と / のに / いまのJR / 文化商品

[eeky]

Hello,


1. 病気で起きられないので、今日の午後、看病と手伝いにアパートに来てもらう。

My translation: "You are ill and can't get up, so have (a friend) come to the apartment this afternoon to help and nurse you."

(This is one of a series of imaginary scenarios, for which the student is meant to compose suitably worded requests.)

Does と here just mean "and"? Or could it mean more like "help in the form of nursing"?


2. 私はこの本を買うのに十分なお金を持っている。

Translation given: "I have enough money to buy this book."

I understand this OK, but theoretically (even though it doesn't make much actual sense) could のに mean "although" here? In other words, could the sentence theoretically mean "I buy this book even though I have plenty of money"? Or is the meaning "although" forbidden even in principle?


3. 国鉄はいまのJRだが、たしかに切符を売る窓口も改札係も突っけんどんで、乗せてやる、といわんばかりの態度だった。

My translation: "On the national railways, now JR, the ticket inspectors and the staff selling tickets at the windows were certainly brusque, and there was an attitude of ... ??? ..."

a) I cannot quite get the purpose of いまの in 国鉄はいまのJRだが. Is it implying that the national railways were not called "JR" in the past?

b) I believe that 乗せてやる means "give (someone) a ride". I'm guessing that といわん could mean と言わない, and I am somewhat familiar with ばかり, but still I cannot make overall sense of 乗せてやる、といわんばかり.


4. The story has been describing poor customer service in bookshops. Then:

それじゃ、文化商品を売っている、とはいえないのではないだろうか。なんとかしなければ、と思った。

a) What does 文化商品 mean? "cultural goods"? Could it mean books?

b) Does とはいえないのではないだろうか mean "can't one not say that...?", i.e. being a roundabout way of expressing the author's belief in the preceding statement?

c) I cannot grasp the overall purpose of the sentence. Even if it does mean "can't one not say that (someone) sells books", then so what? There seems no point to saying such a thing.

d) Does the second sentence mean "I thought something should be done" (presumably about the poor service)?

 

[Toritoribe]

1)
The former.
Isn't the subject "I"?

2)
It's possible, but the meaning is "Even though I buy this book, I have plenty of money." If it's 買ったのに, the sentence makes perfect sence as "Although I bought this book, I (still) have plenty of money."

3) a)
Right. 国鉄 changed the company name to JR after the privatization.

b)
ん in いわん is not the negative here. It's the n-euphonic change of a classical auxiliary verb ぬ which expresses the perfect tense.

4) a)
It seems so.

b)
とはいえないのではないだろうか is almost the same to とはいえないと思う.

c)
They can't say they are selling "culture", not just a thing, by such poor service.

d)
Yes.

 

[eeky]

Thanks Toritoribe.

1)
The former.
Isn't the subject "I"?

The exercise is headed 次の場面では、どのように言って頼めばいいですか, and the scenarios are described by あなたがしたいこと/相手にしてもらいたいこと, so I think the subject would be "you", right?

b)
とはいえないのではないだろうか is almost the same to とはいえないと思う.

Oh dear, it seems that once again I have completely reversed positive and negative with this wretched のではない thing.

I think there may have been a misunderstanding about my earlier comment about "as" and "to". One thing is the same as another. Therefore, it should be "とはいえないのではないだろうか is almost the same as とはいえないと思う". "same to" is what you often write, but that is not correct. Again, I mention this only because I think you might like to know, not because I want to find fault with your English!

 

[Toritoribe]

1)
I see. Then, yes, that's "you".

4) b)
OMG. My reply in that thread is completely irrelevant.