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ALC Newsletter No. 067 09/05/07
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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 #23: Oppappii (pronounced as "opp-pup-pee")
3) Quiz on Japan #6: "What picture is seen on the moon?"
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Dear Readers,
Greetings from Tokyo!
We recently launched a new website called "Alcom World."
<http://alcom.co.jp/ > Alcom World is a community for those wishing
to learn and teach various subjects ranging from languages, academic
studies to hobbies. Currently Alcom World offers two main services:
1) Q & A Corner where users can post any questions they have regarding
different languages including English, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and
other users will answer them;
2) SNS (Social Networking Service) where
users can choose their own avatar, write their blog, form a club of their
interest and expand the circle of friends. There are many SNS websites
out there but what makes Alcom World different from others is that it
based on education. Those who have something they wish to teach
others will be able to set up their classes, gather learners and start to
teach at Alcom World soon.
Best wishes from the International Marketing Team at ALC Press.
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Trendy Japanese #23: Oppappii (pronounced as "opp-pup-pee")
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Do you wish to communicate better with Japanese students and get
closer to them? Then remember these words and try to use them!
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Oppappii (pronounced as "opp-pup-pea")
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"Oppappii" is a strange phrase used by the comedian Yoshio Kojima
in his comedy routine. Kojima is a rookie comedian who has become
popular since around spring this year. His refined face with thick
eyebrows is easy to remember, not to mention his well-built body
which he shows off by wearing only bikini briefs during his performance!
In his performance, he first tells the audience some story, but the
story itself is not the main thing and is not so important. He keeps
making mistakes in his storytelling, sometimes cannot pronounce a
word correctly, or sometimes tells things the wrong way round. After
he has made too many mistakes, he kneels down and say "Heta koita!
(I made mistakes!)." Then some rhythmic background music begins,
and Kojima stands up and starts dancing to it, singing "(I made
mistakes, but) It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter! Hey, Oppappii!"
When he is asked what "Oppappii" means, he always answers "It's an
abbreviation of Ocean Pacific Peace," but of course this is a joke and"Oppappii" doesn't particularly mean anything. But the sound of "Oppappii" is somewhat cute and so this has become popular
especially among young people and those who are into comedy.
Kojima seems to have a lot of experience of "making mistakes," usually
saying or acting improperly, not only during his comedy performance
but also when he appears on TV as a guest. Recently, he made such
a mistake during a famous live variety show. It happened during a
certain segment, in which several comedians go into a tub filled with
very hot water, and the audience laugh at them getting upset. But
Kojima went into the tub and performed "Oppappii" singing and dancing
with a composed expression! This revealed that there was no "hot"
water in the tub and everything was made up. Is he now in big trouble,
or was this mess intended by Kojima in the first place? He might say,"It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter!"
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Quiz on Japan #6: "What picture is seen on the moon?"
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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 does it mean to put salt outside
restaurants?"
The answer is: (a) To bring more customers into the restaurant. This
custom is said to be based on a historical event in that China. The first
Qin emperor Shi Huangdi had many beautiful women to visit. So, one
of them came up with the idea of putting salt outside her door so that
the emperor's cow would stop to lick the salt. Thus the cow stopped
at the woman's house every night and she became the emperor's
favorite.
［Quiz for this week］
Quiz #6: In Japan, September is known as a good month for moon
viewing. Around the world, people liken the shadows on the moon to
different things. What kind of image do many people see on the moon
in Japan?
(a) a mother telling her daughter a story
(b) a peacock with a big crown
(c) a rabbit making a rice cake
(d) a wizard riding on a flying carpet
Check out the correct answer in the next issue!
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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.
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