 |
=================================================
ALC Newsletter No. 066 08/22/07
=================================================
By the International Marketing Team at ALC Press
http://www.alc.co.jp/international
Contents:
1) The "Dear Readers" Column: Messages from the International Marketing Team at ALC Press
2) Trendy Japanese #22: KY (pronounced as "kay-why")
3) Quiz on Japan #5: "What does it mean to put salt outside
restaurants?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Readers,
Greetings from Tokyo!
Temperatures were lower and hours of sunlight were fewer than usual
in July, but as soon as August began, a severe heat wave covered Japan
and is expected to linger here until early September! Some earthquakes
have been occurring here and there. Is Japan trying to move to the
tropics? We hope not!
For those colleges and universities in the USA and Canada wishing
to promote themselves in Japan effectively, we are still offering
the Special Advertising Package (for Academic Programs). It
includes a print ad, as well as PC website and mobile-phone website
ads. For detailed information, please go to:
http://www.alc.co.jp/international/CampusADPackageUni.html
Should you have any questions, please let us know by e-mail
at <intsales@alc.co.jp Thank you.
Best wishes from the International Marketing Team at ALC Press.
=================================================
Trendy Japanese #22: KY (pronounced as "kay-why")
=================================================
Do you wish to communicate better with Japanese students and
get closer to them? Then remember these words and try to use
them!
**********************************************************
KY (pronounced as "kay-why")
**********************************************************
Now, KY is a really recent piece of jargon ─ even I, a Japanese person
living in Japan, had no idea what it meant until recently! But the term
is surely used widely among the younger generation, especially high
school students. KY stands for the Japanese words "kuuki (=atmosphere)"
and "yomenai (=can't read)", so it refers to someone who cannot/
doesn't read the atmosphere meaning the person acts or says things
improperly. Theterm is used like this: "He was being so serious at the
party lastnight. He was a real KY (=He couldn't read the atmosphere)."
The expression "read the atmosphere" has long been used in Japanese,
but it has become widely used as everyday expression in the last few
years. Comedians began to use this term to make fun of other
comedians, who acted or said something not so amusing. Also,
Internet bulletin board users began to use the term to chide others,
who wrote something improper on the board. And now young people
are also using the term quite often, shortening it to "KY".
One reason that the expression "read the atmosphere" has become
so common is because, in Japan, it is considered a "sin" ─ to stretch
the point a bit ─ not to be able to read the atmosphere. In Japan, it
is hoped that you will be able to assess situations or others' feelings,
even without anybody telling you, and also that you will know how you
should act by yourself. There is even a saying, "Say one, know ten."
Although some of you may think that this aspect of the Japanese
spirit is completely unreasonable. We sometimes hear of cases where
Japanese exchange students hesitate to speak out during classes,
because they do not want to fail to "read the atmosphere" and say
something "wrong." However, this is not because the students don't
want to participate in the class; they are just so used to their own
communication style, which may be a little different from yours. So,
how about starting your next class with the following announcement:"Forget the KY rules! (=Forget about reading the atmosphere!)"
=================================================
Quiz on Japan #5: "What does it mean to put salt outside restaurants?"
=================================================
How much do you know about Japan? We'll give you a quiz in each
issue, so try to find the right answer!
［Answer to last week's quiz］
Last week's quiz question was "What kind of cheering is actually seen
during some baseball games in Japan?" The answer is: (c) Fans holding
umbrellas in the air, no matter what the weather is. This particular
way of cheering is done by the fans of Tokyo Yakult Swallows. In the
1980's, the cheerleader Mr. Masayasu Okada thought it would be a
good idea if every fan of the team brought an umbrella to the stadium
because basically everyone has one at home, and it would also make
the stand look more crowded than it really is.
［Quiz for this week］
Quiz #5: Sometimes, you see small piles of salt put outside the door
of restaurants in Japan. What is the purpose of this?
(a) To bring more customers into the restaurant
(b) To ward evil spirits away from customers
(c) To wish that the restaurant will always be able to serve customers
good food
(d) To show that the restaurant has been purified by Shinto priests.
Check out the correct answer in the next issue!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Thank you for reading!
*Back issues of the ALC Newsletter are available at:
http://www.alc.co.jp/international/Newsletter.html
*If you wish to be removed from this newsletter or change the e-mail
address to which it is sent, please let us know by e-mailing us at:
intl-mag@alc.co.jp
Publisher: ALC Press, Inc.
2-54-12 Eifuku, Suginami-ku, Tokyo 168-8611 Japan
Writers: The International Marketing Team at ALC Press / Ayako Ishimoto
Editor: The International Marketing Team at ALC Press
Copyright (c) 2007 ALC Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
|
|
