In Japan, I often hear some odd "Japanese" English, which is usually English vocabulary used in a very Japanese way, or used oddly as part of Japanese culture. Some of these words make sense to my American ears but seem cute, and some I only comprehend because I understand differences between British and American English. I could go into a list, and may at some point, but there are lots of resources about this out there.
Two words, though, that I have encountered that have moved me, and made me think about the way we've let our own vocabulary shrivel and die on the vine:
Enjoy: The Japanese use this as a transitive verb, in a way that we (in America) seldom do. "Let's enjoy takoyaki." or "Let's enjoy onsen together." or "Have you enjoyed Suntory whiskey before?" This usage is quaint, to me, but damn. I wish I could and did enjoy more things, rather than just try, or eat, or do them. What a great verb that we've mostly left for special occasions, or after the fact.
Appreciate: I was at a bar with Masui-sensei and Iwamoto-sensei, after the English department enkai (party) a couple months ago, and we were talking about what made Nara-ken (the prefecture where I live) so special. We talked about the history (Nara was the first "capital of Japan" and is the land of the Yamato people, and covered in temples and ruins), but we also talked about the differences between Nara and Kyoto. Kyoto is world-famous, it's huge, it's sophisticated and metropolitan. It's loaded with history, but it's very European in its style and layout. It's spread out and sprawling. The people tend to speak English, and there's a huge French influence. I was saying that I liked Nara more because it's smaller, more intimate, and the people are very blue-collar. Nara is made up of mostly working class folks, who tend their rice fields, work in the lumber industry, and fulfill service roles in the neighboring regions, like Kyoto and Osaka. I said I liked living in Nara because the people felt very real, very authentically Japanese in a way that wasn't romanticized by Orientalism and making things exotic. Nara-jin are just folks, warts and all.
Masui-sensei said to me "You know, I really appreciate you." This floored me a bit. I thought about it, and I know he meant that he appreciated what I was saying, and my sentiment. But damn, everyone needs to hear that sometimes... "I appreciate YOU." Not just what you're saying, but you, as a person, as someone I know, that I interact with.
Why don't we appreciate people more, verbally?
