デビッド・バーカーの英語と仲直りブログ：スペースアルク

Hi David,
Before talking about the new topic you've introduced, there is something I'd like to ask you.
Aren't new comers not-so-welcome? Or Do they need to join this blog for a long time before being able to get some reaction directly from you?
Or didn't you read all the messages on your own blog so that you tend to forget to comment on the messages toward you?

When I first found this blog and your encouragement（初心者の皆さんへ), I was so happy and excited....But...now I am a bit upselt about how you deal with this blog.

It might be because of my imagination or your hard work schedule, but you seem to be ignoring the questions some of us directly asked you.

Tomo, Amica and I had some discussion on tenses, but there seem to be no answers. Also this morning, I put another question and no reaction from you. When I first saw your new entry, I was very glad. But then I got unhappy because I cannot help feel as if I was being ignored by you every time I asked you some quesitons.

No matter what, I don't think it is very nice to answer some of the messages and not the others, because it sometime certaily hurt those who'd like to join this blog. If you read and react to just part of the messages and ignore others including questions toward you, does this blog really have the meaning to have the name ”英語と仲直りのブログ”？　　Of course, I really appreciate the fact that this blog gives us great opportunities to use English, though.

I'd be very happy if you would go back to the previous entries and respond to the comments that are directly toward you...

Thank you.

White green
2008年2月25日 12:49

Hi David,

★Here is the question White green asked me.

『I have a question to you. When I was reading through this blog in 2006, I happened to find "話し手に委ねられる時制の一致."

1．I heard there is a party tonight.
（今晩、パーティーがあるって聞いたけど。）―これからの事実

2．I knew they have a sale here.
（ここでセールがあると思ってたわ。）－話者の現時点での喜び

私も時制の一致のルール、Tomoさんが考えていた通りに覚えていたから、いま、頭でたくさん？？がまわっています。Did you already get the answer to the question you brought to this blog?　Is everything is clearer now?? I really appreciate your help.』

★Here is my answer.

『As for your question, I'm afraid I don't have a clear answer, sorry. ただ、時制は合わせるほうが圧倒的に多いんだな・・と思います。　１．の例文はどちら（ is / was )もOKだけど、2．の例文は、普通は‘I knew they were having a sale here.’ なると思う、というのがDavidからもらった答えです。　これまでにたくさんDavidの英語を読んできましたが、時制を合わせてないものを見たのはほんの数回です。(見落としているのもあるかもしれないけど)　だから学校では傾向の強い方を教えたんだな、と思っています。　いくつかDavidが時制を合わせなかったものを書いてみると・・

I went out with Tonari san on Saturday night and tried to persuade him to write a comment here. He said that he checks the blog sometimes, but he doesn't know what to write. I hope he will post a comment sometime soon.

となりさんというのはDavidの友達(バイク仲間)です。　学校で習った｢時制の一致｣なら、２つ目の文は‘He said that he checked the blog sometimes, but he didn't know what to write.’ になるはずですよね？　私はDavidが現在形を使ったのは、‘今現在そういう状況である’ことを言いたかったからかな・・という風に受け取りました。

もうひとつは、私がとなりさんに向けてブログに参加してください、とメッセージを書いた後のDavidの返事です。

Tonari san didn't finish work until 11.30 last night. He said he will try to find time to have a look at the blog today.

これも２つ目の文は‘He said he would try to find time to have a look at the blog today.’ になるはずですよね？　でも'would' は過去のことではなくても、可能性を下げたい時、控えめな表現にしたい時にも使うので、私はDavidは可能性を下げない為に、つまり、となりさんは｢今日ブログを見てくれる意思がある｣ということを強調したくて時制を合わせなかったのかな・・と思いました。(David, if I'm wrong, please help me!)

今の私の理解は、｢基本は時制を合わせるけど、誤解を招きそうな時、事実を強調したい時は時制を合わせない事もある｣です。　ただ私には、まだ時制を操作して言いたいことのニュアンスを変えるのは難しいので、いまはいつも時制を合わせることにしています。』

★Here is White green's understanding.

『I think I am kind of getting its idea. たぶん、「時制」は、話している内容との距離感がキーポイントになるのではないかなぁと思います。

1．I heard there is[was] a party tonight.
（今晩、パーティーがあるって聞いたけど。）―

これは、いま、まだパーティーが開かれている状態であれば、もちろん、「今」の話なので、現在形isを使えばいいし、もし、パーティーがもう終わった夜遅くに、この発言がされれば、もう終わったことで、「今」とは距離感があるから、「過去形was」を使うのだと思います。

2．I knew they were having a sale here.
（ここでセールがあると思ってたわ。）

「ここでセールがある」と話している時点で、セールの準備は着々をお店でされていていたので、物事の進行を表す「進行形」を使い、また、「ここでセールがある」と「think」したのは、今よりも前の「過去」のことで距離感あるので、進行形のbe動詞を「過去形」にしたのでしょう。

３．‘He said that he checks the blog sometimes, but he doesn't know what to write.’

これも、Ｔomoのすばらしい説明通り、「Davidが現在形を使ったのは、‘今現在そういう状況である’ことを言いたかったからかな」だと思うのですが！？　

もし、He said that the checked the blog sometimes, but he didn't know what to write.　にしてしまうと、「過去のある時期に時々このブログをチェックしてたけど、何を書いていいかわからなかった」ということしか、読み手に伝わらなくて、「今」、となりさんがブログをチェックしてくれているかどうか、この発言からはわからなくなってしまうのでは！？

うーーーでも、あんまり自信がありません。

4. He said he will try to find time to have a look at the blog today.

Tomoの書いてくれた通り、「'would' は過去のことではなくても、可能性を下げたい時、控えめな表現にしたい時にも使うので、私はDavidは可能性を下げない為に、つまり、となりさんは｢今日ブログを見てくれる意思がある｣ということを強調したくて時制を合わせなかったのかな・」だと思うのですか、What do you think, David?』

★Here is White green's another question.

『最後に、やはりみなさんに時制の質問です。ほんとうに、この時制ってややこしい・・・。
１）He said to me,"Can you come here again tomorrow?"は、
Ａ：tomorrowがもうすでに過去のことであれば、He asked me whether I could come there again the next day.

Ｂ. tomorrowがまだ「未来」のことであれば、He asked me whether I could come tomorrow.

でいいのでしょうか。Garrrrrrrrrr.

２）なんか文法書には、時制の一致で「here→there」にするってかいてあるのですか、いまいち、感覚的にぴんときません・・・。なんで、here がthereになるんでしょう・・・。これも、現在と過去の距離感に関係あるんでしょうか。たしかに、thereはhereとちがって、距離感を表すと思うので。あ～。

３）それから、againの位置ってこれでいいんでしょうか？　。頭にたくさん「？」です。Thank you very much for your help, everyone!』

★Here is my answer.(I didn't notice your new entry, and I posted my comment on the last entry.)

『Let me try to answer your questions, but I may be wrong.

１）He said to me,"Can you come here again tomorrow?"
Ａ&B: My ideas are the same as yours.

２）もし、彼が"Can you come here again tomorrow?" と言った同じ場所で、このことを誰かに話すなら、私は‘here’を使いたいです。　違う場所で誰かに話すなら、‘there’にすると思います。

３）I think it's OK.』

It's a looong Japanese comment, but it's difficult for me to write it all in English, sorry.

I'll post another comment later.

Tomo

Tomo
2008年2月25日 13:37

Hi White green,
I know just a little how you feel , but I'm sorry I don't agree with you. I think David is not ignoring you. David has lots of job, so sometimes he has no time to read this blog, and when he is very busy and can't write new topic, we talk free in this blog. I often have questions here too, but I do not always get the answer from David. However, on this blog, there are lots of members who think about my question. They discuss about it, and I learn lots of things from their opinions.
Of course, David's answer is helpful to me, but discussion is important to learn, I think.
なんだかうまくまとまられなかったのですが、言いたいことは伝わりましたでしょうか？正確な答えはもちろん必要だけれど、そこにいきつく前にあーでもない、こーでもない、と考えるとより深く理解することができるような気がするんです。ここ最近Davidはとても忙しいので、時制の質問に対する答えを書く時間がないようですが、同じく時制が苦手な私としては、すぐに答えを教えてもらわないでかえってよかったと思います。
すぐに返事がなかったおかげで（言い方は変ですが）、Whire greenはたくさんの疑問を書いてくれたでしょう？。
読みながら「本当だ！そんな時はどう書けばいいんだろう！？」と気づかせてもらえました。そしてTomoが書いたコメントを読みながら「なるほど、そう考えるのか…」と納得したり。
私はこれがこのブログのいいところだと思います。

I'll write about new topic later.

Amica

Amica
2008年2月25日 14:06

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your comments. Hi White-green. I'm sorry if you thought I was ignoring you. As Tomo and Amica said, I have been really busy recently, and it is not always possible for me to answer every question that people ask or respond to every comment. Actually, I don't get paid for doing this blog. I do it because it is fun, but when I am really busy with my real work, I'm afraid I have to put that first. When we first started the blog, I think I wrote about this. I explained that I would do my best to reply to people individually, but that it would not always be possible.

I did notice that you had asked a question, but I also saw that Tomo had replied, so I didn't think I needed to go through the whole discussion. Just looking at Tomo's entry above, it is very long! When I see something like that, it takes me a long time to read it and figure out what the actual question is. Recently, I simply haven't had the time to do that. Even reading it again now, I can see that there are actually lots and lots of different questions in there. If I was to write a full explanation of all of these points, it would take me half a day at least, and I simply do not have time to do that at the moment.

Can you write a short, simple question telling me exactly what it is that you don't understand? I will try to answer it tonight or tomorrow.

As I said, I am sorry if you thought I was ignoring you. That was not my intention. However, I cannot promise anyone that I will answer all questions and respond to all comments, particularly at the moment. The great thing about the regular members of this blog is that someone will always try to help you out even if I do not have time. If nobody knows the answer, and if you can narrow the question down to something that I can understand very quickly, I will do my best to help.

Speak to you later,

David

David
2008年2月25日 15:37

Hi all,
時間がないのだけど、少しだけ言いたいことがあるので日本語で失礼します。
私は、white greenが言うことも、AmicaやDavidが言うこともどれも分かってしまいます。全てに納得という意味ではありませんが。
Davidが忙しいのなら忙しいなりにこのブログの在り方というものがあっていいと思います。それに「変化」というものは何にでも付き物だし、変化を楽しむのもいいのかなと思います。
ただ、その「変化」がよい方向に流れているのか、悪い方向に流れているのか、というのは大事だと思います。気がついたことがあったらたまには爆弾を落とす(←この表現ってちゃんと考えたらかなり嫌な表現･･･)のもいいですよね。私はそういうの好きです。

最近まで顔も出さないくせに何言ってるんだって感じですが^^;
まぁ、でもせっかくなので。

最初に私がこのブログを発見したときと今とではかなり雰囲気が変わったと思います。楽しみ方を変えないとな～と思いながら未だ戸惑っている私･･･。

I want to reply to David's new topic, but I don't have enough time (as I wrote), so I'll be back in a few days ;-)

nami
2008年2月25日 16:53

Hi White green,
今回のWhite green の質問(疑問）について、日本語で私の感想を書かせていただきますね。Davidがすでに彼のスタンスを書かれているので、必要ないのかもしれませんが、このブログに参加してこの春で１年になろうとしている者の感想と言う事で、読んでいただければと思います。このブログに参加して、色々な｢?｣があつて、Davidからの答えを期待していた事の反動が大きかったのですね。ただ、ここはすべての疑問に答えていただく場ではないと私自身考えていますし、時間的にも不可能ですよね。また、今回はこの数週間の超ハードな仕事のなかではさらに不可能であったと思います。Amicaが言っている様に、疑問を投げかけ、それについて考えていく過程の中で得られるものは大きいと思います。又、時間のあるときに、初めにさかのぼってブログを読まれたら、その中から得られるものの大きさに気づかれると思います。Tomoが詳しく説明できるのは、何度も読んでしっかり頭に入るよう努力してきた結果だと思います。私もまもなく１年になりますがどのように関わればよいのか迷いつつ、細々とはしっこにぶらさがっています。無理をしないで（でもすこしがんばって）努力して、１年前と比べて、少しだけ英文が書けるようになってきたと、このブログに感謝しています。Davidも通常は答えはなくても、コメントは呼んでいるし無視はしていないと思いますよ！
今回の時制の一致の問題、は～るか大昔に勉強した事を思い出しながら考えて見ますね。意見は後ほど。
少しだけこのブログに関する私の思いを書かせていただきました。

Hi David　and everyone,
David, did you get down the mountain and see the goal? Looking forward to your new book .
I'll post about today's topic later.

See you soon,

Anne

Anne
2008年2月25日 17:16

Hi everyone and David,

Here are my questions.
1)Tonari san didn't finish work until 11.30 last night. He said he will try to find time to have a look at the blog today. →Why does this sentence use “he will try to…today” instead of “he would try to find….that day” ?

2)He said to me, "Can you come here again tomorrow?"→About this sentence, when “tomorrow” is already in the past, can it be rephrased like this? : He asked me whether I could come there again the next day.

3)He said to me, "Can you come here again tomorrow?"→About this sentence, when “tomorrow” hast not come yet, can it be rephrased like this? : He asked me whether I can come here again tomorrow.

Thank you very much for your comments. I understand what Amica, David, and Anna said. Actually I have never thought that this blog is the place David has to answer all the quetions here. I was confused and upset because it seemed to be off-balance in David's way of responding to comments toward him.

でもDavidは、非常にいそがしいのですから、いろいろ無理なのでしょう。ブログ開設当時とずいぶん雰囲気がかわったということを認識したいと思います。

Anyway, thank you very much, everyone!

White green
2008年2月25日 18:20

Hi Everyone,

White green, I'm glad to find your comment. We used to ask David many questions in Japanese, but the number of questions was increasing, and it was getting difficult for him to answer every question, then we started to help each other. I often try to answer to someone's questions when I can, even if I'm not sure about it, but I can try it because I know David and everyone help me if I make mistakes. I think it was just a bad timing because David has been very busy recently, but he is not always this busy, so when he has enough time, he always read our comments even if we write a long Japanese comment.
New comers are always welcome. This is David's blog, but it's also OUR blog.(←He said this before.) Isn't it a nice idea? I like it. He is always welcome our ideas for the blog, so let's make our blog interesting;-)

White green, can I give you a hand? I'm also looking forward to David's answer.

1)Tonari san didn't finish work until 11.30 last night. ①He said he will try to find time to have a look at the blog today.

David, we learned sequence of tenses(時制の一致) at school. According to the rule we learned, ① should be ‘He said he 'would' try to find time to have a look at the blog today.’, but you used 'will'. I thought that was because you placed an emphasis on ‘he will try to find time to have a look at the blog today’ because in English, you use 'would' when you want to put something lightly.

About 2) and 3), some grammar books say that you should change the words like this, ‘tomorrow → the next day’and ‘here → there’ when you use 'indirect speech'(間接話法）, but we thought there were some exceptions.

For example,
・A said, "Can you come here again tomorrow?" to B on February 25th, and B talk about it to C on the same day.
We thought you could use 'tomorrow' in this case.

・A said, "Can you come here again tomorrow?" to B at X restaurant, and B talk about it to C at the same restaurant.
I thought you could use 'here' in this case.

It means that you don't always have to change 'tomorrow' into 'the next day' and 'here' into 'there'. Is this right?

Tomo

Tomo
2008年2月25日 21:37

Hi David and Everyone,　
I have been the victim of "chikan" twice.
When I was a high school student, I went to school by bicycle. I joined a club, so I often came home late. One day (night?), I was riding my bicycle, then I noticed that someone who rode bicycle was following me. It was getting dark outside, but the light of that bicycle was off. When I tried to turn my face, someone came closer to me and touched my hip! I was too surprised, so I couldn't even scream. His bicycle got ahead of mine, after that he got off his bicycle a few meters away. I couldn't see well his face because of darkness, but I could see he was standing toward me, so I guessed that he was waiting for me. I was afraid, and I retraced my way. Since then, I took the other road when I came home.

Another one:
When I was getting on a train, a man asked to me "Can I sit this seat of your front?" There are lots of empty seat in the train, so I didn't know why he wanted to sit that seat, but I couldn't say "No". He sat that seat, and he started to read a newspaper. While I was looking out of the window, I fell sleepy. When I woke up, I couldn't believe my eyes. He was exposing lower part of his body! I was very shocked, and I moved to another car.

I didn't know why I didn't tell the police or the conductor. However, even if I had told them, they would not have done anything about it. (Because the police must arrest them red-handed.)

Even though I think Japan is a one of the safe country in the world. Of course, there are crimes in Japan, and the number of crimes has increased in recent years. But most of Japanese people don't have a gun, and I have not had friends who have met into crime or gone in for crime. And I have not had friends who have taken a drug.

Hi Tomo, Kiyoko, White green, Anne,
Thanks for explaining about the difference between "house" and "home". I understood a little. (I'm sorry I have not been able to understand perfectly yet.)
今回のコメントの中で"home"を使ってみたのですが、あってるでしょうか…＾＾；

Tomo,
Thanks for praising about my "crazy hair" story!
同じように大笑いされた表現がもう一つあります。
ある共通の知人の話をしていて、「彼の頭頂部の髪は薄い」（失礼な話ですが＾＾；）と言いいたかったのですが、どう言ったらいいのかわからず、"This area（私の頭頂部を指差しながら）of him has no hair"と言ってしまいました…。通じましたが、どう考えてもこの場合"area"は使いませんよね（笑）

White green,
I'm glad to hear that you understood what I said.
Your English is very well, and you have a question I don't think of, so it is good for me. Actually, I had not taken notice about a tense before you had a question about a tense. Your question reminded me about a tense. Thanks!
私の英語は↑にも書いたように本当にお粗末なので、またいろいろ気づかせてくださいね！

Amica

Amica
2008年2月25日 22:35

Hi Everyone,
How was your weekend? Enjoyed anything special?
I'm surpriesd that there are a lot of commnets for one day after David's new entry. こんな呑気なコメントで失礼！私がこのブログに参加するようになってから1年が過ぎましたが、雰囲気って変わったのかなぁ～？？お仕事や子育てやいろいろなことでコメントする時間が取れなかったりで、Dailyで書いている人が変わってきているのは確かですよね？書く人が違うと書く内容も変わったり、そういう変化はあるでしょうね。それはそれで楽しくやっていけたらと思いますし、しばらくコメントできないでいても、時間が取れた時は顔（？）をだしてくれるのをいつも楽しみに待っています。;-)　（ちょっと違う方向・・・？）

Hi Tomo,
Thanks for explaining all our questions! And I agree with you, Tomo. This blog is David's and also ours.
I like this good idea, too.

Hi Amica,
I like your expression about your hair!
私はいつも「サバイバル」英語になってしまっているので・・・自分知っている単語を（語彙力は非常に低いのに。。。（＾＾；））駆使してなんとか自分の言いたいことを伝える。・・・少しずつでもそこから一歩進みたいと思っているの。Tomoの考え、本当にその通りと思う。:-)

I will write my comment about today's topic later. I have to organize my thoughts about it and try to shape them up before posting.

It's time to sleep!

Good night.

Maki

Maki
2008年2月25日 23:24

Hi White-green,

If you notice the time of this comment, you will see that I am still busy, unfortunately, but it is actually quite easy to answer these questions if you put them like this.

1)Tonari san didn't finish work until 11.30 last night. He said he will try to find time to have a look at the blog today. →Why does this sentence use “he will try to…today” instead of “he would try to find….that day” ?

Because in an informal 'spoken' style, which is what I use on this blog, both are possible. The meaning would be exactly the same.

2)He said to me, "Can you come here again tomorrow?"→About this sentence, when “tomorrow” is already in the past, can it be rephrased like this? : He asked me whether I could come there again the next day.

Yes, it can be rephrased like that. If you use direct reported speech, you use the words he said. If you use reported speech, you should change it to your version, but in a spoken style, people often use bothe versions.

3)He said to me, "Can you come here again tomorrow?"→About this sentence, when “tomorrow” hast not come yet, can it be rephrased like this? : He asked me whether I can come here again tomorrow.

If you said this, it would mean the day after the day when you were speaking. But logically, this question is a bit strange. If tomorrow has not come yet, but he said 'tomorrow', then you must both be speaking on the same day, so of course it is okay to use 'tomorrow' when reporting what he said.

Does that help?

David
2008年2月25日 23:30

Hi David and everyone,

What everyone talked about this blog yesterday helped me understand more about this blog. Thank you very much. David, I am sorry that I put more load on your shoulder when you are this busy. I really appreciate your help.

Have a nice day!

white green
2008年2月26日 10:14

Hi everyone,

It was a great discussion between David and White green about "wequence tense" David showed sentences on previous entory.
I was strongly impressed such as a heated discussion was opened on this blog site.

David and main character's comment had a lot of useful suggestions or different ideas.
For beginner of English learning me, to read a native speaker's common expression is highly practical.
Therefore, I often try to use David's easy phrase at my learning circle.

Hi David,
Speaking of new topic, recent Japan is not so safe, only gunfight is not popular like US, but murder case, molestation are increasing, day by day.

There are a coplex human relations, social problems, (include the economy gap, the distrust of politics and politicians, the aging and homeless, the pension system, the jobless youth, etc.

Anyway, many kinds of distrust are spreading in ordinary Japanese people, now.
I am one of them.
Then we basically should be on my guard and we have to prepare for any attacks or happens.
Our daily life is getting worse fastly, especially, the weak people are faced with problem and troubles.

This topic made me a bit realistic about my life, thank you, David.

See you later,
Kiyoko

Kiyoko
2008年2月26日 16:47

Hi David and everyone. Since this is my first reponse this year, even though it is February I'll say[明けましておめでとう！』
I think your question is a very interesting one as to whether Japan should be considered safe or not. I think it probably really depends on whether you are male or female. During my time in Sapporo and the various trips to other parts of Japan I can't say I felt threatened one time that I can remember. But since I am a foreigner and a man I can't speak for anyone else.
There have been times real or imagined in the US where I might have been in danger for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The US's image of being a dangerous place has a lot of truth to it. But it is a generalization based on what is portrayed in movies and TV shows. Although many Americans own guns, that doesn't mean they go out on killing sprees every weekend.

Similarly, saying Japan is safe every where is not true either. Although I don't know the current Yakuza situation in Japan, I remember times where there would be fights between rival gangs. The police, from what I remember, didn't really do much because it was just gang members being shot.
As far as "chikan" goes for Japanese women. I can understand how it can be such a problem. Not only in Japan, but also in the US, people are exposed to many more sexual images than before. The way that male-female relations are portrayed really only show the shallowest view which is sex only. There is not much about commitment, communication nor the self-sacrifice required to benefit someone else.
I recently started watching the TV series: 電車男. It is interesting because it all started because of a incident like David mentioned ocurred on a train in Tokyo.
Even one of the episodes in that series was about a stalker who followed Aoyama-san(the woman) around.
In another episode Yamada-san(電車男) decided he didn't want to be an otaku anymore but to be a man. So, in his "graduation" ceremony they he gave up his manga and his friends gave him "playboy" like magazines. The hidden meaning in this is that to be a man you have to look at sexual magazines.

Is it acceptable to Japanese women if their boyfriend or husbands look at that kind of magazine? Magazines like this only feed lust not love in a man. What happens after years and years of looking at that type of magazine? He starts to look at woman as something he can pay for. He only has to find her price.

Steve

匿名
2008年2月26日 17:14

Hi David and everyone. Since this is my first reponse this year, even though it is February I'll say[明けましておめでとう！』
I think your question is a very interesting one as to whether Japan should be considered safe or not. I think it probably really depends on whether you are male or female. During my time in Sapporo and the various trips to other parts of Japan I can't say I felt threatened one time that I can remember. But since I am a foreigner and a man I can't speak for anyone else.
There have been times real or imagined in the US where I might have been in danger for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The US's image of being a dangerous place has a lot of truth to it. But it is a generalization based on what is portrayed in movies and TV shows. Although many Americans own guns, that doesn't mean they go out on killing sprees every weekend.

Similarly, saying Japan is safe every where is not true either. Although I don't know the current Yakuza situation in Japan, I remember times where there would be fights between rival gangs. The police, from what I remember, didn't really do much because it was just gang members being shot.
As far as "chikan" goes for Japanese women. I can understand how it can be such a problem. Not only in Japan, but also in the US, people are exposed to many more sexual images than before. The way that male-female relations are portrayed really only show the shallowest view which is sex only. There is not much about commitment, communication nor the self-sacrifice required to benefit someone else.
I recently started watching the TV series: 電車男. It is interesting because it all started because of a incident like David mentioned ocurred on a train in Tokyo.
Even one of the episodes in that series was about a stalker who followed Aoyama-san(the woman) around.
In another episode Yamada-san(電車男) decided he didn't want to be an otaku anymore but to be a man. So, in his "graduation" ceremony they he gave up his manga and his friends gave him "playboy" like magazines. The hidden meaning in this is that to be a man you have to look at sexual magazines.

Is it acceptable to Japanese women if their boyfriend or husbands look at that kind of magazine? Magazines like this only feed lust not love in a man. What happens after years and years of looking at that type of magazine? He starts to look at woman as something he can pay for. He only has to find her price.

Steve

匿名
2008年2月26日 17:15

Hi Steve,

Nice to have you with us again. Your point about never feeling threatened if you are male is a good one. I have always felt Japan to be a very safe place. (Although my house was burgled in Nagoya, the burglars turned out to be from Colombia.) Like I said, however, it seems to be very different for females. I can't believe how many women in Japan seem to have had an experience of some kind of sexual molestation by men.
Although I think the number of things you and I agree on may be quite limited (笑）, I think you have a very good point about adult magazines and movies, but I would like to add something to that, if I may.
I am a man, so of course I have seen adult movies and magazines both in the West and in Japan. There is one big difference that stands out for me: in Western magazines and movies, women are usually portrayed as being willing participants in sexual encounters, but in Japan, it seems like there is a huge amount of material based on women saying 'no', but not really meaning it. Also, manga and adult movies usually show a woman as being unwilling at first, but then beginning to enjoy herself when the man forces himself on her. I think this is a very dangerous image to show to young men and men who do not really have much contact with women in social situations.
Basically, I agree with your point about adult magazines and movies, but I think that the trend in Japan is even more dangerous than it is in the West. When I was young, men were always being told 'No means no'. This means that if a woman says 'no', she does not mean 'yes'. I studied law when I was in university, and I remember learning about the law of rape. In England and Wales, if a woman agrees to have sex with a man but then asks him to stop, he has to stop. If he does not stop, it becomes rape, even if the woman said 'okay' at first. I think this message needs to be sent more strongly to Japanese men as well.

Anyway, to all the Japanese people who might be reading, I actually think that Japan is a very safe place, and that is one of the things I love about living here. Like Steve, I have never felt scared or threatened, except when my house was broken into . Having said that, I really think that more steps need to be taken to protect women. If my friend and her sister could both get into trouble in broad daylight on their way home, then something really needs to be done.

Bye for now,

David

David
2008年2月26日 19:18

Hi David and Everyone,

David, thanks for your explanation. About No.1 question, the meaning would be exactly the same? I thought there were a slightly difference. It's an informal spoken style, is it? I see.

As for the topic, I have been a victim of flashers. I went to girl's high school, and we often saw flashers in spring.(I have seen it once.) I don't know why, but it often happened in spring, so the teachers told us, ‘Be careful when you go home. Don't go home alone. Watch out for flashers.’especially in spring.
In summer, we had swimming lessons, and there were some men who climbed up the fence and tried to peep at the pool. I think it was a girl's high school, the teachers cared for us, and the police men at the police station near our school patrolled for us.
When I was working in a bank, there were some 飲み会 like 歓送迎会, 忘年会. Sometimes my boss and some senpai colleagues touched my breasts and bottom when they got drunk. Thinking of that now, it was sexual harassment, but I never thought of that at that time. I just thought, ‘I have to be careful when I drink with them!’
I have had experiences of some kind of sexual molestation by men, but I've never felt I live in a dangerous place. Am I lacking in a sense of crisis?(Maybe it's true.)

I'm surprised to hear the bus story in London. Did the passenger punched the drunk man in the face and dragged him off the bus? I want to give the passenger a good clap! I can't imagine something like that happening in Japan, either. There are less people who help others in Japan than there are in the UK, unfortunately.

Anyway, I know Japan is getting dangerous, but I want to believe that Japan is still one of the safest countries.

By the way, I don't mind at all if my boyfriend or husband look at adult magazines and movies because they are men. I can accept it, or rather it sounds natural to me. Are there any men who don't want to see them?(except men who love men, of course.) 例えどんなものを見たとしても、その後どうするかはその人の心、人間性次第だと思うのだけど。。

Goodnight and see you soon,

Tomo

Tomo
2008年2月26日 22:22

Hi David,
Thank you so much for explaining about the tense! I’m confused with it sometimes. I thought that there are some differences between the two sentences. That helps me, thanks again.

Hi White green,
I’m glad to find your comment. Your questions help me a lot, thank you. Let’s enjoy learning together!

About a new topic;
When I read David’s new entry, it reminded me one horrific event in a train. Probably some people here have heard about it. One lady was raped in a train, even though there were some passengers there. I was very shocked to know the news, but on the other hand, I couldn’t blame them who
didn’t stop a rapist. Because honestly say, I’m not positive to stop him by myself. It was very
interesting to read David’s comment and Steve’s one about adult magazines and movies. I don’t know about them at all, but they might seriously affect young men (maybe not only for young, but also for older ones).
Fortunately I haven’t had a bad experience
include “痴漢”, as I’ve been living in a small town and I don’t have a lot of chance to take a train or a bus. Apart from a sexual event, I think that unbelievable, horrific and dreadful events are increasing these days in Japan. As Kiyoko says, gunfight isn’t popular in Japan, but I also think that a type of a crime is changing. I can’t explain about that well, but that might involve “the distrust”, as Kiyoko says, deeply.
It is enough about this topic now. I will write it again later.

Hi Steve,
Nice to meet you! I’ve been a member here for about 1year, but while you were posting last year, I only read comments and didn’t post.よろしくお願いします！

By for now,

Maki

Maki
2008年2月26日 23:29

Hi Steve,
｢明けましておめでとうございます！｣It's nice to have you here again, and your comment was impressive.

Hi David and everyone,
"Is Japan a safe place?" : in the definition ' safe' , concepts such as ' chikan' and 'rape' have not been included until recently. In this sense, Japan could be safer than America and the UK; no(less) guns, less murder....,I think. David's story"３万円で～"seems to show one aspect of subsided dating(援助交際）. Of course I DON'T mean your friend is such a type. Subsided dating has been a big and controversial topic these ten years in Japan; women ranging from school -age girls to housewives, and these trend seems to spur men to act violently and impolitely. "Chikan" is another big problem, and most women who are the victim of chikan are shocked and ashamed of themselves being in such a situation, and can't ask for help. It's the reality at the present moment. To solve these problems, women-only carriages are prepared during rush hour periods in many cities.
As Steve said, even elementary school students can get easily weekly magazines that have sexual contents at the bookstore. It's the start of feeding lust in a man, isn't it? Is it the case only in Japan? If I look at my husband having playboy like magazines(not weekly magazines), I would not mind . David's ' no→yes' story seems to show cultural background in Japan, not only sexual molestation but also Japanese character itself. Not saying 'no' straightforwardly thought to be the virtue even though he/she thought 'no'.

Good night,

Anne

anne
2008年2月26日 23:33

誤解のないように一ヶ所訂正させてください。
Because honestly say, I’m not positive to stop him by myself.　→　Because honestly say, I'm not positive that I can stop him by myself.

Sorry!

Maki
2008年2月27日 00:05

Hi Team,

Amica - Sorry, I forgot to answer your question last night. You used 'home' correctly;-)
I laughed when I read your ‘no hair’ story! Have you heard of this? In Uganda, men who are bald are sexy, rich and intelligent. We had a guest called Vick on the blog before who were David's friend and from Uganda. David said that Vick and he sometimes had arguments about who had the shiniest head!(笑)

Kiyoko mentioned 'the distrust for lots of things, indeed. The distrust for people is growing in my mind. I don't want to do that, but as Maki said, the number of unbelievable and horrible crimes are increasing in Japan. If you turn on the TV, you'll find bad news everywhere. When I pass people in the street after watching bad news, I can't stop thinking, ‘He/She might be a bad person.’ I don't want to do that, though.

Like Anne says, most women who are the victim of chikan are shocked and ashamed of themselves being in such a situation, and can't ask for help. I think so, too. I have never been the victim of chikan, but if I'm in such a situation, I'm not sure if I can ask for help. If I could, I'm not sure if there is someone who help me.

The difference between adult movies and magazines in the West and in Japan is interesting. I had never thought of that. Like Anne said, it might be cultural differences or the difference in national character. Japanese women are not good at expressing themselves, so sometimes they say no if they don't mean it. I'm not sure if Japanese adult movies and magazines are dangerous. Are there less rape cases in the West than there are in Japan? We have a lot of things that can be dangerous, but we can not throw them all away. I think the most important thing is to learn controlling their lust, to know the difference between make-believe and reality, and to feel other people's pain.

I said that I didn't mind at all if my boyfriend or husband looked at adult magazines and movies, but I do mind if he goes to an adult entertainment shop. I can not accept it.
I have two sons. I think they will be interested in that kind of magazine and movies someday. Can I accept it? Hmm, it's difficult because they are just lovely boys for me at the moment, but I have to try to accept that they will be men.

Talk to you later,

Tomo

Tomo
2008年2月27日 13:31

Hi everyone,

I think men who rape women and "chikan" resemble children who are absorbed in online games in a sense, that is, they can't tell fact from imagination. Some children go in the virtual world(=commit suicide) because the virtual world is much more pleasant than the real world. In case of rape or "chikan", some men may assume that women finally accept the situation even if they reject it at first because they confuse fact with fiction.

論点がずれてしまっていてすみません。最近は現実と空想を混同してしまっている人が多いみたいです。それはインターネットの普及であったり、adult magazine and movies の内容が大きくかかわっているのでは、と思います。
日本を含めてこれからは"very odd and crazy crimes which is unimaginable"がますます増えていく気がします・・・

Bye for now,

Yuuki

Yuuki
2008年2月27日 18:34

Hi Everyone,

I was re-reading my last comment and thought that you might get my English wrong. I wrote ‘I do mind if he goes to ～’, but it doesn't mean that he goes there! I was just talking about a "what if."　私は‘もしも’の話をしたつもりなのですが、後から読んでみたら｢これは確率の高い話になってないか・・？｣と心配になったので(笑)、ちょっと訂正です。　やっぱりもしもの話をするのは難しいなぁ・・。

Hi Yuuki,
そうですね、現実と空想を混同してしまっている人が多いですよね。　でももうパソコン、携帯、ゲームのない世界には戻れないから、それとどう付き合っていくかが問題ですよね。

Tomo

Tomo
2008年2月28日 09:25

Hi Tomo,
I'm sorry, I forgot to write my thanks about your advice. "Delicious" and "very good tastes" are same meaning, right? I had same mistake before...., but I think I will never make this mistake again! Thanks for telling me! By the way, I have never heard that men who are bald are sexy, rich and intelligent in Uganda. It is interesting.

Hi Everyone,
The "chikan" I met before looked common men, so I was all the more horrible. Most of criminal in Japan look common person. When the crime occurred, I often watched the news on TV that the criminal's neighbors were saying "He (She) was gentle, so I didn't think that he did such a thing." I think Japan is one of the safe country in the world, but sad to say, we have to tell to children that you must not trust person you don't know. I have a student who is an old man. He said sorrowfully to me "When I see children on the street, I say hello to them, but they don't answer to me because I'm a man they don't know." When I heard this, I felt sad.

Amica

Amica
2008年2月28日 15:21

Hi Everyone,
How was your day today? I finished work unbelievably early, before 6pm! It is very unusual for me, so I'm so happy to have a lot of time after coming back home.

I agree with you, Yuuki. As Tomo says, some people sometimes doesn't make out what is reality and what is virtual. And I also think that getting a wrong idea(勘違い・・・大きな意味での), being unconcerned about anything(無関心） and distrusting make horrible crimes. As Amica says, common people commit crimes these days. This is a big problem. It means that we might be in danger anywhere and anytime instead of "in the wrong place and at the wrong time." I'm very sorry to hear about your student. 悲しいね。。。But I still want to say, "Japan is a safe place." Probably it's time that something needs to be done, as Daivd mentioned.

David's "no means yes" story;
As Anne says, it involves cultural background. Women shouldn't talk directly, 控えめ・奥ゆかしいが美徳 and so on. Recently it is changing little by little, but still a lot of women have such a feeling deep inside, I guess.

まとまりのない話になってしまいました。。。確かに10年前と比べても犯罪の種類･質など変わってきているという印象をもっています。何がこうさせているのか・・・きっといろいろな要因があると思うけれど、子供たちが安心して外で遊んだり、みんなが普通の生活を心配なく送れるような社会になってほしいですね。そのために私たちは何ができるのかな。。。

By for now,

Maki

Maki
2008年2月28日 22:07

Hi David and everyone,

Again about this week's topic:
I agree with Yuuki's comment.
As Yuuki and other members said, many people seems to be confused with drawing a line between a virtual world and a real world. With the spread of Internet and a cell-phone, our life has become convenient , but at the same time it has also become so complicated and could trigger horrible tragedies. Last year, some young women office worker killed on the street, quite near from her house. Three murderers got to know each other through some dark-site(闇サイト）of cell-phone; they even didn't know each other's name. Thinking of her mother's sorrow, I couldn't find a word, and it was really horrible tragedy. When I was kid, this kind of crime didn't occurred. We usually nurture our child by saying not to do a bad thing, but it's not enough. As Maki said, we could be the victim at any moment. But honestly, in my daily life, I am not conscious of those things. Of course, I'm careful not to walk on a lonely street at night, and live my life carefully in such a way. I do hope Japan is and become a safe country.
By the way, about David's 'no→yes' story, as Maki said, women have been changing, and I read some interesting article ( I forgot the exact content, though.) styles and contents of movies and novels( magazines) by women directors and authors are rather different from those ones by men. There are deep gap between both gender! It's so funny, isn't it? Actually are those ones from man's desire?

See you soon,

Anne

Anne
2008年2月29日 10:49

Hi Team,

Thanks for sharing your ideas about this topic. I was a bit worried that some people might think it was not a suitable topic for this blog, but I wrote it anyway because I really think it is something that Japanese society needs to deal with.

I am going to Tokyo this afternoon to do some more podcast recordings. I have an interesting idea for a new topic for us to talk about next week, so I hope you will check the new entry on Monday.

Have a great weekend, and see you next week.

David

David
2008年2月29日 11:39

Hi David,
I heard your podcast program "英語と仲直りできるポッドキャスト", because I knew it from your entory.
Content was about わかる.
In Japanese language, we don't usually divide using of わかる in English, find out, notice and realize.

However, in English each ward has a kind of rule of using way.
I realized those words how to use as follows.
For example, "find out" is used to get its cause by information, and "notice" by one's five senses, "realize" by in one's mind.
From now on, I will try to make comment carefully.

See you soon,
Kiyoko

Kiyoko
2008年3月 3日 00:57