Japanese: the wonders of onomatopoeia
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
Course Code: LJW24
Duration: 1 session
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Center for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
This course will help you discover the exciting world of onomatopoeia that are used in daily conversation, manga, anime and literature. This will allow you to depict scenes, atmosphere, feeling or emotion intuitively.
This is a live online course. You will need:
- Internet connection. The classes work best with Chrome.
- A computer with microphone and camera is best (e.g. a PC/laptop/iMac/MacBook), or a tablet/iPad/smart phone/iPhone if you don't have a computer.
- Earphones/headphones/speakers.
We will contact you with joining instructions before your course starts.
What will we cover?
The history and development of onomatopoeia in Japan; the three types of onomatopoeia: Giongo (mimicking sounds such as rain), Giseigo (mimicking animal/human sounds) and Gitaigo (describing an action, a facial expression, an emotion, or feeling); various examples of Japanese onomatopoeia in different media with illustration.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
• have an overview of the fascinating world of Japanese onomatopoeia
• recognise and use a large number of Japanese onomatopoeia as you encounter them
• continue to learn Japanese onomatopoeia with the material provided.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
Onomatopoeic words are written in hiragana or katakana and how they are graphically drawn sometimes add nuances. To experience these nuances, we use hiragana and katakana in the session but always alongside Roma-ji (English transcription) for understanding. Therefore the course is open to all levels, no knowledge of Japanese is necessary.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
Our courses are characterised by spoken interaction and communication. Typical activities include pair work, group work, role plays and games. A range of resources will be used to support your learning including presentations, hand-outs, and audio-visual material.
Homework is highly recommended to consolidate learning.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
All materials provided by the tutor.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Upon request, another course on onomatopoeia might be offered in the future. Various Japanese courses advertised on our website. You can also ask your tutor for advice.
Noriko came to London to do sociolinguistics research on linguistic politeness. She has taught Japanese language to adults and university students throughout her research years. After completing her thesis and degree, pondering the next direction, she has realised that she has had more joy teaching Japanese and meeting people who love learning Japanese for a variety of reasons. So she decided to continue to teach Japanese as her main occupation. Noriko also works as a public service interpreter. She is honoured to help people in different circumstances in life by helping their communication. City Lit has recently given Noriko new challenges of teaching some unique courses. One is to teach the basic Japanese and apply them to objects and inscriptions held at the British Museum. The other is to let student encounter numerous onomatopoeic expressions in Japanese.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
