Split infinitive

There is the scene from Two Weeks Notice (2002), in which Harvard educated lawyer Lucy Kelson (Sandra Billock) gives a feedback to the letter read by George Wade (Hugh Grant), a public face of some big company. It is actually a love letter by the latter.

The letter goes as follows:
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George Wade: I need your advice on one last thing, then I promise you will never hear from me again. You see, I've just delivered the first speech I've written entirely by myself since we met, and I think I may have blown it. I want to ask your thoughts. Okay? Then I will read it to you. I'd like to welcome everyone on this special day. Island Towers will bring glamour and prestige to the neighborhood and become part of Brooklyn's renaissance. And I'm very pleased and proud to be here. Unfortunately, there is one fly in the ointment. You see, I gave my word to someone that we wouldn't knock down this building behind me. And normally, and those of you who know me or were married to me can attest to this, my word wouldn't mean very much. So why does it this time? Well, partly because this building is an architectural gem and deserves to be landmarked and partly because people really do need a place to do senior's water ballet and CPR. Preferably not together. But mainly because this person, despite being unusually stubborn and unwilling to compromise and a very poor dresser, is... she's rather like the building she loves so much. A little rough around the edges but, when you look closely, absolutely beautiful. And the only one of her kind. And even though I've said cruel things and driven her away, she's become the voice in my head. And I can't seem to drown her out. And I don't want to drown her out. So, we are going to keep the community center. Because I gave my word to her and because we gave our word to the community. And I didn't sleep with June. That's not in the speech, that's just me letting you know that important fact. What do you think?

Lucy Kelson: I have to get back to work.

George Wade: Right. Right, yes. Sorry to disturb you. Congratulations, again, Polly.
[leaves]

Lucy Kelson: Aside from the split infinitive that was somewhere in the middle, that speech was actually quite perfect, wasn't it?

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In response to his highly romantic speech, Lucy replies that it was fine except the use of "the split infinitive." Split infinitive is a grammatical construction in which an adverb comes between the "to" and the infinitive verb that follows it such as:

--- to deeply think about it

--- to finally come to the conclusion
--- to reluctantly admit

These construction is thought as incorrect, especially in the official academic arena.

On closer inspection, however, Wade's speech doesn't contain split infinitive!

The point is this. Lucy, who is the master of composition, wanted to find in his writing some mistakes, but ended up finding nothing but a perfect one (grammatically and emotionally). Reference to "split infinitive" is reflection of her feeling that she wants to hide kind of embarrassment.      

Why? Because split infinitive is the typical grammatical mistakes which native people often make.

To be continued...

"Shimijimi drinking, Shimijimily"

演歌 Enka is a Japanese pop ballad. A lot of them sing about love and lost love, looking back at the past in a nostalgic way.

One popular Enka called 舟歌 "Funauta" is translated and sung in English. It sings about a man drinking alone in a lonely bar near a port, fondly remembering the woman he loved in the past.

The translation of the lyric is very literal and not so refined, but I feel it sensitively tells the nostalgic feeling particularly often sung in Japanese Enka. There are three Japanese onomatopoeia words that are converted into English adverbs, and they do a hell of a good job in expressing this Japanese peculiar feel.

しみじみ (shimi jimi)
It means to do something from the heart, sometimes remembering the past with a little pain.

ほろほろ (horo horo)
It is usually used when describing the manner of crying, to sob quietly, shedding little tear.

ぽつぽつ (potsu potsu)
This is usually used when describing the manner of talking, like when usually quiet person talking about his or her past or feeling hesitantly, a bit by bit.

And these Japanese words are used as is with -ly suffix to make them adverbs.

①Shimijimi drinking, shimijimily
②Horo horo drinking, horo horoly
③Potsu potsu drinking, potsu potsuly

The man at the bar ①remembers the past with his lady with a little pain, ②sobbing a little, maybe ③talking to the bar master a little about the memory of his lost love.

If you are a non-Japanese and can grasp the feel of theses Japanese-born adjectives, Japan is no mystery to you any more.

I think these adjectives speak a lot about the feelings characteristic of Japan, and I wish that they, someday, will be new entries in the English dictionaries.

Godly Powers, Divine Possession.

Youngsters are all inherently brilliant at inventing and shaping new words – they contract, change the parts of speech, flip or extend meanings of the words and phrases of the old school. Adults may frown at these new school outcomes, but tough, the new language gradually creeps up to you, spreads and becomes acceptable. Language is organic and evolves that way.

Recently I saw a moment when a word from the new school gained a major acceptance.

A baseball team won the series after 25 years from its last glory. One of the team players hit a game-ending home runner 2 games in a row, which brought the team the victory in 25 years. The manager said in his victory interview,


「いや、本当にね。神がかっているよ。今どきの言葉で言うなら、神ってるよな。」

The translation would be like this;

"Honestly, God was on our side. The youngsters would say 'the game was Godding.'"

神ってる (kamitte-ru) is a fairly new phrase now popular among Japanese teenagers meaning "something or someone is unbelievably lucky that it or one must be possessed and loved by God". I believe this phrase came from clipping and transforming the noun phrase 神がかり (kami-gakari, meaning divine possession, something under Godly powers) into a verb.

Clipping and transforming the original word into a verb, and using it like a present participle, making the phrase lighter and more pop

The teenagers are ingenious linguists, in Japan, and I think also in any other countries.

This phrase was not so much used by adults, but the victory interview of the baseball team had pushed it into the spotlight. The phrase 神ってる (the game was Godding) was in headlines of the sports tabloids the following day.

Also the phrase is tweeted and retweeted, repeated on the Internet, TV shows and radio programmes when telling the news about the victory.

The diffusion is UNSTOPPABLE now.

New words entry into the Oxford English Dictionary

Japanese yahoo site picks up the latest news of the Oxford English Dictionary!
Interesting to get this kind of information in Japanese.

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20160913-00000032-reut-eurp

The new words mentioned in the news are:

splendiferous
---  Remarkably fine; magnificent, splendid.

yogalates 
--- A fitness routine combining Pilates exercises with the postures and breathing techniques of yoga.

moobs
---  Unusually prominent breasts on a man (likened to those of a woman), typically as a result of excess pectoral fat

The first citation of "moobs" is 2001, so it means taking almost 15 years to get into OED. I wonder how long it generally takes for a newly invented word to be accepted there and what kind of factors is crucial for the entry. Obviously these are the words people often hear and use in a daily life. 

The coining or use of new words or phrases is technically called "neologism." 

The new entry of the words surely reflects one aspect of changing trends in society. Encounter with new words is always exciting, providing us with one way to look at what is happening now.

"I am handmade" Lost in Translation 01

Lost in translation series 01

On many product packages and ads in Japan, you see English words and phrases. Why? Maybe many feel that the foreign language adds higher or more fashionable taste to the product. Fine, if it makes sense, but you often see really odd English that you don't know what to make of it.

Lost in translation...

This is a picture of a leaflet from a Bento lunch shop.

The garlic pork steak is telling me,
"I am handmade."

You're being barbecued on a sizzling hot pan, and very plainly telling me your status.
Well, thank you garlic pork steak for telling me that. I wish you the best of luck.

Latte-ru

People like to go to Cafe. The following photo is interesting. The white phrase in the red frame "疲れたらラテってください" (Come and Latte when you are tired) might hint at how popular "latte" has become among Japanese. Why? Because "latte" is used as a verb "Latte-ru."

"Latte" is the word made by clipping or shortening "caffè latte," originally from Italy.

Then coming into Japanese, the noun here transforms into verb.

The shift is technically known as "conversion," the use of one part of speech as another.

Probably, Latte's intrusion into a verb form indicates the growing familiarity of the original word (hence Latte itself) among Japanese.

Barefoot Philology

"Philology" 

--- 1. Love of learning and literature; the branch of knowledge that deals with the historical, linguistic, interpretative, and critical aspects of literature.

Oxford English Dictionary

--- Philologist, lover of logos. If you want to enjoy life, you have to be in love with the world you live in. So many people only care about "here and now", but if one can connect with "there and then", I think your life and world would change a lot.

M. T.