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12 August, 2001

FUN WITH LANGUAGES

I was at a wedding with a bunch of Japanese Americans over the weekend, and was struck by how much of our linguistic heritage still flavors our English conversation. The Japanese language is like soy sauce drizzled over our communication, reminding us -- and others - that we're multicultural even if many of us cannot even speak a full sentence in "Nihongo," much less read or write anything in Japanese.

There are myriad bits of Japanese that most Japanese Americans know, and have heard all their lives.

If you eavesdrop at any get-together of several generations of Japanese Americans, you're sure to hear words such as "nokori" (leftovers - as in "Everybody get plates together for your nokori - I don't want anything to go to waste") or "benjo" (bathroom - "Let me go to the benjo before we leave"). Mind you, the use of the language is crude: I grew up using "benjo" (or "o-benjo, a more polite term), but in Japan today you're much more likely to hear the word "o-te-arai," or "washroom," literally "place to wash your hands."

There are myriad bits of Japanese that I expect most Japanese Americans know, and have heard all their lives.

My definitions are probably not exact and more from my own family's experience with these words. Many are typical things any parent might say, or any kid might hear: "da-me" ("stop it" or "don't do that"), "urusai" ("noisy" or "stop making noise"), "yarashii" ("yucky," or "that's disgusting"), "kusai" ("stinky," "smelly") and "takai" ("expensive").

Words such as "takai" are handy because when anyone is bilingual in a country that is not, you can make public comments about things such as the price of goods without giving up your privacy. Whether in a restaurant or a shop, I can turn to Erin and mutter "takai" and we both know we should move on because it's overpriced.

Of course, I've already written in the past about the wonderful word "mottainai," which translates broadly to "wasteful" and is a touchstone of JA cultural guilt. Other words are less often used, but I hear them amongst sansei (third generation) and yonsei (fourth generation) from time to time: "mendokusai" (I translate it as "pain in the butt," but more accurately means something like "it's too complicated" or "it takes too much effort to be worthwhile"). "Shigata ga nai" is a very philosophical phrase, often spoken with a sympathetic look or nod of the head among adults, which means "it can't be helped." It might be used when something sad happens, but it might also be used when you've just missed your bus.

Bodily functions are common words that cross the cultures because we've all used them from childhood. "Shi-shi" is "pee;" "o-shikko" is the more polite "urinate." "Unchi" is well, you can guess, and "unko" is a nicer way to say it. JAs young and old know what you mean when you say either.

Ironically, the one word I hardly ever hear JAs use, although it's the one word that non-Japanese around the world probably are more familiar with than any other, is "sayonara." We just wave our hands and say "bye bye" like any other American.

I'm no linguist but I've also always been fascinated by how many words in Japanese are repeated twice for emphasis, and how many are onomatopoeic, or make the sound that they define.

Examples of such double-words include "yoisho, yoisho," a nonsensical utterance when you are exerting an effort, like carrying something heavy or even walking up the stairs. It's as if saying these words makes it easier to move your muscles.

With the help of Erin's grandmother Helen, I've begun compiling a growing list of double-words. "Gassa-gassa" (or "gosso gosso") is the act of talking a lot and saying nothing. "Gach-gacha" means "cluttered" or "mess." "Garra garra" is a rattling sound. "Guru-guru" means "spinning around." "Betta-betta" is "sticky." "Noso-noso" is the feeling I get in my guts when I look down from a high place, because I have a little bit of fear of heights. "Muu-muu" means "humid." "Moshi moshi" is "hello" over the phone -- but you don't use it face-to-face.

Some are children's words: "ji-ji" for "dirty," "ne-ne" for "sleep" (or nap), "kamu kamu" ("chew"), pon-pon ("stomach").

"Burra-burra" is an old-fashioned term for what American might call "lollygagging" - hanging around, being lazy and unproductive. I heard it as a child during the hot humid days of summer, when I had no energy to do anything, especially my chores. In the 1930s, when Japan was swept by a fad of young people who wanted to adopt American habits and hang out in the Tokyo's Ginza shopping district all day and night, the Japanese put together "Ginza" and "burra-burra" and came up with a new word "gimbura." The word might be the English equivalent today of "slacker."

My favorite double-word is "don-don." Now, I'm sure there's a real meaning for "don-don" but the one I grew up with was established by my parents. "Don-don" was the phrase for making too much noise in the house ("don-don" being the sound we made when we stomped around), and my folks would yell "Don't don-don" when my brothers and I got too rambunctious. To this day, we kid each other and say "don't don-don!"

While we're having fun with the Japanese language, I want to cover animal sounds.

Humans speak different languages depending on what tribe, region, country, religion or race they're from. But you would think animals would make the same sounds all over the globe. Nope. Every culture has its own way of hearing and then repeating the noises its non-human creatures make.

For instance, in the US we grow up hearing that roosters crow "cock-a-doodle-doo!" as the sun rises. In Japan, the same rooster would say "ko-ke-kokko!" Dogs in Japan do not bark "woof, woof!" - they bark "wan, wan!" Cats are close - in Japan, they "miu" instead of "meow." Frogs in the US croak "ribbit, ribbit, ribbit" but in Japan frogs are heard to say "kero, kero, kero" (or "gero, gero, gero"). Chicks go "pio pio" in Japan instead of "cheep cheep."

Because I'm Japanese American, I say the English equivalents of animal sounds. But I will always sprinkle my conversations with other JAs with the many Japanese words and phrases that enrich our communications while sharing a cultural code that has been handed down through the generations.