Not Planning on Lecturing to the Buddha

Had an interesting meeting today with a professor from University of Tokyo Graduate School of Law. During the meeting, he pulled out a book and asked me if recognized this haiku:

「古池や蛙飛び込む水の音」which translates roughly as:
Old pond
frog jumps in
sound of water

For some reason I didn't recognize it right away, even though I had discussed it with my Japanese teacher last year after seeing it here http://www.languagehat.com/archives/002900.php.

At first I was thinking it might be the haiku about the frog jumping in the water because I recalled the "sound of the water" part, but I got hung up because I was thinking for some reason that 蛙 was dragonfly instead of frog. I'm such an idiot! Anyway, before I could work it out, he explained what it was (although it still wasn't clear to me what the relevance was to the discussion we were having). So basically, I was made to look like the quintessental "dumb foreigner" even though I had seen it before and researched and discussed the meaning on various occasions. Oh well, I guess it's too late now, but it still sticks in my craw.

Anyway, for future reference, the interpretation I find most convincing is rooted in Buddhisim: basically that the old pond corresponds to an eternity of endless space, while the frog jumping in and causing the water to make a sound represents our very brief existence. So I imagine that we're supposed to reflect on the stillness of the water after the little splash is made to put our existence into a larger perspective, that the world will continue after our death and we will have made only a small ripple, if we're lucky. So I'll muse on that for the next few days instead of getting annoyed at how that little scene in the professor's office played out.

In that regard, I guess when I am going to be doing research under this professor later this year, I should expect to just shut up and let him do the talking. So here's an expression for that:

それは釈迦(shaka)に説法(setsuhou)というもの。= teaching something to someone who knows more than you; lit: lecturing to the Buddha

Here's another one. Not relevant at all, but interesting nonetheless:

[かくかく しかじか]: (exp) blah-blah yadda-yadda/expression used to replace part of conversation

Verbification in Japanese: Katakana + RU = New Verb! (use with caution...)

I've been collecting a certain kind of neologism form lately that is getting too large to hold in my brain, so I figured I'd post it before it's gone completely (turning 40 in a few weeks...).

The following list consists of words that are made up of katakana with a hiragana る appended to make a new word, usually with a slang or sarcastic connotation. For example, take a katakana noun コピ, add る and voila: コピる = to copy!

According to my friend, some of these are used by teenagers and haven't entered standard lexicon, so I'm just using these when absolutely necessary (e.g., to be a dork).

1. From Katakana nouns or foreign languages

コピる = to copy
ググる = to Google
ブログる = to blog
ネグる = to neglect
メモる = to take notes
タクる = to take a taxi
ダブる = to overlap, to coincide (fall on the same day); to have two of something; to appear doubled; to repeat a school year after failing
サボる = (from "sabotage") to play hooky; to skip school; to be idle; to sabotage by slowness
アジる = (from "agitate") to stir up; to instigate; to foment
オケる = (from "karaoke") to go to a karaoke bar
トラブる = (from "trouble") to make trouble
スタンバる (from "standby") to be on standby; to be kept waiting
ナビる = (from "navigate") to navigate, use GPS
バグる (from "bug") to have a computer bug
ミスる (from "miss") to make a mistake; to mess up; to err
ハモる (from "harmony") = to harmonize; to harmonise; to be in harmony
パニクる; パニックる (from "panic") = to panic
バトル (from "battle") = to battle
ポニョる (from "Ponyo" cartoon character) = to get flabby, to get a gut/belly
　　　(I've been getting called Ponyo a lot lately...)

パクる (from German "packen" = to seize, grab, grasp) = (1) to steal; to rip off; (2) to arrest; to pinch; to nab

2. From Kanji

キョドウる = to act suspiciously (from 挙動不審 【きょどうふしん】 (n) suspicious behavior; acting suspiciously)

コクる = (from 告白する) to confess (one's love); to propose (marriage); to ask out (on a date)
キレる (v1) (sl) to get angry; to snap; to blow one's top (from 切れる 【きれる】 to cut into pieces, split, shred, burst, collapse, etc.

テンパる (v5r) to be about to blow one's fuse
This one seems to be from: 聴牌 【テンパイ】 (n,vs) "fishing" in mahjong (i.e. needing one more tile for completion) (chi: tingpai)





キョヒる　 to refuse; to reject; to deny
This one is from 拒否 【きょひ】 (n,vs,adj-no) denial; veto; rejection; refusal






3. Apparently Mimetic

ポシャる = to fizzle, peter out, break down, fail, flop

てくる = to trudge (from てくてく (adv) trudgingly; going long way at steady pace)

Four-character Phrase: 官尊民卑

I came across an interesting term in a Japanese blog:

官尊民卑 【かんそんみんぴ】 (n) respecting the authorities and denigrating ordinary citizens

Even though it was new to me, it was understandable because it had the same structure as

男尊女卑 【だんそんじょひ】 (n) male domination of women; male chauvinism; subjection of women

I looked for a clear definition to get a sense of the context, nuance, etc., and came across this sentence in Wikipedia:

組織内部において部下が上司の命令に服従するのと同様に、日本社会では軍人・官僚への国民（臣民）の服従を強要する「官尊民卑」の権威主義的傾向を有していたとする説である。

My translation: "Just as a subordinate follows the orders of his/her superior within an organization, there is a theory that there is tendency in Japanese society toward authoritarianism in which the citizens are compelled to obey the Military and the Bureaucracy."

OK, so based on that, I think a close translation of 官尊民卑 is statism. Here's the Wikipedia entry for statism:

Statism (or Etatism) is a term that may refer to any of the following:
Government having a major role in the direction of the economy, both through state-owned enterprises and indirectly through the central planning of overall economy.[1]
The "concentration of economic controls and planning in the hands of a highly centralized government."[2] The Fascist concept of statism which holds that "basic concept that sovereignty is vested not in the people but in the national state, and that all individuals and associations exist only to enhance the power, the prestige, and the well-being of the state. The fascist concept of statism repudiates individualsm and exalts the nation as an organic body headed by the Supreme Leader and nurtured by unity, force, and discipline."

Sounds like 官尊民卑 to me!

NB: At first I thought "dirigism" might work, but that seems limited to economic planning. Here's Wiki:

"Dirigisme (from the French) (in English also "dirigism" although per the OED both spellings are used) is an economic term designating an economy where the government exerts strong directive influence. While the term has occasionally been applied to centrally planned economies, where the government effectively controls production and allocation of resources (in particular, to certain socialist economies where the national government owns the means of production), it originally had neither of these meanings when applied to France, and generally designates a mainly capitalist economy with strong economic participation by government. Most modern economies can be characterized as dirigiste to some degree – for instance, governmental action may be exercised through subsidizing research and developing new technologies, or through government procurement, especially military (i.e. a form of mixed economy)."

Scatterbrain

I went to a birthday party on Saturday and on my way there, I realized that I left the present back at my apartment. So I learned a new word, the sound of which I love so much I can't stand it: OCCHOKOCHOI

おっちょこちょい (adj-na,n) careless person; scatterbrain; birdbrain

This one will also work:

そそっかしい (adj-i) careless; thoughtless

I wonder whether it's related to this one:

そそくさ (adv-to) (on-mim) hurriedly; in haste

Sorry!

I came across an interesting article about how Japanese hospitals are starting to adopt a spreading practice in the United States whereby hospitals have instituted a practice of explaining medical mistakes quickly and clearly, and apologizing. (The result seems to be fewer malpractice suits.) According to the article, there is no practice of a doctor or hospital apologizing for mistakes.

This paragraph stood out:

"In a paper published in the September 2007 issue of the medical journal Iryo Anzen (Medical Safety), Yoshimitsu Yamazaki, a physician who has obtained a law degree and is preparing for the bar exam, cited 32 court rulings that referred to apologies made to patients by medical professionals. He categorized these apologies into two types: one he termed kyokan hyomei (an expression of empathy or regret for not meeting patients' expectations); and the other sekinin shonin, which includes an admission of oversight. Courts have excluded the first type as evidence of negligence — but not the other."

Interesting distinction!

Here are the kanji for the terms:

共感 【きょうかん】 (n,vs,adj-no) sympathy; empathy; response
表明 【ひょうめい】 (n,vs) declaration; indication; representation; manifestation; demonstration; expression; announcement; assertion

責任 【せきにん】 (n) duty; responsibility
承認 【しょうにん】 (n,vs) recognition; acknowledgement; acknowledgment; approval; consent; agreement

Headline: Governor of Iwate Prefecture Prostrates Himself

This one is from 河北新報社：

岩手知事土下座し再議　無床化予算減額修正案を可決

Governor of Iwate Prefecture Prostrates Himself (to Request) Reconsideration:
(seeks) Adoption of a Proposed Amendment to (Hospital) Budget Cuts

I love this one:
土下座 【どげざ】 (n,vs) kneeling down on the ground; prostrate oneself

And 無床化　is a new one for me: literally, "no-bed-ification" along the lines of：
少子化 【しょうしか】 (n,vs) declining birth rates; decrease in the number of children
and
高齢化社会 【こうれいかしゃかい】 (n) aging society; ageing society

Key words:

知事 【ちじ】 (n,adj-no) prefectural governor
土下座 【どげざ】 (n,vs) kneeling down on the ground; prostrate oneself
再議 【さいぎ】 (n,vs) reconsideration; redeliberation
予算 【よさん】 (n,vs,adj-no) estimate; budget; (P); EP
減額 【げんがく】 (n,vs) reduction; diminution; abatement; (P); EP
修正案 【しゅうせいあん】 (n) proposed amendment; ED
可決 【かけつ】 (n,vs) approval; adoption (e.g. motion, bill); passage; (P); EP




　

Word of the Day: Tamamushiiro

Here's a good word today that my supervisor used today to describe the multiple interpretations 解釈　（かいしゃく）of a phrase in a joint statement that was being drafted in conjunction with a foreign government. Because the phrase was so vague that it had 2 meanings that were polar opposites, he said that it was being left in to avoid confrontation on the issue. The word he used was 玉虫色 【たまむしいろ】 , which literally means "iridescent" (or "the color of a jewel beetle") but figuratively means something like "chameleonic" or "open to multiple interpretations."

Why they would choose to leave in a phrase that allows for a meaning that they know is directly contrary to the meaning intended by the other side, invariably setting up embarrassment and/or annoyance down the road when the other side realizes that what they understood to be the case is in fact not the case, is an issue that is beyond my abilities to explain.

Non-Word of the Day: "Tondemogozaimasen"

A couple weeks ago, my co-worker was talking on the phone and I overheard him say "tondemo-gozaimasen." This seemed really odd at the time, but I couldn't figure out why it was wrong. I thought "tondemonai" was an adjective that meant "absurd" and was used for expressions like "don't be silly" or "of course not"...rather than the negative form of a verb (tondemu?!?). So I guess I had put it in the box in my brain with "kudaranai" and "abunai" and "mottainai" as words that end in "nai" but aren't really negative. Was I missing something?

I asked 3 of my Japanese friends about it, and they all said that it was strange but it didn't really seem ungrammatical per se. One of them suggested that maybe it was because "tondemonai" is inherently casual, so you would never use it in keigo form. Another did some digging and discovered that, yes, it is incorrect.

So I googled "tondemogozaimasen" and came across a really good explanation on a Japanese blog of why it's wrong. I translated the post here for anyone interested:


とんでもございません

朝日新聞に載っていたのですが、『日本語力測定試験』なるものが１０月２５日に全国２４ヶ所で行われるのだそうです。まあこの試験の趣旨はここでは割愛させ て頂くとして、掲載されていた問題例の中に興味を引くものがあったので、ちょっと触れてみたいと思います。

以下、引用--------------------------------------------------

●次の文は、Ａさんが年上の人にちょっとした贈り物を手渡したところ、その年長者が「（略）何かお返しを（略）」といい、それに対してＡさんが口にした言葉で ある。そのなかで敬語の使い方としてまちがっているのはどれか。

①とんでもないことです。 ②とんでもありません。 ③とんでもございません。 ④とんでもない。
----------------------------------------------------引用、終わり


On October 25 in 24 places around the country, something called the "Japanese Diagnostic Test" was printed in the Asahi Shimbun. If you'll allow me to dispense with discussing the object of the test here, I think I'll mention something briefly regarding one of the questions included in the test that may be of some interest. I'll quote it here:

In the following sentence,
A has just given a small gift to someone older than him. The older person says "(omitted) how can I repay you{r kindness}? (omitted)", to which A replies _____.
Which of the following expressions is an incorrect usage of the keigo form?

① Tondemonai koto desu.
② Tondemo arimasen.
③ Tondemo gozaimasen.
④ Tondemonai.
(end quote)
　答えは当然の事ながら③の「とんでもございません。」ですが、これって何の抵抗もなく使っている人が多いのではないでしょうか？　新聞には解答だけで、解説 は何も載っていなかったので、お節介にもちょっとここで説明しておきますと、これは敬語として云々という問題ではなくて、こんな日本語は存在しないという根本 的な問題なんですよね。「とんでもない」というのは一語で形容詞ですから、この場合の「ない」は、「くだらない」とか「つまらない」とか「切ない」の「な い」と同じなわけです。つまり、「とんでもございません」というのは、「くだらございません」とか「つまらございません」とか「切なございません」というのと 同じレベルの事なのです。

The answer is of course (3) "tondemo gozaimasen" but aren't there lots of people who use this expression without raising an eyebrow? The newspaper only gave the solution, but didn't print any commentary to explain it. So even though it's being a bit officious, I'll give a brief explanation here, as this isn't just an issue of keigo usage, this is a fundamental issue about something that simply doesn't exist in Japanese. "Tondemonai" is a one-word adjective and, as such, the "-nai" at the end of the word is the same as in 切ない {【せつない】 (adj-i) (1) painful; heartrending; trying; (2) oppressive; suffocating; miserable} or 下らない 【くだらない】 {(adj-i) (uk) good-for-nothing; stupid; trivial; worthless}. That is, saying "tondemo-gozaimasen" would be on the same level as saying "kudara-gozaimasen" or "tsumara-gozaimasen" or "setsu-gozaimasen."

　「とんでもございません」はもちろん、文法的には「とんでもありません」も間違いです。先の問題例では「とんでもありません」は間違いではない事になってい ましたが、「敬語の使い方」で間違っているものを選ぶ問題だったからなのか、あるいは日常語として普通に使われる言い回しなので良しとしているのか分かりませ んが、厳密には間違いです。これも同様に形容詞ですし、しかも「とんでもない」の「ない」は否定・打ち消しの意味ではなくて「甚し（なし＝はなはだしい）」の 意味ですからね。それが証拠に「とんでもない事」と「とんだ事」は同じ意味ですよね。
Of course ""tondemo-gozaimasen" is as gramatically wrong as "tondemo arimasen." In the question above "tondemo arimasen" is wrong, but it isn't an incorrect usage of keigo, as the question asked to be selected. In other words, although it's not clear whether it's an expression ordinarily used as a colloquialism, strictly speaking it's incorrect. By the same token, the "nai" in "tondemonai" is not a negative, but an intensifier. As evidence, compare the meaning of "tondemonai" with that of "tonda" とんだ (adj-pn) (1) unthinkable; unimaginable; inconceivable; unexpected; (2) terrible; awful; serious; (adv) (3) (arch) very.

=========

OK, me again. So how *do* you say "tondemonai" in keigo? According to the Kotoba Ojisan, you can say:

"tondemonai koto desu" or "tondemonai koto de gozaimasu."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtFhedMSIb8

LIST OF -TARU ADJECTIVES

OK, it's time for me to post another list to feed my OCD. Today I came across the word 悠然 【ゆうぜん】 (n,adj-t,adv-to) with an air of composure; calmly.

So I got to thinking: what's the dealie-o with these -taru adjectives? I found out that 形容動詞 adjectives are pretty rare in comparison to the "-na" and "-i" adjectives (I'll do another post on "-nai" adjectives soon.). I did a little searching on line and learned that true -taru adjectives originate from the classical Japanese ending "-toari" which devolved into "-tari," which declines into what we now see as "-taru" adjectives. It seems that the "-taru" adjectives have an antiquated air, but several are still in common use. I couldn't find a comprehensive list on line for English-speaking students of Japanese, so here's my attempt, which I'll update periodically. (If anyone thinks of a word I've left off the list, let me know and I'll add it.)

A. -TARU ADJECTIVES FORMED FROM DUPLICATE KANJI

堂々(P); 堂堂 【どうどう】 (adj-t) (1) magnificent; grand; impressive; dignified; majestic; imposing; stately; (2) fair; square; open; (adv-to) (3) grandly; boldly; confidently; (4) fairly; squarely; (5) unreservedly; without apology; without hesitation

悄悄; 悄々 【しおしお; しょうしょう; すごすご】 (adj-t,adv-to) (uk) in low spirits; dejected; sad

昭昭; 昭々 【しょうしょう】 (adj-t,adv-to) (obsc) clear; bright; plain; obvious

粛粛; 粛々 【しゅくしゅく】 (n,adj-t,adv-to) silent; solemn; quiet

爛爛; 爛々 【らんらん】 (adj-t,adv-to) glaring; flaming; fiery; blazing

濛々; 濛濛; 朦朦; 朦々 【もうもう】 (adj-t,adv-to) (1) dense (e.g. fog, dust, etc.); thick; (2) vague (as in being unable to think clearly); dim

惻々 【そくそく】keenly; heartily

凛々; 凛凛 【りんりん】 (adj-t,adv-to) severe; intense; biting

B. TWO-KANJI -TARU ADJECTIVES

惨憺; 惨澹 【さんたん】 (adj-t,adv-to) miserable; pitiful; tragic; wretched; horrible

宛転 【えんてん】 (adj-t,adv-to) (1) moving smoothly; (2) (of eyebrows) shapely

忸怩 【じくじ】 (adj-t,adv-to) bashful; shameful

暗澹【あんたん】 (adj-t,adv-to) dark; gloomy; somber; depressing

荒涼; 荒寥 【こうりょう】 (adj-t,adv-to) desolate; dreary; bleak

索莫; 索漠; 索寞 【さくばく】 (adj-t,adv-to) dreary; bleak; desolate

蕭寥 【しょうりょう】 (adj-t,adv-to) (arch) desolate; lonely; barren

蕭索(oK) 【しょうさく】 (adj-t) lonely

蕭条 【しょうじょう】 (adj-t,adv-to) dreary; bleak; lonely

落莫 【らくばく】 (adj-t,adv-to) desolate; dreary; lonesome

溌剌 【はつらつ】 (adj-t,adv-to) lively; vigorous; sprightly; vivid

C. TWO-KANJI -TARU ADJECTIVES ENDING IN -然

消然; 悄然 【しょうぜん】 (adj-t,adv-to) dejected; dispirited

昭然 【しょうぜん】 (adj-t,adv-to) manifest; clear

呆然; 茫然; 惘然 【ぼうぜん; ボーゼン; もうぜん(惘然)】 (adj-t,adv-to) dumbfounded; overcome with surprise; in blank amazement; in a daze

燦然 【さんぜん】 (n,adj-t,adv-to) brilliance; radiance

悠然 【ゆうぜん】 (n,adj-t,adv-to) with an air of composure; calmly

泰然 【たいぜん】 (adj-t,adv-to) calm; composed; self-possessed; firm

渾然; 混然 【こんぜん】 (adj-t,adv-to) whole; entire; harmonious; well-rounded

D. FOUR KANJI -TARU ADJECTIVES

曖昧模糊 【あいまいもこ(uK)】 (adj-na,adj-t,adv-to) obscure; vague; ambiguous

泰然自若 【たいぜんじじゃく(uK)】 (adj-t,adv-to) having presence of mind; self-possessed; imperturbable; calm and self-possessed

失意泰然 【しついたいぜん】 (adj-t,adv-to) (arch) keeping calm and collected at times of disappointment; maintaining a serene state of mind in adversity

満目荒涼 【まんもくこうりょう】 (adj-t,adv-to) all nature being bleak and desolate; scene looking desolate and forlorn as far as the eye can see

荒涼落莫 【こうりょうらくばく(uK)】 (adj-na,adj-t,adv-to) (arch) scene looking desolate and forlorn

空空漠漠; 空々漠々 【くうくうばくばく(uK)】 (adj-no,adj-t,adv-to) (arch) vast; boundless; empty; vague

生気溌剌 【せいきはつらつ】 (adj-t,adv-to) being full of vitality; being vivacious

才気溌剌 【さいきはつらつ】 (adj-t,adv-to) resourceful and quick-witted; showing a flash of brilliance; have a keen (sparkling) intellect

生気溌剌 【せいきはつらつ】 (adj-t,adv-to) being full of vitality; being vivacious

E. ONE KANJI PRE-NOUN ADJECTIVALS (technically not -taru 形容動詞 adjectives, but I'm putting them here for reference b/c they are 連体詞 adjectives that end in -taru)

眇たる 【びょうたる】 (adj-pn) small; minute; tiny; little; insignificant

最たる 【さいたる】 (adj-pn) prime; conspicuous

主たる 【しゅたる】 (adj-pn) main; principal; major

F. TWO KANJI PRE-NOUN ADJECTIVALS

名立たる 【なだたる】 (adj-pn) famous; notorious; noted

Word of the Day: Judicial Scrivener

Here's a pic of an ad that is similar to a lot of ads I've been seeing on the subway lately. It's advertising the services of a 司法書士 【しほうしょし】, which I've seen translated on ads as "judicial scrivener," a term I haven't seen since I read a short story by Herman Melville. Basically, the guy doesn't have a law degree, but has apparently studied law and is offering 相談
"consultations" regarding debt relief, among other things.

Now, this ad brings to mind a few issues. First, are these "scriveners" certified to provide legal advice? My guess is that they are not, and I can't imagine that there is a "scrivener" exam and that there is a code of ethics that they must adhere to, such that they could be "disbarred" for a violation. If there's no regulation of these "scriveners", how are consumers protected?

Second, is there are a *market* for these legal consultations by non-lawyers? By the number of ads I'm seeing, it's a thriving business. It's no mystery to me why there's a need for these services. It's widely acknowledged that the number of lawyers in Japan is kept artificially low by an insanely difficult bar exam, which conveniently allows lawyers to charge high fees. The unfortunate consequences of this include (1) there are a lot of people who are unable to afford or even have access to a lawyer in some parts of the country and (2) a lot of people who have studied law but haven't taken/passed the bar exam are in jobs that in the States would be considered practicing law, like this non-lawyer fellow offering "legal consultations." Most of my co-workers have studied law but aren't "弁護士" even though they are doing things that on a daily basis that lawyers do: researching legal issues, drafting legal memos, interpreting regulations, etc.

Third, are people able to distinguish between a "scrivener" and a "lawyer"? Such a practice is prohibited by law in the United States (champerty), so an ad like this would raise hackles. Could you imagine an ad by a paralegal offering "legal consultations"? That paralegal would need to get a lawyer pretty quickly.

I was at lunch last week and a woman asked me "why is it so easy to become a lawyer in the United States?" After nearly choking on my 鯖 【さば】mackerel on this remarkable lack of tact (not the first instance), I turned the question back on her and asked whether she considered that maybe the number of "lawyers" in Japan is kept artificially low, and so now you have a lot of people providing quasi-legal services in an unregulated manner to people who can't afford or even have access to a real lawyer. Did she think this was a good thing? Did she not know that there were parts of Japan where there were no lawyers? This may sound like a good thing to Americans who see the excesses of too much litigation, but the consequences of not being able to assert ones rights fully undermines the justice system considerably, in my view.

Considering that she had studied law but did not pass the exam, I think she saw my point...but I got the sense that it wasn't a topic she wanted to delve into any further, so I left it at that.

Learning from Prime Minister Aso's Mistakes 麻生首相, 有難う御座います！

（麻生首相and his disquieting への字smile）

Here's a list of the errors that Prime Minister Aso has made in speeches (so far) that everyone is jumping all over him about. I had been wondering what exactly the errors were, but few people I know could remember what they were, or what exactly he got wrong, so I tracked them down in case anyone is interested. Good excuse for learning some new words!



1. Rare beast!

Apparently, in describing Japan's "esteemed" or "valued" relationship with Russia, he meant to use the term 珍重 【ちんちょう】 (n,vs) prize; value highly...but instead said 珍獣 【ちんじゅう】 (n) rare (or peculiar) animal.

2. Choice of The Penis Generation

He meant to use the term 団塊世代 【だんかいせだい】 (n) the babyboomers; the baby boom generation (literally, the "lump/node generation")...but instead of saying "daikai" he said "daikon" which is the word for "phallus" 男根 【だんこん】. Freudian slip?

3. Unprecedunted!

In seeing the term 未曾有 meaning "unprecedented" or "unheard of" he read it as みそゆ...which sounds like "味噌" (miso) and "湯" (yu = hot water)... but it's supposed to be pronounced 【みそう】 or 【みぞう】. In my book, this one is an understandable slip, given that the yomi for 有 is rarely just う, but to a lot of my Japanese coworkers, this was unforgiveable. In fact, at the Administrative Training for Japanese bureaucrats that I attended a couple months ago, a speaker intentionally mispronounced this word, and got a big laugh from the audience (one of the only ones in 2 weeks...). It seems that the sentiment is that government officials are supposed to be highly educated, and slips like these undermine the public's confidence. But I suppose making fun of him for these slips is a proxy for critcizing him b/c he's so ineffectual in more important ways, thereby perpetuating his inability to be taken seriously.

4. So Complexificated!

He read the word 繁雑 meaning "complex; intricate" as 【ひんざつ】...but it's supposed to be pronounced【はんざつ】. As a result it wound up sounding like "frequent and complicated". I'm guessing that in his head, he inadvertently saw the kanji for 繁 and associated it with 頻繁 【ひんぱん】 (adj-na) frequent; incessant, and transposed the yomi. Who knows? I'm just glad b/c I learned a new word from his gaffe!

5. Down in the Dumps

Instead of pronouncing 低迷 meaning sluggish as 【ていめい】, he said 【ていまい】. I guess that he was thinking of the 迷 in 迷子 【まいご】 (n) lost (stray) child. This one really surprised one of my coworkers b/c she said it's not an uncommon word at all. Either way: new word for Mikey!

6. Shaking the Foundations

The last one I found is when he pronounced 基盤 meaning "foundation; basis; base" as【きはん】 instead of 【きばん】. This is interesting because the "ban" doesn't seem to be a pronunciation born of necessity (like an "n" shifting to "m" before a consonant as in "nanboku" > "namboku"). There are words in Japanese that are pronounced "kihan":

軌範(P); 規範(P) 【きはん】 (n) model; standard; pattern; norm; criterion; example
羈絆 【きはん】 (n) fetters; shackles; bond; connection
帰阪 【きはん】 (n) returning to Osaka
帰帆 【きはん】 (n,vs) returning sailboat; setting sail for home port

All great words...especially "returning to Osaka"! So instead of criticizing Aso for his screw-ups, as my Japanese coworkers like to do, I should thank him for the vocabulary building!

(Apparently, his blunders have revived an interest in kanji, and a book about commonly mispronounced kanji is flying off the shelves.)

*UPDATE*

Here's the latest gaffe:

Apparently, instead of pronouncing 踏襲 as【とうしゅう】 (meaning following (e.g. suit, in someone's footsteps, etc.)), he pronounced it as "ふしゅう," which sounds a lot like 腐臭 【ふしゅう】 (n) smell of something rotten; rotten smell. I'm guessing that he forgot the onyomi for 踏 ("tou") and remembered only the kunyomi, which is "fumu" (to step). I had never seen the word 踏襲 before, so thanks again, PM Aso!

(You'd think that by now he'd start reading his speeches before reading them in public, or at least have his staff put furigana on the teleprompter!)

Words of the Day: 手酌 etc.!

(seen in a shop in Osaka...eeg)

Found a few really good words this past week, but I've been adjusting to my new job so I haven't gotten around to posting them:

1. 手酌 【てじゃく】 (n) pouring one's own drink

Useful, in a metaphoric sense!

2. 頭打ちに成る 【あたまうち　に　なる】　(v) to plateau

This is one I've been looking for! I wanted to express how my Japanese improved quickly when I first got here, but it seems to have leveled off (and may even be getting worse!), so this seems to do the trick. I literally "bumped my head"...

3. 十把一絡げ; 十把一絡 【じっぱひとからげ; じゅっぱひとからげ】 (n,adj-no) lumping together all sorts of things; making sweeping generalizations; dealing with various things under one head

I love this one! Literally, "bundle ten sticks into one." I'm sick of saying "一般化" all the time b/c it lacks punch when I'm disagreeing with someone who has just made an insanely broad-brush statement. Unfortunately, the few people I've tried it out on didn't recognize it, so I imagine it's not in current usage. Still, it's another arrow 矢【や】 to add to my quiver 箙【えびら】.

On a side note, a friend of mine says that when he was a kid, he thought the expression was "十羽ひと空揚げ”　or: "taking ten birds and making one fried chicken dish." Hah! Reminds me of how, when I was a kid and heard someone say "shut the window, or you'll catch a draft," that it was "catch a giraffe," which made no sense but was still plausible, at least to my 8-y/o mind.



4. 権限を付与する　＝　to grant authority

権限 【けんげん】 (n) power; authority; jurisdiction
付与 【ふよ】 (n,vs) grant; allowance; endowment; bestowal; assignment; conferment

付与 sounds much better than "ataeru," I think.

5. 相関関係 【そうかんかんけい】 (n) correlation; interrelation

6. 迂回; 迂廻 【うかい】 (n) (1) detour; (vs) (2) to detour; to circumvent

(and saving the best for last...)

7. 鑑みる 【かんがみる】 (v1,vt) to heed; to take into account; to learn from; to take warning from

I saw this one in adverb form: Xに鑑みて in view of X; in the light of X; taking X into account. Much more precise than について、に関して、etc. for when you want to get across the idea that you're building on things that have been established.

A bonus is that the kanji is used to get across the idea of "to discern" or "to discriminate" so we see it in all sorts of interesting combinations:

a. 印鑑 【いんかん】 (n) stamp; seal
(the kanji finally makes sense to me now: the impression that one uses to distinguish oneself from others!)

b. 鑑賞 【かんしょう】 (n,vs) appreciation (e.g. of art); aesthetic sense

...so for "film festival" is 映画鑑賞会 【えいがかんしょうかい】

c. 鑑定 【かんてい】 (n,vs,adj-no) judgment

So then we get:

鑑定書 【かんていしょ】 (n) expert's written opinion or report
精神鑑定 【せいしんかんてい】 (n,vs) psychiatric examination
ＤＮＡ鑑定 【ディーエヌエーかんてい】 (n) DNA test

d. 鑑別 【かんべつ】 (n,vs,adj-no) discrimination; judgment; distinction

from which we get: 雌雄鑑別 【しゆうかんべつ】 (n) sexing (of chickens, silkworms, etc.)
(literally: female/male distinguish)

Going Whole Poodle in Japan: 旅の恥掻き捨て

I was taught a good expression yesterday:

旅の恥は掻き捨て 【たびのはじはかきすて】

旅 【たび】 (n,vs) travel; trip; journey
恥 【はじ】 (n) shame; embarrassment
掻く 【かく】 (v5k,vt) (1) (uk) to scratch; (2) (See 汗をかく) to perspire; (3) to shovel; to paddle;
捨てる 【すてる】 (v1,vt) to throw away; to cast aside; to abandon; to resign; to break up with (someone)

Literally: "trip embarrassments, shovel and toss"

I guess you could translate this more smoothly as "Embarrassments that happen abroad can be discounted."

This is the sage advice that was given to me by my Deputy Section Chief when I expressed concern that I have to give a speech in Japanese in only 30 minutes (when the original speech was an hour), and my Japanese isn't good enough to speak that quickly. He used this expression to mean that no matter how poorly I do, it'll be ok because I'm abroad and it won't have any real effect on my career. This is the closest equivalent to "gaijin pass" that I can think of! Basically, we can get away with making mistakes, etc., because we're foreigners and not expected to know all the ins and outs of how things work here. So in a way it can be a relief, but it's a double-edged sword because it's also a reminder that we will never fit in. (I'm reminded of how nice it is when I'm just treated as a human being instead of a curiousity, like when I go to the dentist's and they just speak to me in Japanese normally, instead of freaking out that a foreigner is speaking Japanese, even if ineptly.)

He intended to be supportive, but in a way, it can be even more disconcerting. I hope that my work at the Ministry has been helpful in some way, and I don't want to be seen as just something entertaining. Speaking of entertainment, I was using a phrase with my fellow fellows before we came to Japan. We recognized that there was a likelihood we would be seen just as "dancing poodles" in that to some colleagues, it would be merely entertaining that there was a foreigner in the office, and that we would be lucky if we were given real work to do. (as in: sure, dancing poodles don't dance particularly well, but it's a wonder that they dance at all.) We eventually came to the conclusion that in some cases, it made sense not to fight being held up as cheap entertainment, so instead of making the most of things by "going whole hog" we would be "going whole poodle."

As it turned out, I've been given reasonably substantive work, even if I haven't been incorporated entirely into the daily goings-on in my Section, so I am very thankful. I'm also thankful that I've been able to learn so much about trade treaties, etc. So I guess in the end, I should just suck it up on the occasions that I'm seen by some people as a curiosity....and enjoy the ride.

So, really, maybe the Expression of the Day should be:

着眼大局 【ちゃくがんたいきょく】 (n) having an eye to the big picture; being aware of the general situation

Word of the Day: 時効 (Statute of Limitations)

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's Justice Ministry 法務省(Houmushou) announced that it would soon be launching a study group 検討会(kentoukai) to deliberate whether to extend 延長 (enchou) or abolish 撤廃 (teppai) the statute of limitations for certain felonies 重大事件 (juudai-jiken). Here's the first paragraph of the article:

法務省は３日、殺人などの重大事件の公訴時効を見直す方向で検討に入った。刑事訴訟法は殺人など「死刑に当たる罪」の時効期間を２５年と定めているが、期間の延長や時効の撤廃も含めて検討する。

On the third (of January), the Justice Ministry will launch a study group aimed at reconsidering the statute of limitations for prosecution of felonies including murder. The study will also address whether to extend or abolish the statute of limitations, which the Criminal Procedure Code sets at 25 years for capital punishment crimes.

Vocabulary List:

刑事訴訟法 【けいじそしょうほう】 (n) Criminal Procedure Code
殺人 【さつじん】 (n,adj-no) murder
死刑 【しけい】 (n) death penalty; capital punishment
時効期間 【じこうきかん】 limitation period; period of limitation; period of prescription; prescription period
期間の延長 【きかんのえんちょう】 extension of period
時効 【じこう】 (n) (1) statute of limitations; lapse of rights after a period of time; prescription; (2) ageing; aging
撤廃 【てっぱい】 (n,vs) annulment; abolition; repeal; rescission
検討する 【けんとうする】 (n,vs) consideration; examination; investigation; study; scrutiny; discussion

Headline of the Day: 紅葉マークの表示義務 "Obligation to Show the "Autumn Leaf" Sticker

On the Metropolitan Police's web site, there is a notice that, according to 【道路交通法第７１条の５・第２項】, Road Traffic Law, Section 71, Clause 2:


７５歳以上の運転者が普通自動車を運転するときは、車の前面と後面に「紅葉マーク(高齢運転者標識)」を表示しなければなりません。

= Drivers over the age of 75 must display on the front and back of the vehicle the "Autumn Leaf" sticker signifying "elderly driver" when operating common passenger vehicles.

(I hope there aren't drivers over 75 operating commercial trucks!)


When I first got to Japan, I was puzzled as to why the sticker indicating "Learner" 初心者was a green arrow, but now I realize it's a green, sprouting leaf, which makes more sense: 若葉マーク (although it still looks like an arrow to me)

The "elderly driver" sticker 紅葉マーク looks like a dried up leaf about to fall from the tree, which is a pretty depressing reminder for the elderly drivers. (This reminds me of an article I read about slang terms used by doctors in the UK; apparently, "CTD" on a patient's chart stood for "circling the drain"...ack!)

At least the name is better than the one used before for drivers over 70: 枯れ葉マーク "areha maaku," which is literally "withered leaf" sticker. I think I'd refuse to put that on my car too, if I were in their shoes.

Although the site indicates that it's an "obligation" 義務, according to the Japan Times, the provisions relating to fines 反則金 【はんそくきん】(lit. "against + rule + money) of 4000 Yen for failure to comply 遵守 【じゅんしゅ】 will not be enforced 実施【じっし】されていない. (The police web site, however, still has the fine listed with a notice in red saying "現在は指導期間としています" or something like "The Period of Instruction is currently in effect."

According to the article, the requirement is supposedly being downgraded by the National Police Authority (NPA) to an "obligation to make an effort" because approximately 75% of drivers over 75 already use the stickers. In my opinion, it would seem that the ones who refuse to use the stickers are precisely the ones whose operation of a vehicle would require a warning to other drivers.

According to the web site, there are other stickers, which I haven't noticed on the streets yet.

A butterfly for 聴覚障害者標識 = Symbol for Hearing & Vision Impaired Drivers:

A four-leaf clover for 身体障害者標識 = Symbol for Physically Impaired Drivers:

Both of these are truly puzzling. I don't know what a butterfly has to do with hearing/vision impairment. It also seems like the internationally-recognized symbol for "disabled" would have done just fine, and I'm not sure what a clover has to do with physical impairment. (Maybe soon someone will tell me that it's actually four heart-tadpoles or something...)

Speaking of which, I'm seeing the use of "身体不自由" all over. Apparently because the term 障害者 is disfavored because it has connotations of "injury," organizations are using "身体不自由" which is closer to "physically challenged."