Re: How to "be going"?

From: John J. Chew III (jjchew_at_coxeter.math.toronto.edu)
Date: 01/16/05 

Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2005 06:12:03 +0000 (UTC)

In article <lnoFd.457$V76.156434@monger.newsread.com>,
Anthony Bryant <ajbryant@bloomington.in.usMUNG> wrote:
>As I often find myself telling people who ask for a translation of an isolated
>word or sentence: In Japan, context is king. Without the proper context, there
>are any number of possible meanings for the most simple of phrases.

Given the frequency with which I answer my wife's questions of the form
"How do you say X in Japanese?" with "It depends on the context.",
"Who do you want to say it to?" or (my favourite) "Do you want to know
what I can get away with saying, or what you're expected to say?"[1], I'd
say that translating English into Japanese is equally dependent on
the original context.

John

[1] Her typical reply: "You're telling me that in Japanese society, I
rank below a belly button?" 

-- 
John Chew (poslfit on MD) * jjchew@math.utoronto.ca * http://www.poslfit.com
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