Va. Tech gunman Cho spoke about cruel treatment he was subjected to at campus, generally in abstract terms, sometimes concretely in the video CD he sent to NBC. The New York Times carried full story of his tale, which was filled with hatred towards bullying he faced. If the detail was translated into our language, it would produce a lot of copycats in our country.
Fortunately, however, I have not found any domestic media as for now which has carried the details of the gun murderer's message. If domestic media had self-restraint, I would like to respect their good sense. Of course, I know nobody can control gossip magazines which might be preparing next week's edition.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Eigo’s Children
I think it is very tough for native English speakers to understand properly what I write here because it is written in the language something like English but not real English.
As some of you may be aware it is what we Japanese call “Eigo”, a modified variation of English, established by our ancestors more than a hundred years ago.
It has been only 140 years since our ancestors met English speakers first time. Before then Japan had been a closed and isolated country for more than 200 years.
When the four black ships came from the U.S. to a small port near Tokyo to ask our Shogun, the Samurai King, to open the country in 1850s, some of the selected students had to start English study, but unfortunately they had not enough knowledge on the syntax differences between Japanese and English. So they tried hard to translate everything directly without any syntax changes.
After then, although many students went abroad to acquire various kinds of knowledge, the tradition of direct translation without syntax change remained for some reason and gradually Eigo, “Japanized” English, was established.
Eigo, in a sense, might have been a very useful language system for early scholars. Although it is a kind of foreign language, its syntax is modified so much familiar to Japanese grammar that translation is very easy. It helped the students of 19th and early 20th century to translate literatures written in English into Japanese.
I believe that Japan is a rare country in which almost all the students can graduate from collage without any textbooks written in English. In the other Asian countries, since they don’t have enough collage-level textbooks translated into their own languages, they have to use the textbooks written in English.
Most of us study Eigo 3 years at junior high school as compulsory education and then more 3 years at high school, and for some of them farther 2 or 4 years at collage. Thanks to Eigo education, some of us become very good at reading real English and acquire enough ability to be accepted by famous domestic collages.
I think Eigo is great. I respect the scholars who established it. I believe that Eigo has supported not only Japan’s civilization but also its latest economic growth.
However, Eigo is always underfoot when we study hearing and speaking real English. Some face to the reality when they trip to foreign countries and the other when they talk with native English speakers first time. They realize, “Eigo is not English”.
Do you believe the fact that there are many people who read the articles from New York Times everyday but cannot speak English better than a five-years-old American boy?
It’s me.
I’m one of Eigo’s children.
As some of you may be aware it is what we Japanese call “Eigo”, a modified variation of English, established by our ancestors more than a hundred years ago.
It has been only 140 years since our ancestors met English speakers first time. Before then Japan had been a closed and isolated country for more than 200 years.
When the four black ships came from the U.S. to a small port near Tokyo to ask our Shogun, the Samurai King, to open the country in 1850s, some of the selected students had to start English study, but unfortunately they had not enough knowledge on the syntax differences between Japanese and English. So they tried hard to translate everything directly without any syntax changes.
After then, although many students went abroad to acquire various kinds of knowledge, the tradition of direct translation without syntax change remained for some reason and gradually Eigo, “Japanized” English, was established.
Eigo, in a sense, might have been a very useful language system for early scholars. Although it is a kind of foreign language, its syntax is modified so much familiar to Japanese grammar that translation is very easy. It helped the students of 19th and early 20th century to translate literatures written in English into Japanese.
I believe that Japan is a rare country in which almost all the students can graduate from collage without any textbooks written in English. In the other Asian countries, since they don’t have enough collage-level textbooks translated into their own languages, they have to use the textbooks written in English.
Most of us study Eigo 3 years at junior high school as compulsory education and then more 3 years at high school, and for some of them farther 2 or 4 years at collage. Thanks to Eigo education, some of us become very good at reading real English and acquire enough ability to be accepted by famous domestic collages.
I think Eigo is great. I respect the scholars who established it. I believe that Eigo has supported not only Japan’s civilization but also its latest economic growth.
However, Eigo is always underfoot when we study hearing and speaking real English. Some face to the reality when they trip to foreign countries and the other when they talk with native English speakers first time. They realize, “Eigo is not English”.
Do you believe the fact that there are many people who read the articles from New York Times everyday but cannot speak English better than a five-years-old American boy?
It’s me.
I’m one of Eigo’s children.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
More than 30 Victims a Day
The figure of annual gun victims has never exceeded one hundred in Japan. Most of the gun murderers including the guy who shot the Mayor of Nagasaki yesterday are the member of gangster organizations. Fortunately only people of rare kind pull the trigger in this country. Gun incidents are very uncommon, because ordinary people like us are not allowed to own guns in Japan. Although my ancestor was from Samurai family, I don't have a single sward. Japan has a tough law.
In the U.S., more than 10,000 people seem to be shot dead by an assassin in a year. Thirty victims a day. U.S. government should recognize the fact that this gun society produces almost the same number of victims as Virginia tragedy in every single day.
However, this fear might only enhance the sales of guns for self-protection. And history repeats itself.
In the U.S., more than 10,000 people seem to be shot dead by an assassin in a year. Thirty victims a day. U.S. government should recognize the fact that this gun society produces almost the same number of victims as Virginia tragedy in every single day.
However, this fear might only enhance the sales of guns for self-protection. And history repeats itself.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
For those who know nothing about polluted American beef
I would like to tell the fact to those who know nothing about a fear for polluted beef.
I work for a Japanese food service company. I am in charge of Public Relations and one of my most important missions is to educate people who know nothing about the risk of BSE, or mad cow decease.
According to the latest medical report once abnormal prion which causes BSE is accumulated in the body, especially in the brain, vacant spaces are produced within the brain of the cow and the brain becomes sponge-like. As for human body, almost the same symptom is noticed. It is called 'variant CJD'.
In the U.S., as far as I know, more than twenty people were reported to have died of 'vCJD' like the case in U.K. but the fact had never been announced by the government. As you may be aware the livestock industry is very strong in the U.S. It is the fundamental of Bush administration. That's why the government still is concealing the BSE facts and almost nobody knows about it in the U.S.
Such tragedy was caused by feeding healthy cows with meat-and-bone meal. This feed is nutritious and effective for quick raising but once BSE infected materials are mixed it will spread the awful decease.
It is true that it is prohibited to feed meat-and-bone meal to cows in the U.S. but still is being fed to other cattle and pets. The fact that dangerous meat-and-bone meal still exist means that the risk still remains. Who can completely isolate meat-and-bone meal from cow's meal in a farm? They will easily be mixed together.
That's why our company emphasizes the importance of banning feeding live-cattle materials to all kinds of cattle. But the U.S. government still has no plan to do so.
I work for a Japanese food service company. I am in charge of Public Relations and one of my most important missions is to educate people who know nothing about the risk of BSE, or mad cow decease.
According to the latest medical report once abnormal prion which causes BSE is accumulated in the body, especially in the brain, vacant spaces are produced within the brain of the cow and the brain becomes sponge-like. As for human body, almost the same symptom is noticed. It is called 'variant CJD'.
In the U.S., as far as I know, more than twenty people were reported to have died of 'vCJD' like the case in U.K. but the fact had never been announced by the government. As you may be aware the livestock industry is very strong in the U.S. It is the fundamental of Bush administration. That's why the government still is concealing the BSE facts and almost nobody knows about it in the U.S.
Such tragedy was caused by feeding healthy cows with meat-and-bone meal. This feed is nutritious and effective for quick raising but once BSE infected materials are mixed it will spread the awful decease.
It is true that it is prohibited to feed meat-and-bone meal to cows in the U.S. but still is being fed to other cattle and pets. The fact that dangerous meat-and-bone meal still exist means that the risk still remains. Who can completely isolate meat-and-bone meal from cow's meal in a farm? They will easily be mixed together.
That's why our company emphasizes the importance of banning feeding live-cattle materials to all kinds of cattle. But the U.S. government still has no plan to do so.
As you may be aware, Japan has eased the trade ban for American beef last June after more than two years of banning since the BSE infected cow was found in the U.S. Some of Japanese food service companies have started again to use it but our company policy is not to use American beef until the safety is guaranteed by a blanket test, banning feeding cattle materials and the complete removal of specified risky materials.
I don't want to say all the beef is dangerous. But to eat American beef is something like Russian roulette as for now. Some will die, some will survive. Anyway you will know the result more than ten years after.
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