Japanese can't understand each other?

I'm sorry if a thread like this has already been posted, but I searched this forum and couldn't find anything on it. I know a similar thread exists in the Japanese only forum, but it's more about seeing what dialect you have. I also apologize for the stupid title, but I couldn't think of anything better.

In my Japanese studies I have naturally only studied "standard Japanese" or 標準語. However, I hear that Sendai, the place I will be studying, has a very unique dialect. In fact, I heard that someone from Tokyo might not understand anything that is spoken in 東北弁. It doesn't seem like it is limited to just 東北弁 either, but any two dialects that are significantly far apart regionally. I'm not sure how severe it is, which is partly why I started this thread.

To me this is completely different than the U.S. Even though the U.S. has a wide range of dialects and accents, I can say with a fair bit of confidence I could understand 99% of what is said in any dialect. Maybe not something so extreme like a very heavy Creole or Ebonics accent, but certainly the great majority of dialects I can understand very well. Maybe I just haven't experienced enough U.S. dialects, but I have rarely ever met or heard someone I couldn't understand at all.

I suppose once you start including other English speaking countries it can become harder to understand, like Jamaican and Scottish. But those are countries with very different cultures and in some cases thousands of miles away. How did a country relatively homogeneous and small as Japan develop such distinct dialects?

Is it really as bad as it is made out to be? Is it true that, depending on where you are from in Japan, you may not understand someone at all if they don't speak in standard Japanese? I find dialects particularly interesting, but not being able to understand a fellow native seems depressing to me.

I'm sure I'm exaggerating, so I'm looking forward to any insights you might have.

Very catchy thread title!

Japanese can't understand each other?
No, in the sense that there are many dialects in different regions of Japan.
But also, yes, they can, in the sense that many dialects are now very much influenced by the so-called "hyojungo" that is used on TV and other national media and are rapidly losing their distinctive and colorful flair.
The influence of Kansai dialect(s) is also strong, causing inflection and accent changes in what is supposed to be hyojun-go that young people speak.
Today, strong dialect differences can be heard only among the older generations of Japanese.

Regarding Tohoku-ben (of which there are many variations), I'll write only what I know, since I'm not familiar with the dialect(s). AFAIK, Tohoku-ben retains the color and vocabulary of old Japanese and is very distinctive when spoken. I think the dialects of the Tohoku region are a interesting subject to study if you're interested in Japanese linguistics.

Coming to where you are going to live in Japan, I think you won't have any problem living in Sendai and going to Tohoku University. The city itself must have its own dialect, but it is a very large city where hyojungo (or its local variation) should be understood by (nearly) all. Plus, Tohoku University is a national university and a top-ranking one in the field of physical sciences, drawing students from all over Japan. The "common" language should be hyojungo.

The only dialect that is extremely difficult to understand for the non-native may be Okinawan, because of its distinctive culture and separation from the rest of Japan both in history (occupation by the US until the 1970s) and geography (ocean). However, many locals understand hyojungo, so language isn't a big deal there, either.

Everyone speaks a dialect.

Your biggest "mistake", in my opinion, is blindly believing that 標準語 is actually spoken around Tokyo. It isn't. No one speaks it in his private life. Tokyoites speak Tokyo dialect. Yokohamans speak Yokohama dialect. The only people that speak 標準語 in its strictest sense of the word are the TV announcers, particularly of NHK when they read the news and/or make comments on the air. When these announcers go home, they speak whatever dialect that they speak in their private lives.

Every single area of Japan has its own dialect. This seems to bewilder Englishmen a lot who come to Japan. Even though Japan is a little larger than England, the wide variety of dialects that exists in Japan is unbelievable to the Englishmen until they study Japanese geography and find out how many mountain ranges and large rivers Japan has, in addition to all the straits that separate the four main islands. England is relatively flat, allowing people to travel easily from the ancient days. This isn't the case with Japan.

You will be fine in Sendai just as I'm fine in Sendai every time I go there. You don't have to understand the convos between two old locals, do you? You will have no problems talking to your teachers, fellow students and neighbors. If they don't understand you, they won't understand what's being said on TV. Everyone watches TV. You will, however, blend in quicker and better if you are open-minded enough to actively learn some of the local phrases, particularly those that are used on a daily basis.

Half-n-Half said:

. Even though the U.S. has a wide range of dialects and accents, I can say with a fair bit of confidence I could understand 99% of what is said in any dialect.

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This is pretty much how it is in Japan for most Japanese people with most dialects. That said, if your Japanese is at a decent level I do not think you will have any real trouble. Maybe some bumps here and there, but nothing you won't overcome quickly I think.

Thank you both for your replies!

epigene said:

Coming to where you are going to live in Japan, I think you won't have any problem living in Sendai and going to Tohoku University. The city itself must have its own dialect, but it is a very large city where hyojungo (or its local variation) should be understood by (nearly) all. Plus, Tohoku University is a national university and a top-ranking one in the field of physical sciences, drawing students from all over Japan. The "common" language should be hyojungo.

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I had a sneaking suspicion that this might be the case. I wasn't so much worried that I wouldn't be understood but instead that I wouldn't be able to understand them.

epigene said:

私の悪いくせー読み直しをしてない！（汗

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Aha, I actually caught that mistake

masaegu said:

Your biggest "mistake", in my opinion, is blindly believing that 窶｢Wﾂ鞘ぎﾅ津ｪ is actually spoken around Tokyo. It isn't. No one speaks it in his private life.

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Your biggest "mistake", in my opinion, is blindly believing that 標準語 is actually spoken around Tokyo. It isn't. No one speaks it in his private life.

masaegu said:

Even though Japan is a little larger than England, the wide variety of dialects that exists in Japan is unbelievable to the Englishmen until they study Japanese geography and find out how many mountain ranges and large rivers Japan has, in addition to all the straits that separate the four main islands. England is relatively flat, allowing people to travel easily from the ancient days. This isn't the case with Japan.

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I suppose that's true and would definitely influence a region's dialect and serve to isolate it from the rest of the country. I was also thinking that, at least for the U.S., our country is only a couple hundred years old, which isn't much time for dialects to diverge from one another a whole lot. Not only that, but also the fact that less than 200 years later mass media began popping up through radio and TV, so a more "standard" dialect developed. Perhaps it is this same phenomenon to which epigene was referring that has prevented a huge divide from developing in American dialects.

masaegu said:

You will be fine in Sendai just as I'm fine in Sendai everytime I go there. You don't have to understand the convos between two old locals, do you? You will have no problems talking to your teachers, fellow students and neighbors. If they don't understand you, they won't understand what's being said on TV. Everyone watches TV. You will, however, blend in quicker and better if you are open-minded enough to actively learn some of the local phrases, particularly those that are used on a daily basis.

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As I said with @epigene, I wasn't so much worried that I wouldn't be understood but that I wouldn't be able to understand them. Indeed, you both have pointed out that it is mostly the older generation where dialects are most prominent, so that eases my mind a bit. I'll also strive to learn the local phrases while I'm there, thanks for the advice.

I have asked my Japanese friends this question so many times. They all answered that they could understand each other despite the dialects. But sometimes when I see TV journalists interview people in rural areas, there are subtitles.

Well, I've seen that for people in Kyoto too, and that's not rural. I don't think they do it specifically for different dialects though, because they also subtitle politicians.

But I have had the experience where someone from Tohoku said something in their dialect, and neither I nor my friend from Tokyo could understand what she was saying. But she usually just spoke something like Standard Japanese, so it wasn't an issue.

One more thing. I have tried to ask my Japanese friends from Osaka to teach me the local dialect. But most of the time they are not very willing to do so. I don't know why. It seems that they treat their dialects as something that belong to THEM only.