Wow! Great information, Kazuya. Thank you so much. In that context
"numbskull" might be a bit too harsh to be equivalent to "bokeh" unless used
amongst very understanding friends. "Dummy," "goofy" or "goofball" might be
more appropriate American English equivalents.
I suppose all cultures have a tradition of verbal sparring and exchanging
friendly insults, but it's tricky enough knowing where to draw the line in
one's own culture, let alone trying to casually use phrases from other
cultures.
I like your comparison to Ernie from Sesame Street. And your new smiley.
Here's mine for a puzzled numbskull scratching his head.
r(%)?
Regards,
Lex
===
From: "k.matsumoto" <GHA02260@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [OT] language bastardisation was Re: [OM] New Digicam
Date: Fri, 01 Sep 2000 23:01:05 +0900
Is the word "numskull" another translation? I learned this from the
list but not used to it yet.
We use "bokeh" often in many ways but it's OK to use it when you are
having fun or joking with your closest friends. Usually it's not a
very strongly offending word. Ernie in Sesame Street and Takeshi
Kitano (film director/comedian) are typical bokehs. Their roll
itself is called a bokeh in comedy terms so they should be charming
and not always stupid and sometimes very wise.
You should only be serious or sensitive when using this word for old
people because "bokeh(ed) old person" usually means those mentally
ill such as suffering Alzheimer's disease or something.
"I've started to take pictures to keep away bokeh from me" would be
a quite natural Japanese expression if this is used by a retired man
who has been very busy but now he has plenty of time to enjoy life.
When you make a mistake, you may also say "Rats, I've been a big
bokeh!"
BTW, it seems to be a mandatory rule to include Oly content so I
invented a new Japanese style smiley.
p[o]q_*) cheeez!
a guy with a Trip 35. Maybe 35RD. Introduced to the world for the
first time. Maybe this whole mail is a bokeh.
kazuya matsumoto
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