Tuesday, January 29, 2013

ein Hund für die Catherine

My daughter Catherine is a linguaphile living in Germany, so this post is for her.

In America, it's quite rare that foreign words or phrases turn up on signs.  I can think of a few exceptions, but by and large we are a country that does not bother to learn other languages.  It's remarkable to me how much English there is on the streets of Tokyo.

In America, use of a foreign phrase usually signals an appeal to a more educated, sophisticated (read, rich) crowd. That's true here, too.  Last night I saw a store called "Classics The Small Luxury" which sold nothing but handkerchiefs, starting at $25 apiece.  But today I saw "SALE! 30-50% off" on a discount store, too.

Japanese products are famous for their idiosyncratic use of English, like the "Fruity salad" juice I've been drinking for breakfast and the "Everyer girl" body lotion in the bathroom.  But give them credit for getting it right more often than wrong.

Here's a sign I saw in a camera store.  No corresponding warnings in English or Japanese, as far as I could tell.

Maybe it's a German shepherd?

(Loosely translated:  Beware of the loose dog.  If the dog jumps, you're on your own--lots of luck!)

1 comment:

  1. From the linguaphile in return: http://sideshowcynic.blogspot.de/2013/02/listo-bitte.html

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