Entry 1: Why I chose this class

I decided to take Japanese for several reasons. To start, I've always been interested in how language works and the underlying linguistic aspects. During high school I took Latin and it made me appreciate how languages evolve and change over time, and how they can greatly influence other languages well after they are no longer spoken. As for why I chose Japanese in particular, I think it's a very unique language. It is a part of its own unique language family containing only Japanese itself. For centuries Japan existed in what was, essentially, total isolation from the rest of the world and the ways in which the Japanese language developed during this time mean that it is very different from nearly every language on Earth. Beyond that, I have relatives (a cousin and Aunt) who have lived in Japan for nearly two decades. Growing up, I remember receiving all sorts of interesting gifts from them that sparked my interest in Japan. I'll end this post with a picture of one of those interesting gifts I once got from my Aunt, which (supposedly) spells out my first name in Japanese.