Open Mouth: Give Presentation on Kyougen.
Oct. 8th, 2007 02:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sechan19Well, I surely did it this time.
Today, I met with N.sensei to discuss my side translation project for the class. We had a very nice meeting, and I had a bit of time to practice the old Japanese - discussing my work in art history and my observations about Japanese and Western-style ghosts, etc. We also had a good time going over the difficult parts of my text, which were difficult for her too because of the piece's archaic language! Much laughter ensued.
Toward the end of the meeting, N.sensei asked me if I was enjoying the class textbook readings, and I said I was very much enjoying them. And then I did it. I mentioned to her that I thought it was funny that we happened to be reading the kyougen play Busu ("Poison Sugar") because it was the one kyougen play that I'd seen and read before (although in English translation, of course).
N.sensei perked up very suddenly. "Oh, you're familiar with kyougen?" she asked.
"Yes, a little bit," was my cautious reply.
"Would you like to give a five-minute talk on kyougen in Japanese on Wednesday?"
What could I say? So, on Wednesday I'll be sharing with the class my limited knowledge of kyougen.
Something that might be worth talking about (by way of introduction) is that I noticed that the kanji for kyougen, 狂言, makes use of "狂," which also appears in kuruoshii, 狂おしい (maddening), and nekkyou, 熱狂 (wild enthusiasm). With "言" (talk), it translates roughly to "crazy talk" or "crazy story," which is exactly what a kyougen is - an absolutely ludicrous and hilarious tale; rife with irony, slapstick, and delirious confusion.
I love Japanese.
EDIT: My presentation has been moved to Friday and upped to a potentially ten-minute talk. Whoo!
Today, I met with N.sensei to discuss my side translation project for the class. We had a very nice meeting, and I had a bit of time to practice the old Japanese - discussing my work in art history and my observations about Japanese and Western-style ghosts, etc. We also had a good time going over the difficult parts of my text, which were difficult for her too because of the piece's archaic language! Much laughter ensued.
Toward the end of the meeting, N.sensei asked me if I was enjoying the class textbook readings, and I said I was very much enjoying them. And then I did it. I mentioned to her that I thought it was funny that we happened to be reading the kyougen play Busu ("Poison Sugar") because it was the one kyougen play that I'd seen and read before (although in English translation, of course).
N.sensei perked up very suddenly. "Oh, you're familiar with kyougen?" she asked.
"Yes, a little bit," was my cautious reply.
"Would you like to give a five-minute talk on kyougen in Japanese on Wednesday?"
What could I say? So, on Wednesday I'll be sharing with the class my limited knowledge of kyougen.
Something that might be worth talking about (by way of introduction) is that I noticed that the kanji for kyougen, 狂言, makes use of "狂," which also appears in kuruoshii, 狂おしい (maddening), and nekkyou, 熱狂 (wild enthusiasm). With "言" (talk), it translates roughly to "crazy talk" or "crazy story," which is exactly what a kyougen is - an absolutely ludicrous and hilarious tale; rife with irony, slapstick, and delirious confusion.
I love Japanese.
EDIT: My presentation has been moved to Friday and upped to a potentially ten-minute talk. Whoo!
