Mina-san, have visited a Japanese family or done a home stay?

This is a great lesson, can we have more lessons in the newbie series introducing this kind of polite forms and Japanese culture nuances.

JP101/Listeners!

I agree with Watermen, things really have change here since I got sick two months ago, you guys deserve a break so don’t get stresset! S_R_C

Nope. Different lesson.

It’s a bit strange seeing a Newbie lesson on sunday…

I agree with ジャビージさん about honorific and humble language… The only thing is, it’s confusing no matter what level you’re at.
Considering how difficult knowing when to use which form is, and how wide the subject is, maybe you could plan to make it a week-long topic ? Introducing it at different levels according to days, ie :

- on monday, Newbie : the two kinds of “polite language”, humble and honorific, and when to use which (humble when you’ re talking about yourself and your in-group, honorific when you’re talking about someone else)
- on tuesday, Beginner : special “polite” verbs such as 申す, 参る, 差し上げる…
- on thursday, Lower Intermediate ： お~になる, お~する
- on friday, Upper Intermediate : polite language in context (ie business talk, dealing with administration, etc…)

Of course those topics have already been explained in several lessons, but having everything in one week gives a kind of unity to a vast subject. For those of us who listen to everything, it gives a nice recap. For those who are only listening to one level or other, they might 1) be tempted to listen to other levels, and discover just how much progress they’ve made, 2) know exactly where to look should they need some more info.

This format might not do for all subjects, but I think it might suit polite language… What do you think ?

Naomi-sensei!

Yes I was sick now I feel much better, thank you I’ll take care of myself from now on. S_R_C