nipponDAZE | It's Funny, Really

It's Funny, Really

Satoko's comment on my previous post got me thinking about how funny learning a language can be. Why only tonight I told my son (who studies Japanese with me) "After eating, you must wash the monkeys." (食べた後で、さるを洗わなければなりません。) I was just trying to get him to wash the dishes　（さら）。

We delight in listening to our children learning to speak; it reminds us of our own childhoods when we sang "Hark, the hairy (herald) angels sing." and wondered why we lived in a "doggy dog (dog eat dog) world". Likewise, one of the pleasures of living in Japan is reawakening the imagination to the nonsensical possibilities of English. We become more aware of language.

Humorous examples of English abound in Japan because everyone there studies it. The national curriculum specifies that every Japanese student study a foreign language for six years before graduating high school, and English is almost universally the choice. Compare that to America, where only college-bound students are required to study a foreign language and then only for two years (although even that depends on the school, since we have no national standard).

Well it's time to even up the score. If we learn to laugh at our mistakes, we won't be so afraid of making them. If you're reading this blog, chances are you've studied Japanese. What have you said that didn't quite come out right? that was downright laughable? Or, for you native Japanese speakers, has anything a foreigner tried to say in Japanese made you chuckle? I'll start you off with some examples.

I still laugh whenever I think of Sabine's story where she went around the staff room saying "I'm smart" (あたまがいい。）when she was trying to say "I have a headache." (あたまがいたい。）(At least I thought this was Sabine's story. Now I can't find it. If this was your story, let me know so I can link to it.)
Then there's the classic. "Stop staring at me. I'm a carrot, too!" (私もにんじんです。）He meant "I'm a human being, too." (私もにんげんです。)
Speaking of vegetables, I once asked a teacher what he was doing for eggplant vacation （なすやすみ). I meant, summer vacation (なつやすみ). I have a difficult time hearing the difference between つ and す. At least I've been able to remember the word for eggplant ever since.

Posted by M Sinclair Stevens
February 27, 2004

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Thanks a lot. You answered my last question so nicely that I could get to the point. 「秋葉原で買いました。さる洗い機。」 “You mean a DISHWASHER?” You are such a great teacher!

Comment by: Satoko. Posted February 28, 2004 11:20 AM.

Postscript. But I can't help but be amused your son is so busy having to wash not only the dishes but the monkeys as well!

Comment by: Satoko. Posted February 28, 2004 07:47 PM.

If only I could get him to wash the dishes. But like most mothers, I'm the one who ends up doing the dishes. I wish I could go to Akihabara and get a monkey-washer. I mean a dishwasher.

Comment by: mss. Posted February 28, 2004 08:31 PM.

Once, I went into a restaurant and tried to order katsudon, which is of course essentially breaded pork in a bowl of rice. Unfortunately I made the mistake of ordering ketsudon instead. Katsu is the pork part of katsudon, and don is the bowl of rice part, and ketsu means butt, so as you might expect the poor waitress was quite thoroughly scandalized.

And another one, but I think a story that everyone has: Once, my Japanese teacher was showing me pictures of his kids, and meaning to say kawaii, which means cute, I said kowaii, which means scary. Of course he explained this to me but I pretended like I did it on purpose, maybe as a joke.

Comment by: donkeymon. Posted March 19, 2004 02:41 AM.

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