ENGLISH MADE FUNNY up the word she wanted. "How about this word, 'handmade'?" Megumi said. "Ah, handmade, yes. Like your husband makes furniture? ” asked Laura. "Yes, that's it. He made a bookshelf. I painted it," said Megumi. "ln English, we call that DIY. lhat's short for do-it-yourself," Laura explained. 'We say that t00 ⅲ Japanese. But that is for fixing things? N0t making things?" Megumi asked. "You can say it for making things, too. Or you can say, 'my husband enjoys making things. ' Or:'my husband's hobby is carpen- try, " explained Laura. Laura breathed a deep sigh of relief. Fortunately nobody asked her to explain 'hand job!' Quickly, she changed the subj ect. Turning tO another student, Laura asked: "SO Miho, how was your weekend?" 80

alse friends are words that are the same in two languages, but have different meanings. "lhese words seem like friends: because they 100k the same. But in reality the meanings are different. 1hey are not really friends at all. ln fact, they often cause confusion. Beware Of these false friends! Often these false friends are loan words, from one language tO another. lhere are lots of English loan words in Japanese. But not all of these loan words have the exact same meaning in English. And not all words that look like EngIish really are English. lhat's When communication trouble begins. Let's return tO the coffee shop, where Midori's story takes place. Midori was on holiday in NewYork. She walked off the street intO a downtown coffee shop. "l'd like an ス襯 er / ca れ , please," she said 24

ENGLISH MADE FUNNY •e shop clerks had to say this. lt is the custom in America. But when Mayumi heard "thank you," she always replied: ツ 0 リ ' re ル elCO ′ e. This is what she had practiced in school. lt had become a habit, too. Just like saying: "Fine, thank you. And you?" But she had no idea how funny it sounded tO say, you re welcome!" "You're welcome" is something you say after helping someone. For example: "Can you pass me the salt?" "Sure, here you go. "lhank you. "You're welcome. When you shop, you are helping the store. lhat's why the clerk says "thank you. " But is that really your purpose? NO, your real purpose is t0 buy something for yourself or your family! If your real purpose is helping the store, then it is Okay tO say, "You're welcome. " But if that's not your purpose, then saying, "You're welcome" doesn't make 88

ust hOW important iS correct pronuncia- tion? Many students of English ask this question. Here's the simple answer: if you can communicate, then your pronunciation iS Okay. Communication iS the most impor- tant thing. After all, even among EngIish speakers there are differences in pronunciation. For example, there is that famous difference between American and British speakers of English: the way they say "tomato. " Ameri- cans say ー襯アー and Brits say ー襯 4 一 . Which is correct? They bOth are. Even if you don't pronounce a word perfectly, most English speakers will get your point. Sometimes, however, tWO words sound very similar. Say just one sound differently and you get a whole different word. lhat's when things get a little confusing! 2

ENGLISH MADE FUNNY 換留学生 careof ~ の世話をする , ~ 面倒を見 る takeoff 脱ぐね keon 意味を持 ロ style 名様式 , ( 服装などの ) スタ つようになる take pity on ~ に同情 イル have no style 品がない have を示すね kep ね ce 行われる , 起こる s 呼厄格好いい , おしやれだ take someone by the arm ( 人 ) の ロ suburb 名近郊 , 郊外 腕をつかんで連れていく ロ such a そのような ロ taste 動味がする , 味わう ロ such as たとえば ~ , ~ のような ロ tea m m ate 名チームメイト , チー ロ suck 動吸う , しゃぶる ムのイ中間 ロ sudden 熟 all ofa sudden 突然 . teenage 形ティーンエイジャーの , ロ 前触れもなしに 10 代の ロ suit 名スーツ , 背広 bathing suit ロ tennis 名テニス ロ tension 名緊張 ( 関係 ) , びんと張 ロ super 形特大の ること high tension 緊張やストレ スの高い状態《ネガテイプな表現》 supermarket 名スーパーマーケ low tension 緊張やストレスの低い 状態《本来は「低張力」「低電圧」の意 ロ SUPPOSe 動《 be-d to ~ 》 ~ する 味で , 感情を表す正確な英語表現では ことになっている , ~ するものである ない》 sure *canbesureæと思って間 ロ Texas 名テキサス州《米国の地名》 違いない make s Ⅱ re 確かめる , 確認 ロ textbook 名教科書 する ロ thanksto ~ のおかげで , ~ の結 surely 副きっと 果 surprised 形驚いた be ロ that 熟 so ~ 市 at ・・・非常に ~ な surprised t0 d0 ~ して驚く ので・・・ sothatiswhy それで that surround 動囲む , 包囲する is so not funny 超オモシロくない 《日本語の「超 ~ 」と同様 , 強調のた sweaty 形汗びっしよりの , 汗を めにどんなものの前にでも so をつけ かいた るアメリカの若い女性の流行表現》 swept "sweep ( 掃く ) の過去 , 過 "lhat's it. それです。 lhat's t00 去分詞 get swept away by ~ にさら bad. 残念だ。 われる , 押し流される ロ then 熟ⅳ st 山 en そのとたんに swimming P00 ースイミングプ ロ there 熟 getthere そこに到着する ール , プール ロ this one これ , こちら sword 名剣 ロ though 接 ~ にもかかわらす , だが even 市 0 Ⅱ ~ であるけれど も , ~ にもかかわらず副しかし ロ throw a party パーティーを開 く ロ tight 形きつい , びんと張った ロ take 熟ね ke ~ to ・・・ ~ を・・・に連れ て行く takeaseat 席にすわる take ロ ti 厄名瓦 a bath 風呂に入る take a break 休 ロ time 熟 a Ⅱ市 e ⅱ me すっと , いつ 憩する take a ok at ~ をちょっ も anytime いつでも each time と見る takeasip¯ß飲む take するたびに forthefirsttime 初め ロロロロロ 106

FALSE FRIENDS "Well, in that case, I guess it's worth the money," said Kristen. "SO you'll come?" asked the friend. "Yeah, I'II come," replied Kristen. Kristen met her friends at Shibuya station and they walked to the restaurant. They rode the elevator tO the seventh floor and entered the restaurant. The room was still pretty empty. staff was still setting up the buffet. ・ 'Are we early?" asked Kristen. "A little early I guess. lt's best to be early when there's a viking," said her friend. "lhat makes sense. Will the viking get here soon? ” asked Kristen. "lt looks like it's almost ready," said her friend. Soon the buffet was ready. Kristen and her friends got ⅲ line and piled their plates high with food. They ordered a round of beers for the table. Then they ordered another. Kristen was having so much fun, she forgot about the viking. After a couple Of hours, the waiter came tO 37

ENGLISH MADE FUNNY "We'II leave first thing Saturday morning. lt should only take two hours to get there. SO if we leave at eight, we should get there at ten. SO we'll still have the whole day at the beach! The only thing is, I have to work late Friday night," said Angela. Angela worked as a nurse at the local hospital. Sometimes she had t0 work an evening shift. Angela continued: "I should be home by midnight. But l'll probably be tired the next morning. DO you mind driving?" "Yes," said Atsushi. "ReaIIy? lhat's kind of selfish don't you think?" said Angela. "Huh? ” said Atsushi. "Why don't you think about it and call me back," Angela said, slamming down the phone. What did Atsushi do wrong this time? This time he should have said "no. " As in, "NO, I don't mind driving. Let's hope that Atsushi picks up on this fast. Or else his relationship with Angela is not going tO last. 50

ath, bus; cash, cashew; cappuccino, cup Of tea—so far none Of these mistakes have been that embarrassing. But that's about tO change! Let's take a lOOk at what happened t0 Trisha and her student Kazuk0. Be grateful that Kazuk0 made this mistake instead Ofyou. Like she did ever Tuesday evening, Trisha met Kazuko in a T0kyo coffee shop. Trisha was a young college graduate teaching English in Japan. Kazuk0 was a middle-aged housewife. Kazuko had good reading and writing skills in English. She could read and write better than some native speakers! She liked to read EngIish magazines like Time and Newsweek. But her speaking skills weren't as strong. That's why she was taking lessons from Trisha. Each week Trisha and Kazuko would 11

ENGLISH MADE FUNNY SO Ryusuke sounded like he was angry at the police officer for stopping him. Even though it was Ryusuke wh0 broke the law! SO that is why the police officer got so angry. very student 0f a foreign language knows hOW easy it is tO mix up tWO verbs. That's what happened tO Daisuke, in our next story. Remember Daisuke? He was the student living with a host family in Australia. Well, he finally got the hang of saying, "bath. " But his problems didn't end there. One day Daisuke came home from class and saw his host mother, Brenda, making dinner. Brenda always made nice meals. She made an effort tO COOk meals that Daisuke would like. Daisuke was very grateful. Several Of his classmates complained about their hOSt 64

ENGLISH MADE FUNNY like you want tO have a conversation with that person. lt's like, 'dO you have time to talk tO me?' or do you have time to get a cup of coffee with me?' lt sounds like a pick-up line,' explained the co-worker. A pick up line! Oh no, that's not what I meant at all, thought Atsushi. ronouns are alSO an extra headache for Japanese students of English. lt is necessaryto add "he" or "she" tO a sentence. Mix them up and you might call someone's husband ” or someone S sister "he. AISO, a sentence that doesn't need a pronoun in Japanese needs one in English. But the problem is: what pronoun tO use? Trisha remembers getting an email from one of her English students.lhe email said: 58