x100：おわりに
It is such sweet sorrow indeed -- but I've said most of what I had to say in previous blog entries, so there's little else to add, except perhaps to explain why I initially wrote this blog in Japanese and later switched to English. My original intention was to assist those who are already fairly good at English but need to hone their skills, and for that purpose I suggested that reading one's favorite books aloud and recording them for self-assessment would be useful and fun to do. This tenet of mine still stands. However, I came to realize that I had been addressing a wrong audience by writing in Japanese. That's not the way to connect with really advanced students of English. The kind of people I want to reach out for are those who are really serious about improving their language skills. So I've decided to take a more targeted approach and write in English, aiming just for those who have the stomach for it. In fact, you wouldn't be reading this far down in the paragraph unless you are a studious reader of English yourself, which means I've successfully pared the audience down to a chosen few. I have retained Japanese headlines, however, as an eye-catcher. Here's why.
I am functionally bilingual, but whenever I see Japanese and English texts placed side by side, my eyes are quicker to take in the Japanese text. One might say my text comprehension is Japanese-dominant, just like I am right-eye dominant (i.e., when I see an object with both eyes, my right eye tends to send a stronger visual input to the brain). Or it may be comparable to right- or left-handedness. For a non-native speaker of English, the pressure of having to speak in English is not unlike the frustration of not being able to use one's dominant hand. But a certain level of ambidexterity can be achieved with practice. In a way, studying foreign languages is like learning how to use the non-dominant hand -- you just have to work at it until your brain is rewired. By this analogy, the best way to study English would be to use it as often as possible, without reverting to Japanese (or whatever native tongue of yours). For Japanese readers, it is all too easy to access Japanese-language blogs and sites that purport to help you improve your command of English, but I suspect it only serves to reinforce your dominant language brain, when in fact it's your non-dominant language brain that really needs exercising.
Well, I'll leave it at that. I'm going to lie low for a while, and privately record some audiobooks I have been neglecting. Perhaps I'll be starting a different project (maybe another blog?) soon. I'm thinking of focusing on books in English written by Japanese authors. For instance, I've recorded early chapters of Bushido by Nitobe Inazo and The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo, both written about a century ago. These guys really seem to know what they are talking about, and damn, their English is good, although I prefer Okakura's style better. Nitobe seems to me to have too big a chip on his shoulder. I've chosen The Book of Tea as the last audio sample for this blog. In a similar vein, Lafcadio Hearn's "Japan, an Attempt at Interpretation" also seems tempting. Well, perhaps some other time. Although I'm closing the blog entry for now, I might be posting recordings at this site from time to time. . . but don't hold your breaths!
Thanks for reading (and listening). I hope many of you will take up recording your own audiobooks and have fun listening to them. Who knows, it may turn out to be the best education you could give yourself!
