In Japan, it is considered polite/natural to continue to say "oh" and "un" to show that you are listening. In the US however, people are expected to stay quiet while listening. Just different things culturally. I barely notice it because we live together but I can see now how it could be a little confusing to those that have not met with people from other cultures. It has absolutely nothing to do with his language ability, as his English is very good.
Yep. Exactly this.
To the rest of the people in this thread, it is a quirk about Japan that I think would bother your typical American at first. I don't know about the culture of Europe or Australia or anything, so I can't say anything about that. But it's seriously not uncommon for a Japanese person to make some sort of acknowledgement sound every few words you utter out of your mouth. Like Lindsey's saying in what I quoted, it's not rude. It's actually a polite thing to do. I just know a lot of people I grew up with in the US would find it obnoxious, thinking the person making the acknowledgement sound is pretending to pay attention or is trying to hurry the person along in whatever they're talking about. You get used to it really quickly once you're around some native Japanese people.
@ACking: Now, I just need to learn 3 things.
Where is the nearest resturant?
You don't need to know how to ask for a restaurant. The restaurants in Japan are fairly obvious, due to the menus and displays of plastic food they tend to have visible from outside. That's one of my favorite things about Japan, actually. You know how much food is before walking in the door. I don't appreciate restaurant sticker shock.
You know what's more useful in Japan than the 3 sentences you just said? These words...
Sumimasen - (Soo-me-mah-sen) It basically can be used as either an apology, like if you bump into someone, or as excuse me, like if you're trying to get someone's attention.
Sore - (Soh-ray) Means sorta "that thing near you". For example, if you're asking a store clerk to get you something off a shelf. You can point and say sore.
Are - (Ah-ray) Means "that thing over there that's far from either me or you" kinda. So if you need something that's on the way on the other end of a shelf, you could point and say are.
Domo - I don't think I need to tell you guys how to say this word. It has a few uses, but for people here, you'd mainly use it as a "thanks". As an example, after a store clerk rings you up and you pay, afterwards they will typically bow and thank you for shopping at the store. To be polite, domo is a good word to say to follow up after that if you'd like.
You can get really far in Japan with only those words as a tourist.
Also, many foreigners just think the word for hello is konnichiwa. Yes and no. Konnichiwa really means good afternoon. You can say ohayou gozaimasu for good morning and konbanwa for good evening.
