Re: Wanted: Examples of poor English from Japanese

[Ray Bruman <rbruman -at- RND -dot- RAYNET -dot- COM>]

David Oberstadt <daveo -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM> writes:

> If you have real examples of errors native Japanese speakers
> have while trying to communicate in English, please send
> them to me. (Thank you!) I'll forward them.

> David Oberstadt                                daveo -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com

> Data Management/User Technology
> Santa Teresa Laboratory, San Jose, California

I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours.
Please let us know when you've archived responses.

My very first tech writing job was writing a book for
The Exploratorium, a museum of science, art, perception,
and technology in San Francisco.  The north entrance of
the great hall is kept dark by painting over the skylights,
so there can be beautiful projected rainbow patterns from
a set of prisms lit by a single shaft of sunlight.

One group of visiting museum staff from Japan were being
toured through this area by an electrical engineer,
Charles Glorioso, when one of them turned to him and said,
pleasantly enough,

"You are not very bright, are you?"

Charles gaped at him for a few seconds, stunned, and fortunately
speechless.  Then he realized what the visitor was trying to say.


Ray Bruman             "Never be rude to an inoffensive old gentleman
Raynet Corp.            you meet in a European hotel.  It always
rbruman -at- raynet -dot- com      turns out to be the King of Sweden."
415-688-2325                    -- H. H. Munro