Awkward Corrections
Sometimes I get into trouble for using a word that popped up in my dictionary. Many of you have had similar experiences, I’m sure. Idiomatically it may hold another meaning. Or perhaps it’s archaic language. Or it could be recycled outdated language that has taken on a new meaning in the vernacular. Any way you look at it, cross referenced lookups are a good thing. Cover your butt before you say something awkward.
This comes to mind today since I tried to explain why, in academic English writing, we do not use “Jesus Christ!” as an interjection, exclamation, or expressive expletive. I don’t know if my student wrote it or if their teacher wrote it in her stead, but I do know that it’s in the dictionary. They have fallen into the same snare that I do on occasion. Both “Jesus Christ!” and “Oh my God!” are popular in the writing here. Actually, in katakana English they’re used in conversations that can be overheard by foreign people. I can only assume that taking the Lord’s name in vain in academic or semi-formal English is the result of a strange act of incidental corroboration between Hollywood, comedians who use foreign bits and pieces in their routines*, and the goobers who write the dictionaries.
It’s really odd how Japanese language works with politeness levels, gendered speech patterns, fixed (set) phrases and the like, but lacks any genuinely “bad” or “curse” words in the Western meaning. Similarly, it’s strange how English language operates on the same basic diction for most settings (verbs and whatnot are the same) regardless of formality – adjusted by body language and tone, there are rude words to be avoided, and an assortment of relatively fluid set interactions, and yet we distinguish between academic writing and the common tongue so clearly.
The differentiation between acceptable and unacceptable language is different in Japanese and in English. Is it because in Japanese you worry more about to whom you’re speaking, whereas in English the formality comes primarily from the purpose of the piece / setting in which it is to be said? I dunno. In Japan, at a formal dinner the rules of seniority guide the usage of verbs. Honorifics and humble forms, polite and casual can be mixed in the conversation. In English, I feel like at a formal dinner everyone’s level of conversation rises. In the same way, at a diner everyone’s formality drops and we’re all just folk. It is curious indeed. But I obviously find these things entertaining. Correcting them is challenging at times, but it’s fun to reflect upon it all. Anybody got any insights?
*Puchi Bruce, I’m looking at you and your ilk, bro. On the other hand, I’m relieved you didn’t introduce your namesake’s real catchphrase. Would have been hilarious to correct, but oh-so-wrong.
