and down below the reading is written as 人みな.
Also, in line 15, the kanji 皆 comes up again and is read as みな. Outside of classical Japanese, I am unsure as to whether or not the word みな is used, but if it is used I would think that it goes without saying that it must be quite a formal situation if one is using it. Okay, lets move on.

So, we have みな, written as 皆 in Chinese characters. However, did you know that it can also be read as みんな? If you`re wondering what the word みんな is, I`ll explain it to you!

Basically, it is the most informal way to say `everyone.` It is very commonly used, especially with friends and family. When we add in the letter ん and replace a part of a word, this is called 撥音化　（はつおんか）.

Examples:
ぼくのうち　--- ぼくんち　（うち　house)
あまり　　　 --- あんまり
~のだ 　　　--- ~んだ
しらない　  --- しらん


As it is an informal word, you would not attach the respectful title -さん to it, making　みんなさん, which is wrong. Likewise, attaching the very formal title -さま to create みんなさま is also wrong. So, let`s review what we`ve learned so far:

1. As a casual expression, one cannot attach the respectful titles -さん or -さま to みんな. Furthermore, みんなさん is difficult to pronounce and sounds unnnatural if you do.

2. When written in Chinese characters, called かんじ in Japanese, the Chinese character 皆 can either be read as みな or みんな. However, if one were to attach the titles -さん or -さま to 皆, the reading of the Chinese character is limited to みな.
皆さん　：　みなさん
皆様、皆さま　：　みなさま

It cannot be read as みんなさん or みんなさま.

For reference, here are all the words meaning `everyone` and their level of formality:

みな original word　（本来の言葉　ほんらいのことば）
みんな casual speech　（ため口　ためぐち）
みなさん semi-formal, respectful language （尊敬語　そんけいご）
みなさま formal, respectful language （尊敬語）

Here are some links to other explanations:
http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1056678155
http://lang-8.com/681939/journals/43698442949978887537996084485752851257

Well, that`s the end of this lesson! I only have about thirty some odd days left here in Japan before I leave and return to the US. My departure date is February the 9th. For those of you coming to Japan for the 2014-2015 year program, here is the link to the Facebook group where all of those students are gathering:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129962473832762/