実践ビジネス英語 2008年4月分

2008.04.02

4月からリニューアルして開講した杉田敏先生の「NHK 実践ビジネス英語」(昨年までは「ビジネス英会話」,かつては「やさしいビジネス英語」)をしばらく取り上げてみることにしました。

テキストには載っていない,アシスタントの方の発言のディクテーションなどを中心にしようと思っています。週3回あるのでどこまで続くかわかりませんが(すでに2週も遅れているし),4月はいろいろとやってみたくなる月ではあります。

やってみると,ディクテーションは意外にたいへんで,正確さは保証の限りではありません。大意をつかむことと,正確に聞き取ることはずいぶん違うことだなと思い知らされます。間違っているところを発見されましたら,ご一報くださるととてもうれしいです(たくさんあると思いますが)。

みなさんの勉強には役立たないかもしれませんが,こちらにとっては確実に勉強になります。だからこのカテゴリーは,自分用の勉強ノートみたいなものになります。

講座は6回でワンセットになっており,6回目だけはアシスタントが Susan Iwamoto さん,それ以外は従来と同じく Chris Matsushita さんです。

 

● 今日のテーマ

The first day in a new company is always a challenge, but with a new country and in a new language, challenge grows. Let’s see how Hiroshi Shiga meets the challenge.

・ a challenge  難問,難しい課題

 

● Welcome aboard  わが社へようこそ

“Welcome aboard” is a phrase usually used on ship, but you can also use it for other vehicles, too. Uh, trains might work. If you said in your car, though, it’d become a bit of a joke, probably because cars are much smaller vehicles than ships. And of course it’s often used to welcome people to a new organization.

・ aboard は本来「乗船して」という意味の副詞。甲板の board から来ています。

 

● a field of …    ・・・の範囲,分野

Tyson used the word “field” to talk about  group or pool of internal candidates. He could have also said a “gamut” or a “range.” The meanings are slightly different in nuance, so the words you choose would just depend on what point of view you’re using when you say this idea.

 

● headquarters  本社

And although the word “headquarters” has an ‘s’ on the end, you can use it either as a singular or a plural noun by the choice of your verb, of course. Usually, if it’s talking about location, you use it in the plural, but if you are using it to mean authority — so, for example, you get approval from headquarter(s) — then it tends to be singular.

・ headquarters は必ずsが付くけれど,単数扱いも可能,ということですね。

 

● Butterflies  ドキドキ

One way people talk about controlling them is getting butterflies to fly in formation, so it means still nervous but you’re in control of it.

・ p. 30 に出ている have butterflies in one’s stomach という表現は知っていましたが,単独で “Butterflies.” というのは初めて知りました。

・ get O to V  「OをVさせる」  in formation 「編隊を組んで」  チョウチョが飛んだら,それを飛ばさないようにするよりも,編隊を組んで飛ばせるようにする,つまり,あがってしまったら,あがるまいと頑張るよりも,あがり方を制御する方がいい,ということでしょうか。

 

● Everybody has them on their first day. の their

If you’re speaking more formally or if you’re writing rather formally, you probably would substitute “his or her,” instead of “their.”

 

● administrative assistant  管理スタッフ

In the past, the person with the position of administrative assistant was usually called secretary.

 

●  Great Lakes  五大湖

In North America, there are five Great Lakes. I think many of the states that surround it, many of the cities nearby often use Great Lakes or the actual names of the lakes to talk about companies and products or things like that. The five lakes are Michigan, Superior, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. They partially form the border between the U.S. and Canada.

 

● Windy City  シカゴのニックネーム

Windy City is an old nickname for Chicago. Nobody’s really showed exactly where it comes from. It might be the weather — there’s a lot of wind from the lake. It might be because of all the tall buildings which kind of set up corridors that wind can blow through even when air is still elsewhere.

・ kind of + 動詞・形容詞・副詞 「ちょっと~,やや~」  a kind of + 名詞 とは別物です。

・ テキスト掲載以外のアメリカの都市の nickname は,Wikipedia: List of city nicknames in the United States

 

● kit  (用具・教材などの)ひとそろい,セット

Finch calls it a kit. She could have called it a packet as well. They’re very similar. A kit sounds a little more like it might include some sort of tools, whether actual tools you pick up and use with your hands or something you read that gives you help. Packet would just imply that it’s papers with information.

・ could have called ~ 「~と呼ぶこともできただろうに」 Chris さんは仮定法のこの表現がお好きなようで,何度も出てきます。

・ packet は書類関係, kit はそれ以外も含む,ということですね。

 

● fill out ⇔ fill in  書き込む,記入する

If you fill something out, you complete it, a form usually. If you something in, it means you write in the blanks. Most of the time it’s the same result. But “fill out” includes the idea of completion, and “fill in” just focuses on putting something in the blank area, giving answers.

・ イギリス英語では fill in の方が多いようです。

 

 

2008.04.03

《ディクテーション・ノート》

● 今日のテーマ

It can be tough starting a new job in the second language. But Shiga’s got it under control. He never hesitates to ask, to be sure he understands.

 

● drop by 立ち寄る

Finch uses the phrasal verb “drop by.”  She could have said “drop in,” which is similar to visit or  “stop by.” All three of these phrasal verbs mean “visit for a short period.”

・ drop in on + 人,drop in at + 場所 が定番ですが,drop by (at) an office とジーニアスにありますから,drop by では at が省略可能のようです。

 

● security

Tyson only uses the word “security” to talk about the security department, the security workers, the security policy at the company.

 

● knows everything about the company

This is a very common phrase that people use when they’re introducing a new employee to the company and other workers. It’s kind of an invitation to ask  her if you have any small detailed questions or large questions as well. She’s probably a good place to start, even if she doesn’t have the answer you’re looking for.

  ・ know the company inside (and) out すみずみまでよく知っている

 

● route

The word “route” (R-O-U-T-E) has another pronunciation /raut/. I think it just depends on where the speaker grew up which one they tend to use, although occasionally a phrase will get one of the pronunciations and everyone will use it that way, like Route 66. I don’t think anybody says /raut/ 66.

・ あとで「航空関係では /raut/ が一般的」だとおっしゃってます。

 

● El station  シカゴの高架鉄道(elevated railroad) の駅

Finch also mentions the El station. This is very specific to Chicago. The mass transit system is called the El.

 

● city transport

Chicago’s public transport system is probably the second or third largest in the U.S.

 

● lakeshore

Chicago’s located on the south-west tip of Lake Michigan. And the lakeshore plays a large part in city life. There’s beautiful views and the weather is somewhat tempered by having that large lake there.

 

● 口語表現の言い換え

It’s tough for native speakers to try to speak more simply and directly. They just say what’s in their heads.  So in a case like this, it’s good Shiga asked, “what do you mean, ‘bearing’?”. And Tyson was easily able to explain his meaning. Sometimes it’s very tough, because the idiomatic phrase is the correct phrase for the meaning that you want.

 

今回の get one’s bearings 「自分の位置・立場を知る」の bearing は方向,とくにone’s bearing は「(じぶんのいる)位置」の意味ですが,bearing には「関係」という意味もあって, have no bearing 「関係がない」はよく見かけます。

 

 

2008.04.04

《ディクテーション・ノート》

● 今日のテーマ

Meeting lots of new coworkers can be a little overwhelming, but Shiga gets a tip how to remember them all.

 

● オウム返しの聞き返し

If the word is something you couldn’t even hear clearly enough to repeat, you could say “My what?”

・ “My what?” 疑問詞でも,イントネーションを上げて読むことがだいじ。

 

● line manager 部門長

Generally, if you’re talking about line manager, it means someone with an authority relationship. It’s a kind of a boss. By saying line manager, you don’t know it’s a lower level or higher level manager. You don’t know who’s reporting to them. You don’t know it’s the direct boss, or the boss’s boss, or whatever. But you do know it’s a person with authority.

・ report to ~ (会社や組織で)~に直属している,~の下につく

 

● 新人が社内を見てまわって質問することについて

I think this might be very difficult for many Japanese people, if they haven’t had this kind of experience before, or if they weren’t expecting it, because my impression is that usually in Japan, an organization will take very careful and detailed control of the first few days of a new member. They carefully show them around, they have a structured program for them.

・ show A around (B)  AをBの中をあちこち見学させる

 

● インターネットとイントラネット

Inter- and intra-  in English are often pronounced similarly, but they need to be spelled differently and they have different meanings. I-N-T-R-A means “within” or “among”. So it’s used for things that are closed to a specific group, so intranet would be the computer network within a company or within a university, or even within your own home if you want build one. Inter- (I-N-T-E-R) is used to talk about things that are “outside” of the group or connecting various groups or organizations. So in the U.S., you have “interstate” highways (I-N-T-E-R), highways that connect the states.

 

● cheat sheet  カンニングペーパー

I think if you mention “cunning paper” to English speakers, they’ll just look at you kind of blankly because they’ll understand both words but they won’t know what you mean. Probably in English we say “cheat sheet”, because of the “e” sounds and “t” sounds and “sh” and “ch” are very similar. “Sheet”, of course, means a sheet of paper.

・ cunning は「ずるい」という意味の形容詞。「カンニングする」という動詞も cheat ですね。

 

● Absolutely not. という答え方

White’ response might sound a little strong, but she’s probably a little surprised by the question.

 

● ~ -free

Please remember in English usually if a word has a -free attached to it, it means “without whatever the previous word was”. You’ll often see fat-free, or cholesterol-free, for example.

 

before I forget  「忘れないうちに伝えておきますが」という表現が出てきます。直訳すると,「忘れないうちに」だけで,「伝えておきますが」に当たる表現が欠けていますが,before I forget だけでその意味まで含まれます。似たような表現に, (just) out of curiosity  「好奇心からお尋ねしますが」というのがあります。どちらも文頭で使うことが多いようです。

 

 

2008.04.09

《ディクテーション・ノート》

2008年4月第2週分。やっと1週遅れ。

● 今日のテーマ

Jay Tyson catches himself when he uses another idiom.

 ・ catch oneself  思いとどまる,自分を抑える

 

● シカゴの冬について

Chicago’s famous for having a long and harsh winter. It’s usually quite windy, very cold and it snows a lot.

You can’t count on being snow-free until after Easter.

 ・ count on ~ ~を当てにする

 

● spam の語源

Many people wonder why is junk e-mail  called spam. It seems to go back to an old British comedy show that was made in the 60s, but is still popular these days. One of the skits they had … (uh) … had a group of people singing, “Spam, spam, spam, spam” in the background when they were trying to drown out other conversations. It was pretty funny. You should try to see it sometime.

 ・ ここで言われている an old British comedy show とは,Monty Python のこと。

 ・ drown out  (音を)かき消す

 

● guise ⇔ disguise

“Guise” is related to disguise. Guise is the outward appearance of something or its aspect. It can also means false appearance. Disguise focuses on making or preparing, or the method of presenting, a false appearance.

 ・ guise は外観そのもの,または偽りの外観, disguise は偽りの外観をすること(変装すること),と言ったところでしょうか。

 

● spam

Please note that in English people usually only say “spam.” They don’t say “spam e-mail” or “spam mail.”

 ・ 正式な言い方は electronic spam のようです。コメント・スパム,トラックバック・スパムなどと区別する時には e-mail spam とは言うようです。

 

● regulations about excessive entertainment  接待に関する規定

I imagine there’re regulations define what they mean by “excessive”, because otherwise, you know, one person’s “excessive” might be another person’s “fine, thank you.”

 

● There’s no such thing as a free lunch.  フリーランチ(ただ飯)などというものはない

This is the phrase that’s often used in the U.S.. It has an interesting history, though. Free lunch used to refer to snacks that bars or saloons would give people if they ordered drinks. The food was free but you did have to buy a drink. So people would talk about free lunch, meaning, I suppose, things like peanuts that you get nowadays or sometimes popcorn if you ordered some beer. So the economic theory states that there is no such thing as a free lunch. If you change “is” to the dialectal “ain’t”, you get T-A-N-S-T-A-A-F-L , TANSTAAFL, which people also use with the same meaning.

 ・ There’s no such thing as a free lunch.は経済学の教科書の最初の方にも出てきますね。「マンキュー経済学」では,十大原理のうちの第一原理「人はトレードオフに直面している」に出てきます。

 ・ is を ain’t に変えると,There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. となり,いわゆる二重否定です(文法違反だが,使われることは多い,われわれがうっかり使うことも)。TANSTAAFL という acronym は知りませんでしたが,ちゃんと辞書に載っていました。

● Oops!

“Oops” or “whoops” — it has basically those two pronunciations — is often used by North Americans when they realized they made a small slip.

 

今回は少ないのですが,自信のないところも.....

 

 

2008.04.10

《ディクテーション・ノート》

= Key Phrases to Remember =

to say nothing of  ~はいうまでもなく

People use this phrase when they are talking about something else that adds to some sort of trouble or problem. It’s not the main point, but it goes along with the main point.

 ・ go along with ~ ~に付随する

 

go one step at a time  いちどに一歩ずつ進む

There are lots of similar phrases using the word “step”. You could say, “Take it one step at a time,” instead of “go one step at a time.” You could say, “Take it step by step,” or you could even say,  “Do it in baby steps,” meaning very small steps.

 ・ ここで,杉田先生は “The future comes one day at a time.” 「未来は日一日とやって来る」という格言を挙げています。いいことばだなあ。

 

I’ll tell you what.  「ではこうしましょう」「いい考えがあります」

This is a phrase that often introduces the suggestion or maybe an offer if you’re negotiating.

 ・ 辞書によれば,この what は something の意味。

 

watch out for  ~に気をつけて

“Watch out for” is used when you’re reminding someone or warning someone to look out for something bad. You can use the phrase “watch for” without “out”, to tell them to look for something or wait for something neutral or even positive.

 

● 注意を促すときの表現

If you are warning someone about an approaching object, whether it’s a train or a car or a ball or who knows what, you could also say, “Look out!” or even “Duck!”

 ・ Duck!  「伏せろ!」   犬に言う時は,”Down!”  

   日本で生きてると「伏せろ」なんて言葉に出会うシチュエーションはまずないですが。

 

●  a heads-up

Sometimes in memos or in companies, you’ll hear people talking about a “heads-up” or “giving a heads-up”. This is a kind of warning, also.

  ・ ”Heads up!” だと「危ないぞ」の意味ですが,a heads-up は比較的新しい言葉のようで,「警告」の意味の名詞です。 s がつくけど a がつけられる。

  ・ memo はおもに社内文書,組織内の文書

 

● Danger, Will Robinson

And finally, there is one very idiomatic that’s used in the U.S.. It comes from .. Uh .. TV show in the 60s, “Danger, Will Robinson.”  As the TV program was about a family in space, having trouble getting back to earth, Will Robinson was the son in the family and the family’s robot would warn him this way. Nowadays, people use the phrase “Danger, Will Robinson” when they notice their friend is about to make a stupid mistake.

  ・ 若い人は知るはずもないですが,われわれの世代には懐かしいテレビ番組「宇宙家族ロビンソン」のことですね。好きだったなあ。

 

 

2008.04.11

《ディクテーション・ノート》

6回シリーズの6回目が去年とは変って, Ms. Susan Iwamoto とのトークになりました。この人はとても早口で,大量にしゃべりまくる人なので,ディクテーションはひと苦労です。まあ,ことばというものはこれが普通なんでしょうけれど。聞き取れないところもいっぱいあります。「多分こんなこと言ってんじゃないの」という想像も入っています。聞き取れないところは …. にしている部分もあります。こんな企画を始めたことを早くも後悔。

 

S : よろしく。

I : Certainly, nice to be here.

S : So we’ve been discussing the first day in the job in our current vignette. Any thoughts?

I : Well, this certainly is an area of importance from both employees’ and employers’ perspective. Whether they are talking about an internal transferee or new hire, the process of integrating a new employee  is crucial from day one.

S : How did your first day on the job go when you were working in the States?

I : Well, several years ago, I worked at a bank in Boston, my first day wasn’t similar to Hiroshi’s in some respects. I had to fill out the form in the morning, and as my job was in the HR department, the people handling my orientation were my direct colleagues. As the department was in the same area as the other executive offices, so on my first day I was also introduced to the chairman and the president. This’s supposed a bit unusual for a new hire, and you can bet I was on my best behavior. But all in all, it was an informal orientation process, and my colleagues took on-the-job training approach with me.

・ was similar なのか wasn’t similar なのか

S : So, is this the norm for most American companies?

I : Oh, I think this has been changing over the years, and of course it varies by industries and of course by position, but generally speaking, though, HR departments are taking more active role in making sure that new hires acclimate quickly to both their position and to the corporate culture.

S : How are they doing this?

I : Oh, the term that popped up in recent years is “on-boarding”, referring to the first few months of an employee’s tenure at the company, letting them onboard. And the HR division was …. department to set up the smooth transition for the new hire. Of course, this includes the dreaded administrative forms but for many companies, that also includes a comprehensive program from the start that’s designed to give the new hire or new transferee a sense of corporate culture, of  his or her job responsibilities, and just generally, how things work in the location. Now, it may also include a formal meeting at the three to six month mark(?) to check in with the employee to see how he or she is progressing. Some companies also have a “buddy” system for the new hire. They’ll choose someone at the same level, ideally from the same division, to show the new employees ropes. These buddies are often relatively new themselves, perhaps having only been with the company for a few years. They can clearly remember their own first days and are able to sense the immediate needs of the new hire. And  they also may take the lead in organizing a welcome lunch for the new employee, just as Tyson did to Hiroshi in the vignette.

S : A welcome lunch is a great idea, isn’t it?

I : It sure is. And thinking back, it’s really something that I would have appreciated in my jobs in the U.S.. I can’t remember ever having a welcome lunch in my past job in the U.S..  But rather …. it’s up to me to take the initiative to invite colleagues to lunch to get to know them better. I’d like to think my experience with that side is the norm. Actually, one of the things I really like about working for Japanese organizations is that welcome parties are standard here, and seen as an important part of building good relationships with colleagues.

S : Tyson also mentioned corporate policies and gift giving and entertainment. Do most companies have strict regulations about this?

I : Yes, I’d say that most large companies do have detailed regulations and ethics and codes of conduct. A strong code of ethics is good for business, good for the company’s impression and certainly good for preventing legal troubles. The guideline for gifts is common, and this can be a real challenge for global corporations. Gift-giving customs, as you know, vary from culture to culture, and finding the way to balance local customs with the corporate code of ethics can be difficult.

S : In the vignette, Hiroshi thought about the Great Lakes smoke-free environment. This is fairly standard in the U.S. now, isn’t it?

I : Yes, I’d say it’s been the case in most offices for the past twenty years or so. It’s certainly something I took for granted when I started my career. And when I first started working in Japan, I was really surprised that people smoked at their desks. I’m glad to say that this’s changed over a year or two. Now many offices in the U.S. went smoke-free before it was mandatory, but now most states have anti-smoking laws for the work place. And though I was happy to work in a smoke-free office, I always felt a little sorry for my co-workers, who huddled outside in the freezing cold on the … to smoke. This is likely a good incentive for some of them to stop smoking. And many companies have continued to introduce new programs supporting the health and welfare of their employees.

S : Any examples?

I : Companies with cafeterias inside it(?) have introduced a wide variety of healthful menu options. Other workplaces might feature a company gym, or perhaps subsidize the memberships of local health clubs.  New employees usually receive that sort of information during the orientation session on the first day at work.

S : What can employees themselves do to feel that they are part of a team as soon as possible?

I : Well, you know, in the vignette, Hiroshi was given a great piece of advice from Tyson about learning the names and faces of the team members and peers as soon as possible. And whether this is … by looking in the company directory and the Internet or with the help of a buddy in the same department, quickly learning and using the names of your colleagues makes a great first impression on them. Remembering names is very important, and can be challenging, especially if the name is unfamiliar to you. I think it’s helpful to use mnemonic tricks or strategies to help you remember the names and faces easily. For example, I met a man the other day whose last name is Matsui. So I immediately thought of an image of major baseball, so that I could recall his name quickly. Of course, there was a danger that I might call him Ichiro by mistake, but a simpler way of remembering is to try to use the other person’s name a few times in your first conversation with them, and always say it again when you leave them. For example, “It was nice meeting you, Hiroshi.” I found that it really helps the name stick in my memory.  And one of the points about the names: many Japanese expats worry that their names may be difficult for the non-Japanese colleagues to pronounce. They may adopt English nicknames or perhaps have those names given to them by their new colleagues. Now some people don’t mind this, but if you want to keep on your own name, you need to make that clear on the day one, and let your colleagues know how you’d like to be addressed. If you don’t do it clearly at the start, then your nickname will stay with you throughout your time there.

 

= WORD WATCHING =

●  Butterflies. Everybody has them on their first day.

That’s right. I really like this expression. It’s a great way to describe nervous feeling … you get. It’s also kind of cute expression. So I think it is used a bit more by women, but men sometimes do use it as well.

Windy City

Of course we can’t forget the “Big Apple” for New York. I think just about every major city in US has a nickname. For example, my home town, Philadelphia, is the “City of Brotherly Love”, and Boston, where I also spent a lot of time, is sometimes called “Beantown” or “The Hub”, meaning the center of the universe. So you know that Bostonians are very proud of their city.

 

get one’s bearings

You know, “get one’s bearings” is, you know, a great way to explain how you orient yourself, not just to a place, but also to a situation. Now you can also say “lose one’s bearings” to get lost or feel unsettled about something.

 

get one’s act together

This is a great expression when you’re talking about how you need to get organized. And, frankly, this is an expression I use all the time. I really need to get my act together this weekend and organize my house.

 

brown-bag it

Now “brown bag” actually does refer to the bag that we use to put lunch in. But another interesting use of it is talking about a brown bag lecture series of universities or workplaces. So this is when a bunch of co-workers or colleagues get together, invite a guest speaker and learn something new over the lunch break.

 

show [teach] someone the ropes

Now, this is an interesting expression that was originally related to ships. Crew members needed to show someone the ropes literally, to teach them a complicated process of working with the ropes and knots. But nowadays, we use it in a figurative sense, just meaning to teach someone something, especially on the job.

 

= Graffiti Corner =

● Two wrongs don’t make a right, but two Wrights made an airplane.

Now, “Two wrongs don’t make a right” is a very common expression, and it’s often used to give advice to someone who feels that they’re going to do something wrong, just because someone else did. So, for example, I might say, “Well, he didn’t return my call yesterday, so I’m not going to return his call today,” and my friend might say, “Two wrongs don’t make a right. You should call him back.”

 

 

2008.04.16

2008年4月第3週分 Lesson 2 Getting Settled (1)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

● 今日のテーマ

Shiga decides to look for a place to live in a Japanese community. That way, it’ll be easier for him to settle into his new job and new life.

・ that way  そうすれば(≒then)

・ settle into ~ ~に慣れる,落ち着く

 

Do you have any preferences?

She could’ve said, “What kind of a place are you thinking of?”

 

I understand that Arlington Heights has such a place.

It sounds like Shiga’s been doing his homework. I didn’t know there was the Japanese community in this area until I read about it in the newspaper a couple of years ago.

・ homework   下調べ

 

an affluent village

It might seem sort of strange to call a town or city a village. To me, “village” sounds very non-American, to tell the truth. It sounds sort of European, a small community, not closely connected to anything else, rather rural. But in the Chicago area, villages are political division. It has a technical definition. I think it goes by the population size. I think most of the U.S. doesn’t use the word “village” in the same way.

・ go by ~  ~しだいである

 

realtor  不動産屋   condo   コンドミニアム(マンション)

Many people use the word “realtor” to talk about people who are in the business of buying and selling property. You can call them real-estate agents.

Cortez also talks about condos that’s short for condominium. In the U.S., they’re usually buildings with separate residences inside that you can buy.

・ short for ~ ~の略語で

 

relocation  移転,移住,転勤

“Relocation” is the more formal word that people probably use in the industry or,you know, among the colleagues and things like that. I think most people, when they’re speaking more casually and relaxed with friends, would probably just say “moving” — “I know how stressful moving can be.”

 

How are you finding it? の進行形について

This is kind of interesting. She uses the ING form as a verb here, which kind of indicates eventually the sort of unsettled relocation period will end — “How are you finding it?”, not “How do you find it?”, which is sort of a deeper, more philosophical question about moving.

・ How do you find it(=relocation)? だと一般的に「転居(というもの)をどう思うか」という広い質問になるのはわかりますが,進行形だと「落ち着かない状態が間もなく終わることを示す」というのはいまいちわかりにくいです。進行形だと,今現在の一時的な考えを尋ねることになりますから,永続的なことではないという含みがあるということでしょうか。

 

Chicago feels like a foreign country to many Hispanic newcomers.

And I’ll bet Miami feels the same way to many Chicagoans who go there for the first time.

・ I’ll bet = I bet ≒ I’m sure

・ お互い様だ,ということですね。

 

I’m really looking forward to experiencing an American way of life.

I think it’s interesting he chose to say an American way of life, instead of the American way of life. He seems to be aware of the fact that, although it is all the US, there are many different ways to live there.

 

 

・ Johnny-come-lately 新入り

 

 

2008.04.17

2008年4月第3週分 Lesson 2 Getting Settled (2)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

● 今日のテーマ

Shiga and his colleagues discuss housing in a typically American way to furnish in a new place.

 

1DK

In the U.S., nobody will understand what you mean if you say “1DK”. Usually in the U.S., you could talk about a one-room or studio apartment, and then after that, people usually talk about how many bedrooms and baths it has.

・ studio apartment = a small apartment consisting typically of a main room, kitchenette, and bathroom [Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate 11th]

 

marketplace

People in the U.S. will probably say “supermarket” or “grocery store”, but everybody would, of course, understand “marketplace”.

 

kitchenette

“Kitchenette” could mean anything from a sink and a burner, basically in a closet, ( to s.. uh ..)  to a small room where you could put a small table.

・ anything from A to B   A から Bにいたるどんなものでも(小はシンクとガス台だけ,大はちょっとした部屋)

 

furnished 家具付きの

Although I think most people rent unfurnished, if they can do it in anyway. You can pick up a lot of used furniture pretty quickly and easily, so it doesn’t cost a lot of money to furnish a place and you can slowly replace it with pieces you prefer.

・ この although は,「ただし・・・ですが」という感じで前文(杉田先生の発言)に付け足す働き。

・ replace A with B   A を B と取り換える

 

sleep on the floor

Although in the U.S. a futon — they don’t pronounce it that way, it’s a /fuːtɑn/ — tends to be a little more like furniture and a bit less like what Japanese people know.

 

try your hand at  ~をやってみる

If you try your hand at something, you have the experience and see how well you can do at it. It’s kind of a test of your abilities.

 

to take you to Arlington Heights to look around

This is a very typical out in the suburbs, which is what Arlington Heights basically is. A lot of people just as a hobby will drive around on the weekend, looking for a yard sale.

 

yard sale, garage sale, patio sale, garage-a-rama

The same kind of sale is often called a moving sale. But of course in that case, it’s advertising the reason things’re on sale, not where they’re being sold.

  ・ moving sale 引っ越しにつき不用品大処分セール この場合,売ってる場所(garage や yard)ではなく,売る理由をメインに押し出している(advertise),ということ

 

yard ⇔ garden のちがい

In the U.S., people talk about the land and space around the houses as the yard. Most people on the suburbs have a front yard, which is from the front of the house to the street, and the back yard of course, behind the house up to the neighbor’s land in the back of your house. Garden usually refers only to the section of your yard where you planted bushes and flowers.

・ yard は家の周辺の土地,garden はその用途に重点があって,花などが植えてある場所,ということでしょうか。

 

flat box 平箱

A flat is a kind of a large flat box that plants are often sold in — smaller plants. It could be ground cover like they are talking about here, or could be small flowers. If you go to a garden center in the spring to buy plants for your own garden at home, you often buy it by the flat.

・ by the + ~   ~単位で

 

soda 炭酸飲料

Cortez says the old cardboard box for soda. Depending on which part of the U.S. you live in, .. uh .. , some people call it soda, sweet carbonated drinks. Other people call it pop, and still others call it soda pop.

 

 

2008.04.18

2008年4月第3週分 Lesson 2 Getting Settled (3)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

● 今日のテーマ

Shiga learns more about garage sale in the part they play in the American life in the suburbs.

 

stuff  もの

It’s rather subtle, but the way Potter says “pack rats and stuff”, he’s referring to the belongings when he says “stuff”. “And stuff” is a phrase people often add to mean “et cetera”, when they’re speaking very casually. If you use the word “things”, it sounds a bit more like you have individual objects in mind. So it’s slightly more specific. That probably won’t help you choose one word or the other, but when you’re listening to the conversations, slowly the differences will build up in your head, and maybe that will help a little bit anyway to quench your curiosity.

・ the way S + V …  ・・・から判断すると

・ ~ and stuff は, and things, and the like, and so forth と同じく「~など」

・ have ~ in mind 「~を念頭に置いている」

・ build up できあがってくる,おおきくなる

 

pack rat  収集癖のある人

In the U.S., you can call people who collect many things a pack rat. They’re usually people who don’t want to throw stuff away.

 

So much stuff, so little space.

This phrase “So much A, so little B” — this is used again and again and again in English. If you use your computer, and put it into your browser, you’ll find many, many, many examples of this.

・ 検索にかけるといっぱい出てきますよ,ということですね。

 

anything and everything ありとあらゆるもの

Cortez starts off with the phrase “anything and everything.” This is a set phrase. Really you need to begin by saying anything first, and follow it up with everything.

・ start off  はじめる  このばあいは,列挙の始めということでしょう

・ 後半は everything and everything とは言わない,ということ

 

shift  取り除く,売り飛ばす

She also uses the verb “to shift” at the end (of..). In this case, it means to get rid of something. And I think by choosing this verb, she makes it sound sort of cold and logical — getting rid of your former possessions.

・ get rid of ~ ~を取り除く,処分する,かたづける

 

What’s one person’s trash is another person’s gold mine.

This is another very well-used phrase in English — “One man’s A is another man’s B.”

・ One man’s meat is another man’s poison. 「甲の薬は乙の毒」という諺が有名

 

antique

Although, at a garage sale, if someone is selling an antique, it’s probably because they don’t realize it’s an old thing that is valuable to other people. Usually garage sales are just stuff you want to shift.

Yeah, I think she’s speaking a little ironically.

 

Prices are generally better at church

That’s probably because people donate things they don’t need anymore to the church or other organizations for sale. They don’t receive the money back themselves. The church gets the money.

 

as is  そのままで,現物のままで

Even in shops and stores, you often find items marked “as is.” It usually means that has some kind of a defect.

This is another phrase you’ll often see in stores, especially  if something’s been sold on a deep discount.

 

If you get home and your purchase doesn’t work or is missing piece, you’re out of luck.

Ha ha… You have to try to sell it yourself when you have your own yard sale.

・ これは Matsushita さんの joke

 

 

2008.04.23

2008年4月第4週分 Lesson 2 Getting Settled (4)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

● 今日のテーマ

Shiga’ colleagues tell him a bit more about yard sales and other ways that Americans manage their belongings.

 

“Good luck with your sale and have a great day.”

I forget sometimes living in Japan, where strangers don’t talk to each other too much unless there’s some need, but in the U.S., people who don’t know each other have all these nice little chats all the time. They’re always wishing each other a “Good day,” and “How are you today.” It’s quite a bit different, and I forget.

 

eager beaver 熱心な人,がんばり屋

“Eager beaver” is a phrase people often use to talk about other people who come early and work hard and are very enthusiastic about what they’re doing. Sometimes it’s also used a little bit satirically to talk about people who are a little bit over the top in that way.

 

“The early bird may not get the best worms.”

Kinkaid also mentions that the early bird may not get the best worms. That’s related to a proverb that says, “The early bird gets the worm,” meaning you should be up early and industrious to get things done and to win the prize.

・ The early bird gets[catches] the worm. 早起きは三文の得

 

“Prices tend to drop in the late afternoon or even early evening.”

In the case of yard sales, the people who are selling things will lower the prices toward the end, because they just want to get rid of all that stuff.

 

“She’s always saying, ‘I might need it sometime.'” ものを捨てられない人

I guess people are the same all over.

 

“If she can’t store it at home, off it goes to a self-storage facility.”

It sounds like the stuff she can’t store at home takes itself over to a self-storage agency, but of course, “off it goes” means somebody will take it.

・ take itself over to ~ それ自身を~へと運ぶ→勝手に~へ行く

 

get down to brass tracks 本題に入る

“Get down to brass tacks” is an idiom that means “get to the basics,” “get to the things that really matter, that must be taken care of.”

 

“But enough of yard sales and stuff.” の部分は杉田先生の解説と,テキストの訳が違っているような気がします。We’ve had enough of ~ の意味だと思われますので,もちろん解説の「もうヤードセールの話は十分したので,切り上げよう。」の意味でしょう。

 

“I mean, let’s deal with the basics.”

I think Kinkaid heard that she’d used an idiom, and she corrected herself — “I mean, let’s deal with the basics.”

 

“I signed the lease for an apartment.”

In English usually you just talk about signing a lease. It’s a rental contract.

 

● “monthly rental fee” はあまり使われない

And probably a native speaker would say, “How do I pay the rent?” Of course, everyone will understand “monthly rental fee.” But probably they wouldn’t say it that way.

 

 

2008.04.24

2008年4月第4週分 Lesson 2 Getting Settled (5)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

= Key Phrases to Remember =

have a preference  (何か)好みがある

You might even hear that on an airplane, if you ask the cabin attendant for a magazine.

 

two-for-one  2つ買えば1つただ,1つ分の値段で2個

Sometimes people even shorten “two-for-one” down to “twofer.” It’s a twofer.

・ two for one = two for the price of one

… if you wrote it. You might not ever see that written.

 

go over big  大ヒットする

“Go over big” is a set phrase. You can’t really say “go over small” to talk about something that’s not popular. The opposite of this phrase would probably be “go over like a lead balloon.”

・ go over like a lead balloon ≒ sink [go down] like a lead balloon 何の効果もなく終わる,失敗に終わる

be in demand 需要がある

 

get down to brass tacks   本題に入る

 “we have this room for three short hours.”

Of course, hours are always made up of sixty minutes, but if you feel like that’s too short of time, you can call them short hours. Or if you’re waiting, you can do the opposite, “three long hours.”

・ three short hours  わずか3時間 

  ⇔ three long hours なんと3時間も

 

 

2008.04.25

2008年4月第4週分 Lesson 2 Getting Settled (6)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

S : Now, Susan, we recently talked about the first day at work. And now we looking at getting settled in a new place.

I : That’s right. And there’re many angles from which we can approach this. One is relocation assistance. The policies vary from company to company, but (while) most provide some sort of relocation assistance to international assignees. It’s a real mixed bag when it comes to new hires. The higher the position, the more likely the person is able to get financial support from their organization to help pay for the relocation cost. Now in some cases, the employer even may buy the transferee’s home and then sell it later. This happened to my family years ago, when my father was transferred from Boston to New Orleans. It made our move much easier, not having to go through the long process of selling a house.

S : What sort of relocation assistance can international transferees expect?

I : Well, it depends on their situation, but employees who are on international assignments are often introduced to real estate agents recommended by their organizations. Compensation packages vary widely, of course, with some companies picking up the tab for all housing-related costs, and others giving a set budgets for the transferees to work with. Now the real estate agents are often part of a relocation assistance company. They will also provide help with setting up utilities, opening a bank account, and taking care of other normal start-up issues for the new employee. And in some cases, they even provide more comprehensive services, assisting a new employee with getting their children enrolled in school, or maybe giving them a tour of the neighborhood. And they may also provide the information to the family, about support network, so service is available in their own language, such as giving Japanese families information about Japanese-speaking doctors in the area, or taking them to a local Japanese supermarket or bookstore. Now other companies take a hands-off approach, perhaps giving a hand-out or manual with tips and advice, but otherwise letting the employees find their own housing and generally // themselves.

S : Now, Hiroshi’s colleague’s also giving advice about furnishing his apartment, right?

I : Yes, and they did mention that he had the option of looking for a furnished or unfurnished place. Now, unfurnished apartments are more readily available in most locales, but even unfurnished apartments come partially equipped with a refrigerator, stove, oven, and lighting fixtures. I was really surprised when I moved into my unfurnished apartment here in Japan and found out that I needed to go shopping for a fridge and stove and especially for lighting fixtures right away, if I didn’t want to spend my first night in the dark.

S : Hiroshi’s coworkers also give him interesting advice about garage sales. Do you think you’ll be able to find some bargains there?

I : Definitely. Garage sales — also known as tag sales, yard sales, or if you’re in New York, stoop sale — are great places to find inexpensive furnishings for your new place. If you go to any suburb on weekend, you’re likely to find a small hand-written sign posted on the utility poles, directing you to a yard sale in the neighborhood.  And I’ve done my fair share of shopping at garage sales over the years, and sometimes it’s just fun to browse and hope for unexpected treasure. Actually I’ve always liked hosting these kind of sales, too, even at our young age. My sisters and I were budding entrepreneurs, and I remember having our first yard sale in our elementary school. I think I was about eight at the time. We took some toys that we didn’t need any more — but they were still in good condition — and we set up a table at the end of a driveway. We sold nearly everything in a few hours. And the surprising thing was this wasn’t in some random suburb in the U.S., but rather, in our neighborhood in western Tokyo, as, you know, I used to live in Tokyo as a kid. Now our Japanese neighbors must have thought it was a bit strange, and we probably sold some of our wears(?) , just not(?) novelty factor alone.

S : In addition to apartment hunting, what are some of the other concerns for international transferees in particular?

I : Well, adjusting to anther culture can be time-consuming, and prevents some employees from performing at the highest levels, because they’re so busy trying to sort out cultural differences. (…) help (…) transitions, many organizations opt to provide their international assignees with intercultural training.

S : What does this sort of program involve?

I : Well, I could talk for hours about this, as it’s my main line of work. But in a nutshell, intercultural training is a way of giving international assignees the tools they need to acclimate themselves to a new culture. Now, some people may imagine that intercultural training is a session devoted to business etiquette, you know, — do’s and don’t’s in a particular culture, for example, the right way to exchange business cards in Japan. Of course, that’s important, and those things are helpful, but a good intercultural session goes a little deeper. It looks at how someone’s culture, their beliefs and values, the ways of thinking. .. how they affect their communication and management styles. Often we don’t have objectivity about our own culture, and don’t realize just how deeply it affects our interactions with others. And we may judge someone’s actions and behavior, using our own cultural standards. And as you can imagine, this has a potential for misunderstandings, whether on a personal or professional level.

S : For example?

I : Well earlier in my career, I worked full time at a major Japanese corporation. And during my first big presentation there, I noticed one of the managers was leaning back on his chair, with his arms crossed. Now looking at it with my American eyes, and judging it by my own cultural standards, I was worried that he either didn’t want to be there, perhaps thinking that my presentation wasn’t worth his time. However, when I spoke with him after the presentation, he gave me very positive feedback. I realized I made a mistake in reading his behavior due to my lack of objectivity. Now, sitting at a meeting with your arms crossed may have a negative meaning in the U.S., but not so in Japan. It was one of the many eye-openers for me as I navigated in Japanese business environment. Now this may seem like a minor incident, but people working in other cultures or multicultural teams may run into many of these situations. They may feel an emotional reaction to someone’s behavior due to the fact that it contrasts sharply with something in their own culture. Now the other person’s actions may be perfectly suitable in that person’s culture, or of course, may be rude in either culture. The important thing is to be able to step back for a moment and think objectively about their behavior before you react to it.

 

今回も難しく,長いですね。何箇所も不明な点,自信のない部分があります。

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