"Do you feel more Japanese or American?" | Interview PART 2

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An interview with Chika (Bilingirl) and Melodee Morita on being Japanese but spending time growing up in America, and then returning to Japan. The word kikokushijo (帰国子女) means "child who returns to Japan after living abroad". We split the interview into two parts because it's quite long, and while the second one is already uploaded we haven't had time to translate it yet so we'll make it public as soon as we do!
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[@bilingirl_chika]

Thank you guys so much for having me on your channel :) I really enjoyed the talk and I can't wait for our next collab! （Jun, thank you for the subtitles. I know it's a lot of work! ）

[@RachelandJun]

労いのお言葉、ありがとうございます。(T-T) こちらこそ、快く応じてくださり、ありがとうございました。^^

[@JJames666male]

Chika :'(

[@LittleLulubee]

I liked your interview, Chika! :)

[@pheasant-we2cl]

you can say ''MUM'':)

[@Crisrika]

I loved this interview! I was born in Brazil and my parents are Japanese. I don't speak Japanese like you guys, but I hope be able one day. 😉

[@MelodeeMorita]

Thank you, everyone for watching this collab and for sharing your personal stories!✨ I also apologize for the excessive nodding😅 I am a television reporter, so whenever I do interviews, I tend to nod more since I'm not allowed to say things like "yes", or "mhm" while the others are speaking (so I don't cover up their voice or interrupt their answer), so I guess it's my personal habit now, too >< lol. But as others have commented, nodding is a sign of showing respect to the other individual(s) and that you are listening/agreeing to what they are saying.😊 It felt so awesome speaking with Rachel and Chika since we've been through a lot of similar things! I also appreciate Jun for filming this whole time and for providing subs! Hope to see you guys again soon when I visit Japan!🇯🇵🌟

[@thequeenundisputed]

I'm half Dominican half white and I grew up in America speaking both Spanish and English and I identified with a lot of what you had to say, especially with the bit about being teased when your Japanese wasn't perfect and almost losing your ability to speak the language. I was also teased growing up for being bilingual, mostly for speaking Spanish to my white mom. Looking back, the things I was teased about were petty and insignificant, but at the time it hurt and unfortunately it soured me towards speaking Spanish and I eventually stopped speaking it. Today I have lost the ability due to underuse. Anyway, I kind of went off on a tangent there. I just wanted to say that I enjoyed your interview and was surprised to see that our experiences growing up were quite similar despite you being Japanese and me being mixed race.

[@MelodeeMorita]

I appreciate you for kindly taking the time to comment and share your story. I agree and wish that I could travel back in time to tell mini me and you that it's completely okay to make mistakes and to not be affected by people who say harsh things to you. (For me, it was a girl who came into my class from Japan, and I was doing everything I can to translate and help her out in and out of class so she wouldn't feel left out... but like you, it was very hard on me at the time.😢) If you were speaking Spanish from a young age, I'm sure everything will come back to you very quickly! Even listening to your favorite Spanish artists/songs and following along by reading the lyrics can greatly help! That's exactly what I did to regain my love for Japanese again. I hope it will for you, too! Ahh I feel bad for leaving such a long comment on R&J's channel >< , but I just wanted to wish you all the best and thank you for writing me.✨

[@thequeenundisputed]

@Melodee Morita Thank you for your words of encouragement. Spanish was actually my first language and I spoke it probably up top about age 8. Sometimes I dream in fluent Spanish, so that makes me think that my Spanish speaking ability is still somewhere in my mind, waiting to be exercised. I am actually in the process of trying to learn back my Spanish. Fortunately I have my mom who is fluent and can help me. Listening to Spanish songs is a great idea, I'll try doing that. Perhaps I could try watching more Spanish television as well. I don't know if you've noticed, but a lot of Spanish TV is either very dramatic or very slapstick, so I haven't gotten into it much, but it's worth it if it'll help me learn the language. Out of curiosity, how old are you when you began relearning Japanese and how old are you now? I hope that isn't an intrusive question. I ask because I'm curious as to how long the learning process had taken for you, as someone that is a similar position to me regarding language learning.

[@MelodeeMorita]

Wonderful!! Seems like you're already on the right track :D I began relearning Japanese in my later years in middle school after I came across a beautiful song (which became a famous Japanese theme song for the Olympics), and I'm 24 now! Like I mentioned in this video, I went through a lot of mistakes over the years, but that is what gave me the motivation to study harder and learn Japanese from what I love.💜 Thank you again for watching and hearing our stories. Best of luck!!✨

[@thequeenundisputed]

@Melodee Morita Thanks do much for your reply and advice, I had a lovely chat:)

[@ellie1866]

I'm Japanese-Latina. Japanese was forbidden to learn in my household. I spoke to my parents in Spanish, and learned English at school. My late father said it wasn't important, since I lived in the States, and that I was "blessed" for looking only Hispanic. But it hurts. It hurts that when I was little and my second cousins, aunties, and everyone from Japan would visit, and I couldn't speak to them in a language I *WAS* suppose to learn. I'm 23, and I'm having some trouble with the language still, but I'm not giving up. Even if I stay here in the States, and I do have childern, I plan to tearn them Japanese.

[@heartsDmise]

Ash You do realize its an internet trend to spell things incorrectly or word things strangely? And typing that way online doesn’t mean they aren’t intelligent and well spoken in real life. I know lots of bright people who say things wrong on purpose for the irony of it all

[@kirawalker5893]

Ash wow you’re a terrible person! Have a great day.

[@EbonKim]

You came up with a new word! Tearm is such a good way to teach and learn and the same time.

[@Bibimbapski]

Melodee is so cute! I love her skincare videos :D

[@christy-anne-jones]

This is so interesting. Thank you for these interviews!

[@美味しいレストラン]

メロディーさんの両親は日本人ですが、日本に住んだことがないのに日本語のボキャブラリーや敬語もちゃんと使いこなせていて努力家/勉強家だと思います。

[@mastad7876]

Mimi Y 西海岸と東海岸ですからね。 声質も違うし。

[@listerkyte1703]

日本は、「周りに合わせるのが良い事」「周りと違う事をする、言うのが悪い事」という文化ですからね。 アメリカと同じ様に、相手と反対の意見をストレートに言ってしまうと、周りの人が困惑してしまいますから、言葉選びも慎重になりますよね。 私から見ればチカさんは、文化的にはほとんどアメリカ人に見えますよ。だって、仮に日本の若い女性が、こうやってインタビューをされたとしても、そんなにハッキリ、きちんと自分の意見を語れる人は少ないと思います。その違いはたぶん、文化と教育の違いでしょうね。日本では、自分の考えや体験を他人に伝わるように理論的に、順序良く語れる様にする教育が無いですから。大人の私でも無理です。だからそれが出来ているチカさんが羨ましく、眩しく感じられました。

[@RachelandJun]

Subtitles! *Japanese* *Korean*

[@oxb_54]

チカさんだ！！相変わらずかっこいい… Chika is very cool :-)

[@Obeijin]

You have a rooster ?

[@teraphIl1000]

Great video. I love hearing about other people who grew up bilingual, it's always a different story!

[@ahoahoaho999]

メロディさんの意見を聞いていて、確かに日本は同調圧力が強くて、 それがゆえに萎縮してしまうような場面があったなーと。 にしても彼女はずっとアメリカで生まれ育った割にはすごく日本的だね。

[@K1K05h1]

I know this will sound kinda weird... but Chika has really beautiful hands.

[@oujisanhikari18]

nop its not weird i love femmine hands too 😍

[@Inazuchi]

lmao right? this nigga creepy af LOL

[@paulinaramirez2469]

K1K05h1 i noticed tht too!!

[@ourc4ts]

my dad raised me teaching me 3 languages Portugues - couse I live in Brazil. English - I lived in USA. 日本語 - Becouse Im Japanese. (Born in Brazil)

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

Well aren't you just ever the positive thinker! I'm curious to know what your grudge with Brazil is.

[@ryanm4769]

*Because :)

[@ryanm4769]

Fluffymiyster I was correcting "miriam sayao" not that racist ***hole "Deborah Meltrozo"

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

Deborah Meltrozo Facts are those which everyone can universally agree on because there's scientific proof to back it up. Saying HUMANS from Brazil are instead monkeys is not a fact, it's just your opinion. In which, you indeed are entitled to it, even if it's an immature and racist opinion, though that doesn't exactly answer my question. *WHY* do you feel that way? Unless you're telling me you pulled your ideology completely out of a hat with absolutely no reasoning.

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

Deborah Meltrozo Five sentences, one paragraph, is a wall of text now, huh? My, oh, my, they must be setting the bar low for kids at school these days! It also explains the intelligence behind your comments. Thanks, you've answered my question now :)

[@thapoint09]

I have to question how meaningful/strong a relationship really is if simply disagreeing can sever it. To me, a mark of true friendship is being able to argue till your throat hurts but have a great time doing it. But if just having a different opinions is enough to end a friendship... maybe it's time to start looking for new friends.

[@SUPERGENKI]

１００% agree!

[@mastad7876]

Things these girls saying are exaggerated. You do have different opinions and arguments. I do that to my friend all the time.

[@heartsDmise]

I dunno, if its something as drastic as politics, I will dissolve a friendship honestly. It shows their views of other people and humanity and what they put first. My values of people as friends are these: They must care about other human beings no matter the race, gender, sexual orientation, and age. They must not be greedy for cash and are selfish to the point where they would sacrifice other people to get to where they need to be. They should care about the environment. They can be well read so as to have good conversation with, but thats not necessarily something id dump them for. Overall they have to be a pleasant person to be with and not someone who judges or is superficial. I like people who are genuine and truthful and loyal as well. If they support something that I disagree with like the fur trade or racism or supporting only the rich, I’ll drop them as friends because they’re selfish ignorant people

[@sa0574]

Melodee!! I love her personality😊 彼女からは日本への愛を感じる💓

[@h.i.m.3200]

This was a really interesting interview. I'm also a bilingual person and I've always thought if I ever had kids, I'd teach them both of languages that I know but it would be probably difficult in practice xP

[@MichaelBerthelsen]

Not necessarily. The most important is to speak both languages to the kids when they're less than 2 years old, then their brains will remember the pronounciation later. (Recordings don't work, unfoetunately) And after that, just take time to speak both languages, but make sure they understand that they're distinct languages. :-)

[@yamigekusu]

My mom is bilingual, yet she never properly taught me her native language...

[@booknerdjebbi5037]

I think something essential that I've gone through in my life (raised in Sweden, come from Palestine) that you've not really touched upon, is my Arab relatives' (and arabs in general) expectancy of my Arabic, and mockery when I don't meet those expectations. I look 100% Arab, and I am, but I am culturally half Swedish. Rachel probably is met by positive surprise at the level of Japanese she speaks, because people don't EXPECT her to know any, by looking at her. Meanwhile, I've gotten comments about how well I speak Swedish, by other Swedes. Which just makes me feel lost. On the one hand, the language that comes easy to me and the dominant language in the only country I remember living in, is the one I get complimented for knowing, but the language that is difficult and that I've struggled with learning my entire life and that is hard to use, I get mocked for using, in particular by those relatives that think knowing Arabic is really important. This should be obvious, but apparently isn't. Don't punish the behaviors you want more of.

[@mFujiyama]

とても面白い動画でしたー。チカさんもMelodeeさんも理想的なバイリンガル！これだけ在米期間が長いと、普通もっとかなりアメリカナイズドされるものなのに、普段の動画だとお二人ともそこまで文化ギャップを感じさせないことに驚きます。補習校やご両親との会話だけじゃなく、お仕事を含めてご本人の努力があったのでしょうね。本当に凄い！これからも応援しています。

[@sanae_san]

日本語字幕ありがとう！ とても面白い動画でした 個人的には、チカさんの日本、アメリカ、両方に対するリスペクトがとても素敵だと思いました また、３人に共通することですが、皆さん新しい他国の文化や言葉などを理解する為に努力していて、かっこいいと思います

[@limosine]

That lighting does the world of good for all of you!

[@tomalcolm]

This is super interesting. As an ex-JET and father of bilingual kids I'm really keen to see more of this.

[@oorsimmwam2717]

メロディーさんみたいな両親が日本人の日系アメリカ人でもやっぱり１から日本語を学ぶのは大変なんですね。そこは外国人と一緒なんですね。

[@manci.manwlhs]

again I can relate to them and it is so nice to hear other people in same situation, because sometimes it is not easy, like "what is really my mother tongue?" or "how much do I really identify with my parents culture". it's like sitting on two chairs. but one can take the best of both cultures.

[@toontownrules234]

Great video! I can relate a lot ^^ Also, I couldn't stop admiring Melodee's outfit. IT'S SO CUTE!!

[@nanad94]

チカさんとメロディーさんがゲストだなんてたても豪華！！楽しかったです！

[@claudec2588]

On the question of how to raise a bilingual child. My brother always spoke to his children in English and their mother always spoke to the children in French. the children went to school in French and their friends were french speaking.but their parents spoke to each other in English. Half their relatives were English and half French. As far as speaking they are now as adults fluently bilingual. At least as far as speaking. Reading and writing they are more comfortable in French because they went to school in french but the oldest child has worked in English as an Engineer. So I think the answer is from the earliest age, from the very beginning, to expose them consistently to both languages.

[@Limepure3]

I am amazed that they managed to teach such different languages! I grew up bilingual(sort of, the languages are both scandinavian and very similar to begin with), learning the primary language by going to school and both parents speaking it to us and eachother at home. The secondary language I learned through mom´s goodnight stories and children´s books/audiobooks in the beginning, which later lead to me reading normal books in the second language. I really appreciate all the secondary language books my relatives gave me, since reading them taught me a lot about how to write too.

[@elizabethr7720]

We adopted my dtr from China as an infant. We live in an English-speaking part of the world. Despite classes, a trip to China and self-study, she has minimal Chinese. She is began attending school in full French two years ago and swiftly acquired the language, so she has the ability to acquire new languages. But I guess immersion is important. She is 14 and I am really sad she cannot speak mandarin

[@Andrea-fh5vv]

Very interesting talk! Thank all of you for doing this interview!

[@ヨーグルトぷりん]

相槌を打ちながらしっかり目を見て話を聞いているところがすごく魅力的です。 2020年にある東京オリンピックで他国の人達と出来るだけたくさんの交流ができるように 英語の勉強を頑張りたいと強く思いました。

[@miomio6890]

I always like when you do interviews.

[@peterkarargiris4110]

Delightful stuff. I too can totally relate to this, as a bilingual kid (Greek/English) living in Greece then in Australia. Well Done.

[@Jennifer-wr9si]

Love videos like this. On that first question, I think it's easy to underestimate how different (usually awesome) it feels to be in a place where everyone looks like you or your parents when you have grown up as a minority in your own country, even when there is a huge gap in culture/mindset/language.

[@nulleins8672]

i live in germany but my father is vietnamese. i really love being half vietnamese and i'm also proud of it. i love the country and the culture and the food and stuff. that's why i hate being not able to speak vietnamese because my father didn't teach me when i was younger... i always feel like the weird one at vietnamese parties. people also use to speak to me in vietnamese because i look asian but i don't understand them and these situations are always so embarassing for me because i'm (typically asian) shy and easily embarassed 😔

[@noonefromnowhere99]

I like that you do these interviews and introduce other youtubers, thanks Rachael & Jun.

[@theSUBVERSIVE]

Honne and Tatemae is really something unique, more than being better or worse, it's more like a different approach. The better way is about balance. It's good to be thoughtful about other people's feelings and be aware of how you might be perceived by others but at the same time, there are moments in which speaking your mind regardless of that is also important and because of that, in many cases, Japanese people don't even consider saying their own opinion, even though they might think it's worth saying or if it could be a different but better idea or solution for the discussion.

[@DionLlW]

I'm Bilingual. Live in the UK, speak Welsh and English. I'd say I had a advantage learning both languages because almost everyone in my part of Wales is Bilingual. I'd speak Welsh with my family, as an adult with my friends, and at the Welsh school I attended teachers would encourage us to speak primarily Welsh in class, (obviously everyone would speak some English with friends to annoy the teachers.) the rest of English is learned from absorbing it from any random source (TV, books and bilingual stuff that's everywhere), as a result I have a odd English accent and volcabulary that few people can properly place. As an adult, there's a large sense of pride for Welsh speakers to retain our language in a English speaking world, knowing that every now and again it's under heavy pressure of extinction. i.e. the last monolingual welsh speaker died about 20 years ago, and 1-2 generations ago, if a pupil at school spoke welsh, they'd be beaten and publicly humiliated with a 'welsh not' sign.

[@yukomattingly]

Hi Rachel, Chika and Melodee, this is a great KZbin!! I know all 3 of you, thank you for sharing. I have 2 adult children and I couldn't raise them as bilingual, it is difficult.

[@yoichi503]

melodyって、声も可愛いね。二本指でクイクイやるジェスチャーも可愛いー。

[@naomixty14]

This was so interesting! I'm about to move to Japan for my studies and I'm honestly quite nervous. Being Japanese but having never lived there before, I'm glad that I'm not the only one like myself struggling to adjust to the language and culture. Thank you Rachel and Jun :)

[@theSUBVERSIVE]

Learning different languages when little actually helps a lot to learn more languages later. I had a similar experience to Chika's. Except I don't live in Japan and I didn't grow up in the US, but I also didn't see a point in learning Japanese but then, later I wished I had dedicated myself more to that, what's worse than her situation is that I didn't speak Japanese even at home, only at school, which made even harder to see a point in all of that as a kid.

[@theorigin12]

Loved Chika's bit of the interview. Gave off a very mature and controlled vibe which was nice for this kind of thing. Melodee didnt really contribute much at all during the whole interview. Loved the conversation though! Really interesting topic!

[@Heysamgrahamcartoons]

YES! I was waiting!!!

[@Heysamgrahamcartoons]

P.S. this is super fascinating. I am always curious about these questions too

[@Iyashikei-t4u]

Coincidentically saw a video by Melodee the other day and I must say it was pretty good. Might check out Chika.

[@anyname13579]

you definitely should! chika's videos are really good and high quality!

[@michaelaltawil]

As a Polish-American I can relate to so many of their experiences. It's really validating knowing someone else went through the sam struggles as you have.

[@domyojirina4009]

チカさんかっこよすぎ、、、✨ 憧れるし、かわいすぎる！

[@TheWhatsitsface]

Melodee's point about having conversations (and disagreements) with others in Japanese vs. English was really cool to hear. I'd guess that in an individualistic culture like Canada, US, etc., disagreeing with the general attitude of a group is more acceptable since it makes that person more unique and people would respect that person's individuality and opinions (even though it's still easy enough to pressure someone here into going along with what a group is saying - see Asch conformity experiments). In a collectivistic culture like Japan, people probably are afraid to voice divergent opinions and potentially offend others because their sense of self tends to be derived from group membership. I can't really relate as a Canadian, but I imagine it would be very difficult to base your self-concept on your relationship to others and then have that same group not want to associate with you anymore.

[@4flyingfish]

When I studied abroad in Japan, I had an amazing cultural orientation that involved everything from the toilet slippers to a crash course in keigo (polite speech) and when to use it... But, learning how to express opinions while considering the group was not something anyone had mentioned. It took me about 6 months before I realized that I accidentally was coming off like a rude asshole only because of how I was expressing my disagreeances. It took me another 3 months to vaguely get how to express myself. All I can say is I had some amazing friends there who helped me through this really awkward time period!

[@吹雪雪国]

レイチェル＆ジュン、楽しいインタビュー動画ありがとう！ チカとメロディーの体験談も楽しかった(^-^)３人共貴重な体験が出来て羨ましくも尊敬もしてます。多分、皆好奇心が強くて色んな事チャレンジしたいタイプなんじゃないかと思いました(^^)d楽しい事ばかりじゃないかもしれないけど応援してます！無理せずに自然体で頑張ってください！ ps メロディーちゃんは日本とかアメリカとかじゃなくてお嬢様な感じが強いw

[@oneorangebraincell]

Life From Where I'm from's channel, they know the secret to teaching both Japanese and English! :) Rachel and Jun, I hope you guys make a video with them sometime in the future!! I want that to happen so much!

[@SankeeTiger]

Love seeing the comparisons of them two so cool! すごい！

[@theinacircleoftheancientpu492]

From what I've heard about raising kids bilingual I think the most useful thing is to always speak with them in the language that isn't native to the place you are living, or really the one they won't use with their friends. It might not make them 100% fluent but it should mean they have a good base to work from without having to struggle over textbooks. The other thing I've come across is the two parents speaking to the kids in different languages.

[@RosesGoddess]

Have you done a video for how married couples/women w/ and w/o children fit into society? I'd be interested how social settings such as what kind of kimono/yukata they could wear and what is and isn't appropriate to interact with other men? Maybe put in some feedback?

[@fevo69]

Very nice and good video. I really enjoyed so much!

[@はるいちご-l2r]

日本語の字幕が素晴らしい…

[@My_dailyL1fe]

All of your channels are awesome

[@Krispi-Kat]

This was very interesting. They seem like nice people.

[@qiqikawa]

the girl in the middle tells her heart. give credit for that.

[@岡部知則]

此れからも３人が共演する動画が是非観たいです！

[@高杉侑希]

ちかさんとメロディさんの発音の違いがある気がするんですがわかる方いますか？

[@LittleLulubee]

You girls are all so pretty and nice! 💜 As far as kids go, I grew up bilingual. I was born in the States, but lived the 1st 10 years of my life in Mexico. We went to a regular school in Spanish, and all our friends and everything we did there was in Spanish. So we were totally fluent. But at home, we spoke mostly English. My mom taught us to read and write in English, and we spent our summers at my grandparents house in Connecticut. So my siblings and I grew up 100% bilingual and were just as strong in both languages. So it's definitely possible! :)

[@chigasaki06]

You all are so pretty.

[@mistershoujo1235]

I want to share a bit of my own trilingual experience growing up: My parents tried the one-parent one-language strategy (or one-family member one-language), and it was extremely effective. I spent the first few years of my life in Taiwan, where my grandfather only spoke Japanese to me (he grew up under Japanese colonial rule), my grandmother only spoke Taiwanese to me, my mother only spoke Mandarin, and we had a nanny who only spoke English to me. I didn't say a word until I was almost three, but I could speak all four when I finally began speaking. It was super confusing at first, but by the time I turned 5, I was functional in all four languages, at least at a five year old level. It was really fun because whenever I was mad at someone I could just switch languages and express how I really felt without them understanding LOL. Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away and I completely lost Japanese (so I'm relearning it now!), and my Taiwanese has been reduced to only listening capability over the years. The things that seem to work for my friends' parents: -Different language during different times of the day -Different languages indoors/outdoors I moved to the US at the age of 7, and have been here for 17 years now, but I solved this problem by having "designated friend groups" or "designated friends" that I speak a non-English language with in all of our interactions (and I'm sure to spend a lot of time with them). My friends in college spoke only Mandarin (and sometimes Taiwanese), and that definitely helped a lot.

[@lightawake]

Thanks for a great video - I relate so much to these women! If I was answering that question about dominant language, for about half of my life until I left home, I'd say that my thoughts were language-less, and would just come up as feelings or concepts. I could then choose which language I wanted to funnel them through. Depending on which language I chose the way that I would express myself would be slightly different (culturally appropriate ideas, manners etc) so I was either speaking as a Japanese person (in Japanese language plus with Japanese mannerisms, voice, characteristics) or a Kiwi (in English plus with Kiwi mannerisms etc). Since going to Uni I noticed that I could only make sense of more advanced concepts if I ran it through my head in english first - I suspect it's because I didn't learn the equivalent in Japanese, and also don't know the vocabulary. As an aside, I learned French later (from English), and it's definitely a different feeling - because with that, I found that my world outlook didn't change (values, perspective, spiritual beliefs, manners, expectations...kankaku) so I find that if I speak in French, it comes from my Kiwi perspective. Thoughts: the important things behind the language, which the language can carry, are in my view the values, perspectives, expectations, understandings about life and the world of that particular culture. As a bilingual I felt that I grew up with two running alongside each other, and with a sub/conscious understanding of both, which helped me weave between the languages - which feels like wading between two entirely different worlds. Sorry about the long post btw...it's late and I'm enthusiastic.

[@Standbyualways]

Thank you for doing the interview, Rachel! I'm looking fwd to see the tip of how to raise bilingual child(ren). @Chika @Melodee.

[@zeprincesszz]

For teaching children to be bilingual... My older siblings know both Arabic and English fairly well (English better because we live in the states, or course). My dad only spoke to them in Arabic and would not reply to them unless they spoke back to him in Arabic and my mom would do the same with English (they spoke to each other in English though, as my mother didn't know Arabic well). This is how they became bilingual.

[@BOTCHIMHOT]

I actually learned a lot from these two videos.

[@kitty-puppy-kitty]

Some of my bilingual friends said that the way they learned other languages was that their parents spoke only their native language at home but the more common language outside like they would speak Spanish at home but English outside the home

[@Fratziful]

Feel the same like Chika. I am half chinese and I went back to China and lived there for 1 year I realized how much I loved it there. But my brother though doesnt like it, so i guess it depends :D

[@aokosakano3037]

Are they 帰国子女 OR Japanese American? There is a pretty big difference between the two. The former is simply a Japanese person who returns to japan after living abroad, but the latter is an American of Japanese descent.

[@emotiveenergy4598]

I had a friend, born in Michigan and married to a German National. And they both were fluent in both German and English. When they had a daughter, my friend spoke to her strictly in English while his wife spoke to the daughter strictly in German. The little girl grew up being bilingual in English and German, so the strategy seemed to work.

[@himecheri]

My friend had parents who each were from a different country so growing up they only spoke that language to her. She said it was really confusing as a child but now she is thankful. She can speak 3 languages fluently & wants to work on a fourth X'D

[@YoshikazuHayashi]

すごく面白かった！

[@b.7669]

チカさんの、論理的な思考においては欧米文化が好きという意見に同意！！！日本では、例えもっともな批判意見が生まれても、変化を嫌う人々の集団心理と非寛容性から「イジメだ！批判したいだけだろ！」などと情緒的に切り捨てられることが多い。意見そのものを冷静に分析して議論を重ねる、欧米のサロン文化のベースが羨ましい。そうやって世の中に改善がもたらされるので・・。そういう文化によって、欧米は基本的人権の概念や、近国家の枠組みも生み出している。日本でも、義務教育にディベートの授業などを取り入れて、意見と人格を切り離した冷静な議論ができるようになればなと切実に思う。

[@mFujiyama]

+BlindS 個人意見が否定されるのは、集団情緒のせいというのは少し短絡的かと思います。日本では物事を発言したり変えたりするまでの、根回し（政治力）や、公の場での言葉選びを含めて、個人の器量として判断されている社会だと思います。集団の中でまず個人の評価をどのようにか得なければ、発言権のない社会。しかし逆に言えばそのために、集団やトップに対する信頼が比較的厚い社会です。私もアメリカのまず立ち位置を決めて、結論と論拠をつけて意見を戦わせられるディスカッションの文化は羨ましいし、もっと取り入れていいと思います。けれど個人の権利を獲得するために常に戦わなければならない社会は、少し疲れるなとも思います。「軋む歯車は油をさされる」という諺がアメリカにあるのは、声を上げなければ獲得できる権利はないからです。これが日本人の情緒に合わないうちは、完璧ではないにせよ相互扶助が働いている社会ということですので、そう悲観することはないとも思いますよ。一長一短ではないでしょうか。

[@b.7669]

mick Fujiyama 仰っている社会における根回しの必要性や、集団への信頼などの日本の社会的な構造は、まさに意見交換における「集団心理」の原理を指し示してはいませんか？ 私 も攻撃的なプロテストには否定的です。しかし「もっともな批判」に対し、意見そのものを分析せず、相手の社会的背景や欠点を探して切り捨てようとした り、何か違うことを言う人への本能的な嫌悪感から、フェアで自由な議論が生まれないことは日本の欠点だと思っています。児童虐待の防止や、最近じゃパナマ 文書などの租税回避問題など、あらゆる面で日本が遅れをとる理由かなと。 話は逸れますが、批判によって改善を余儀なくされる対象（大企業や芸能界）は、メディアにおける発信力を持っているので、最近は「社会的批判は総じて悪である・ただのリンチなのだ」とし意見を封じ込めようとする世論誘導を行っていることも気になります。既存の構造に都合が悪くとも、第三勢力としてのネット世論には一種の自浄作用があると思うので。

[@mFujiyama]

+BlindS 集団心理は一長一短、大事なのはバランスと自浄力だと思います。私は最近のメディアがとりわけ世論誘導をしているとも、これまで日本がクリーンで世論誘導が無かったとも思いません。総じてマスコミは営利組織ですので、どのように偏ってるかを知ることが、リテラシーだと思います。これはインターネットにおいても同じです。どちらもバイアスはかかっています。個人の背景に拘るのは匿名掲示板などで見ますが、現実世界では見たことがありません。ただ日本はディスカッションの土壌は恐ろしくないので、改善の余地はあると思います。その点については同意します。インターネットですら、あと10年くらいはかかるんじゃないですかね。生まれ育ちを口にする人は、品位の問題なので、思いきって指摘されたらいかがでしょうか。

[@b.7669]

mick Fujiyama つい先ほどご自身で書かれた「集団の中でまず個人の評価をどのようにか得なければ、発言権のない社会」とは「個人の社会的背景にこだわること」ではないかと思いますが、現実世界では見たことがないのでしょうか・・。　 メディアによる世論誘導はもちろん常にありますが、近年の「社会的批判は総じて悪である」といった世論誘導については、ネット世論の影響力が強まった結果生まれたものだと思いますよ。それまで社会的批判をする核であったメディアから、第三者（民衆）の手にそれが移り、彼ら自身や都合の悪いものが矛先となり統制が取れなくなった結果だろうと。

[@mFujiyama]

+BlindS ネットはモラルとマナーに欠けた発言を見るのは珍しくないですが、現実では稀です。口に出さないだけネットよりはマシという意味です。

[@lovelyleblanc7]

I understand you Chika!! I love food and I think food is an important part of traveling!! haha I am not Japanese but I went to Japanese school every Saturday too and I remember all the Japanese students and even half Japanese students who didn't want to be there...haha

[@cherylong6800]

My experience with Chinese (mandarin) is quite similar to melodee's:) although we learn it in school I was quite bad at it and I hated it because I had extra lessons for it. But when I started watching Chinese tv and listening to Chinese music I learnt to like it a lot.

[@jaclynongjo]

Normal people has to either learn 1 or 2 languages growing up but I had to learn 3. It was hard. If you're Chinese or Indian you have to learn English, Bahasa Melayu and our mother tongue. And the Chinese language has multiple dialects and I was forced by my mum to learn 2 of it and now I have to learn another dialect because each state uses different Chinese dialect.

[@ChrisSlack]

Interesting interview. Mix of body language going on in this video.

[@bilboes6634]

You should teach japanese, some people(like me that want to learn different languages) should make videos teaching it :D We would appreciate it and learn a lot, personally i like japanese culture, it's different than america. American culture is very dynamic and diverse. *most* americans are very accepting of other cultures, they accept that the people in the world are different. Prejudice exists no matter where you live but don't let it get to you.

[@HiroBrown]

nice interviews! thanks for these :) ill keep studying my japanese!

[@Japonicasian]

私はアメリカはじゃない国で同じような環境にいましたが、将来は当たり前に日本に帰る前提でいました。なぜ日本に帰るつもりがなかったのかとても気になりました。やっぱりアメリカが好きだから永住したいと考えたのかそもそも自分のアイデンティティがアメリカになっているのか何故なんでしょうか？同じ環境にいた者としてとても気になりました。

[@CreatureFeatureRlz]

when I was little, after school I was forced to go to Spanish classes and I hated it. to this day I have no desire to learn Spanish. I know some French and Japanese and I thoroughly enjoyed learning those languages because it was my choice and I felt and feel motivated to learn more about the language and culture

[@mahas7001]

Voicing a starkly different opinion makes you a special snowflake. XD On another note, I do agree that it's very difficult to raise a child bilingually in an environment where one language is clearly dominant. My parents tried to do the whole "only speak to us in Arabic" thing, but English slowly took over and has become the dominant language at home. R.I.P. my Arabic lol

[@Runelle07]

Same thing with me! Except I'm the one who tries to speak Spanish with my mom and she reverts back to English. Spanish is her second language so she's says that it's difficult because she "thinks in English." Can't say that I blame her.

[@dementos7806]

Yeah. My parent didnt bother to make me learn another language as English was the only language I would need.

[@tweetsomething7011]

I’ve noticed luckily on time that I needed to care about my mother language to not loose it...so I think it’s also up to bilingual children too ( if they they’re already old enough to understand how valuable and continent it can be) Sorry for my English though. It’s either my dominant language nor my mother language 😅

[@Rogerperkinsmma]

Thanks for the video!

[@Evravon]

I super loved this video. On a more funny note, if there was an award for the most nodding in a single KZbin video, you guys would win.

[@azabujuban-hito8085]

Their skin are amazing...

[@fight_spr3611]

9:21の字幕ですが メロディーさんがやってるのはballet「バレエ」だと思います。 「バレー」だとvalley谷かvolleyballバレーボールになってしまいます。 日本語って難しいですよね

[@RachelandJun]

ご指摘ありがとうございます。訂正いたしました。今後もよろしくお願いいたします。^^

[@delphineum]

Regarding how to raise a bilingual child: till I was nine, I lived in an environment where two languages were spoken. My grandparents used one language, and my parents another language (we lived at our grandparents' house for a few years). So I learned both languages. Just talk to your child in both languages, without prioritizing one, and it should learn both I guess?

[@sukinow4231]

Can relate to Chika since I had to go to Japanese school too and hated it. My story is kinda weird as I was born in US but couldn't speak English til like 6th grade since my parents only spoke Japanese at home and even needed speech and language help for English! But now it's reversed, although I can still converse fluently in Japanese. Can't say I would ever move to Japan, but like to visit every so often. I do worry thou when we have kids whether they will be able to speak it since my husband is from another culture. But I think it's important to learn the language to understand your culture and who u are.

[@lujkasskajul]

this was really interesting video

[@Draculaura-xi3zk]

is that melodee morita😱 i love her 😍😍😍

[@Bibimbapski]

yup! I love her too! :D she's one of my favorite Japanese-American youtubers ever.

[@Draculaura-xi3zk]

+Bibimbapski the mine too

[@sharifsircar]

lol I lost track of months passed since she last uploaded a video on Japanogos

[@lovelyleblanc7]

How did Melodee go about keeping up Keigo while living in America...everyday I am forgetting more Keigo until I come back to Japan and then I have to dig deep in the crevices of my memory lol

[@vanessaruiz4705]

Yeah very right, children should be raised bilingual if it's possible for the parents. Even if the parents don't speak English (in non-English speaking countries of course) if they can afford it they should try to have their kids learning English from a very young age.

[@glamasaurus]

If you want to teach your child both languages you have each parent speak only one in the home. I talk to my daughter in English but my husband worked so much she never learned German. So she was born in Switzerland and English is her first language.

[@glamasaurus]

+Porco Rosso possibly but all the bilingual kids I knew did the one parent speaks their native language, and the other theirs. The only thing is when you are living outside of your home country you will pick up pieces of your current countries language and add them. My grandfather moved to the USA in his 30s and he created his own greek/english words.

[@TheDrakon]

Japanese people really are afraid that if they say anything negative or bring up any issue that the recipient(s) will take offence. I think this stems from the fact that many Japanese are ocd perfectionists who won't accept friendly criticism themselves. People who overwork themselves at something tend to not handle any criticism. This is a bad cycle to get into, because people who work harder probably work so hard because there's something about the way they work that isn't as efficient as it could be. If a person is unable to take criticism then that person is unable to improve the way they do things and they will continue doing their work inefficiently. You shouldn't feel at all embarrassed about making mistakes when speaking or writing. I've had people laugh very hard at me and make fun of my mistakes when I try using other languages. As long as the person is willing to tell me how to correctly say it I'm not bothered by them getting a kick out of my mistakes. Laughing at the mistakes you made is part of the fun of learning. If anything, having a small traumatic experience really helps me remember not to repeat the same mistake in the future.

[@b.7669]

As a Japanese I fully agree with you!! I think we need to relax a little and accept more friendly criticism. It brings about progress and improvement.

[@hasen1957]

I find this to be a common misconception about Japanese people, that they are afraid of hurting others. It's actually the opposite; they're afraid of embarrassing themselves in front of other people. One point you can easily see this is obesity trends in the US vs in Japan. The American society, being too polite and politically correct, will rarely tell fat people directly "omg you're fat". But in Japan, if one was to gain even a little weight, all your friends and family and coworkers would tell you "You've gained fat!". In America, people don't do this because they think it's offensive and impolite. In Japan, people tell you this because they don't want you to become fat, they want you to pay more attention to yourself. Another point where this is evident is how people dress and present themselves. People in Japan always dress impeccable and spend a lot of time taking care of how they look. Even men spend a lot of time doing their hair. Where as in the US, it's common for people to dress more casually, based on what feels comfortable, rather than based on how people would perceive them.

[@johncoleman1930]

I agree but I think it goes with any culture or language,but if I may say it seems like you made a generilization by saying all Japanese people are OCD perfectionist I'm not getting offended on Japanese peoples behalf I'm just saying when discussing something it is good to try and avoid generilizations if possible but I did like your comment

[@TheDrakon]

I prefer the American way. Being annoying about a person's issues isn't going to encourage that person to seek help. Some people also prefer being fat. I think Japanese are fantastic at paying attention to themselves. However Japanese people are very inflexible when it comes to different lifestyles and choices. Because Japanese people work so hard at improving themselves, I think they don't handle criticism well. All of the Japanese people I met really didn't handle friendly criticism. Japanese people are extremely ocd when it comes to worrying about offending people and worrying about what other people think. Japan needs to loosen up and learn to relax a little. Japanese culture is often as tight as their immigration laws. Another reason why I think this way is that I found it very difficult to get Japanese people to answer me honestly when I ask them about preferences. They were always worried about offending me, therefore they weren't willing to give me a truthful answer, and therefore I was unable to better accommodate them. In my culture it's rude not to answer honestly when someone asks you about your preference. Not answering honestly is treating me like I won't be able to handle anything negative, like I'm an immature person. Nobody likes being treated like that, and it's not "more polite". It's actually rude to a lot of people.

[@hasen1957]

To your point about asking people how they feel, I kind of see where you're coming from but I actually prefer the Japanese way (note: I'm neither American nor Japanese; I'm actually Middle Eastern so it's almost entirely different from both cultures). I think in the Japanese mind set, you are either a "close friend", therefor you should already have understood how I feel about certain things (based on your past experience), or you are a stranger, in which case it is pointless for me to force you to do things my way or to change yourself just to accommodate me (it would be selfish). I am sorry if I'm totally making this up, dear Japanese readers. This is just how I interpret things! Please let me know if you think I'm mistaken! But it's like if a stranger was to ask me some very specific questions about my personality, I would not feel comfortable discussing that with them. So either you can read the situation and try your best to accommodate people, or you can't. If you can, hopefully I don't have to explain. If you can't, then there's probably no point in explaining.

[@MegIgarashi]

Enjoyed watching this video ;)

[@イベント風景旅動画]

It was a bit windy in the location, wasn't it. I hope you'll make next collaboration interview video some day.

[@___vlc___5730]

I grow up bilingual and my mom told me that till I was 4 she only talked in spanish with me 'cause at the moment I go to the kindergarten I would talk most of the time only in german. It was true and when I grew older I stared talking more and more spanish again

[@togo3796]

納得 視野が広がって世界的常識に達しています 日本の女性とは大きな違いがあります ブラボー。

[@HavenJBaker]

My mom never sign me up for a language class at all, it was maybe because I learn french in school that she never did. Now I only understand some sentences in French and am teaching myself Japanese.

[@victoriaelisabethslama5245]

woowww I was soo early today!