Speaking Japanese makes you think differently : offtopic about movies & redundancy

[kirei_na_me]

I happen to like Project X very much. In fact, it's one of the few shows I can tolerate.

 

[Golgo_13]

I happen to like Project X very much. In fact, it's one of the few shows I can tolerate.

Wait, how do you watch it? On a rental video? Or do y'all get Japanese channel?

Is it subtitled? I think it's a great show. Shows all the past and present achievements of the Japanese. I even like the end theme "Headlight taillight"--I bought the CD single.

 

[kirei_na_me]

I get TV Japan via digital cable.

 

[Elizabeth]

Wait, how do you watch it? On a rental video? Or do y'all get Japanese channel?

Is it subtitled? I think it's a great show. Shows all the past and present achievements of the Japanese. I even like the end theme "Headlight taillight"--I bought the CD single.

Is this the one on NHK about the enormous effort that went into building an underwater tunnel system between Hiroshima and Shikoku ? I never understood what could be so interesting about that, unless of course it is a lot broader.

 

[Golgo_13]

It's about a different story every episode. I've been watching the show for about 3 years now and I don't think they've had an episode about a tunnell between Hiroshima and Shikoku, although they had one about a bridge over the Setonaikai Strait as well as one about a tunnell between Hokkaido and Aomori. The show is interesting if you're interested in the Japanese industrial, business, technological, medical, law enforcement, etc. achievements. But one who is not fluent in Japanese would had a hard time nuderstanding all the technical language unless the subtitled shows are watched.

 

[Golgo_13]

And that is why so many Westerners find Japanese TV stupid (maybe entertaining when you get use to it, but stupid anyway).

Here's another response to the quotation above.

Over the holiday weekend, I watched two Japanese TV drama movies that were EXTREMELY well-written. One was about a family with an only child--a 5-year old daughter--who find out that their child had been erroneously switched by the neonatal nursing staff with another baby. They track down the family that has their real daughter, and agree to make a "trade." The emotional strain on both girls and both family are enormous, but somehow they get through it and the girls grow up to be well-adjusted adults. I shed tears during parts of the show.

In the other drama, a detective who is on the hunt for a serial robbery suspect learns that the suspect is the older brother of the detective's adopted daughter who is suffering from leukemia and needs a bone marrow donor. The cop has to find the suspect but not arrest him until the cop can convince the criminal to be a donor for his long-lost sister.

I haven't seen U.S. TV movies that good in a long time. I guess maybe it really is because westerners find such shows stupid.

BTW, both shows would have been difficult to follow without fluency in Japanese, so most foreigners who don't understand Japanese well watching them might have simply dismissed them as boring and stupid.

 

[Sakura]

I also think it's interesting the "eiga=movie" and "eigo=English". Ok, that one's probably a coincidence.

Actually only the first syllable is similar, because "eiga" is one word, wheras "ei" & "go" are separate words, because "go" is language.
映画 = Film, 英語= English language, so are written differently, and actually 英 means "hero". 英雄。米国 is America, but 米 means "rice", but my friend from HK wrote America as 美国 in Cantonese, which means "beauty" but Aki thinks maybe he wrote wrong or I misread his handwriting because the kanji is similar. But actually I got a book from the library on Chinese, (Mandarin- I couldn't find Cantonese) & I noticed some alot of the kanji is different to Japanese kanji of the same meaning. Omoshiroi ne?! I mean "Interesting" not "funny" I am always worried people might mistake me on that.

Yeah, since they employ different kanji. Also, when the fact that the written language is more important than the spoken language is in the East is taken into account, it seems to be an undeniable coincidence (like "namae" being similar to "name").

Yes, I noticed there are some words which sounds similar in both languages, apart from the obvious Japanese-English Loan words. One of them I can't say because it's quite rude well, not very rude, but I'd rather not put it because I don't know if it's allowed. Actually, now I cannot think of the rest of them, but I know there are some. I mean words which sound similar and also have same meaning, but here is something with different meaning, I was speaking to my friend Shiho a while ago, and I was asking her if she was bored. And I used "tsumaranai" & she thought I said "Tomorrow night?" lol (^_~) again I can't remember other moments when my friend's and I have mistaken our english and japanese, but we have a good laugh about our mistaken interpretation. Sometimes they hear wrong, and it's like: "I thought you said ... " "no, I don't even know that word." lol. Maybe could be because it's hard to talk over the music in the pub. lol
sorry, I'll shut-up now! Sorry, I ramble too much. Gomen nasai.

 

[Glenn]

Actually only the first syllable is similar, because "eiga" is one word, wheras "ei" & "go" are separate words, because "go" is language.
映画 = Film, 英語= English language, so are written differently, and actually 英 means "hero". 英雄。

Be careful not to confuse parts of words with actual words. This is what the daijirin has for 英. It is only an abbreviation for England. Here are the Japanese words for "hero". Jim Breen's kanji dictionary has these meanings for that kanji, which I find interesting because my kanji reference book also has the meaning "brilliant."

米国 is America, but 米 means "rice", but my friend from HK wrote America as 美国 in Cantonese, which means "beauty" but Aki thinks maybe he wrote wrong or I misread his handwriting because the kanji is similar. But actually I got a book from the library on Chinese, (Mandarin- I couldn't find Cantonese) & I noticed some alot of the kanji is different to Japanese kanji of the same meaning. Omoshiroi ne?! I mean "Interesting" not "funny" I am always worried people might mistake me on that.

If you are interested, see this message about Chinese names for countries.

 

[Sakura]

thanks Glenn (^_^)

 

[Keiichi]

One was about a family with an only child--a 5-year old daughter--who find out that their child had been erroneously switched by the neonatal nursing staff with another baby. They track down the family that has their real daughter, and agree to make a "trade." The emotional strain on both girls and both family are enormous, but somehow they get through it and the girls grow up to be well-adjusted adults. I shed tears during parts of the show.

This reminds me of a Korean drama I saw before. Forgot what it's called.
What's the name of this J-drama?

 

[Brooker]

Sakura wrote....

I was speaking to my friend Shiho a while ago, and I was asking her if she was bored. And I used "tsumaranai" & she thought I said "Tomorrow night?" lol (^_~

"Do itashimashite."
"What! Don't touch my mustache?"

 

[Golgo_13]

This reminds me of a Korean drama I saw before. Forgot what it's called.
What's the name of this J-drama?

I've already forgotten the title. : ( And I took the video back to the store.

It wasn't a dorama series but a one-time TV movie. It won some award in Japan.

If I find out I'll let cha know.

 

[Sakura]

Sakura wrote....


"Do itashimashite."
"What! Don't touch my mustache?"

actually you just reminded me, a guy at work was being annoying as usual, by being sarcastic & cocky to everything I said, so I said "sayonara" to him as I put the phone down. He called me straight back and said "It's got to be sooner than that." I was baffled, "what are you talking about?" he replied, "well you just said - See you in an hour."

 

[Golgo_13]

actually you just reminded me, a guy at work was being annoying as usual, by being sarcastic & cocky to everything I said, so I said "sayonara" to him as I put the phone down. He called me straight back and said "It's got to be sooner than that." I was baffled, "what are you talking about?" he replied, "well you just said - See you in an hour."

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!

"Cold today, hot Tamara."

 

[stephenmunday]

Did anyone notice the "Don't touch my mustache" gag in Toy Story 2? It is when the evil toy store owner is on the phone to the collector in Japan and he says it just before hanging up and taking the toys to the airport. I saw it on TV so I couldn't rewind and check, but my wife heard it too. It doesn't fit at all with the rest of the dialog so it must be an obscure gag for us Japan people.....

 

[Golgo_13]

I heard that in another movie a character said "Holy shiitake mushroom!"

 

[nekosasori]

I heard that in another movie a character said "Holy shiitake mushroom!"

Ah, if only people will realize that the -take suffix means "mushroom". That annoys me as much as when people say "Mt. Fujiyama". :auch:

 

[stephenmunday]

That reminds me of the hill that was behind the cottage my wife and I stayed in for our honeymoon in Dunmanwaym, Ireland. The map referred to it as Milane Hill, although we subsequently discovered that Milane actually meant "hill" as well!

Although that was nothing compared to a place I read about in England in The Week. I wish I could find the article now, but it said something like the Celts, Anglos, Saxons and Vikings (whatever order ) each came along and added their word for "hill" onto the original name this place - which was "hill". So it ended up being something like "Hill hill hill hill"!

I think Mt. Fujiyama-san Mountain pales in comparison

 

[Golgo_13]

Ah, if only people will realize that the -take suffix means "mushroom". That annoys me as much as when people say "Mt. Fujiyama". :auch:

Then again, the Japanese always say "Yasai salad."

Or baseball teams make a "Koukan trade."

Both redundant.

 

[Brooker]

Welcome to the Department of Redundancy Department.

 

[Glenn]

Ah, if only people will realize that the -take suffix means "mushroom". That annoys me as much as when people say "Mt. Fujiyama". :auch:

If you think that it's bad that native English speakers say that, then how about the accursed "ATM machine" or "PIN number?" Ugh.

 

[nekosasori]

Stephenmunday, didn't the names of B&B and hostels in Ireland also get to you? "Lakeview" "Oceanside" "Hilltop" - I mean sheesh, could the names be less original or useful?

But Golgo, yasai is "vegetable" - and as it's possible to have egg salad or chicken salad (or avocado salad, caesar salad...), "yasai salad" doesn't seem so useless to me. I hadn't heard about "koukan trade" though - possibly because I don't follow baseball news in Japan.

And yes Glenn, I always just say "PIN" or "ATM". Obviously they don't know what the acronyms actually mean.

 

[Golgo_13]

This reminds me of a Korean drama I saw before. Forgot what it's called.
What's the name of this J-drama?

I was at the video store again last night so I checked the title.

It was Suiyou Puremia's "Nejireta Kizuna: Akachan Torikae Jiken"

(Wednesday Premier's "Twisted Family Ties: The Case of the Switched Babies")

If you take that title to a Japanese video store you might be able to find it.

If you do, enjoy!

But Golgo, yasai is "vegetable" - and as it's possible to have egg salad or chicken salad (or avocado salad, caesar salad...), "yasai salad" doesn't seem so useless to me. I hadn't heard about "koukan trade" though - possibly because I don't follow baseball news in Japan

I know what yasai is.

Do English speakers say "Vegetable Salad" all the time? If the contents are something other than raw vegetables, then you would indicate that it's a tuna salad or egg salad, etc. Just "Salad" alone already implies vegetables.

"Salad" 1 a : green vegetables (as lettuce, endive, or romaine) and often tomatoes, cucumbers, or radishes served with dressing.

 

[Keiichi]

Thanks Golgo, I will when I have time.

 

[Golgo_13]

Another great Japanese TV show is "Uchuusen Chikyuu-Go" (Spaceship "Earth"), a TV-documentary series on environmental issues.

The show brings stories from all over the world about what people are doing to protect the environment. The last episode I watched dealt with Norway's efforts to generate electricity by the ocean's water currents.

Very informative and educational. NOT STUPID AT ALL! Even on PBS in the U.S. you don't find shows like that.