Friday, February 22, 2008
How to do it in Japanese
A couple of examples of how I've been employing my recently-certified nihongo competence for the greater good.
First couple of examples are from my Friday night evening class:
#1 Dealing with cultural differences
Sensei: Hawaii de, snorkel o shite, kujira o mita.
Me: Oishisou datta?
Teacher: In Hawaii, I went snorkeling and saw a whale.
Me: Did it look delicious?
#2 Proving that I'm more than just a gaijin tourist at the Sumo
Me: Haru basho wa sugoi tanoshimi na... nan to iu... aitsu... Tokitsukaze no heya no rikishi ga deru to, "TOKITAIZAN!!!" o yondari, aita bin o nagetari suru zo.
Me: I'm really looking forward to the Spring sumo tournament. When wrestlers from the Tokitsukaze stable appear, I'm going to shout "TOKITAIZAN!!!" and throw empty beer bottles (and such activities.)
***
Note for Tricky: I managed to use the -tari -tari suru form, even though I agree with you that it's usually absolutely useless.
Dealing with gaps in knowledge
Sensei: Kono kanji no hatsuon wa... Okinawa no o-sake.
Me: Hebi no oshiko?
Teacher: The pronunciation for this kanji is... Okinawan alcohol. (meaning "mori")
Me: Snake's pee?
***
Fortunately, my Japanese teacher is blessed with a sense of humour similar to my own.
Expressing disagreement
This one was a cracker: the very chatty English teacher at one of my elementary schools showed me her cute pencil case, with a picture of an insect on it.
Me: Uwa! Gokiburi!
She: Gokiburi chau! Suzu-mushi ya!
Me: Goki ya!
She: Suzu-mushi!
Me: Suzu-goki!
Me: Argh! A cockroach!
She: It's not a cockroach! It's a bell insect!
Me: Cockroach!
She: Bell insect!
Me: Bell cockroach!
First couple of examples are from my Friday night evening class:
#1 Dealing with cultural differences
Sensei: Hawaii de, snorkel o shite, kujira o mita.
Me: Oishisou datta?
Teacher: In Hawaii, I went snorkeling and saw a whale.
Me: Did it look delicious?
#2 Proving that I'm more than just a gaijin tourist at the Sumo
Me: Haru basho wa sugoi tanoshimi na... nan to iu... aitsu... Tokitsukaze no heya no rikishi ga deru to, "TOKITAIZAN!!!" o yondari, aita bin o nagetari suru zo.
Me: I'm really looking forward to the Spring sumo tournament. When wrestlers from the Tokitsukaze stable appear, I'm going to shout "TOKITAIZAN!!!" and throw empty beer bottles (and such activities.)
***
Note for Tricky: I managed to use the -tari -tari suru form, even though I agree with you that it's usually absolutely useless.
Dealing with gaps in knowledge
Sensei: Kono kanji no hatsuon wa... Okinawa no o-sake.
Me: Hebi no oshiko?
Teacher: The pronunciation for this kanji is... Okinawan alcohol. (meaning "mori")
Me: Snake's pee?
***
Fortunately, my Japanese teacher is blessed with a sense of humour similar to my own.
Expressing disagreement
This one was a cracker: the very chatty English teacher at one of my elementary schools showed me her cute pencil case, with a picture of an insect on it.
Me: Uwa! Gokiburi!
She: Gokiburi chau! Suzu-mushi ya!
Me: Goki ya!
She: Suzu-mushi!
Me: Suzu-goki!
Me: Argh! A cockroach!
She: It's not a cockroach! It's a bell insect!
Me: Cockroach!
She: Bell insect!
Me: Bell cockroach!
