| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Celeste
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Posts: 814
Location: Fukuoka City, Japan
|
 Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 6:14 am Post subject: |
 |
|
I survived all the omiyage and I am allergic to strawberries and shellfish. I am the "  oh, thank you! How kind of you! I must save that for my afternoon tea! " person. (People who actually knew me well enough to speak to me on a daily basis at work usually knew better than to offer me something that could KILL me, however. Their cookies, etc. I would often eat.) |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Brooks
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1369
Location: Sagamihara
|
| Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 5:27 am Post subject: |
|
|
I like beer so enkais are good.
But I don`t like to overdue it, unlike some people.
I don`t care for sake and some kinds of shochu but I have drunk it when I didn`t want to (i.e. everybody was drinking it).
Enkais are needed because otherwise I don`t think it would be easy talk to other teaches or even get to know some people.
Some teachers can`t let their hair down without some alcohol.
Going to enkais helps because it shows you are a part of the group.
A couple administrators I know don`t drink so they just drink tea while others drink beer.
I did know a man that worked in Tokyo years ago and the reason he quit was he got sick of the drinking after hours with his boss. His boss was probably an alcoholic. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ndorfn
Joined: 15 Mar 2005
Posts: 126
|
| Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:12 am Post subject: |
|
|
| JimDunlop2 wrote: |
Sometimes I think that there are differences even in the humour. What I think is funny is often met with strange stares. Like sarcasm. I haven't met too many Japanese people who can really respond appropriately to sarcasm.
Just today, someone gave me the ol' "you use chopsticks well" comment. For a moment I considered getting a reeeeeallly surprised expression on my face, bulging out my eyes and going, "EEEEHHHH??? I'm using chopsticks?" and acting like I thought I was in reality holding a spoon or a fork. But I reconsidered it quickly, thinking that I'd probably look like a real dweeb if they didn't get the joke... |
You' d look like a dweeb in any country with that sort of "joke".
Were you referring to sarcasm while speaking in Japanese? Otherwise it's obvious that any sort of irony isn't going to be understood by anyone other than the most proficient speaker in a second language. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
6810
Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 309
|
| Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 4:05 am Post subject: |
|
|
| ndorfn wrote: |
Were you referring to sarcasm while speaking in Japanese? Otherwise it's obvious that any sort of irony isn't going to be understood by anyone other than the most proficient speaker in a second language. |
I guess that's true and it isn't. I mean, slapstick and partial/total (linguistic) error (changing of a syllable or deliberately misinterpreting through substitution of another homonym) are commonly used comedic devices in Japanese.
So why not act "surprised"?
Perhaps the "problem" with the joke is not the actual so called irony or sarcasm, but instead it is with the context and motivation... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
