Myra's Question of the Day:
What special talents did your parents nurture in you? How have you developed those talents?
Talent? Hmmm... Yes, mom did have me learn to sew. She did nurture a love of music in both myself and my brother (though I don't have that talent). She also nurtured kindness and respect. But a talent?
I do think it was great that she forced me to learn Japanese. I'd like to know how my brother got out of it. Actually, I had picked up some Japanese from other island relatives also which mom wasn't thrilled about since it wasn't exactly standard. Whatever the case, much of my Japanese is a mish mosh of things I've picked up.
However, I (along with my brother) did go to Japanese School for many years with my plantation camp friends. I also took two years of it in college.
Knowing some Japanese did come in handy when I grew up. I was able to get a summer job at a Japanese travel agency with an all male staff while in college. Granted, I did goof up occasionally.
When I called mom later and asked what I'd said wrong, there was silence at first. Then she told me I used the masculine form of speaking which I'd picked up at the office, of course. Mom said only bar girls spoke that way. Ah well... So much for working for a travel agency.
We thought it was a nice name for a boat. Well, after he bought the boat, I mentioned it to mom on the phone and again... there was silence.
"No!" Mom said. That is NOT what it means. Turns out, it meant testicles. I guess you need balls to be a good businessman?
My brother (the one who can't speak Japanese) said, "HOW could you not know this?"
Well... gosh... No one taught me that one.
When I went to Japan in 1970 and stayed with my mother's family at the temple for three weeks, I understand they found my language quite uuuuummmm... interesting. I believe they often thought it was hilarious. I must tell you my grandfather and grandmother always kept a straight face though.
Now, when we travel to Japan, mom tells me, "Speak English."
You have some funny incidents, but it has probably served you well too.
ReplyDeleteI love this story. I always need an early-morning smile; now I'm smiling.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Donna! I had my early morning smile too. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI had to grin at you talking like a "bar girl" Kay, but haha on that boat name! Gee, I liked your "Golden Bullet" better! Well, you can be modest about your speaking Japanese, but it still sounds pretty darn impressive to me. :^)
ReplyDeleteOh my!
ReplyDeleteThese were fun stories at your expense. Thanks for the giggles.
ReplyDeleteHahaha no speaking Japanese for you Kay.
ReplyDeletehow funny that your mom says to you speak english! lol!
ReplyDeleteGreat stories. I used to sort of speak Norwgian, old country in-laws, they thought I was hysterical too. Kudos to you for persisting though. So many of us are monolingual.
ReplyDeleteThose are funny stories! I'm sure I made some dreadful mistakes in French. Language can be such a mystery.
ReplyDeleteI think that knowing only one language is like having only one eye. You can still see everything, but you're missing all the depth.
ReplyDeleteJapanese is notorious for its frequency of words that sound the same but are written with different kanji. There are multiple words pronounced both kin and tama, so kintama could mean quite a lot of things.
When I went to Japan I guess I had an advantage since it's obvious just by looking at me that I'm not Japanese. I'm sure I made mistakes, but people often looked startled that I could speak it at all.
And that’s the problem with kintama. Kin’s kanji can be gold, tama’s kanji can be bullet. It’s just that when you put them together with another kanji… sigh… there’s another meaning. The problem is I obviously look Japanese so it’s expected that I would know what I’m saying. Ah well…. I’ll speak English. I can do that quite well. LOL.
DeleteIt might have started out as slang. I can just imagine some guys referring to their yarbles as "golden bullets".
DeleteMother encouraged education. Learning was all important in our house with an architect mother and a lawyer Dr for a father.
ReplyDeletei'm a failure at languages tho I speak baby Spanish.
I had to LOL at your masculine usage. I use to watch Soko He Shiritai and most of the hosts were guys and they're always eating. So one day my mom cooked something ono, so I said a word, umai???, and hoo mom got mad and said only males use that term. Oops! Oishii it is from now. My mom worked as a salesclerk and she told me how the Japanese tourists would make fun of local's Japanese.I never could tell the difference between my mom's Japanese and my local relative's Japanese. BB
ReplyDeleteOK… I guess I haven’t used umai, only because my mom never uses it. On the other hand, when I was little I did watch samurai shows with family and picked up some language there too which appalled my mother. Hmmm…. Maybe that’s why we stopped watching those movies. I sent this blog post to my cousin in Japan. He said, “Ha ha ha. Very funny. Yes, please use English.”
DeleteLOL!
ReplyDeleteI'm smiling :)
All the best Jan
Ha ha ha ha! Speak English. That IS funny and so very cute.
ReplyDeleteA kind Italian teacher passed me so I could graduate college.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad always promoted reading. He worried about my son reading, even when I sent a tape recording of him reading. Initially I majored in Music Therapy, but neither parent played an instrument or sang.
ReplyDeleteMy older brother majored in French. In '67 he spent his sophomore year in France. I wanted to take Spanish in junior high, but my parents wanted me in French cuz my brother could help. He couldn't help; he was in France! I was flunking. My French teacher got so sick (she was old) and we had so many non-French-teaching substitutes. The French teacher died. My parents took me across town to a French tutor. I think I learned by osmosis, not by using my brain. I somehow made a C for the class. I don't hear any French in my world today, but I hear a lot of Spanish.....sigh. Linda in Kansas
I had Latin in high school which I never use either. Yay for the C. Someday you might be traveling through France and then you could try using what you know. My kids both took Spanish. My son actually wanted to go to Mali so he could pick up French. Instead, he picked up Bambara. Uuuummmm…Not sure when he’ll use that again.
DeleteI got so many chuckles from your stories today. I learned some Spanish in a program they had for some of us in the elementary school I attended, then I took classes in high school, but when I spoke with friends and acquaintances from Mexico, and from some other Spanish speaking countries, I learned it much more quickly and easily, but sometimes when I was speaking, I could tell from their faces that I had said something that didn't make sense. Sometimes they had enough English to explain to me what I said and sometimes they would try and explain to me to the point where it was almost like we were playing charades. Thankfully I never said anything about testicles, but I did come out with some goofy stuff. Now I rarely have an opportunity to speak to anyone who speaks Spanish and I am starting to forget how.
ReplyDeleteI used to speak more Spanish than I can today, but I still understand much of it when I hear it. I think it must be like that for you and Japanese, which seems much harder to learn and speak than most languages. I love hearing about your adventures, Kay. :-)
ReplyDelete