#nihongogo

First of all, it's only for the Asian languages of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

Edit 3.17.18: Thank you @watercolourandwashitape for letting me know that the Chinese supported is Mandarin, Not Cantonese/Traditional. So keep that in mind, Chinese learners!

Normally I use Duolingo, but their support for Japanese is unsatisfactory at best. So I looked for a New app to learn Japanese, as I am self taught. I don't remember how, but I stumbled upon LingoDeer. I am SO glad I did. No other app even comes close!

Just a note though, I have only learned Japanese from it and have not tried the other languages.

By far the best feature is that it includes a mini grammar lesson before each group of lessons! This was something Duolingo lacked immensely. There are also options to review words and grammar you already know. Without further ado, let's get into how you play (because believe me, it feels more like playing a game then just learning)

First you pick you lesson category, the first of which is nationality

Once you click on it you'll want to click on lesson tips, which helps with grammar and overall understanding

After reading the learning tips, you're ready for the lessons. There are numerous question types to help you learn. They start with having you pick a Japanese picture that corresponds to the vocab, then you move to placing words in sentences before finally constructing sentences all by yourself!

When constructing sentences, you can either order the characters they give you or type them in yourself. After you finish you'll be able to review the lesson via pop quiz or redo the lesson in challenge mode. At the end of each category there is a story. (Note: as of 3.3.18 it's still in beta form). First you listen to and read the story, answering questions along the way. Then you can record yourself speaking the story and post it to the community where you can listen to others' recordings as well.

More features:

Themes and font options including night mode

Review mode to review all the words a/o grammar you've learned. Pro tip: you can specify which lessons you want to see words from

Character display options. You can choose from any combination of Japanese (kanji i.e. 私), hiragana (わたし), and romanji (Watashi). I personally use Japanese only for the lessons and Japanese/Hiragana for the stories.

Streak to keep you motivated to learn every day

Leaderboards

Super cute deer

There's only two things I can think of to improve the app

There's no autosave. You MUST go down to the back up progress button. I didn't realize this was necessary so when I rebooted my phone I lost my progress

No differentiation between polite and informal terms. So far they've only used the polite forms. Maybe they introduce it later, but I haven't encountered it yet.

Edit 3.17.18: Another slight hindrance is the absence of verbs (with the exception of です) until a later unit, so if this is your only resource I recommend learning a good list of verbs online.

Overall this is an amazing app and I recommend it to everyone, even if you aren't actively learning an Asian language!

If you want to follow me on LingoDeer my username is hannahsox-studies and my Avatar is the same as here. Happy learning!

訳出元: http://nihongogo.com/2016/09/perfume-rocks-the-2016-cosmic-explorer-world-tour-in-new-york-city/

NIHONGOGO 2016年9月13日掲載

執筆:ジェフリー・T

 ポップアイドルグループPerfumeが、自身3度目のアメリカ本土お目見えでニューヨークへ帰還。待ち構える多くのファンの腕に飛び込む。

大本彩乃、樫野有香、西脇綾香からなるPerfumeが、再びニューヨークに凱旋。奇跡を起こし、熱狂のうちに待ち受けたファンをほんの少し元気づけ、そしてさよならを告げた。

Perfumeは自身のCosmic Explorerライブツアーを引っさげ、日本全国とアメリカの選ばれた地域を回り、ロサンゼルス・ウィルターン、サンフランシスコ・ウォーフィールド、シカゴ・ビックシアター、そしてついにニューヨーク・ハマースタイン・ボールルームへ。

2000年代初頭に結成されたPerfumeは、人気のインディーズシングルを続けてリリースし、2005年、徳間ジャパンとのメジャー契約を経てから数年後、自身のオリコントップ10入りをヒットシングル『ポリリズム』で果たした。彼女たちは現在ユニバーサル・ミュージック・グループと契約しており、続く全てのシングルがトップ3にチャートインしている。祝福された海外マネジメントの結果が、ソールドアウトと世界中の会場に観客を引き寄せている点からも、それは驚くことではない。

彼女たちはその象徴的な熱意とエネルギーを、ソールドアウトを記録したハマースタイン・ボールルームのフロアへと持ち込み、9月３日・4日の連続出演によって、その夜を揺さぶった。Perfumeが最初にニューヨークでライブを行ったのは2年前『Perfume World Tour 3rd』での事で、強力なニューアルバム『Cosmic Explorer』でいかに観客を沸かせるか、彼女たちはすでに知り尽くしていた。

彼女たちの音楽が描くスタイルはユニーク極まりなく、バブルガム・ポップ、シンセ・ポップ、ダンス・ポップなどが溶け合い、象徴的に使われるオートチューン、ヴォコーダー、それらのプロセスを経て作り上げられるポップ・ハイブリッドは、『Perfume』としか呼べないものであり、輝ける彼女たちPerfumeの処理された歌声が、音楽的機械複合体の礎として積層されているのを見出すことができ、それはダフト・パンクやデッドマウスに容易に匹敵するものだ。彼女たちの熱意を込めた複雑な振り付けのライブは、見かけ上は何の苦もなく行われる。これらの曲ひとつとっても、彼女たちに劣るアーティストを息絶え絶えにするには充分だが、これがPerfumeであり、彼女たちはハイヒールでそれを可能にするのだ。

Perfumeのステージは、魅力的でクリーンなレトロ・フューチャーのイメージで構成されており、現代の好き勝手で不必要に飾り立てられたポップ・シーンのライブとは実に対照的だ。ファンは劇場に詰めかけ、ある者は公式のグッズを身に付け、またある者はPerfumeのミュージックビデオをまねたお手製のコスプレで着飾り、こうした熱意とワクワクとした期待感を超えられるのは、彼女たちPerfumeだけだ。

携帯を機内モードに切り替えるよう警告を受けて間もなく、照明が薄暗くなり、観客の歓声を巻き起こしたが、彼らの注目はたちまち、複雑な空中ダンスを踊る6機のドローンに惹きつけられ、それが3人組のショウの幕開けを告げる。より慣れ親しんだニックネームで呼ぶなら、かしゆか、あ〜ちゃん、のっちである。

Perfumeはタイトル曲『Cosmic Explorer』でオープニングを飾ると、よどみなく最新ヒットシングル『Pick Me Up』『Cling Cling』『Miracle Worker』へと移り進む。

Perfumeはセットリスト中に休憩を挟み、ファンにはお馴染みとなった、彼らのショウのハイライトでもある自己紹介を英語と日本語で行い、MCの一部では、彼女たちと観客との交流も行われた。

Perfumeはファンを通訳へと任命して大いにあわてさせると、彼女たちの美食探検の思い出話「ニューヨークの伝統的なステーキハウスを初体験したんじゃけど、名前が分からんのよ」について語る。

彼女たちの探検には、不運にも熱いステーキプレートを抱えて危うく自分を焦がすところだったウェイターの話も含まれており、結果として観客を左と右に分離させた。チーム・ステーキとチーム・ハウスに。

なんとも楽しいコール&レスポンスが「ステーキ！」「ハウス！」と叫ぶ西脇綾香によって先導され、観客たちが和気あいあいとした歓声で答える。

Perfumeは『Relax in The City』『透明人間』『Spending All My Time』『不自然なガール』『Twinkle Snow Powdery Snow』『コンピューター・シティ』『イミテーション・ワールド』そして『Sweet Refrain』を含むメドレーを突っ走ると、観客にはサプライズとなる『Baby Face』英語バージョンを、5枚目のスタジオアルバム『Cosmic Explorer』から披露。彼女たちの魅惑的なステージングと音の体験『STORY』（SXSW Mix 3569 Version）のために舞台装置が設置されると、半透明の電子スクリーンにグラフィック要素が透過され、複雑な振り付けの背後にある物語を、より増幅する。

彼女たちは打ち合わせの休憩を取り、ステージへと戻ると『FLASH』『Dream Fighter』の2曲を終え、その夜最後となるMCへと移った。P.T.A.のコーナー（Perfume To Anata/Perfume and You）だ。彼女たちが『ポケモンGO』の人気について少しばかり話していると、「やせいのPerfumeがあらわれた！」の表示とともにスクリーンにはCP921のPerfumeポケモンが。逃げやすいポップアイドルグループを捕まえるために3人が観客を誘導すると、何回目かの挑戦のあと、ついに劇場の観客は高レベルポケモンをゲット。Perfumeはいくつかの遊び心に満ちたコール&レスポンスを観客と繰り広げ、AppleのA、BananaのB、CheeseburgerのB、つまりABCに集中した。

Perfumeは『Fake It』『ポリリズム』『ジェニーはご機嫌ななめ』『チョコレイト・ディスコ』、そしてアンコール『Star Train（Cosmic Version）』で完璧なライブパフォーマンスをまとめ上げると、『Cosmic Explorer』の体験を分かち合った観客に感謝を捧げた。

Rules:

Rule #1 always post the rules.

Rule #2 answer the questions the person who tagged you asked, then write 11 new ones.

Rule #3 tag 11 people then link them in the post.

Rule #4 tell them you tagged them

Questions:

1. What have you been studying lately? Urgh. What haven't I been studying lately? I'm in my second week of a month long exam period. Today I've done three hours of Japanese grammar and vocabulary study, an hour of Japanese listening comprehension and I'm about to move on to an hour and a half of French grammar study. The subjunctive mood will be the fucking death of me. 2. Who is your favourite movie director? Hmm. I don't know that I have one - I don't follow the film scene all that much. I've never seen a Quentin Tarantino, Sophia Coppola or a Wes Anderson film that I've not liked, though. 3. What book changed your life more than any other? To Kill a Mockingbird or 1984. Both opened my eyes so much, but for completely different reasons. I will never get sick of re-reading them. 4. What inexplicably makes you laugh?

This. Always and forever.

5. What's your favourite word/kanji/phrase in Japanese?

Tough one. I really like the kanji 留 because no matter how rushed I am when I write it, it always comes out looking perfect. 6. If you could erase some of your memories, would you?

When I was 16, my 9 month-old puppy got out the front door and started to play his favourite game with me: running directly at me, and the second I'm about to catch him, run off in the other direction. Except he did it on the road, and my street's relatively busy, but the more desperately I tried to catch him, the more he wanted to play. A car came speeding - at least 20km/h over the speed limit - down the hill, hit Darcy and sped off. All right in front of me. I didn't even have time to get their number plate. I ran to him and I remember him looking up at me, but within seconds he died. I still have nightmares about it. 7. What song gives you goosebumps? I genuinely have no idea. 8. If you could add something to the school curriculum, what would it be and why? I don't know what it's like in other countries, but in Australia, our high school grading is based on a scaling system. Which means that, the more 'academic' subjects you do, the higher your overall grade will be, because subjects like Chemistry and physics and considered harder than Arts and Humanities. Even if you get an A overall in Art, for example, if you fail to get within the top 10% of students in the state, you're scaled down quite a bit. When I was in year 12, it was 6 study points, which is a fucking joke, because I spent more time and effort and wasted more stress and tears on my art folio than I did for doing Math Methods. My overall study score for Methods was scaled from 30 to 33, while my 39 in art was scaled down to 33. I wouldn't add anything, but I would certainly change the scaling system. 9. What makes you feel hopeful? The thought of a month of holidays after 2 more weeks of study. 10. What anime/manga do you think is totally underrated? God. I think the anime for 好きっていいなよ gets far too much credit, but the manga gets no where near enough. It was infinitely better. 聲の形 deserves more credit too. I love that story. 11. If you could quit work/school, go anywhere and do anything without worrying about money, what would you choose? I would quit uni right now and go to work in Japan in a heartbeat if I didn't need this god damn degree to get over there in the first place.

My questions :

Do you sleep with socks on?

If you could only eat savory food for the rest of your life, or sweet food, which would you choose?

Do you prefer silence or having background noise when you're home alone?

When was the last time you spent an entire day in bed? Why?

If you have the option to change one law in the country you're currently living in, which would you change, and why?

You can have completely mastery of one language, what would it be?

If you could change your name to anything, what would you chose? Why?

What was the last book you read more than once? Why?

What's the state of your computer? How much space is left on it? What's it taken up with? What sort of crumbs are stuck in the keys?

If you had all the money in the world, what's the first thing you would buy yourself?

The 5 closest things to you right now are what you have with you on a deserted island. What are they? Would you survive?

I don't know who to tag! I get so nervous when tagging people. So these three will have to do for now. The rest of you should do it too, and I'll pretend that I tagged you.

I'm too lazy to make 75 posts in nihongogo, I don't even know what to say there -_-