A Malaysian friend visited me in Tokyo recently. Walking to my local station we passed vending machines selling Boss Coffee and Royal Milk Tea. Next door, a dry cleaner's offered Service for Clean Life. A kindergarten called Children's Garden stood near the Watanabe Medical Clinic and shops with names like Cotswolds, Original Roast Beans and Babys Design. A convenience store told us that it was a Convenience Store, a post office announced it was a Post Office, and a large hoarding over the street informed us we were in a Shopping Street. “Well at least I should be able to get around using English,” my friend told me as he left to board his train and go sightseeing.A famous artist from Terengganu, my friend was educated in Mandarin but regularly .jpg)
speaks Hakka, Cantonese and Hokkien as well as Malay - the majority language in his hometown. He gets embarrassed about his English, which he often makes up as he goes along by translating directly from Chinese. Yet he has little trouble conversing in it about art, politics or whatever else those around him are discussing. And like many Malaysians, he switches effortlessly among different languages, often mixing several within the same sentence.
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speaks Hakka, Cantonese and Hokkien as well as Malay - the majority language in his hometown. He gets embarrassed about his English, which he often makes up as he goes along by translating directly from Chinese. Yet he has little trouble conversing in it about art, politics or whatever else those around him are discussing. And like many Malaysians, he switches effortlessly among different languages, often mixing several within the same sentence.A few years ago he and I travelled to Thimphu, the tiny capital of Bhutan, one of the world's most
isolated and least developed nations. Buddhist monasteries dot the hills under the towering Himalayas, aged monks walk through the streets carrying prayer wheels, and nearly everyone wears traditional local clothing. But approach someone with a question and you invariably get a reply in flawless English. 40 years ago Bhutan decided the best tool for economic modernisation was an English-based education system. Now more than 80% of the children receive free education. At home they might speak Dzongkha, the national language, but at school they use English.When I met my friend again in the evening I asked how he had got on. “OK lah. But so shock not many people
speak English! Japan is the richest country in Asia, but much easier to find English in Bhutan. Or Terengganu. I can find some English words but what meaning?” He then showed me advertisements people had handed him throughout the day with phrases like Book off and Hair and make all over them. “Maybe it's a kind of...art?” In Asia, English can appear in the most unexpected places at the most unexpected times. But sometimes what appears to be English may not be English at all.
speak English! Japan is the richest country in Asia, but much easier to find English in Bhutan. Or Terengganu. I can find some English words but what meaning?” He then showed me advertisements people had handed him throughout the day with phrases like Book off and Hair and make all over them. “Maybe it's a kind of...art?” In Asia, English can appear in the most unexpected places at the most unexpected times. But sometimes what appears to be English may not be English at all.
Quite interesting how your Malaysian friend expected Japanese to speak English because of their high economic level. After the Pacific War many people thought the Philippines would be the richest nation in the region because of relatively high levels of English. But they were surpassed by countries like Japan and Korea where English levels are much lower. I wonder what happened?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on an impressive beginning! The creativity found in Japanese English maybe word-playful (e.g. "S-Cargo" the name of a small delivery van shaped like a snail [Fr escargot]), stylish (as in "Xylish", a brand of chewing gum containing xylitol) or often just puzzling ("Mad in Japan - Japanese people are born Shinto, get marry Christian, die Buddhist, work Mazda. So they believe everything and nothing" T shirt English). Personally I find the taking of such creative liberties with English delightful.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mayon. While I agree it is wrong to assume a direct link between English proficiency and economic level, I don't completely agree with my Malaysian friend about Japanese levels of Englsh. Most Japanese do have poor foreign language listening skills, and social taboos about chatting freely with strangers compound this problem. But nowadays many will make a big effort to respond when spoken to in English. Their reading ability may also be much higher than people in places where people seem to speak English pretty well, such as Indonesia. Of course it's true that average TOEFL scores are much lower than in the Philippines or Malaysia, but this is in part a result of so many Japanese taking the test - far more than really need to.
ReplyDeleteHi Barry and thanks for the snail. I just deleted the response I wrote because I think I can expand it into a whole blog posting on wordplay! I also enjoy these creative liberties, and my favourites are where two languages are involved. Did you ever come across a JT canned coffee ad using the word 'inspiration'? The first syllable was represented by the Japanese character for 'drink' (飲)which is pronounced 'in'. Novelists back in the Meiji era were already combining Japanese with foreign languages, but nowadays I gather the real experts at this are the Chinese. Anyone have any examples?
ReplyDeleteI think if I come to Japan by foreigner in English blocks instead of Japanese.
DeleteI think Japanese people is able to English like your friend.
Although Japan is an advanced nation,Japan can not speak English compared with the country of other Asia.
Since Japanese government is going to bring the start of English education forward.
I think this trial is good and what will be helpful for Japanese children in the futuer.
Hi Ryutaro and thank you for your comment. I don't necessarily want to say that it is bad that so many Japanese don't speak English, or that the use it in such an intensely localised way. I simply meant to point out how ability in English is not directly connected to economic or technological development. As you know, the Japanese government made English compulsory in elementary schools last year. I think they were motivated by economic reasons - the desire for Japanese to be more 'competitive' internationally. But I wonder if it will have any effect at all on competitiveness.
ReplyDeleteRead this blog, I can understand the teacher's ideas. In Japan, indeed, English has not been widely popularization and utilization. As far as I know, Japan's elementary school has no English class, in the junior middle school and high school, should also is optional. But in my country, China, English from primary school is grade three began to compulsory courses, so we more or less have some English ability, of course, did not go far enough. In my view, Japan is a very powerful country, but to some extent, the Japanese don't like to learn new culture, is just like English. Some shops use English, just in order to attract customers, so the grammar is correct or not, nature also won't care about. Especially in the use of foreign words in Japanese, I am still very not accustomed to. Such as shopping, dining appeared many occasions when the loan words, let me very headache. But since studying life in Japan, try to cater to this kind of culture.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, there is no direct link between English proficiency and the country's economic level.
ReplyDeleteIn Asia, developing countries like Bhutan emphasise on English education. This is because they regard English proficiency as the key to bring in advanced technologies and business opportunities from Western countries, at the same time promoting their own image at the global economic level.
On the other hand, Korea and Japan are the leading economic powers. Although they supply goods to the Western world, their main business takes place within Asia. With high technological development, the need to rely on English proficiency is not as significant. Thus, most of the people conversant in English are either pursuing education abroad, or working in multinational companies.
I read thir blog,thought that English of education is needed.As Li's saying, Japan's elementary school hasn't English class, and in junior high school,we learn only bacic grammar. I think Japanese student should learn more applied English from in their childhood.
ReplyDelete小学校から英語が必修となったが、小学校から英語を習ってもなかなか会話するまでにはならないと思う。会話ができるくらいの英語力が必要ではないかと思う。
ReplyDeleteGood morninng. I think English is very important. As Tokie said, English was become a require subject in the elementary school from this year. However, I think students can not talk in English. Because environment of the English education is not conpleted. In the Korea, was a require subuject from 1997. The system of the English education of Korea is better than Japan. There are many points improved in comparison with Korea.
ReplyDeleteA sentence is poor, and I`m sorry.
It is interesting how the existence of English is widespread and general but its use depends on local conditions.
ReplyDelete