Right, but you intentionally forget the two words, "in English".Originally Posted by Skipphead
Your next step may be to consider the semantics in both English and Japanese.
***snip***
Just curious, but I am wondering how different she is.
If it is not how, enlighten me what she usually wears to be an Irish woman, please. (I am not fashion-conscious, though)
You're right about the semantics in English. When speaking Japanese, the story is different, but if we are talking about what not to say in English, only English semantics apply. I didn't intentionally forget English, I just assumed that 'in English' was understood, as this whole thread is in English.
As for my girlfriend who dresses different, she usually wears vintage 60's or 70's jackets, slightly ripped jeans, knit hats that aren't often seen around here, bright colors other than pink, and some other things that just aren't common. She also has short, naturally black hair cut in a kind of a bob and likes dramatic eyeliner and multicolored lipstick. She never carries a proper purse, and instead uses Irish reusable grocery bags and old backpacks. Over the summer, she used to wear tank tops and spike her hair straight up, as it was much shorter. The point is, she doesn't look like most Japanese women I see around here. I can't blame anyone for thinking she's not Japanese. Honestly, if I just saw her on a train, I'd think she was a foreigner too.
A point of this thread is what not to say in English in Japan, so not only English semantics, but different stories also apply here. The Can story is nothing but a small talk in Japanese after all.
Even for someone like you properly educated without stereotypes or prejudice make mistakes, the story when you met her, so it is fair and natural for falsely educated Japanese to make mistakes.
Hopefully you ask your girlfriend if she learned 4 seasons ONLY in Japan at school, for it may take ages before A ke bono kane kotto gets the answer from a Japanese.
*snip
I don't know if her fashion represents Irish, but she must be beautiful as well as fashion-conscious.
Thanks, anyways.
The Can comment has been said to me by some people who are quite smart and good in English. A few times, I've met someone who said "Can you eat..." and then corrected themselves with "Do you like..."
Although the "Can you eat natto?" question I understand as many people, Japanese or otherwise, can't stomach the stuff. On the other hand, I love it.
I asked my girlfriend about the 4 seasons. She said she learned a lot about the world from her well educated and internationally minded mother, so I can't at all say what is taught in school.
Maybe her fashion sense isn't very Irish, as I must admit I've never been to Ireland, but I know it's not very Japanese and those are the only two countries she's lived in. She is quite lovely, thanks.
So the can story is just a story about the cultural difference in usage of different languages. For some, it is an offensive story, for others, just a small talk.
I cannot say anything about her mother. I sometimes notice something like "younger generation is different in Japan", but her mother is a great example, older generation is also different here.I asked my girlfriend about the 4 seasons. She said she learned a lot about the world from her well educated and internationally minded mother, so I can't at all say what is taught in school.
If she had not been educated in Ireland or wherever outside Japan for all her school life, it is easier for her to tell you a bit about what she did in school, I suppose. I don't deny she met some stupid students believing in "4 season in Japan" in the past, but this is also the same in other countries except Belgium as in the provocative John Stossel's program, 'Stupid in America'. No Stossel here, but I often watch "Learn from the great Indian/Finnish or wherever education" here.
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