Hello,
1. The speaker is a teacher who is talking to an American student who is interviewing her.
あの、確かに日本人はよく人にお土産をあげるんですが 、その前にちょっと申し上げておくと、お土産っていう 言葉を、日本語を勉強している外国の学生さんはよく間 違って使われるんですね。
My translation: "Well, certainly the Japanese often give each other お土産, but first I should explain that foreign students learning Japanese often use the word お土産 incorrectly."
The way I am interpreting it, 使われる (student's action) is honorific, while 申し上げて (teacher's/speaker's action) is humble, which kind of seems the wrong way round. Have I got this right? Perhaps the teacher is being super-polite to the student because she is being interviewed and it is a special case?
2. あの、 present とか gift という言葉の日本語訳あ ﾆして言ってらっしゃるようなんですが、全く同じといあ ､訳ではないんです。
My guess is that this means "People seem to translate (お土産 and 贈り物, mentioned previously) as "present" or "gift", but the translations (of お土産 and 贈り物) are not always the same (i.e. お土産 and 贈り物 can have different meanings)."
a) Does this seem correct? I am not certain whether it is talking about translating to Japanese or from Japanese.
b) Does よう mean "seem" here, as I translated?
3. ・・・「お餞別」って言って、旅行に出る前に何かをく れた人、これは、もう絶対にお土産を買って帰らないい けません。
My translation: "and you absolutely must bring back a souvenir for those people who gave you a farewell gift before you left on your journey".
Is this correct? Have I got the right people doing the right things?
4. お土産っていうのは、どこかへ行った人が行かなかった 人に買ってきてあげるものとでも言っておけばいいでし ょうかね。
My guess: "お土産 can be defined as something that someone who has gone somewhere brings back for someone who has stayed behind." (sorry for the convolted English!)
a) Is the basic meaning of the sentence that どこかへ行った人が行かなかった人に買ってきてあげる もの is a fair definition of お土産?
b) What is the purpose of でも?
c) I am not confident I grasp the meaning of 言っておけば, incorporating the proper sense of おけば (which I assume is 置けば). What does it mean?
d) What sort of tone or nuance is でしょうかね likely to have here, in terms of qualities such as expressing doubt, questioning, expressing belief that the statement is true, etc.?
1. The speaker is a teacher who is talking to an American student who is interviewing her.
あの、確かに日本人はよく人にお土産をあげるんですが 、その前にちょっと申し上げておくと、お土産っていう 言葉を、日本語を勉強している外国の学生さんはよく間 違って使われるんですね。
My translation: "Well, certainly the Japanese often give each other お土産, but first I should explain that foreign students learning Japanese often use the word お土産 incorrectly."
The way I am interpreting it, 使われる (student's action) is honorific, while 申し上げて (teacher's/speaker's action) is humble, which kind of seems the wrong way round. Have I got this right? Perhaps the teacher is being super-polite to the student because she is being interviewed and it is a special case?
2. あの、 present とか gift という言葉の日本語訳あ ﾆして言ってらっしゃるようなんですが、全く同じといあ ､訳ではないんです。
My guess is that this means "People seem to translate (お土産 and 贈り物, mentioned previously) as "present" or "gift", but the translations (of お土産 and 贈り物) are not always the same (i.e. お土産 and 贈り物 can have different meanings)."
a) Does this seem correct? I am not certain whether it is talking about translating to Japanese or from Japanese.
b) Does よう mean "seem" here, as I translated?
3. ・・・「お餞別」って言って、旅行に出る前に何かをく れた人、これは、もう絶対にお土産を買って帰らないい けません。
My translation: "and you absolutely must bring back a souvenir for those people who gave you a farewell gift before you left on your journey".
Is this correct? Have I got the right people doing the right things?
4. お土産っていうのは、どこかへ行った人が行かなかった 人に買ってきてあげるものとでも言っておけばいいでし ょうかね。
My guess: "お土産 can be defined as something that someone who has gone somewhere brings back for someone who has stayed behind." (sorry for the convolted English!)
a) Is the basic meaning of the sentence that どこかへ行った人が行かなかった人に買ってきてあげる もの is a fair definition of お土産?
b) What is the purpose of でも?
c) I am not confident I grasp the meaning of 言っておけば, incorporating the proper sense of おけば (which I assume is 置けば). What does it mean?
d) What sort of tone or nuance is でしょうかね likely to have here, in terms of qualities such as expressing doubt, questioning, expressing belief that the statement is true, etc.?
