Today marked my 13th lesson. Michiko shared that my intonation is sounding more natural and smooth. I studied Mandarin in college and am accustomed to varying intonations. Japanese tends to be more monotone in nature. I know that the television programs I’ve watched showcase much expression through their language, but maybe that will come later as I learn where to pause and where to connect phrases together.
We enjoyed a short quiz utilizing the question phrases we’ve learned. It was funny to see that many of the words we chose were spoken in Katakana, sounding very similar to the English version. I realized that culture really dictates our world view.