Well, I don't want to make this the "Japan-bashing list, but...this is my and
other's experience in an academic ESL setting at Doshisha Uni. I can also attest
that they were just as resistant to certain German idioms. I could never
convince them to use Meine Meinung nach, for instance.
>>> Olaf Greve <Ogreve@xxxxxxx> 12/17/99 05:35am >>>
Hi,
> Oh yes, the Japanese are famous for believing that their English is BETTER
> than American English. Native speakers who go to Japan to teach often find
> students refuse correction because they insist they were taught correctly
> in school.
Really?
I find this surprising. I have travelled through Japan for 3 weeks (with a
Japanese friend of mine, who so happens to be a student), and virtually
every Japanese person I met started off the discussion by apologising for
their "poor English", even the ones who spoke it pretty well. I also found
that a lot of Japanese people were actually too shy to speak to you in
English because they were too ashamed to make mistakes. I realise that not
all of these people were students, and may therefore react differently from
the ones you're referring to, but nevertheless that would strike me as an
amazing contrast with my own experiences.
> We tried to convince the Japanese (in the Olympus Service Dept., Woodbury)
> in the early 80s that service manuals (allegedly in english already) HAD
> to be re-written into english that Americans would fully understand.
At times you definitely come across funny translations and/or grammatical
errors, but I do invite all of you to re-read Mr(s). Takezawa's words:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you very much for your e-mail concerning the future of
OM-system.
Unfortunately, we still have no concrete plan for discontinuation
of the OM cameras and accessories.
As you point out, it is our policy to maintain all the spare parts
for ten years after the discontinuation of SLR cameras.
We are trying to offer the best possible services as long as
we can.
Thank you for your interest in Olympus.
Best regards,
S. Takezawa
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This doesn't strike me as poor English; apart from one missing word (i.e.
the word "the" is missing in the subphrase "future of OM-system"), the
English in this reply actually seems fine and well advanced to me (take e.g.
a phrase such as "As you point out, it is our policy to maintain all the
spare parts for ten years after the discontinuation of SLR cameras.").
I do agree that the usage of the word "unfortunately" appears strange within
the context of the rest of the message, and that Mr(s). Takezawa therefore
may have expressed him/herself incorrectly, but I can't deduce that from
his/her usage of the English language.
So, the $64,000 question is: Did Mr(s). Takezawa really express him/herself
poorly, or are we just hoping and praying that Oly doesn't really think it's
unfortunate that there are no plans yet for discontinuing the OM-system?
I guess your guess is as good as mine, only time will tell...:(
Cheerio!
Olafo
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