maybe they could use hip-hop to teach proper capitalization

March 27, 2005

Today while art modeling, I thought, apropos to nothing, why hasn’t some Japanese hip hop artist put out an album called “Rapanese”?

When I got home, I googled the phrase and discovered that “Rapanese” is a language learning method, best known in a Spanish language learning book, described here by a publisher apparently unfamiliar with the rules and conventions of English:

First the lyrics (each of twelve lessons) are repeated slowly without music in both Spanish and English, just like conventional language tapes. Then the lyrics are repeated, sometimes long, with Awesome music. We repeat the Spanish and English words and phrases twice. You Do Not Get Bored because your mind fixates on the music and you pick up the Spanish the way you pick up the words to your favorite song. Your Mind Becomes Bilingual.

According to the reviews, the “Awesome music” is not, in fact, rap. Thus, Rapanese is neither rap, nor Japanese. What a waste of a perfectly good word.

Posted by jen | Filed Under grammar 

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One Response to “maybe they could use hip-hop to teach proper capitalization”

  1. Ph-Double-D | Jen Is Famous on July 28th, 2008 2:49 am

    […] Do you sometimes think of a really good name for something that isn’t particularly related to anything in your own life?  In 2005, I wondered “Why isn’t there a Japanese language-learning program called ‘Rapanese’?&#82… […]

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