I'm aware that a lot of Japanese English-learners don't like grammar. They seem to hate dealing with confusing technical terms such as relative pronoun （関係代名詞） or the present perfect progressive form （現在完了進行形）...
However, I really love studying grammar. I don't know why and I can't explain the reason well. I JUST love it.
I don't care how much time I spend on grammar. Or rather, I should say that I am so involed in grammar work that I am unaware of the passage of time.
Why am I so drawn to grammar?

What's the most important thing when you use English? I think it is the most important to state your opinion to others. In order others to understand your English, you have to put the words in order according to grammatical rules. You cannnot ignore the existence of grammar. Native English speakers share the rules, thus they can communicate with each other.

Maybe you might think I'm playing the devil's advocate here. But I've never thought that grammar is EVERYTHING. I'd just like to say to you that I've learned a lot from grammar books.

One piece of advice; You don't have to be bound hand and foot by strict & complex grammatical rules. Just write English spontaneously. But, I don't think you should forget about grammar. Grammatical knowledge is very useful. The more you learn English, the more you understand what I mean.

Anyway, keep writing English more & more often. And if you run into some problems, you should reach for your grammar books. I believe those grammar books will give you a lot of valuable information.




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Continued from the previous article.

I was talking about the song 'home' by Yusaku Kiyama last week. I said I love both the melody and the lyrics.

I think it is so hard to translate Japanese lyrics into English. I feel it's so difficult to convey the intended nuance in another language... but I'd like to try it.

I like this part;

You've given overflowing happiness & straightforward love to me,
I wonder how much happiness & love I can give you in return within a given period of time

The more I love you, the more I'd like to say 'thank you' to your Dad's Dad and Dad's Mom.


Firstly, 愛しく思う is hard to translate, I think. If you look up the word in the Japanese-English dictionary, you can find the following explanation;
"いとしく思う one’s heart goes out to （a child）"

So I should've written 'The more my heart goes out to you'... But I thought 'The more I love you' is simpler and more impressive.
I'm aware that 愛しく思う is not equal to 愛してる, of course. It's just that I couldn't find the appropriate expression. I think the Japanese expression 愛しく思う is really beautiful.

Secondly, パパのパパやパパのママに… is also hard to be translated.
In Japanese, the word Papa can be used as a first personal noun （一人称名詞？）. So Papa means both I and your Dad.
パパのパパ means your grandfather, of course. But in the Japanese lyrics, the word おじいちゃん or じいじ is not used. So I tried not to use the word grandfather or grandmother.


After having children, I realized this;
'To be a parent' is to relive my life in my childhood, and to know how my parents feel while raising us. Now I understand how my parents felt when I failed the entrance exam and when I introduced my boyfriend to them for the first time...

I'd like many people to listen to the song 'home'. The singer Kiyama-san & the composer Tago-san filled the song with parental love. I'm sure the song reminds every parent of their own children. At the same time, the song reminds everyone of their own parents. I think the song makes you feel like saying 'thank you' to your parents.




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Do you guys know the song 'home' by Yusaku Kiyama? I really love this song. Every time I hear his clear voice, I feel something in my heart. That 'something' makes me cry.

There is a TV program named Uta-Sta （歌スタ!!）. The program carries out some auditions in order to discover good singers. My husband & I like this program and watch it every week.

Several months ago, Kiyama-san got to the audition. One of composers listening to his song asked him to sing another song. The composer was Kunio Tago.

For the second audition, Kiyama-san sang the song 'Piano Man'. After listening to his song, Tago-san (The host Higashino-san calls him 'Tago-chan', though) said, "I also love Billy Joel. I'd like to cherish this kind of coincidence. I'd like to write a song for you."

Tago-san made a beautiful song for him. The title of the song was 'home'. Kiyama-san sang the song in front of a representative of a record company. Unfortunately, the rep refused to release his CD. Kiyama-san's dream seemed to be shattered. But, the composer Tago-san didn't give up easily. He made up a long-version of 'home'. Kiyama-san sang the song again, and the rep of the record firm finally decided to release his CD.

Tago-san wrote the lyrics as well as the melody. I love both of them.
I might possibly talk about those lyrics next week.

Anyway, if you have a chance to hear the song, I'd like you to feel deeply those lyrics.




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