We learned that Pidgins are made and used to communicate with each other when people from different countries, gather, but they are stopgap measures(その場しのぎ).

If we are told not to use loan words at all, I guess we will have trouble in talking, because there are too many foreign words in Japanese, such as ball, pen, radio, desk, bag, milk, Castilla, and so on. A lot of them are a little modified in Japan to make us say easier (e.g. we refer pudding as “pulin”). However, I realized we always depend on many of other languages’ words without notice.

When encouraging people, the Japanese often say, “Donmai (which came from “Don’t mind),” but I heard before that actually, English native speakers usually don’t say it, instead, “Never mind.” So, I guess it’s a kind of Pidgin the Japanese made.

The loan word, “rent-a-car (レンタカー),” which we also use, is interesting for me, because it combines verb with noun. Also, I think it is useful, because it’s easier for us to say than “貸自動車.”

Besides, I learned about, “Singlish (Singapore & English),” at another class. Then, I watched the video about it. It was complicated and difficult for me to understand.

By the way, we should respect all languages, but I think there’s no wonder that people are proud of their mother tongue, like the ancient Greeks and Romans (← p. 30).

About Music and Art

After listening to what Mr. Sheffner said about music and art, I thought they were interesting, because their meaning depends on individuals. That is to say, they have many meanings. I think it’s important for children to watch abstract pictures and guess what they are, to broaden their views. Also, I noticed that when watching TV, we do not use our brain (do not imagine), so we are scolded if we watch it for hours.