Homepage of Wes Robertson - Japanese Sociolinguist @ Macquarie University
Sometimes on this blog, I explain Japanese wordplay in lyrics. Like in extreme metal songs, or vocaloid songs specifically called “wordplay”. And as a result, sometimes people ask me to do more of this. Here’s an example of that happening in real life! So let’s do it again! The people above are specifically asking me Continue reading "Explaining Minihen"
And it’s time for the seventh Japanese slang review of 2026 (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, looking at what they mean, how they are used, and where they came from. Sources and definitions for the terms Continue reading "Japanese Slang Review – July 2026"
And it’s time for the sixth Japanese slang review of 2026 (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, looking at what they mean, how they are used, and where they came from. Sources and definitions for the terms Continue reading "Japanese Slang Review – June 2026"
If you’ve been reading my monthly slang reviews, you’re probably no stranger to the kuriman community. I’ve mentioned this group of linguistic innovators multiple times across my explanations of terms like 全ア, モロチン, and だ㌔, but presenting these as individual words has always been a bit of a mistake. While these are, in theory, distinct Continue reading "An Introduction to Kurimango"
And it’s time for the fifth Japanese slang review of 2026 (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, looking at what they mean, how they are used, and where they came from. Sources and definitions for the terms Continue reading "Japanese Slang Review – May 2026"
And it’s time for the fourth Japanese slang review of 2026 (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, looking at what they mean, how they are used, and where they came from. Sources and definitions for the terms Continue reading "Japanese Slang Review – April 2026"
Did you know that I don’t know everything there is to know about Japanese? I know, I’m surprised too. They actually let people get PhDs without checking if they know everything there is to know these days, what a world! Here’s another secret: if I don’t write things down, I sometimes forget them. Another unconscionable Continue reading "Five Things I Recently Learned About Japanese: Episode 10"
And it’s time for the third Japanese slang review of 2026 (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, looking at what they mean, how they are used, and where they came from. Sources and definitions for the terms Continue reading "Japanese Slang Review – March 2026"
And it’s time for the second Japanese slang review of 2026 (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, looking at what they mean, how they are used, and where they came from. Sources and definitions for the terms Continue reading "Japanese Slang Review – February 2026"
A few weeks ago, I created a video explaining the wordplay in the Japanese vocaloid song こんなパーティ二人で抜け出せるのか. You can watch it right under this sentence! In the comments to this video, some people also requested that I do a similar breakdown of an even more complex song: 言葉遊び by DJ ァネイロ using the vocaloid Yi Continue reading "Explaining the Wordplay in the Song 言葉遊び"