Jlist news letter, Gaijin in Ads, Some spoken Nihongo tips & Longevity in Japan: GREETINGS FROM J-LIST! Friday, March 7, 2014 One of the more random aspects of life in Japan is seeing famous Hollywood actors appear in TV commercials, Lost in Translation style, like Brad Pitt hawking Edwin brand jeans or Roots canned coffee, or Quentin Tarantino showing up in a Softbank ad with the lovely Aya Ueto and the dog Otosan. The making of Japanese TV commercials with American stars can get quite involved, like the series of 24 shorts in which Jack Bauer battles terrorists in Tokyo then eats Calorie Mate, or the Georgia Coffee commercials which follow Dale Cooper as he solves a new my stery in Twin Peaks. Tommy Lee Jones has played a space alien living in Tokyo to observe human society for more than a decade now, and makes a good living at it -- supposedly he gets a cool $1.5 million for each 30 second TV spot. This week George Cloony is appearing in an ad for a new beer by Kirin -- I put that in quotes since its legally not beer but 発泡酒 happou-shu, a low-malt beer-like beverage thats taxed at a lower rate than true beer. Back in the day, Id watch TV commercials with Dennis Hopper playing with a rubber ducky in a bath and say, gee, wouldnt it be nice if people outside Japan to see these? Thankfully YouTube showed up, making it possible to watch most of these bizarre TV commercials from Japan. Famous Hollywoood Actors in Japanese TV commercialsDekomori DESU Some famous faces in Japanese TV commercials; remember, dont talk like Dekomori DESU. If youve listened to spoken Japanese at all youve probably noticed the word です desu, often pronounced with the last vowel reduced so that it sounds like dess. This word is basically the verb to be in its formal form. Its really simple to use: if you want to say I am John just say ジョンです John desu and if you want to state your nationality, just say アメリカ人です America-jin desu or カナダ人です Canada-jin desu or whatever. The subjects of Japanese sentences are usually left off if the meaning is clear from the context, but if you wanted to clarify that youre talking about yourself and not, say, Michelangelo, you could say 私はジョンです watashi wa John desu (lit. As for me, Im John). If someone pointed to an apple on a table and asked you what it was, you could say りんごです ringo desu, which works when discussing the drummer of the Beatles, too. The desu sentence ending is a formal word, useful for making a good impression on Japanese you might try talking to, especially if theyre older than you. Every Japanese verb comes in formal and informal versions, and the informal of desu is だ da, which youd use when talking to a person below your station, like a teacher addressing his students. (Part of the reason Japanese can get away with no subjects in their sentences is this additional information picked up by the verb form.) The word desu is often used in cute ways as a charm point for characters like Dekomori Sanae from Chu2koi or Furuda Rika from Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni, but this usage is as far from standard Japanese as Yodas unique style of speaking from English is, so dont ever imitate these characters when speaking. Happy birthday to the oldest person in the world, Misao Okawa, who turned 116 years old yesterday. Ms. Okawa was born in Osaka back in 1898, and has lived an amazing life, witnessing the Russo-Japan War of 1905, the horrors of World War II, and the rebuilding of Japan as an economic power. The Japanese are famous for their longevity, with women living 86 years and men 79 years on average. The reasons for this are many, including a healthier diet with lots of fish and green tea, lower intake of sugar, and a solid healthcare system. But another important reason is the social factor. My wifes parents are both in their mid-70s, and most of their friends are people theyve known all their lives, in many cases going back to the first day of elementary school. These friends provide a social network and support each other when someone becomes ill or goes through lif e trials...and when the time comes, everyone attends each others funerals. As for me, an American from California whos lived in a lot of different placs, the idea of maintaining lifelong friendships like that would be quite unthinkable, and Im envious of my wifes parents for what theyve got.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 02:17:22 +0000
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