Are first, second, and third person in Japanese all the same as in English?


Are first, second, and third person nominals in Japanese used in the same way
as in English? What should English speakers keep in mind when considering the
three persons in Japanese?

Particularly for the second person, English _you_ is used to directly address
someone, but in Japanese, we are taught to address someone by their name,
which is third person. Does this make any sense? Does it affect grammar in
anyway?

Also, supposing we're talking to Mr. Yamada, and we want to ask him what he
wants to do. Which of the following would be correct?

> [山田]{やまだ}さんは何{なに}がしたいですか？  
>  山田さんは何をしたがっていますか？




I would argue that there is a correspondence between the two languages with
all three viewpoints. There are pronouns that are commonly used for the first,
second, and third person just like in English; however, there is a bit of a
cultural difference on when it is appropriate to address someone by name or a
more informal second-person pronoun like "you".

Addressing someone by name doesn't necessarily mean you are talking in the
third person. For example, "Mr. Yamada, what would you like to do?" isn't a
third person question, you're just being polite by addressing them by name.

Of your two examples, I think the first one is closer.

> 山田さんは何をしたいですか。

山田さん knows what he wants to do, so したい is appropriate. The second sentence
reads more as if you are asking someone else what 山田さん wants to do.




I would argue that there is a correspondence between the two languages with
all three viewpoints. There are pronouns that are commonly used for the first,
second, and third person just like in English; however, there is a bit of a
cultural difference on when it is appropriate to address someone by name or a
more informal second-person pronoun like "you".

Addressing someone by name doesn't necessarily mean you are talking in the
third person. For example, "Mr. Yamada, what would you like to do?" isn't a
third person question, you're just being polite by addressing them by name.

Of your two examples, I think the first one is closer.

> 山田さんは何をしたいですか。

山田さん knows what he wants to do, so したい is appropriate. The second sentence
reads more as if you are asking someone else what 山田さん wants to do.

