Creating monsters
As a favor to one of my co-workers, I've started an informal English lesson after work. The plan is to meet once a week. Yesterday, it was just the one co-worker for a student. I suspect it will grow a little bit.
Growing up in China, she did study English in school, but doesn't really speak it at all, so it's an absolute beginner lesson. Yesterday was basic greetings and responses. For just about every Japanese person I've met who only studied English in school and never lived in an English speaking area, if you ask "How are you", you will get an instantaneous and almost robotic response of "I'mfinethankyouandyou" (no spaces or punctuation on purpose, that' s pretty much how it comes out). Yesterday, I find that it's taught the same way in China, at least where my co-worker went to school. While there's nothing really wrong with that response, it is just a bit formal and archaic. I'd always banned it from my classes because it's so ingrained in Japanese Jr. High Schools.
Today at lunch, a few of us went out together to eat, my "student" among them. Another co-worker who lived overseas and speaks English very well asked her what she'd learned. He then taught her a new response to the question. Now, you will hear this response from her:
"How are you?"
"None of your damn business."
We did explain what it meant, she thinks it's funny. The effect is perhaps spoiled, perhaps made more humorous, by the fact that she things it's funny and can't say it without laughing. I'm tempted to make a short video, because the way she says it is pretty funny. Now she wants other rude phrases.
Now that I've written about it, I'm also tempted to walk around with a video camera and ask random Japanese strangers "How are you" and record their "I'mfinethankyouandyou" responses, string them together into a 2-3 minute montage, and post it on youtube.
Hmmm. I have some vacation days coming up....
Growing up in China, she did study English in school, but doesn't really speak it at all, so it's an absolute beginner lesson. Yesterday was basic greetings and responses. For just about every Japanese person I've met who only studied English in school and never lived in an English speaking area, if you ask "How are you", you will get an instantaneous and almost robotic response of "I'mfinethankyouandyou" (no spaces or punctuation on purpose, that' s pretty much how it comes out). Yesterday, I find that it's taught the same way in China, at least where my co-worker went to school. While there's nothing really wrong with that response, it is just a bit formal and archaic. I'd always banned it from my classes because it's so ingrained in Japanese Jr. High Schools.
Today at lunch, a few of us went out together to eat, my "student" among them. Another co-worker who lived overseas and speaks English very well asked her what she'd learned. He then taught her a new response to the question. Now, you will hear this response from her:
"How are you?"
"None of your damn business."
We did explain what it meant, she thinks it's funny. The effect is perhaps spoiled, perhaps made more humorous, by the fact that she things it's funny and can't say it without laughing. I'm tempted to make a short video, because the way she says it is pretty funny. Now she wants other rude phrases.
Now that I've written about it, I'm also tempted to walk around with a video camera and ask random Japanese strangers "How are you" and record their "I'mfinethankyouandyou" responses, string them together into a 2-3 minute montage, and post it on youtube.
Hmmm. I have some vacation days coming up....