Introductions and grammar


I'm learning how to introduce myself and am trying to figure out the basic
grammar. I know that in Japanese the subject is often left off if it's clear
what is being spoken of. I'm not too sure, however, whether it's unambiguous
in this instance - do I need the subject for '(Senkou wa) bungaku to kogaku
desu'? Here is my passage:

> わたし の なまえ は ハリエット です。二十 さい です。さんねんせい です。ぶんがく と こがく です。しゅっしん が オｸランド です。

  1. Is 'bungaku' correct for an English major, or should I say 'eigo'? Does 'eigo' make it sound like I'm studying English linguistics / English as a second language?
  2. Can I say 'bungaku to kogaku sannensei desu', or do I need to have separate clauses for my year and major?
  3. Is 'shusshin ga okurando desu' correct? I've never encountered this phrase before now, when I was trying to find a translation for 'My hometown is Auckland'.




There's a lot of small questions in there. I will start with the easiest ones.

For how to get your place name right in Katakana, use wikipedia (go to English
wikipedia, find word your know, switch to 日本語 =
<http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AF%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89_(%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B8%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89)>
--> オークランド

I would probably say オークランド[出身]{しゅっしん}です but I think オークランドが出身 is
grammatically fine.

Regarding "さんねんせい です。ぶんがく と こがく です", there are several questions / problems
here. "English" if that means English literature is [英文学]{えいぶんがく} "こがく" would
be archaeology [古学]{こがく} or do you mean engineering [工学]{こうがく}

As a note of caution from someone who did have two majors, that's not very
normal in Japan and will probably just confuse people to the point where you
will need to explain further.

In random speech, 英文学と工学です would be an exceptionally weird sentence meaning
"English literature and Engineering". In the context of introductions at a
university, the following modified version will accomplish something
comprehensible:

> [文学部]{ぶんがくぶ}[英文専攻]{えいぶんせんこう} の三年生です。

One problem is that Japanese undergraduates at most universities don't have
majors per se, they belong to [学部]{がくぶ}'s. If you look that word up, your
dictionary will tell you it means "department" but don't be fooled. It's
closer in meaning to college (i.e. "college of liberal arts"), but its
socially distinct from anything I experienced in the US. Basically, you can
have a major inside of it, but your identity at the university centers on you
being a part of a 学部. For students introductions, everyone tells you their 学部.
You can ask later for the major -- but some students will just repeat their
学部.

Since 学部 are exclusive identities, having two is confusing for them. So if you
present your majors, it's best to start with one and or say something like
[専攻]{せんこう}はふたつ.英文と工学 (presuming you meant engineering?)




There's a lot of small questions in there. I will start with the easiest ones.

For how to get your place name right in Katakana, use wikipedia (go to English
wikipedia, find word your know, switch to 日本語 =
<http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AF%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89_(%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B8%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89)>
--> オークランド

I would probably say オークランド[出身]{しゅっしん}です but I think オークランドが出身 is
grammatically fine.

Regarding "さんねんせい です。ぶんがく と こがく です", there are several questions / problems
here. "English" if that means English literature is [英文学]{えいぶんがく} "こがく" would
be archaeology [古学]{こがく} or do you mean engineering [工学]{こうがく}

As a note of caution from someone who did have two majors, that's not very
normal in Japan and will probably just confuse people to the point where you
will need to explain further.

In random speech, 英文学と工学です would be an exceptionally weird sentence meaning
"English literature and Engineering". In the context of introductions at a
university, the following modified version will accomplish something
comprehensible:

> [文学部]{ぶんがくぶ}[英文専攻]{えいぶんせんこう} の三年生です。

One problem is that Japanese undergraduates at most universities don't have
majors per se, they belong to [学部]{がくぶ}'s. If you look that word up, your
dictionary will tell you it means "department" but don't be fooled. It's
closer in meaning to college (i.e. "college of liberal arts"), but its
socially distinct from anything I experienced in the US. Basically, you can
have a major inside of it, but your identity at the university centers on you
being a part of a 学部. For students introductions, everyone tells you their 学部.
You can ask later for the major -- but some students will just repeat their
学部.

Since 学部 are exclusive identities, having two is confusing for them. So if you
present your majors, it's best to start with one and or say something like
[専攻]{せんこう}はふたつ.英文と工学 (presuming you meant engineering?)

