“Summer is here, and we are looking for a place to stick it in.”
New fresh open
English speakers would just use the word “reopening.” For some unknown reason, the Japanese would not.
Healthy and safety (or) …health and safe (or) … healthiness and safetiness (or) …... Aagh!
I did not approve, but was in no position to argue. (That is, I was in Japan.)
(Image source)
Japan is a safety country
Anyone who’s spent a bit of time in Japan has heard this ungrammatical sentence many times. For some reason, it seems that no Japanese person can put together the 3-word phrase and come up with the correct phrase “a safe country.”
Eventually, many of my English-speaking friends and I started using the phrase, too – partly in jest, partly just to be understood. I guess that’s how languages evolve. Or maybe how they devolve. (Image source)
A place to stick in
This came from a beverage company, which had planned to put the phrase on a can of soft drink. I assumed that they had probably intended to say “a place to fit in.” But I was not gonna jump to conclusions. Nor was I gonna let this opportunity to have some fun slip away.
So, I changed it from the rather dull “... a place to fit in” to the catchy sentence “Summer is here, and we are looking for a place to stick it in.”
He nodded in agreement, and left my revision as is. I returned to my desk, trying to hide the smile on my face. For the rest of that summer, I kept an eye out for any new beverage cans with that catchy and memorable slogan. I never did find it, and I assume that somewhere along the line, someone at the beverage company had rejected it or simply abandoned it. Too bad. (Image source)
Introduction to – “Notes from Under the Tatami Mats” (right-click on title)
Top 3 Great Names for English Schools
Top 3 Moronic Ad Slogans Used by English Schools
Top 4 Types of Student Most Appreciated by English Teachers
... and more
Links to my Other Series …
Introduction – "Intro to Vocab-ability" (right-click on title) Guide – "Guide to Entries" (right-click on title)
Index– "Index" to all Chapters and Sections (right-click on title)
Lou Reed – "Anthology of Memorable Lyrics, Part 1" (right-click on title) Lou Reed – "Anthology of Memorable Lyrics, Part 2" (right-click on title)
Images sourced from Google Images, unless otherwise indicated or unless my own.
Hahahaha I've always got reasons to laugh whenever these Tatami notes centre on topics relating to English language. I still remember the ridiculous question about whether the ABCs were learnt in the university. It appears that Japan has a deliberate culture of imposing the opinion of the bosses on the subordinates in official settings. If not, I see no reason why the head translator would not approve your corrections/observations.
Really, Japan is a safety and healthy country. Lol
Believe me, there were plenty of times when the head translator DISapproved of my corrections, and left certain sub-par or incorrect phrases as is. Sigh ...
As you can see from reading these posts, there are some negative aspects to the country. But I'll never forget one of the most positive aspects, namely ... Japan is a safety country. ☺
Lol
A really very professional education and very important sentences
I love English and learn it now
There is a little level to be mastered, my dear
Thank you for sharing this information was very useful, please can you follow me @zipp03
Very nice ..
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Very instructive, Japan have a pretty good culture