Language as a communication tool
Jōzu desu ne...
A language post? Really?
This post is quite focused on language…but trust me, I’m going somewhere with this.
What language do you look like you can speak?
Typos and weird expressions aside, it is obvious to my readers that I am a native English speaker. This is a pretty obvious statement to the people who know me through reading my Substack, but it isn’t always obvious to other people around me. You can’t easily tell the language someone speaks just by looking at them.
After living in Japan for 20 years I’ve had my share awkward interactions where I’ve greeted someone in English only for it to turn out they can’t speak English but can speak Japanese. My most recent example of this was when I exchanged a pleasant, non-verbal greeting with a foreign guy running around my local park every day for a week. I eventually managed to stop him to give him some information about local running clubs in the area, but when I asked him if I spoke English he said, “No. Spanish.” But he could speak Japanese and I found out he was from Argentina. (I almost felt awkward to tell him I’m from the UK. Dude can’t even go to Japan to get peace from the British).
In my travels I have come across people who look like they should be able to speak a language but can’t actually do so. In Malaysia for example, there are many Malaysian’s of Chinese descent that can’t speak Chinese. This seems to be a source of social tension on some levels, but that’s not really what I want to get into today. There are of course times when the exact opposite is true.
Defying expectations
A while ago I was out in Shibuya (a very touristy area of Tokyo) with some Thai friends of mine. We went to a fishing restaurant* that I’d heard about and when the staff came over to our table, they asked if we wanted an English menu. I usually like to get a Japanese menu because it’s usually more up to date than an English menu and it can be more convenient for staff to reference that menu rather than trying to figure out the English names, so I answered in Japanese requesting two English menus and a Japanese menu. It took the staff member a couple of seconds to process the reversal of expectations, but then understood what was going on and we all got on with our night. This is a regular occurrence and doesn’t require a YouTube Video.
Speaking to a staff member at a restaurant one time is a bit of a shallow interaction. It’s this kind of interaction that can annoy some foreigners living in Japan, especially if the dreaded phrase 「日本語上手ですね」(Nihongo jōzu desu ne: Your Japanese is really good) comes up. The reason why this phrase annoys some people is that it is often used when a foreigner says even the most rudimentary Japanese words. They believe their Japanese is pretty good, but they get annoyed when they are complimented for saying konnichi wa.
In my personal opinion, the reason why they are hearing this phrase a lot is because most of the interactions they have with Japanese people are quite shallow. If they had some long term friends it wouldn’t be an issue. Once you have known people for a while (usually more than one day) they won’t compliment your Japanese like that anymore.
Defying expectations to the point it becomes normal
When I first came to Japan I spent a long time l spent quite a long time grinding out Japanese. (If you are interested in the method I used to learn Japanese, I wrote an article titled, Studying Japanese: Where to begin (文武両道)). Communication was pretty rough for the first few years, but once I was able to communicate with people I was able to move around a lot more easily and learn things in Japanese I wasn’t able to learn using English. For example, I have never received any 居合道 (iaidō) or 芦原空手 (Ashihara Karate) instruction in English. This can have a bit of a strange knock on effect.
It has recently come to my attention that some of the people I train with have never heard me speak English. I sometimes joke with my karate friends about me not understanding certain words*, but beyond that all of my communication is in Japanese.
*Note: 「俺は優しいぞ」(Ore wa yasashii zo), is an abrasive way of saying, “I’m a kind person.” I usually say this if I’m requested to go easy during sparring and one senior of mine says I need to study Japanese more because I learned the word 優しい (yasashii: kind) incorrectly.
I rarely get the opportunity to use English in my martial arts training in Japan unless we have a foreign visitor. I’ve had people reach out to me before on an individual level to come to a class and I’ve been happy to teach them, but there is was never really much of a song and dance made out of it. Last weekend was a bit different though.
Time to shine
We recently had a request to give a karate experience to some Austrian visitors to Japan. My friend who was in charge of the visit doesn’t speak English so asked me if I would be able to act as a translator. Of course, I was happy to oblige.
The visit happened last week and went very smoothly. The class went on as normal in Japanese, but with a bit of time for me to do some translation at the back of the class for our guests.
Everyone had a good time and no one got hurt. (Honest)
During one of the breaks my senior actually broke out an 英語上手ですね (Eigo jōzu desu ne: Your English is really good) at me. Although it was a joke, I think everyone at the dōjō did appreciate the fact that we could make this kind of event happen.
I quite like feeling like I’m useful. I don’t think I’m alone in that. If you are good at something, it’s great when you have the opportunity to use that knowledge. If people want to learn from you and you have the capacity to teach them, do it. It doesn’t even need to be a big thing like teaching a class. In fact, just last week a friend of mine asked me some questions about a race I ran last year because he is thinking about running the same race.
Having the opportunity to shine is a positive experience for everyone involved.
Taking yourself too seriously
I mentioned earlier in the post that some foreigners get really wound up if they are complimented on their Japanese. One of the reasons they get annoyed is because they were complimented on their Japanese skill before they were given the opportunity to show how good they actually are. I do not like this attitude.
Language is a communication tool. When you are communicating with someone they are not (generally) there as a sounding board to massage your ego. If you want to be told your Japanese is good after you have really been given the opportunity to show off then you need to enter a Japanese speech contest where you will stand on stage, do a speech in Japanese, and when you are done you will receive a round of applause and people will tell you how jōzu your nihongo is (regardless of the actual level).
If you are getting wound up because you are complimented too early then you are taking yourself too seriously and need to reassess what you are doing and where you are. If you are buying a coffee and someone says your Japanese is good because you said コーヒー一つください (Ko-hi- hitotsu kudasai: one coffee please) , thank them, take the coffee, and leave. Or you could, choose not to be offended, strike up a conversation, and possibly even make a new friend.
When my karate friend complimented my English, I thanked him and said I need more practice. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Final thoughts and take home messages
This post was very language focused but I wanted to get across a few points.
You can make an educated guess about what languages someone speaks by looking at them…but you can’t know for sure.
If you are able to use a language you learned (or any other talent) for good, then it’s a good thing.
Languages are a communication tool. Use them for communication (without taking yourself too seriously).
I think the last point is pretty important. If you’ve got a chip on your shoulder about certain phrases then no one will want to communicate with you no matter how good your language ability actually is.
Meanwhile I can have a laugh bilingually and people will want to communicate with me even when I’m teaching them violence.
Thank you very much for reading. If you enjoy my work please share it with someone you think would also enjoy it.
If you aren’t subscribed, please sign up to keep up to date.
If social media is more your thing I’m active on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
And if you are looking for ways you can support my work please check out the page below:
Osu!
Anthony