My buddy Chuck (also known as Nicole) has relaunched her site, freeing her from that hideous monstrosity known as iWeb once and for all. I congratulate her on her newfound freedom, and on her new site. Please stop by NicoleCleary.com and check her out. But, like I’ve said many times before, watch out – she bites (with sarcasm). 
In case you’ve noticed strange site behavior for the last couple of hours, I wanted to let you know that I’ve just updated to WordPress 2.2. I’ll likely upgrade to the newest version of my theme soon, as well. Pardon any hiccups until I’m done rearranging. Thanks.
I like Japanese potstickers. (That’s 餃子 or ギョウザ or gyoza, guys.) I also like potato chips. (Or glazed crisps or whatever you want to call them.) But I was surprised to find them both in the same package: O’Zack ピリ辛餃子. The line on the front of the package reads 「ジューシーな肉汁感とにんにくのうまみ」or “Deliciousness of garlic and the sensation of meat juices.” (I think.) The back of the package says 「ジューシーな肉汁感とタレの風味をベースに、にんにくのうまみと唐がらしの辛みをさかせたおいしさが特徴です。」or “By combining a base of meat broth and (gyoza) sauce flavorings and the tastes of garlic and peppers*, the distinctive deliciousness was made to blossom.” *Peppers means capsicums like chili peppers, not bell peppers. Fun. Read more…
Culinary, Customary Drivel, Media, Photos, Unsolicited Commentary, 日本語
One-liner jokes do not translate well. In fact, I’d say that even when they’re heard in their native language they still only get a 50 or 60% laugh return. Having said that, I’m going to try and translate a few. Why? Because it’s hard for me. And will make me giggle in the process, if nobody else. I present some of Jack Handey’s “Deep Thoughts,” translated into Japanese. PLEASE point out any and all errors, and don’t be shy about suggesting corrections for nuance, syntax, etc. I want to make them quality quotes. I feel like this is a (questionable) cultural gift we can bestow upon Japan. Plus, I’m sure I can use it in a class somehow.
To quickly preface these jokes, I’ll just say that they are supposed to be “deep thoughts.” These thoughts are anything but deep, and that is where the humor is. They are meant to be absurd, and in my opinion, some are funny and some are rather lousy. Anyway, here goes nothing. Read more…
Japanese vagueness is NOT found in formulaic greetings!! I just finished the monthly test for the 6th (and final) book in the advanced Japanese language series offered to JETs by CLAIR. The test went by pretty quickly, mostly due to the fact that no writing was necessary. It was straight multiple choice. One thing that caught my attention was the content of the blurbs about which we had to answer questions. This happens frequently. This time, I decided to post about it.
よく「日本人はあいまいだ」と言われる。本当にそうだろうか。
「お元気ですか」と聞かれても、「最近どうですか」、「仕事は」、「もうけは」と聞かれても、返事のほとんどは「まあまあです」であるというのだ。「まあまあ」は確かにはっきりしない。とりあえず悪くはないようだが、どのぐらい満足しているのか、質問したほうにはよくわからない。
でもこの「まあまあ」に「あいまいだ」と注目するのは外国人だけである。日本人はそれほど気にはとめない。日本人にはすでに「まあまあ」の意味が「はっきり」わかっているのである。日本人にとってこれらの質問は、形式的なあいさつであり、こまかく答えるひつようはなく、また反対に細かく聞くのもスマートではないのである。プライバシーというほどの考えはないが細かく答える義務はないと考えるのだ。また、ここには日本人の一つの価値観を見ることもできる。多くの日本人は「そう簡単に最高と言うべきではなく、上には上がある」と考えることを「最高」だとしているのである。
そして、同じようなことは他の国の人たちにも見られるではないか。英語でも「How are you?」に対して「Not so bad.」とか、「Quite good.」とか言ったりする。あいまいなのは、その文化に対してそう思う人のりかいがあいまいなのではないだろうか。**Some kanji were intentionally avoided due to test questions that I don’t want to blow. It’s merely the content that I want to discuss.**
I think it’s kind of ridiculous to charge that foreign people believe Japanese people to be vague due to their habitual greetings. As the author mentions, greetings are sort of formulaic and ritualistic in other cultures too. That’s why it’s funny to answer the telemarketer seriously. (“Hi, Mr. ALT, how are you doing today?” “Well, I’ve got a raging headache, my landlord won’t stop complaining about garbage separation policies, my kids don’t know my name, I’m thousands of dollars away from home, blah blah blah blah blah make up more sob story material here.”) You get the picture. If you don’t, call my uncle. He’s good at this joke – uses a really whiny voice, too. My point is that we say “fine” or “doing well” or whatever phrase we throw out there – whether or not it’s true, most of the time. It’s mistaken to claim that greetings are being used by foreigners who are building their “Japanese people are vague” cases. I think there are some concrete examples. (Try the foreign media’s coverage of Mr. Koizumi and now Mr. Abe’s treatment of the Yasukuni shrine issue. Or the admittedly really warped coverage of Mr. Abe and the comfort women. The problem with these examples, which probably really do contribute to this perceived air of vagueness, is that they have very little to do with Japanese character and a lot to do with thin-ice politics. I think we’d find equally mystifying positions amongst their American [or pick another nationality and insert it here] counterparts on certain issues, no?) It’s true that Japanese people are sometimes referred to as being vague or indirect. I just think this blurb is pretty far off the mark by suggesting greetings as a case in point. I submit that in most cases where Japanese people are considered vague, it’s more of a cultural misunderstanding. I tell other students of Japanese sometimes that frequently what you don’t say in Japanese can be more important that what you do say. If you think Japanese people are vague, can you come up with a better example?
Bottom line: Formulaic greetings cannot be used as an example of evidence for why foreign people think that Japanese people are vague. It’s a mislead notion. 
ポイント： 形式的な挨拶は、「日本人があいまいだ」と外国人が考えている証明にはならない。つまり、誤解された概念でしょう。
There comes a time for every foreigner in Japan when they run headlong into an existential crisis primarily concerned with the popularity of an unlikely song choice from overseas. Ok, that might be a bit of an overstatement. But you’ve got to admit – hearing John Denver in Japanese is a bit odd at first. Thanks to the Studio Ghibli film 「耳をすませば」 (titled Whisper of the Heart in English), it’s available. I thought it would be fun to do a quick translation comparison. I am pretty sure you’ve heard the John Denver version. In case you’re not so lucky, here’s your chance to hear it in Japanese. The short version, anyway, cause that’s the one I like better.
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To trip the light fantastic and check out the re-translation of the lyrics, click the read more link. Read more…
