Re: Ningen Dock

On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 17:50:57 +0900, "necoandjeff" <spam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
brought down from the Mount tablets inscribed:

>Michael Cash wrote:
>> On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 15:37:02 +0900, "necoandjeff" <spam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> brought down from the Mount tablets inscribed:
>>
>>> I've got another gem to add to the wasei eigo list (although it is
>>> only half wasei eigo): 人間ドック. How many people here thought ドック
>was a
>>> reference
>>> to "doc," which is short for doctor? I sure did. It is actually
>>> "dock" and it comes from the analogy with a boat that docks for
>>> maintenance and repairs before heading out on its next voyage.
>>>
>>> http://gogen-allguide.com/ni/ningen_dock.html
>>
>> I recall seeing a Japanese magazine in which a Japanese doctor said
>> that AIDS キャリア was "AIDS career", so named because it's with you
>> for the long haul.
>>
>> Moral: Don't put too much stock in single sources, even when the
>> single source is a professional.
>
>I didn't write the above *based* on a single source, I just provided a
>single source for those who are interested.

I didn't say you based it on a single source. I didn't even directly
address what you wrote. I just provided one of my typical pointless
anecdotes. The moral was meant to go with the anecdote, not the
contents of your post. The only connection was the medical context and
English words getting confused for something they are not.
>
>And, while I agree with your point generally, I don't think your anecdote is
>a convincing one. First, it's entirely possible that the doctor was just a
>play on words to convey a completely different but deadly serious point.
>Just like when people say "assume" makes an "ass" out of "u" and "me" and
>other such silliness. Second, while it is true he is a professional, he
>isn't a professional with respect to the assertion he is making, which is
>etymological in nature. Third, if he was being serious, it's pretty easy for
>most people to conclude that he's just ignorant.

In the case of the "AIDS career" doctor, I think it was just that he
was a dumbass. And I doubt that a great number of the readers of the
article even noticed that the doctor didn't know the difference
between "career" and "career", at least when rendered in katakana.




--

Michael Cash

"Clowns to the left of me and jokers to the right, Mr. Cash.
Clowns and jokers."

Prof. Ernest T. Bass
Mount Pilot College
.