Dr. Wes Robertson
@scriptingjapan.bsky.social
Chair of Languages & Cultures @ Macquarie University. Sociolinguist of Japanese. Lingua Brutallica co-host. Studies Japanese script, media, language, and metal. 日本語の文字やメタル や翻訳を研究する社会言語学者. He/Him.
https://wesleycrobertson.wordpress.com
https://wesleycrobertson.wordpress.com
This kanji may, just perhaps, have too many variants.
November 10, 2025 at 11:32 PM
This kanji may, just perhaps, have too many variants.
This edit of Sohei Kamiya saying the government needs to reduce wheat-based products (don't ask) has been going viral on Japanese twitter
November 10, 2025 at 8:45 PM
This edit of Sohei Kamiya saying the government needs to reduce wheat-based products (don't ask) has been going viral on Japanese twitter
Reposted by Dr. Wes Robertson
Reposted by Dr. Wes Robertson
179k views in 24 hours for a 7 second video really keeps up the motivation to make long form content 😢😭
November 8, 2025 at 2:31 AM
179k views in 24 hours for a 7 second video really keeps up the motivation to make long form content 😢😭
Reposted by Dr. Wes Robertson
ワープわくわく!!
November 6, 2025 at 5:48 PM
ワープわくわく!!
Ever been so annoyed you made a video?
November 7, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Ever been so annoyed you made a video?
While the kanji in this book are sometimes painful (get it? yuk yuk yuk) this is a fascinating read if you're a kanji マニアック
November 6, 2025 at 10:51 PM
While the kanji in this book are sometimes painful (get it? yuk yuk yuk) this is a fascinating read if you're a kanji マニアック
Gunna scream gunna cry
November 6, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Gunna scream gunna cry
Why Japan car front bonnet but car back boot? Isn't that odd? Someone should look into that.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak3v...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak3v...
Why Japan car front bonnet but car back boot? Isn't that odd? Someone should look into that.
YouTube video by Scripting Japan
www.youtube.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Why Japan car front bonnet but car back boot? Isn't that odd? Someone should look into that.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak3v...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak3v...
Person involved with a game spelled Cthulhu complains about the Japanese writing system
November 6, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Person involved with a game spelled Cthulhu complains about the Japanese writing system
Reposted by Dr. Wes Robertson
Benesse's annual ranking of popular baby names is out. 碧 (Ao) is top again for boys, while 翠 (Sui), which was 3rd last year, is top for girls. Follow the link to see the full top 100. st.benesse.ne.jp/ninshin/name/
November 6, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Benesse's annual ranking of popular baby names is out. 碧 (Ao) is top again for boys, while 翠 (Sui), which was 3rd last year, is top for girls. Follow the link to see the full top 100. st.benesse.ne.jp/ninshin/name/
We don't actually have a functioning definition for "word" in linguistics which is uncontested, but arguably the first word is just "You" or "Lord". You could argue for "Unc" even.
This is a mistranslation. The word corresponding to "May" is nowhere near the start of the poem, but "your" is substantially worse, as it is confusing the noun きみ ("my lord", "the emperor") with a homophonic pronoun used between lovers.
November 5, 2025 at 10:37 PM
We don't actually have a functioning definition for "word" in linguistics which is uncontested, but arguably the first word is just "You" or "Lord". You could argue for "Unc" even.
No way I don't believe it
November 5, 2025 at 8:11 AM
No way I don't believe it
Reposted by Dr. Wes Robertson
Good things are possible and we don’t have to settle.
November 5, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Good things are possible and we don’t have to settle.
For eight years now, I keep being surprised at how students will just assume a Japanese person's gender based on last name alone.
November 5, 2025 at 5:07 AM
For eight years now, I keep being surprised at how students will just assume a Japanese person's gender based on last name alone.
Multilingualism as the keystone to democratic action.
Wait, so how many languages did Mamdani do campaign ads in, and this has got to be some kind of record, and the only reason that people aren't making more of a big deal about this is the racism, presumably?
I keep seeing -- more languages -- and it's really, really impressive tbh
I keep seeing -- more languages -- and it's really, really impressive tbh
November 5, 2025 at 4:54 AM
Multilingualism as the keystone to democratic action.
15k on YouTube! Wheeee
November 2, 2025 at 8:51 PM
15k on YouTube! Wheeee
Reposted by Dr. Wes Robertson
My book comes out today! And it's reasonably priced! Whoooooooooooo! It's about linguistics! It's about extreme metal! It's about the Asia Pacific and flows of global subcultures! I'm really proud of it and I hope you all enjoy.
November 1, 2025 at 2:30 AM
My book comes out today! And it's reasonably priced! Whoooooooooooo! It's about linguistics! It's about extreme metal! It's about the Asia Pacific and flows of global subcultures! I'm really proud of it and I hope you all enjoy.
My book comes out today! And it's reasonably priced! Whoooooooooooo! It's about linguistics! It's about extreme metal! It's about the Asia Pacific and flows of global subcultures! I'm really proud of it and I hope you all enjoy.
November 1, 2025 at 2:30 AM
My book comes out today! And it's reasonably priced! Whoooooooooooo! It's about linguistics! It's about extreme metal! It's about the Asia Pacific and flows of global subcultures! I'm really proud of it and I hope you all enjoy.
Reposted by Dr. Wes Robertson
It's time for the SPOOKY October #Japanese slang review. Click the link below to learn about:
生主
うにお願いします
ギョプる
チョリーッス
できるとできないの間に
ガチ恋距離
つよつよ
ぎりはっぴー
なめぷ
リリイベ
wesleycrobertson.wordpress.com/2025/10/31/j...
生主
うにお願いします
ギョプる
チョリーッス
できるとできないの間に
ガチ恋距離
つよつよ
ぎりはっぴー
なめぷ
リリイベ
wesleycrobertson.wordpress.com/2025/10/31/j...
Japanese Slang Review – October 2025
And it’s time for the tenth Japanese slang review of 2025 (see all prior posts here)! In these posts I deep dive into the world of Japanese terms you probably won’t see in a textbook, l…
wesleycrobertson.wordpress.com
October 30, 2025 at 9:07 PM
It's time for the SPOOKY October #Japanese slang review. Click the link below to learn about:
生主
うにお願いします
ギョプる
チョリーッス
できるとできないの間に
ガチ恋距離
つよつよ
ぎりはっぴー
なめぷ
リリイベ
wesleycrobertson.wordpress.com/2025/10/31/j...
生主
うにお願いします
ギョプる
チョリーッス
できるとできないの間に
ガチ恋距離
つよつよ
ぎりはっぴー
なめぷ
リリイベ
wesleycrobertson.wordpress.com/2025/10/31/j...
Reposted by Dr. Wes Robertson
Is social media dying? How much has Twitter changed as it became X? Which party now dominates the conversation?
Using nationally representative ANES data from 2020 & 2024, I map how the U.S. social media landscape has transformed.
Here are the key take-aways 🧵
arxiv.org/abs/2510.25417
Using nationally representative ANES data from 2020 & 2024, I map how the U.S. social media landscape has transformed.
Here are the key take-aways 🧵
arxiv.org/abs/2510.25417
October 30, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Is social media dying? How much has Twitter changed as it became X? Which party now dominates the conversation?
Using nationally representative ANES data from 2020 & 2024, I map how the U.S. social media landscape has transformed.
Here are the key take-aways 🧵
arxiv.org/abs/2510.25417
Using nationally representative ANES data from 2020 & 2024, I map how the U.S. social media landscape has transformed.
Here are the key take-aways 🧵
arxiv.org/abs/2510.25417
Reposted by Dr. Wes Robertson
Nagasaki’s mayor on Thursday condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s order to restart nuclear tests, calling it “absolutely unacceptable.”
Nagasaki mayor condemns Trump’s nuclear test order
The U.S. president had instructed the Defense Department to restart nuclear testing because of other countries’ testing programs.
ebx.sh
October 31, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Nagasaki’s mayor on Thursday condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s order to restart nuclear tests, calling it “absolutely unacceptable.”