Japanese language and culture is extremely interesting and confusing; without even thinking about it Japanese people are able to transition their speech from very casual between friends, to formal, to honorific, and extra-modest or humble. These transitions accompanied by different vocabulary and conjugations become natural to them, perhaps almost reflexive. Therefore, it can be inferred that their choice of vocabulary and speech may alter from what they commonly use when talking to native English speakers. The conversation partners may be more inclined to use katakana words as opposed to the Japanese word simply because they believe that it would be easier for people learning Japanese to understand or because it is more commonly known. This does not mean that they do not usually use the Japanese word or that they prefer to use the katakana word but simply that their style of speech has changed to accommodate the person who they are speaking to. I do hypothesize that many more katakana words are being used by the younger generation instead of the equivalent Japanese word. For example, トイレ compared with おてあらい. However I find it necessary to distinguish between those words that are increasingly becoming popular to say in katakana and are preferred to be said in katakana and those words that are used by conversation partners for other reasons, such as a way to make it easier for foreign exchange students to understand what they are trying to say.
In order to contest this I propose that the Japanese conversation partners be told that the interest lies within their choice of words so that they are encouraged to speak as they would with one of their Japanese friends. An alternative approach would be to listen to the way in which Japanese people speak amongst their friends and see how often they use katakana words. Furthermore, in addition to asking the conversation partners about Engrish verbally I propose that a questionnaire be given. This may give Japanese people a better chance of explaining themselves and allow them to think more comfortably and freely. I imagine the questionnaire to contain both English and Japanese. Perhaps there may be a section that simply lists some katakana words and Japanese words and asks them to circle the one in which they prefer to use and maybe even give an explanation to why they prefer to use it. Another section may ask people to translate English sentences into Japanese and to note which words they use. The next section could contain a few images or quotes with Engrish asking questions about what they think about it, if there is anything wrong with it, etc. The end would include a couple of idioms that asks them what they the meanings are. I believe this is where the problem lies for the most part. Just as with the image “the grass is smiling at you”, the words together have a different meaning then that is expected. It would be really interesting to go over idioms in both English and Japanese because the meanings are usually hard to understand and interpret. I would target those students who are majoring in English or those that have been to Western countries to study English. I also think these students would be best to ask about Engrish and whether they see the humour in it or whether they understand its mistakes or downfalls.
Criticism and Suggestions
I think that the way in which Team Engrish went about their detailed plan of action is quite impressive and very informative. The questions you guys developed are interesting and your topic is focused. The only thing that I have a concern about is with asking conversation partners about their use of katakana. Perhaps, it would be beneficial to first inform them that you are interested in whether they prefer the katakana word or the Japanese word, rather than just noting the amount of times they use katakana words. The reason in which I suggest this is because I think that the Japanese conversation partners may have a tendency to use katakana words in front of exchange students. This may be because they think that the Japanese equivalent may be harder to understand or may be unknown to English speakers. This may also have an impact of the extent to which demographic age effects on the choice of speech. For example, teachers may be more inclined to be formal towards the students and expect the students to use Japanese words rather than katakana words.
In addition to asking your conversation partners about Engrish verbally, my suggestion is for you to explore the use of Engrish in Japanese society through the use of questionnaires. I imagine these questionnaires to contain both English and Japanese. Perhaps there may be a section that simply lists some katakana words and Japanese words and asks them to circle the one in which they prefer to use and maybe even give an explanation to why they prefer to use it. Another section may ask people to translate English sentences into Japanese and to note which words they use. The next section could contain a few images or quotes with Engrish asking questions about what they think about it, if there is anything wrong with it, etc. At the end you may also include a couple of English idioms which asks them what they think the meanings would be. I believe this is where the problem lies for the most part. Just as you mentioned on the image with “the grass is smiling at you”, the words together have a different meaning then that is expected. It would be really interesting to go over idioms in both English and Japanese because the meanings are usually hard to understand. This would probably be easier to go through with those Japanese students majoring in English or those that have been to Western countries to study English. I also think these students would be best to ask about Engrish and whether they see the humour in it or whether they understand its mistakes or downfalls.
by Abigail Obispo
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