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Welcome to Kevin's English Room Podcast!
Alright!
Yay!
You've got a sick?
Do I look sick?
Do I sound sick?
Like a little hana-zumari?
I feel a little bit of a hana-zumari but I'm not sick at all.
I don't know why I have hana-zumari.
I don't know why.
So, this time I've got a line.
You've got a line?
Yes.
It's a little bit confusing because we now officially have a line account.
We do! We actually do have an official line account.
It's a little bit confusing to say this.
Right.
But it's my personal line.
It's your Yama-chan's personal line.
Which is open to anybody.
Which you use to contact your mother and your family and your brother.
Your deepest personal line account is open for public, right?
Yes.
And anyone can get them.
Yes.
Gotcha.
Hello.
My name is Shandon.
Thank you Shandon-san.
I always enjoy watching YouTube and podcast.
Thank you.
Do you know this word?
Yes, I know.
"Haikei" is watching. "Haicho" is listening.
I know that.
I love you guys.
Thank you.
By the way, can I ask you a question?
Sure.
When I'm talking to my friends from overseas,
they say "So what?"
with a straight face.
I'm a little bit hurt because it's too direct.
Is it normal for native speakers to use a friendly way?
Have you ever felt that your way of speaking is strong when you are talking to Kevin-san?
On the other hand, Kevin-san,
you didn't stop thinking about it,
but have you ever been hurt by native-only expressions?
It's hard for Japanese people,
but I want to know if there's any word that's different from the usual way of speaking.
I'll keep supporting you.
I love you.
Interesting question.
What do you think of the "So what?"
It's too straight-faced.
It's too straight-faced.
I think...
But you don't say "So what?"
I don't think I say "So what?"
No.
But if it's really like really "magao,"
I think there is a nuance of an attack to it.
I do feel that there's a diss to it.
If it's that "magao."
If I say it like "So what?"
What do you mean?
With the little joke kind of nuance?
With your facial expression?
Right.
To me, that's not attack-ative at all.
But like...
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And I also would feel like even if you were Japanese,
you would not feel that you were attacked.
But if it was like "So what?"
Like really "magao, so what?"
I think there is a little bit of a nuance of like,
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
Kind of like "So what, so what?"
Right?
I would really look into what you said before that.
Yeah...
In your case,
you can understand how people will feel by your expression.
So you really understand well about that.
So you don't say like "So what?"
or like "Then what?"
Because you know that.
Because I have the Japanese-ness inside me.
Yeah, a little bit.
Or you have so many experiences talking with Japanese people.
So you understand that and you are used to that situation.
So I actually have almost no experience that felt like...
Like "kowai" or shocked from you.
But...
Yeah, "kizutsuita"
No experience.
Yeah, but at the same time,
I feel that you are like a little more direct compared to me at least.
Or maybe average Japanese people.
Maybe like saying something like if you have your opinion,
then you say that directly.
Like "I think..."
blah blah blah like this.
Or "That's not right."
Or "That's right."
"I agree."
For me, it's really American, like Western culture.
Even if I'm speaking in Japanese,
you feel a little bit more direct.
Right, right.
It's not in English or Japanese.
It's your maybe personality.
I think that's...
Sometimes I feel that.
I do think that the culture is different with the Japanese and Americans.
So I'm 100% sure that there's going to be misunderstandings with
the English speakers saying this
and the Japanese speaker heard it in a way that the American did not meant it to be.
I'm 100% sure that that will happen.
Because it's a different culture.
So you do have to have a thick skin
when you're talking to people from different cultures.
Thick skin.
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You shouldn't really worry so much about it.
You should go into a direct conversation.
You don't want to read so much of the nuances
when you're speaking to people from different cultures.
You just want to extract out the facts.
Extract out the exact words that they say.
The way they say it, it's a different culture.
You don't want to rely on that so much.
Right, right.
In Japan, we're all the same.
We're all Japanese people.
We all have similar faces.
We have the same facial features.
Physically, we're all the same.
So we can easily guess what they think, what they feel.
And that's a Japanese culture.
But in America, or in Europe,
there are African people, white people, Asian people.
So we can't...
It's really hard to guess and think about,
imagining about their background,
and how he feels.
It's really hard.
So you have to say that clearly.
That's culture, right?
I totally agree with you.
I had a DM saying that this person goes to Japan.
This person goes,
"I am texting with an American person."
And he's speaking Japanese.
And he's not using keigo at all.
He's using words like "omae."
"Omae wa nani nani nani."
And she says that no matter how many times
she tried to fix that American guy,
he would not use "omae" because that's a little bit...
Unpolite.
He would not fix them.
And also no matter how many times she teaches him to use keigo,
he would not use keigo.
And she asked me if he's being kind of
attackative, disrespectful.
Is it on me that I feel a little grudge,
a little angry towards him?
Because he's being kind of disrespectful?
Is that on me?
Or is it culture?
What is this situation?
What do you think about that?
What's your first insight on that?
Even that person is American,
you can learn something.
And if she pointed out about that,
he should fix that.
If she respects that relationship,
but in that situation he doesn't do that,
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then I think he's a little bit rude about that.
Right.
That's what I think.
How do you think?
I agree.
I have the same perspective on that.
Right.
You told him that it's disrespectful,
he should fix that.
He's not trying to fix that he's disrespectful.
That's kind of showing something maybe.
It's a little bit difficult.
It's a difficult situation.
It's a little bit different story,
but do you think using keigo
is really difficult for American people?
We Japanese think and be taught
that keigo is kind of like Asian culture.
And Western people doesn't have that element.
Right.
But is that right?
Well, kind of.
Because there is no keigo in English,
that's correct.
But there is a polite way of saying it.
Like to someone who is of a higher status than you are.
You don't say things in a sloppy way to your boss,
but you can to your colleague.
So we have that,
Americans do have that kind of essence in them.
They do have that kind of antennas in them
to use a different dialect,
to use a different communication style
when you're speaking to him versus him.
They can separate that.
But there is no definite distinction.
There is no...
Like in Japanese, you just have to put the word "desu"
"masu" for it to be a keigo.
And that clears the...
That accomplishes the respectfulness.
But like in US, in English,
you don't have that kind of system.
The way you say it is the key to be more respectful.
So English speakers may have difficulties using keigo.
But you can understand that,
respectness of course.
Right, right. Not be sloppy.
So if someone told you that using that word
is not right in this situation,
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and you should fix that,
and then you will be like,
"Okay, I understand. I'll fix that."
That should be how it should go.
Yeah, that's quite natural for me.
So the person who gave me the message,
the woman's natural feeling of being irritated is correct.
There's no problem with her being irritated
with the way that American guy is acting.
Yes.
Alright.
Okay.
Thanks for listening guys.
Thank you Shandon-san for your message.
Yes, thank you Shandon-san.
Bye bye.
