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It’s a slow news week, so here’s the second part of our 博多弁講座 (hakataben kouza).
This time, we look at the word “けん” (ken).
This word is the Hakata-ben equivalent of the word から (kara) or ので (node), meaning “so” or “therefore”. Of course, as it’s 方言 (hougen, or regional dialect), it’s a lot less formal than “therefore”.
An example:
Standard Japanese: 5年も仕事をしていないので、雇ってくれませんか？
go-nen mo shigoto o shiteinai node, yatotte kuremasen ka?
I haven’t had a job in 5 years, so would you hire me?
In Hakata ben, this becomes:
5年も仕事してないけん、雇ってくれんと？
Go-nen mo shigoto shite nai ken, yatotte kuren to?
In this example, “ので” is simply replaced with “けん”.
“けん” is also often used together with the verb “だ” (sometimes changed to “や”), as “だけん” or “やけん”. This takes the place of the standard “だから” (dakara). “やけん” is more informal than “だけん”.
Standard Japanese: ズボンは黒ですから、シャツはどの色でも合うよ。
Zubon wa kuro desu kara, shatsu wa dono iro demo au yo.
It’s a black shirt, so any color of pants will match.
In Hakata ben, this becomes:
ズボンは黒やけん、シャツはどの色でも合うったい。
Zubon wa kuro yaken, shatsu wa dono iro demo au ttai.
Finally, “やけん” or “だけん” can also be used to replace “だから” in it’s other meaning: when someone misunderstands you, and you want to sound exasperated when you correct them:
エイさん：金曜日が30歳の誕生日ったい。
ビーさん：えぇ、もう40歳と？
エイさん：だけん30歳って言ってるやろうが！
A-san: Kinyoubi ga san-jussai no tanjoubi ttai.
B-san: Ee, mou yon-jussai to?
A-san: Daken san-jussai tte yutteru yarou ga!
A: It’s my 30th birthday this Friday.
B: Wow, you’re 40 already?
A: I said 30, dumbass!
Notice that there isn’t really a direct translation for the Japanese “だけん” or “だから” in the last sentence – in English, it would most likely be conveyed just through tone of voice, or of course the word dumbass…
