Ayu's usage of "boku" in her lyrics

[mimika]

I just wanna make a thread so that who ever has problems about the japanese language can ask here and someone can answer too :2smile

i personal have a question, u know how ayu sings "boku" and "kimi" in her lyrics, i learned from japanese class that those are used by male...i wonder why is ayu putting them in her songs?

anybody knows?

[Yuki]

Possibly from a males point of view.
She does mention that she writes songs from her friends experiences and I know we all have guy friends.

ive been thinking about that a lot lately also

[mimika]

also..i dun think ayu is the only female singer that uses "kimi" in her lyrics..a lot other does that too....do they all write about their friend's experiences???

hmm. im not sure, i had only heard boku was used by men. she uses that alot so maybe it is because of her friends' experiences

[Yuki]

That's what I say yvette.. :blink

[LX Ayu]

There was a discussion about this at another forum... let me dig it up...

"--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Sven!

Denion says too much... I am pretty pony~pretty pony~pretty pony~ but I ain't fluent! I actually can't help you as much as the site and stuff but I can tell you pretty pony~pretty pony~pretty pony~ pro-nouns aren't as simple as English.

You are right BOKU is used by males more commonly and KIMI (meaning you) as well. There are certain words that only males should be saying and only females should be saying. Though in this modern world it is not as simple as that. Some females say 'BOKU' or even 'ORE' (both meaning I or Me) and 'WATASHI' is at times used by males even though females use it more. Though 'WATASHI' is used as the translation of 'I' in many forign countries as that makes it easier for ppl to get/understand...

Singers like ayu always change the way of saying 'I' and 'You' in a song... it makes the song interesting. It also adds character as by using a different 'I' in a song allows a listener to understand that the narrator of the song is a male character BUT at times in a song 'BOKU' is used as 'I' but 'Anata' is used to adress 'You'.

Yup it gets pretty complicated and I dun' think I made the answer any clearer... SORRY!
What is the poiny of me?! Anyhow, take this advice don't get bogged down by the 'you's' and 'I's' in a song. It just makes it harder to enjoy the song!

I actually dun quite get what you are confused about so if you can actually make it a question I can anaswer then maybe i can REALLY help. Being pretty pony~pretty pony~pretty pony~ it is hard to think what happenes in a non-pretty pony~pretty pony~pretty pony~ mind. So yeah... sorry!

P.S. I like your pic of the dude with the Ayu logo and 'evolution' star in the background. You made it right/ It looks cool!"

There you go... or this was a post before...

"I think something is wrong with your book Sven cause that just sounds wierd. The only differences that I have seen in all the places that I have looked at for the various forms of "you" are in their connotation for associating some kind of superiority or inferiority level of the speaker to the person being spoken to. In addition, I have been watching japanese drama shows as well as HEY HEY HEY Music champ on the International channel in the states, and I can say that I haven't observed any preference of a gender for using a particular form of "you". Check out www.japanese-online.com for info on the various forms of "you". Actually one of the links on this particular page talks extensively about using the various forms of "you", but I forget which link was the one. "

Does that help any?

[isaac hiew]

I think it's the way to just fill in the rhythm...... imagine what will happens if I swap "kimi" with anata in "TO BE"???

[rainbow_momiji™]

hmm i suppose, i dont really mind what she says ^^

[mimika]

datz really complicated..haha..thx lx

i really wanna improve my japanese

it doesnt really make a difference to me because in both english and spanish, there is no female/male form of I, so in my brain, boku and watashi and kimi are just I.

[Rickumi]

Originally Posted by y2687

it doesnt really make a difference to me because in both english and spanish, there is no female/male form of I, so in my brain, boku and watashi and kimi are just I.

lol,yeah!!

i was just thinking about it because i haveheard about this strange(fe)male words...

[imagina12y]

lots of female singers use boku...off the top of my head i can think of rina aiuchi in RUN UP and van tomiko in deep forest using "bokutachi" [us]...a friend of mine said it was because the words have become pretty universal...not that theyre trying to be guys or special or anything

[evolution]

i think that when she use boku...she is trying to project a stronger more adventurous self...
when she use kimi, it;s more of a weaker personality...
anata is neutral to some extent i think

take a look at her lyrics and u will understand

[appears]

by changing from boku to atashi throughout her songs i think it gives a more universal feeling to the fans because both genders are able to relate through the lyrics...

[mimika]

how does atashi differ from watashi???

[appears]

Originally posted by mimika
how does atashi differ from watashi???

atashi [more formal - atakushi] is used by girls... like the way boys use boku / ore...

ayu never used to use atashi.. she first started it with [I am...] u can hear her use it in [I am...] [Free & Easy] [still alone] etc...

[Watashi]

Well, my japanese techer said that it an be used by women too, just its informal...yeah...she also taught me some cool karate stuff, but hey.

[nmskalmn]

Check out this site:

http://www.ling.ohio-state.edu/~gins...oba.html#intro

3. Words for Self and Others

Here is one of the most clear-cut differences between the way men and women speak.

* WORDS FOR SELF ("I" words)
o Words used by women only
+ あたし (atashi)
+ あたくし (atakushi)
o Words used by men only
+ おれ (ore)
+ ぼく (boku)
School boys use this almost exclusively. It's considered somewhat boyish and less vulgar than "ore," above.
+ わし (washi)
Uused mostly by older men. Some (very) old women and women in some dialects also use this.
o Words more commonly used by women
+ わたし (watashi)
This word is the standard in everyday polite speech, but in informal speech using this too often sounds feminine. Older men use this more often than younger ones: younger men tend to alternate between "boku" and "ore" in informal speech.
* WORDS FOR SECOND PERSON ("you" words)
o Words used by men only
This category consists mostly of very rough speech, which is considered inappropriate for women.
+ てめえ (temee)
Men usually say this when they're PO'd.
+ きさま (kisama)
This is pretty darn rough speech. This is also what police yell at bad guys. You don't want to be referred to like this by a cop.
o Words more commonly used by men
+ おまえ (omae)
This sounds pretty masculine, but women do sometimes say it. "Omee" is said in many dialects, including Kansai, and sounds even more masculine.
+ きみ (kimi)
Usually used by men to adress inferior people, like lower classmen, subordinates at work, and wives (hey, I didn't make the rules up!) Sometimes used by women, especially grade school teachers, where it seems like everyone is XX-kun or "kimi."
o Words more commonly used by women
+ あなた (anata)
This is common in polite language, but in informal speech ends up sounding kind of feminine. Possibly what puts it over the edge is the fact that women often use this to address their spouse/boyfriend.
+ あんた (anta)
Kind of an informal version of "anata." It can seem rude, which makes it a bit iffy as a feminine word. Also, "Anta" is the usual word used in a lot of dialects, but since even in those dialects that I know of where they use "anta," men also say "omae," this one seems to lean towards the feminine side.
* WORDS FOR THIRD PERSON ("he/she/it")
o words used more often by men
+ あいつ (aitsu)
This is the only word that comes to mind for this category, along with こいつ (koitsu) and そいつ (soitsu). These words are considered vulgar, especially when used to refer to people: vulgarity is usually reserved for men in Japan.

[mimika]

i wonder....why would there be sooooo many different ways of saying just "I" and "you" in one single language!!!