MyAnimeList.net

Kansai-ben Research Fan Club

Information
Welcome to the MAL Kansai-ben dialect research fanclub!
MAL関西弁同好体研究部へようこそ!

First, this club is indeed named after the widely-known Kansai dialect, however it also includes others such as Hakata-ben (Fukuoka) or Hokkaidô-ben, to name a few.

Kansai-ben refers to the handful of dialects spread over the Kansai (a.k.a. Kinki (近畿)) region in Japan, south-west from the Kantô region where lies Tôkyô.
The most distinguishable accents in the Kansai region are indeniably the famous Ôsaka-ben, followed by the Kyôto-ben and the less famous Kôbe-ben, among others.

Ôsaka-ben has a strong link to comedy, notably in the "Manzai" stand-up comedy duos, which associate a Tsukkomi (the straight man) with a Boke (the funny man), who speaks nonsense or shows funny attitudes, and is scolded by the Tsukkomi both verbally and physically, in an humorous way praised by people all over Japan.
Yet unfortunately, Kansai-ben is also lightly subject to critics from Tôkyô native inhabitants, who claim it as a rude and rural language.

On the other hand, Kyôto-ben rather has an image of a motherly soft dialect, spoken by grandma's to their grandsons, and in the past by geishas to their clients.

Starters may find it difficult at first to differentiate it from conventional Japanese (標準語), but as one becomes used to hearing the Japanese language, the distinction comes naturally.
Moreover, the usage of those dialects in anime can portray the laid-back, gentle or humoristic attitude often adopted by some characters.

Kansai-ben is characterized by peculiar stress patterns, stronger than those of conventional Japanese (alike English language one would say) and, being a dialect, has more importance and charm as a spoken language. Add to that slightly different grammar structures and vocabulary.
It is said that a Tôkyô person trying to speak Kansai-ben is very likely to sound fake and weird because of improper stressing, yet the usage of Kansai-ben by Tokyo-jin is a common comedic strategy to lighten up conversations by throwing in random expressions (such as "nandeyanen" or "eraikoccha").

As I am not speaking one of those dialects, let alone being Japanese, there might be some mistakes or wrong statements above.
Should them be, please refer them to me so that I could fix them up.

For starters, get a hand on Lovely Complex or Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai.
You'll get loads of Ôsaka-ben for your ears pleasure!
By the way, I put on the list all the characters from those two series, but I doubt all of them actually speaks Ôsaka-ben, I will check later and remove characters if necessary.

Feel free to join and show your love or quit as you please!

Club Members

Club Pictures
0 comments
1 comments
1 comments
0 comments


Displaying 2 of 2 topics | See All
Club Discussion
Sticky: Character database
Mythia
19 replies by seemmeriast »»
06-01-13, 9:20 AM
Kansai Region: Language and Culture Resources (Update: 09/11/08)
Aikoh
2 replies by bubble »»
12-12-08, 11:14 AM



Club Comments
tuyenle360 | 01-29-13, 12:13 AM
Hey guys its a pleasure to meet you, im so glad to have found a club like this, I actually learned kansai ben before I learned standard japanese. It good to know its not just me who's interested in other dialects of japan(in my class when we went to osaka for a school trip everyone was like why are these people japanese so weird) Im not sure how many people here are japanese/learning japanese but Im pretty confident in my japanese so if you have questions I'll try and answer to the best of my abilities.

よろしゅうな(its a pleasure)
(btw english isnt my native language so forgive my spelling and grammar mistakes)

If you have a look at my anime list im sure I can find heaps for characters that kansai dialect.

EtnaEraclea | 02-05-12, 7:01 AM
Nanya. a kansai-ben club *w* i have to join.

Okzakikun | 09-07-11, 5:12 AM
Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu^^

-Twista- | 05-15-11, 4:02 PM

ratratrat098 | 01-30-11, 10:33 PM
Woah, I find kansai-ben funny especially the way the Demon Lord of Beelzebub speaks. Also Amazoness of Arakawa talks this way too, right?

IZUMI64 | 12-31-10, 11:29 PM

Mythia | 12-31-10, 9:00 AM
Hey everyone!
Thanks for joining, I am amazed that a semi-dead club like this one (sorry, it's my fault!) have attracted so many members!
I'll try to update the database with all the names you've kindly written down there ASAP.
Also, since I don't have much time nor ideas to liven up the mood here, one or two officers would be truly welcomed.

Netsukaze | 12-25-10, 10:41 AM
The creation of this group is epic. Kansai-ben is totally awesome!

By the way, "mind game" is an anime telling story happened in Osaka, where all characters are Kansaijin, would you mind adding that anime as well?

Club Stats
Members: 185
Pictures: 4
Category: Characters
Created: Mar 17, 2008


Club Officers
Mythia (Creator)

Club Type
This is a public club. Anyone can join and invite others to join.

Anime Relations

Character Relations

Help     FAQ     About     Contact     Terms     Privacy     AdChoices