Repeating words

Japanese people use a lot of repeating words.

We usually use “PERA PERA” which is expressed about speaking foreign language fluency. Only “PERA” doesn’t have any meaning but it has a meaning by repeating.

When I am very happy; I am “UKI UKI” or “WAKU WAKU”. When people are staring at something or someone and we want to tell them not to watch, “JIRO JIRO”.

When we are eating, we say “MOGU MOGU” “MUSYA MUSYA” or “GATSU GATSU”. “MOGU MOGU” and “MUSYA MUSYA” expresses that people eat with great relish. “GATSU GATSU” is used when people eat greedily. When we are getting full, we say our stomachs are “PAN PAN” as we’re touching our tummy.

If a person is very attractive and popular with the opposite sex; he/she is “MOTE MOTE”.

If someone is feeling shy or hesitating, we usually tell them not to be “MOJI MOJI”.

There are so many words in Japan that express the situations or feeling by using repeated words. The mode of expression that seems to be the most abstract might concretely be expressible of the situation.

Spaghetti changed into macaroni in Japan

A big movie star and one of the greatest movie directors, Clint Eastwood, was made famous by playing the lead in “The Dollars Trilogy” directed by Sergio Leone.

“The Dollars Trilogy” was made up of the films “A Fistful of Dollars”, “For a Few Dollars More” and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. Their scores by Ennio Morricone are also famous. Those Western films made in Italy during the 60’s to early 70’s are called “Spaghetti Westerns” in U.S., UK and Italy, but in Japan we call them “Macaroni Westerns”.

Mr. Nagaharu Yodogawa, a famous film critic in Japan, named them “Macaroni Westerns”. He changed the name because spaghetti seemed to be thin and to be poor. According to the Wikipedia, there is also a theory that the movies had no contents, much like macaroni has no contents.

                                                                                  Mr. Nagaharu Yodogawa




If they were made in Japan, would they be called “Sushi westerns”? How about in other countries?: “Curry Westerns”, “Kimchi Westerns”, “Taco Westerns” and “Paella Westerns”.

Japan　　　　　Korea　　　　　Mexico　　　　　Spain

It is fun to imagine each country’s case to me.

Fall is the season to eat

These days, it is getting cold and I feel that fall is coming. In Japan, “Fall” is called “the season to eat.”

A saury, a matsutake mushroom, a Japanese persimmon and a chestnut; these are representative foods of fall and we have more. Is that why we say “Fall is the season to eat”?

We have several stories why people eat a lot in fall. The first one is that fall is the harvest season and people have a boost in their appetite after the hot summer had gone. The second one is that an animal instinct makes people increase their appetite. Before coming winter, animals try to keep nutrients in their bodies to spend the cold season.

Whether these are true or not, autumn is the season for tasting various kinds of food.

After thinking, winter is also a nice season for tasting many kinds of food; blowfish, oysters, codfish, Chinese cabbage and anglerfish.

For me, I have to watch overeating in every season.

A call sound

I think that there are very few people in the world, who are as particular about their cell phone’s call sound as many where Japanese people are. In Japan, all cell phone companies have a service people can choose a call sound. Of course, we ourselves can’t hear the call sound. It’s for a person who calls us. We can choose music or a sound or anything we like from the huge list.

One of my friends chose a song of a small bird. When I am tired it might make me relax. Another friend is choosing and changing music depending on her emotion; Jazz or J-pop sometimes instrumental. I can guess her emotion by the sound; she may be happy, sad or exhausted.

I am in doubt for whom the service is. Is it for a person (A), who chooses a call sound? Or for the other (B), who is listening to a call sound while B is calling? I think it is for A because there are no choices listening to the call sound for B whether B likes the sound or not. I think that this service is for self-satisfaction of A.

By the way, is there any way to stop a cell phone’s call sound change when I go to abroad? Each foreign country has different call sound. People, who called knew that I was abroad at that time by my different call sound, however I hadn’t told them I visited overseas. It often happens when I go to abroad without letting them know. Such is the world.

Japanese emoticon

Thanks for the e-mail, I was glad to hear the news that you got married.

^_^)／▼☆▼＼(^_^)　Toast!!

How is your honeymoon? I believe that you are having a great time with your husband in Hawaii.

(^_-)-☆

Did you go snorkeling and watch many colorful fish in the beautiful ocean?

Like <+))><< , >゜)))彡 or くコ:彡 (The last one is a squid.)

If you didn’t, why don’t you try? It is amazing! d=(^o^)=b

I was sorry that I couldn’t write e-mails for a long time.

m(_ _)m

Because I had been having a huge fight with my husband. If I were a Ninjya I would throw syuriken (throwing stars) and kill him. (－－)/===卍

But I’m not a Ninjya, so I just pinched his cheek.

(^_^)-c<^_^;)

Hey, listen! Last week I lost my winning lotto ticket for

$1 billion(￣○￣;) and I was very upset. (ノ_-。)

But it was found yesterday. ＼(^O^)／

I nearly died until yesterday. ┐('～`;)┌　Phew.

It is almost midnight, I’m sleepy. (ρ_-)zzZ

I will write the next e-mail in 2 weeks time, because I will go to Mexico on a business trip for 10 days.

Until then, see you. (^-^)/~

If I send an e-mail above, can people who are not Japanese read such Japanese emoticons?

I think other countries use such an emoticon like this. :-)

The pictograph direction is different from ours.

If all of the people in the world can understand Japanese emoticons, it would be very helpful to express our feelings to other people.

And I’m writing this composition like this pictograph. φ(.. )

Japanese English

We use Japanese English everyday without knowing that it is not correct English.

For example: shortcake = strawberry layer cake, health meter = (bathroom) scale, dead ball = hit by pitch, hotcake = pancake, gasoline stand = gas station, morning call = wake-up call, order made = tailor made, after service = customer service, free size = one-size-fits-all, key holder = key chain, lifeline = infrastructure like gas, water and electric, volumy = voluminous, free dial = toll-free, etc.

Almost all foreigners who visit Japan may not understand what we say, and they can’t imagine the correct meaning. But we believe we are using correct English and if our Japanese English isn’t understood by them it is because of our bad pronunciation. What we can’t realize is that using Japanese English is only understood by us.

When a big earthquake hits Japan, newscasters read their manuscripts and tell us about the situation of disaster area using “Lifeline” like that “Lifeline was OK” or “There was no prospect of when the Lifeline would resume.” We have been using the word since Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake struck Japan in 1995. Many Japanese trust that newspapers and TV newscasters don’t use such a strange word that only Japanese people understand. That’s why we use Japanese English without a doubt, I think.

Now some of “Japanese English” already had changed to “Complete Japanese”. Many foreigners still get confused by our strange English.

Tarch's New blog

Now I'm learning English in Tokyo.

During my English lessons, teachers correct my writings and give me many advice.

They give me confidence in my English, too.

Some English teachers recommended me to start a blog, but I was afraid to make a blog page because I'm not good at the internet.

Today, one of my English teachers, John made my blog page, so I post my writings that I wrote before.

I hope to improve my English with this blog.

Thank you so much, John!!