2009年6月7日日曜日

Names and Adress

Hi everyone!

Let me answer the folloing questions today.

1.Are feelings, emotions and facial expressions universal across borders, happy, sad, etc..?

Basically, I think that they are universal.
When people are happy, they would smile, and when they feel sad, they would cry.
As for crying, they seem to have different senses.
I read an interesting article about tears in some countries. (from magazine,anan)

In France, it often happens for men to cry in public. People guess he or she has reasons.
It is also common to share tears in the case of sports, national events and funerals.

In Germany, tears are equal to weakness and people think that they should hide their sadness in public. But it is okay when they feel dramatic feelings at wedding and sports. They regard tears as beautiful and sincere things.

In Italy, basically, it is rare to shed tears in public places. Especially, men are not easily moved to tears how sad they feel. However, they start to think that it is tolerant toward tears these days.

In Spain, it is natural for the Spanish to be obedient to their emotions. When they see somebody crying in public, they would think that he or she has some troubles. Also, it is not a shame to cry for joy.


In China, it is said that women live longer than men, because women cry more. Chinese men seldom cry in public. You can see a couple having a fight and a woman crying on the street.
Tears can be also weapons for women such as Japan.



In this way, people have different ideas about tears.
In Japan, it is more common for men to cry in public even when they feel glad.
I feel that it is just in the spring of the life!


2. Try to name as many feelings as possible in Japanese. ( 10 minimum) Then, write the English translation.

たのしい/ delighted
ゆかいな/ cheerful
よろこんで/ pleased
しあわせな/ happy
うれしい/ glad
かなしい/ sad
おこった/ angry, furious
わくわくする/ excited
きょうみがある/ interested
きのどくで/ sorry
おそれて/ afraid
しんぱいして/ worried
こんらんして/ confused
ここちよい/ comfortable



3. Are there any feelings in Japanese that cannot be translated into English?

I've got some in Japanese like

なつかしい。
よろしくおねがいします。
おせわになります。
どうも。/どうぞ。
はじめまして。
いらっしゃいませ。
いただきます。/ごちそうさま。
おじゃまします。
いってきます。/いってらっしゃい。


It is always hard to express these senses of greetings in English, isn't it?