異文化間の言語の誤解
Welcome to Kevin's English Room Podcast.
Hello.
Hello.
Okay.
Alright, this one.
Himiko-san. Okay.
Dear Yama-san, Kevin-san.
Hope it finds you well.
It's my very first
letter to your podcast.
Thank you. Today I'd like to write
this message in English to train
my writing skill.
I'm living in London now.
I moved to here after
I graduated from the university in Japan.
Okay.
When I started my life in the UK,
I was not a really fluent
speaker of English.
Or rather, I had an American-ish
accent because I was raised by
the Japanese education. Okay.
So I have been working hard
to get used to the British language
and still keep on talking
a weekly English lesson
even it's my ninth year
in London. Okay.
For people who speak
several languages,
I think everyone has any interesting
story about the language
mixed up. I'd like to
share mine for
this time. Okay. A few years ago,
I was talking to my flatmates
in the kitchen. Yeah.
And we were chatting about
what they were cooking.
Okay.
One of flatmates picked
some veggies from our fridge.
Then I said to them like,
Oh, such fresh tomatoes.
Then suddenly
everyone in the kitchen started laughing
because it sounded like
American, not British.
Tomatoes. Oh, okay.
Yeah. As a Japanese,
I tried to make it sound more English-like
rather than Japanese tomato.
However,
my attempt was failed.
It would have been easier for me
to call them more Japanese way
because Japanese tomato
sounds clearer to British tomatoes
than American.
But I just felt
sad and thought they were
a bit rude.
Even though I like British accent
and British people, that is the point
which I feel a difficulty
to accept. Okay.
But it's okay.
This experience lets me remember
the accent of tomato perfectly.
I could never forget.
Okay.
Do you guys have any episode or
what?
Anecdotal?
Anecdotal story?
What does that mean?
It's like an episode.
Anecdotal story like this?
I suppose that multilanguage speakers
could share the feeling of this kind
of story.
I'm quite interested in your experiences.
Thank you for finding my message.
I'm looking forward to
your another podcast episode.
Thank you.
Tomato.
Tomato.
Tomato.
American way is
tomatoes.
What is it in British?
Tomatoes.
That's closer to Japanese.
Tomato.
Tomatoes.
Tomatoes.
Okay.
日本のトマトの魅力
One of the
delightful, one of the delights
that I enjoyed
back
in Japan was tomatoes.
Oh, yeah.
Did you eat the tomatoes in that country?
Yeah.
Did you
like it?
I know, right?
It was like
a gummy bear.
Yeah.
It was chewy.
Yeah.
What I found was it wasn't
watery.
Relatively fresh
compared to other countries.
But no taste
in it.
Like Japanese
tomatoes.
Sweet.
Juicy.
Savory.
So good.
That burst
of liquid when you bite into it.
Yes, I get it.
I get it.
Did you eat the apples there?
Yeah.
Did you like it?
Not disliked.
Did you get the fresh apples or the cut apples?
Cut apples.
It wasn't bad?
Why? Was it terrible?
The texture
was like...
The gummy?
The structural integrity
What do you mean?
was risky.
It was
kind of like...
It wasn't tough.
It feels like
you could push into it
and then make a bed mark.
It feels like...
It's like a little bit of...
I don't know.
The particles inside
were kind of softer.
They were kind of
loose.
It was loose.
Whereas Japan, it's more tight.
It's more crispy.
I get it.
You have to cut by knife.
You can't push them.
It's hard.
Globally, that's like
normal. I guess Japan's too good.
日本の果物の美味しさ
I'm aware of that.
Japanese fruits, Japanese veggies.
They're too good.
I guess that's one of the things
that I want people from abroad to eat.
You know, all these like
sushis and ramens and takoyakis
are good.
But like, tomatoes and apples?
Yeah.
You gotta try one of those.
Oh, they're good.
I get it.
I agree with that.
People should go to local grocery stores
and get some tomatoes.
Like a normal...
Nothing fancy.
Just a normal, classic...
Maruetsu Puchi is fine.
That's great.
My bus is great.
Just get an apple.
The cheapest apple.
I get it.
Why does that happen?
Why does that happen?
I don't know.
Honestly, I don't know.
Why, how that happens.
Is that type difference?
Maybe.
Why?
Maybe.
It's the way they're growing them, maybe?
The method of...
I don't know.
But like, I think that applies to all fruits.
日本のトマトの品質
All fruits are better in Japan.
Yeah.
Yeah.
The average level is much higher.
Yeah.
Unbelievable.
We have to appreciate that.
We do, we really do.
But this time I found
it was relatively good.
Okay.
This time.
You know what I'm saying?
I get what you're saying.
I go to a local supermarket
and I found it like,
hard.
You see what I'm saying?
I get what you're saying.
But still,
Japan has like...
Japan's too good.
Top notch.
They're really good.
We have to appreciate it.
We can't take it for granted.
Thank you, Japan.
For providing us with great...
All the farmers.
Thank you.
Bye.
