Cockney Rhymes

Has anyone here heard of Cockney rhymes?

They’re a type of south London slang based on rhyming riddles.

For example, take the following conversation.

“Hey, where are you going?”
“apples.”
“oh okay.”

Someone who knows Cockney rhymes will l know that the person is heading for the stairs.

Why?

Well, apples and pears are fruits right? Pears rhymes with stairs. Therefore, you can just say “apples”, and people will link it back to “stairs.” Amazing isn’t it? I’m not making this up.
Here’s another one.

“Hey have a butchers at that crazy Japanese thing!”
“Wow it’s amazing!”

What does the first person mean by “have a butchers?” Well, what’s in a butcher shop? Lots of meat hanging on hooks right? What rhymes with hook? LOOK! So “have a butchers” means, “have a look”.

Don’t believe me? Here’s the mind-blowing kicker. (Here is the Japan related link you have all been waiting for.)

These terms are even listed in the ALC online J-E dictionary!

have a look - have a hook - have a butcher

* have a butcher’s hook at
～をちょっと［ひと目］見る
* have a butchers at
～を見る

apples and pears

* apples and pears
階段｛かいだん｝stairs の押韻俗語

The Cockney Rhyming Slang website has lots of other examples too.

Also, this book Cockney Rabbit: A Dick’N'Arry of Rhyming Slang (by the way, Dick’N'Arry is dictionary!) is filled with other Cockney rhymes.

Here is an explanation and high level Cockney slang example I pulled from aldertons.com.

It is very difficult to describe what Rhyming Slang is without using an example, but I’ll give it a try. Basically, you take a pair of associated words (e.g. fish hook), where the second word rhymes with the word you intend to say, then use the first word of the associated pair to indicate the word you originally intended to say. Usually. And some slang words have more than one meaning (for example, iron can be a bank (Iron Tank) or a homosexual (Iron Hoof - this rhymes with poof which is a particularly English expression for homosexuals), so context is everything! There - clear as mud.

‘Allo me old china - wot say we pop round the Jack. I’ll stand you a pig and you can rabbit on about your teapots. We can ‘ave some loop and tommy and be off before the dickory hits twelve.

or, to translate

Hello my old mate (china plate) - what do you say we pop around to the bar (Jack Tar). I’ll buy you a beer (pig’s ear) and you can talk (rabbit and pork) about your kids (teapot lids). We can have some soup (loop de loop) and supper (Tommy Tucker) and be gone before the clock (hickory dickory dock) strikes twelve.

WOW.

I’m really toeing the “Japan-related line” with this post aren’t I? My geta is on the other side. But it was so interesting I had to share!

- Harvey

Japanese Tattoos and such

One of the most popular posts on this blog, quite surprisingly actually, is the Tattoo in the Onsen post.

No tattoos or drunks in the onsen please, the sign says.

Lots of people search for “kanji tattoo” or “chinese character tattoo” or “japanese tattoo” and such and end up on that page.

I guess people really want to get authentic Japanese tattoos, or tattoos with Chinese characters on them. Personally I have nothing against tattoos, though personally I’ll probably never get one, but if you’re to get one be careful!

You don’t want to end up like this! Girl’s Chinese Tattoo of Boyfriend’s Name Really Spells ‘Supermarket’. I don’t know how that could happen. I mean, wouldn’t her boyfriend tell her? Does anyone know Chinese well enough to explain this for me?

Anyway. For all those people looking for Japanese Tattoos, I ‘ll throw this link out there.

There is a magazine called Tattoo Lifestyle (Japanese Version) available with full color pictures of tattoos, in Japan. Hardcore full-back (ouch!) tattoos for all your inking needs.

Enjoy!

Does anyone out there reading this have a Japan or Chinese character related tattoo? What is it of? I’m curious.

I hope it doesn’t say “supermarket!”

- Harvey

Australia PM has got skills

I’m jealous, Australia’ PM-elect Kevin Rudd speaks Mandarin Chinese.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN42pk7eozk

While on the other hand my president…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa3J-L29iT8

The grass is always greener…

- Harvey

Shocking

I had a conversation with another American who has been in Japan for a while about the things that always shock us when we go back to the States. I’ve listed my top three below.

1. The air-conditioning inside public buildings is set way, way cold.

I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure that “indoors” in the States is much colder than “indoors” in Japan. It could be that the insulation in Japanese buildings is much worse, or maybe they’re just trying to save energy… I don’t know, but back in the States it is so cold indoors that I’ll bring long sleeves into malls even in the dead of summer!

2. The drink sizes are giant. Some stores don’t even have a “small” size anymore.

“Big Gulps” make me laugh. I guess we need them in the States because we spend so much time in the car. It wouldn’t be fun to be on a road trip with only Japanese-sized (wimpy small) drinks!

3. The people are giant. I’m not just talking about overweight, but about height as well.

I’m only medium sized. When my wife tells other Japanese people about me, one of the things they usually say when they meet me for the first time is, “Wow I was imaging someone so much bigger!” Or, “Wow, you’re short!” Don’t get me wrong, in Japan I’m average sized. So when I go back to the States, most people tower over me… Makes me feel like I’m in a land of giants.

Now I know how Hirohito felt when MacAurther came over huh?

Does anyone here get a shock every time they fly back home? Let me know what kind of things you notice in the comments!

- Harvey

Harvey Quest: Find the Restaraunt

Calling all Kanto-based JapanNewbies!

An incredibly long time JapanNewbie reader and friend pointed this out to me a while ago.

This restaurant has my name!

Unfortunately, all we have is this shoddy keitai picture, and a link that has the stores phone number and address on it. In fact, the restaurant may have moved…

I must have some kind of connection with it. Maybe this means something.

Your mission is to go to the restaurant, and email me pictures.

ONEGAISHIMASU!

By the way. Today is my birthday!

- Harvey

Japanese Toilet Money

Japanese Toilet Money…

I thought that was an appropriate post title…

Someone is hiding money in toilets in the men’s rooms of city hall around Japan.

In true Japan spririt, get this.

Despite the fact that we’re talking about cash here… And the money has letters accompanying it instructing the lucky joe who finds it to, “Please make use of this money for your self-enrichment,” The Yahoo News article ends with this sentence.

“Packages turned over to police were to be kept for a time in case someone claimed them.”

Turned into the who?

Now… Don’t get me wrong. I’m a nice person. However, if I came across one of those envelopes, I really don’t think I would be brining it to the police station. Wait… Let me think… Nah. I wouldn’t.

Now, if only someone would return the chunk of gold that was stolen a while back…

Speaking of toilets, here’s a trip from JapanNewbie past and the gorgeous toilets post.

- Harvey

Life on the Bases

In Japanese class a while ago an especially perceptive student gave a very interesting presentation relating his day visit to a US military base in Japan.

First, some background information about the military bases. The military bases in Japan are like little oasises of “American-ness”. The bases are designed so that the cultural differences of Japan, or other aspects of the foreign environment will not hinder the crews or their families ability to perform their duties, or live abroad for extended periods of time. This makes sense, as you could imagine the protest if an American service man had to tell his wife and three kids that they were leaving their two-story town house to go live in a cramped Japanese apartment.

The military is of course funded by the government, so they have ample budget to make things just right. The bases are so molded to perfection that they have large American sized houses, big front lawns, driveways, shops that sell large shoe sizes, and even fast food shops that are not found anywhere else in Japan. Supermarkets with hugs isles and cereal, Cheese Nips, and even Vanilla Wafers are readily at hand. The illusion of a “generic” America is recreated as authentically as humanly possible. I have heard that it would be entirely possible to spend all of your time on the base, without really noticing that the base was in Japan.

The real point of my friends presentation however, was that as many Americans who have traveled around the States know, America is very different from state to state. Even though the base was modeled after “the United States”, it apparently felt artificially plastic phsyically, and gave him a feeling of uneasiness. Rather than the expected familiarity with the “American” surroundings, instead he felt like he had left Japan, only to visit another, strangely familiar yet strangely foreign country.

Not only the base itself, but the people he met there, according to my friend, had a very different feel from most of the other foreigners he knows in Japan… Which would be largely the students at IUC. Personally I feel this goes without saying however. The students at IUC are mostly graduate students, have chosen to live in Japan, and study Japanese. The people on the base are usually younger, likely are just on tour and had no say in which country they would be sent to, and either are not studying Japanese, or only studying it as part of their assignment. Of course, on both sides of the fence there are bound to be exceptions.

I wonder what it is like to live on the bases as a military person. I heard from one military guy I met on a train, that they literally are not told where they are going until they hit land. Then it’s off the boat, and onto the base. Of course they are allowed to leave the base and explore Japan on their own, though I have no idea what restrictions they have, if any.

I also wonder if the US military bases around the wold are all pretty much modeled in the same way. Do the military personel have a strong feeling of the identity of the nation they are in as they hop from Disney-fied base to Disney-fied base?

I dunno. I guess I will have to make an excuse to get down and visit a base sometime before I leave Japan. It’s almost amazing that I have been here for almost 5 years now and never experienced it for myself.

Anyway, any thoughts on this?

- Harvey

JLPT Level 1 Required

So you’ve got JLPT 1… But now what do you do?

How about a free 3 month cruise around the world?

Peace Boat is a Japan based NGO/NPO that organizes crusies visiting 15-20 countries over three months while conducting environmental and peace awareness activities.

Normally joining Peace Boat requires payment, but if you have Japanese, or Spanish language skills you can join the Peace Boat as a volunteer interpreter and Peace Boat will allow you to ride for free.

Of course, the interpretation is intense, as you will be interpreting lectures from guest educators of major universities and international organizations. The minimum requirement for an English/Japanese interpreter is JLPT Level 1.

You can also take interpretation and translation classes while you are on the cruise, which is an added bonus.

It’s like a free education, cruise, and chance to meet some footloose and friendly people at the same time!

I wonder if the boat has internet access…

- Harvey

Japanese thoughts…

My friend had a “deep thought” that I would like to share with you. The same friend who studies Kanji in the psychadelic way that I showed you before…

The thought was…

“One boring thing about Japaense is that… You can’t do all-caps.”

How true…

I guess writting things in Katakana is a similar way to emphasis a word in Japanese… We have seen that a few times over at the Japanese Ads Blog.

キレイ！

- Harvey