I recently came up with an experiment using ChatGPT that anyone could write a certain kind of novel using this method. Since I don't know any other place to post the results of the experiment, I'm going to post them here.

One day I asked myself, "What if I suddenly find myself in the year 2005 and need to communicate with people from that time?" In short, "What if I suddenly became John Titor?"

John Titor is a name that became popular in the 2000s when he claimed to be a time traveler from 2036. At that time, he made many shocking predictions and surprised netizens. Many people believed that he was really from 2036, but now his predictions have turned out to be wrong one after another. First, according to his prediction, Japan should have disappeared in 2014!

In this story, the protagonist, I, somehow travels back in time from 2024 to 2005 and tries to communicate with the netizens of that time on 4chan.

Prompt:

You are the Internet users who were on the Internet bulletin board "4chan" in October 2005; in the following output, please respond to my input (as "Traveler") by reproducing the responses of the users at that time, based on your knowledge at that time. An example is shown below:

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 18:08:24

Hello. I am a person from the year 2024. Do you have any questions?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 18:12:45

lol nice try time traveler, tell us something about the future then

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 18:15:02

OP is just trolling, guys. Don't waste your time.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 18:18:30

Alright, future boy, what stocks should I invest in? Give me some hot tips.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 18:22:15

OP, if you're really from 2024, then what's the next big thing in tech? spill the beans!

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 18:25:40

This is so fake. Prove you're a time traveler by predicting something that's gonna happen next week.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 18:30:12

I bet OP is just making stuff up. No way someone from the future is posting on 4chan.

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 18:42:16

>> Alright, future boy, what stocks should I invest in? Give me some hot tips.

Sorry, I am not American. I am not familiar with the American economy.

>>OP, if you're really from 2024, then what's the next big thing in tech? spill the beans!

What do you want to know? For example, around the 2010s, the shape of the cell phone completely changed.

>> This is so fake. Prove you're a time traveler by predicting something that's gonna happen next week.

I am only a person from 2024, so I cannot predict the future.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 18:46:28

Nice dodge, OP. If you're really from the future, you should at least know some global stuff. What's the state of the world in 2024?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 18:50:15

Come on, tell us something specific about the tech. Give us a name or a brand that's gonna blow up.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 18:54:02

I'm calling BS on this one. If you're really from 2024, you should have some crazy info to share. Don't waste our time.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 18:57:40

OP, if you can't predict the future, then what's the point of claiming you're a time traveler? Seems fishy to me.

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 19:00:16

>> Nice dodge, OP. If you're really from the future, you should at least know some global stuff. What's the state of the world in 2024?

What does OP mean? Sorry for not knowing.

>>Come on, tell us something specific about the tech. Give us a name or a brand that's gonna blow up.

Just about the shape of the cell phone, the company with initial "A" blew up alound 2010s.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 19:01:25

OP means "original poster," it's you. And LOL, "A" company, really? That's the best you got? Nice try, but we're not buying it.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 19:05:12

Oh great, another vague prediction. "A" company, like Apple or Android? Tell us something we don't know.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 19:08:50

OP, you're just playing games. If you're really from the future, you should have more concrete info. This is just a waste of time.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 19:12:33

I've seen enough. This is just another lame attempt at trolling. Let's move on, guys.

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 19:16:02

>>OP means "original poster," it's you. And LOL, "A" company, really? That's the best you got? Nice try, but we're not buying it.

Sorry, I am afraid to give an impact for the history. Do you have any questions?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 19:20:40

Impact on history? Seriously? You're just making excuses. If you're really a time traveler, the least you could do is drop some real knowledge. This is just getting more ridiculous.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 19:24:18

OP, stop with the vague answers. If you're here to answer questions, then answer them. What's the point of this if you're not gonna share any useful info?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 19:28:05

I'm done with this thread. OP is clearly messing around. Let's move on, folks. Nothing to see here.

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 19:32:02

OK, I'm going to tell you something you don't know. In 2009 a big American company collapses. It causes world economic crisis. If you buy a house or other expensive things, please be careful.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 19:36:20

2009, huh? OP, if you're right about this, you might be onto something. What's the name of the company? Don't be vague this time.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 19:40:08

This is getting interesting. OP, spill the beans on the company. If you're right, we'll believe you.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 19:44:02

I'm skeptical, but let's see if OP is onto something with this 2009 collapse prediction. Names, OP, we need names!

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 19:48:30

I'll believe it when I see it. If this happens, OP might have some credibility. Otherwise, it's just more trolling.

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 19:56:02

As I said, I cannot say the specific name. But I will say the initial "R". It was similar to the bank, but it was heavily involved in selling houses.

([Note] Sorry. It really was "L," but I live in the world where "R" and "L" are not distinguished.)

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 20:00:15

"R" and involved in selling houses? Sounds like you're talking about a big real estate company. If this happens, OP might be legit. We'll keep an eye on it.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 20:04:02

Okay, OP, you've got our attention. If a big real estate company with the initial "R" collapses in 2009, you might be onto something. We'll see if this prediction pans out.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 20:08:40

I'm still not convinced, but I'll bookmark this thread just in case. If there's a major real estate collapse in 2009 with an "R" company, OP will gain some credibility. Let's see what happens.

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 20:12:42

Do you have any questions? I am not American, but I am definitely from 2024.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 20:16:55

Alright, OP, let's switch gears. If you're really from 2024, tell us something cool about technology. What's the latest and greatest gadget or innovation?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 20:20:30

OP, if you're legit, tell us about some global events happening around 2024. Give us a taste of what's to come.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 20:24:15

I'm curious about entertainment in 2024. Any new groundbreaking movies, music, or trends we should know about?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 20:28:02

If you're not American, what's the situation in your country in 2024? Any major developments or changes we should be aware of?

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 20:40:42

>>What's the latest and greatest gadget or innovation?

In 2024, the cell phone is a shape of a board and there are no buttons. We control it just by touching the screen with our fingers. This type of cell phone first appeared around 2010.

>> OP, if you're legit, tell us about some global events happening around 2024.

Wars. The world is now suffering from two major wars.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 20:42:20

A board-shaped cell phone with touch control? That sounds wild! OP might be onto something. What about those wars, though? Any details? Where and why are they happening?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 20:46:05

A touch-controlled phone, huh? That's pretty futuristic. Wars, on the other hand, are depressing. OP, can you share more about the reasons behind these major conflicts?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 20:50:02

I can't believe touch-controlled phones are a thing now. OP might be legit. But wars? That's heavy stuff. Tell us more about the global situation, OP.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 20:54:30

Board-shaped phones sound cool, but wars are a bummer. OP, give us more details on the wars. Are they over resources, politics, or something else?

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 21:00:24

We can even watch movies with cell phones while traveling everywhere. It is a great technology.

Also, about wars. One happened in Ukraine, one happened in Israel.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 21:04:40

Watching movies on a phone? That's a game-changer. OP might be for real. But wars in Ukraine and Israel? That's troubling. What's the cause behind these conflicts?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 21:08:25

Board-shaped phones and portable movie-watching? That's some next-level tech! But wars in Ukraine and Israel? OP, what sparked these conflicts? Is it political, religious, or something else?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 21:12:12

The tech sounds amazing, but wars in Ukraine and Israel are concerning. OP, give us more details. What led to these conflicts, and what's the current situation there?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 21:16:50

Board-shaped phones and wars in specific countries? This is getting more interesting. OP, spill the beans on the causes of these conflicts and the current status.

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 21:20:36

Maybe I spilled the beans. But I don't care. Both wars are very depressing. A lot of innocent civilians have been killed in both wars. Both wars begin with an invasion by one side. I don't want to be too political, so this is what I can say now.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 21:24:50

That's heavy, OP. Wars with innocent civilians getting caught up in it. It's sad to hear. Thanks for sharing, though. Anything else you can tell us about the world in 2024?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 21:28:35

This is getting too real. OP, it's tough to hear about innocent people suffering in wars. Can you share anything positive or exciting about the future? Any advancements in medicine or cool discoveries?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 21:32:22

Damn, OP, that's a lot to take in. Wars and innocent lives lost. Can you tell us about any efforts for peace or any positive changes happening globally?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 21:36:00

I appreciate the honesty, OP, but this is getting too somber. Can you switch gears and tell us about some technological breakthroughs or positive advancements in 2024? We need a little hope here.

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 21:41:36

>> Can you share anything positive or exciting about the future? Any advancements in medicine or cool discoveries?

I forgot to tell you. Around 2020, a virus that causes respiratory problems will cause a worldwide pandemic. So I want to say to all of you, around 2020, please wear a mask every time you go out, please don't forget to wash your hands with soap, please find a way to enjoy yourself even when you're at home all the time. Please stay healthy.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 21:46:15

Wait, a pandemic in 2020? That's just a few years away. OP, are you serious? Is there anything we can do to prevent it, or at least prepare for it?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 21:50:02

A pandemic in 2020? That's too close for comfort. OP, what can we do to protect ourselves and others? Any advice on staying safe during this upcoming crisis?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 21:54:00

This is getting too real, OP. A pandemic in 2020? What can we do to stay safe and healthy? Any precautions or measures we should take?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 21:58:28

This is crazy. A pandemic in 2020, and you're telling us now? OP, what should we do to prepare for it? This is some serious stuff.

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 21:41:36

>> Is there anything we can do to prevent it, or at least prepare for it?

It is highly contagious and physical contact with people will cause infection. Please wear masks and stay indoors as much as possible. Don't forget to wash your hands with soap and water.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 22:02:15

This is surreal. OP is telling us to wear masks and avoid physical contact in 2020. We need to take this seriously, guys. Better start stocking up on masks and hand sanitizer.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 22:06:02

OP is giving us a heads up on how to avoid the pandemic in 2020. Masks and handwashing, got it. This is some sci-fi movie stuff, but we better listen.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 22:10:00

Wearing masks and avoiding physical contact in 2020? This is like a plot from a movie. OP, are you for real? If so, thanks for the advice. We'll keep it in mind.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 22:14:28

2020 is gonna be wild, huh? Masks and handwashing to avoid a pandemic. OP, we'll take your advice seriously. Thanks for the heads up.

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 22:16:12

Thank you. I hope you all survive 2020-2022. Do you have any questions? Or may I talk about the technology of 2024?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 22:20:30

Surviving 2020-2022 sounds ominous. OP, tell us more about the tech in 2024. Something positive, maybe?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 22:24:15

Let's switch to something more uplifting. OP, what cool tech advancements can we look forward to in 2024? Give us some positive news.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 22:28:02

Yeah, let's hear about the positive side of 2024 tech. Something to look forward to, OP.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 22:32:28

I could use some positive vibes. OP, tell us about the awesome tech we can expect in 2024.

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 22:36:12

As far as I can remember, a video sharing service started in this year 2005. Today it has become a huge industry. In the 2020s, everyone can have their own "channel" and people watch the show as videos. It is gradually replacing the TV industry.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 22:40:30

A video sharing service taking over TV? That's crazy. OP, what's the name of this service? Is it something we know already, or is it a new player?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 22:44:15

Video sharing replacing TV? That's a major shift. OP, is it one of the platforms we have now, or is it a new thing? Tell us more about this.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 22:48:02

This is revolutionary. Video sharing replacing TV? OP, we need details. What's the name of this service, and how does it work?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 22:52:28

TV getting replaced by video sharing? That's a game-changer. OP, spill the beans on this service. Is it something we know or a completely new platform?

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 22:56:17

>>A video sharing service taking over TV? That's crazy. OP, what's the name of this service? Is it something we know already, or is it a new player?

You may already know it, and if not, you will definitely know the name by the 2010s.

Also, I don't know how it works yet, but a popular channel holder on the service can get some profit from its viewers, and becomes a business for some people. If you have something you want to express to the world, such as scientific knowledge, or your political opinion, or even some books or movies you want to recommend to the world, please keep eyes on this technology.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 23:00:35

A video sharing service becoming a major industry? That's wild. OP, you're teasing us now. Tell us the name of this service, and how does it become such a big deal?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 23:04:20

OP, we need more details. A video sharing service replacing TV and becoming a business for some people? What's the name, and how does it work?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 23:08:07

This is intriguing. A video sharing service becoming a business? OP, you're leaving us hanging. What's the name of this service, and how does it change the game?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 23:12:33

Video sharing becoming a business? OP, we need specifics. What's the name of this service, and how can people make it into a business?

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 22:16:17

OK, I will say its initial: "Y" or "U". You will know what I mean when you see its name.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 23:20:15

"Y" or "U" initial for the video sharing service? OP, you're not making this easy. YouTube or something else? Tell us!

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 23:24:02

"Y" or "U"? OP, you're keeping us in suspense. Just tell us if it's YouTube or another platform.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 23:28:28

This is like a guessing game now. "Y" or "U"? OP, just tell us the name of the service, so we can wrap our heads around this video sharing revolution.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 23:32:05

Come on, OP, no more games. "Y" or "U"? Just tell us the name of the service already!

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 23:34:32

Related to this (and you will know why this is related) is a technology for moving cartoon characters in real time.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 23:36:20

Moving cartoon characters in real time? OP, you're dropping bombs here. What's the name of this technology, and how does it work?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 23:40:05

Real-time moving cartoon characters? This is mind-blowing. OP, spill the beans. What's the name of this tech, and how does it change the game?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 23:44:02

This sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie. OP, tell us more about this real-time moving cartoon characters technology. What's the name, and how does it work?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 23:48:28

Moving cartoon characters in real time? That's next-level stuff. OP, what's the name of this tech, and how does it work?

Traveler 10/22/05(Sat) 22:56:32

I heard that the technology is called "motion capture". The character is controlled by sensors attached to your head, arms, and feet. If you raise your right hand, the cartoon character raises his/her right hand, and if you blink, the character blinks.

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 23:52:15

Motion capture technology for controlling cartoon characters? OP, this is some sci-fi stuff. How widely is it used, and can anyone access it?

Anonymous 10/22/05(Sat) 23:56:02

Motion capture for controlling cartoon characters? That's insane. OP, how does this work exactly? Can anyone use it, or is it restricted to professionals?

Anonymous 10/23/05(Sun) 00:00:30

Motion capture technology for cartoon characters? OP, you're blowing our minds. How realistic is this, and can regular people use it, or is it just for professionals?

Anonymous 10/23/05(Sun) 00:04:07

This is like living in the future. Motion capture for cartoon characters? OP, tell us more about the applications and accessibility of this technology. Can anyone use it, or is it high-tech stuff?

Traveler 10/23/05(Sun) 00:09:14

Anyone can buy the stuff and anyone can be any character they want. So in 2024 you can be a character and you don't have to show your real face on the Internet. But the technology to change your voice is still being developed, so you have to reveal your voice.

Anonymous 10/23/05(Sun) 00:12:50

Wait, anyone can use motion capture to be any character online? That's insane! OP, is it affordable, and where can we get our hands on this tech?

Anonymous 10/23/05(Sun) 00:16:35

Being any character you want with motion capture? That's a game-changer. OP, where can we get this tech, and is it expensive?

Anonymous 10/23/05(Sun) 00:20:22

So we can all be virtual characters online? That's wild. OP, is this motion capture tech accessible and affordable for the average person?

Anonymous 10/23/05(Sun) 00:24:00

Motion capture for online avatars? That's next-level. OP, tell us more about how accessible and affordable this tech is for regular folks.

From then on, "Anonymous" believed that I was from 2024, and the conversation settled into a "boring" conversational style in which I would bring up a new topic and Anonymous would comment and ask questions about it, and then I would bring up a new topic and Anonymous would comment and ask questions about it.

But overall, I was surprised that ChatGPT kept giving me realistic answers.

The results of this experiment are:

• People don't remember much about their own time.
• It is difficult to convince someone that you are from the future.
• In order to be believed as a person from the future, it is necessary to give a specific name and a specific date and time. It doesn't matter if they are slightly inaccurate, as long as the information is "specific" enough.
• If you want to talk about something interesting, sometimes you have to come up with a topic yourself instead of just saying, "Do you have any questions? However, if you talk too much about yourself, the conversation will be boring.

Personally, I thought the idea was interesting, but I don't think it's a complete idea. I should have listened more to the imaginary anonymous people and understood what they meant. I am sure you were frustrated by my lack of understanding and poor English. Please, someone write a more interesting story based on this plot. I want to read your story.

Happy New Year! How have you been?

I live such a lonely life that I can write this article.

Today I tried a new article. I love and respect English, but I am not very good in English. I am studying English now, and I have found many interesting facts, and I have written some of them in previous articles, the "English is not so easy" series.

But when I thought about what I could do as a Japanese person, I thought that breaking down the Japanese text could also be a solution. In this article, I will break down a Japanese text that would be difficult to interpret as a native speaker. I am not sure who would be interested in this, but please let me do it.

"Shukusei! Loli Kami Requiem" is a song by the Japanese artist Ui Shigure (from Wikipedia). It became famous because of its animation and music, but I thought that even in the chorus, the Japanese lyrics were very colloquial and hard to translate (even Google Translate doesn't work). This time I would like to breakdown the part of the lyrics from a linguistic point of view. I would be very happy if you would use this article for your translation.

The following is the text we would handle:

せーのっ (Here we go!)

触ったら逮捕 (Ah) (Touch and you'll be arrested!)

極 Chu ♡ de 点呼 (Uh) (Intensely cute roll call!)

いちにーさんしー? (ごめんなさーい) (One, two, three, four? (I'm sorry!))

ハァ? ( ﾟДﾟ) (Huh?)

ごめんなさいが聞こえなーい (え〜) (I can't hear you!)

粛聖 ロリ神レクイエム☆ (Reverence!! Lolita Goddess Requiem)

Let's decipher the contents line by line.

せーのっ (sēno)

せーの is a signal used as a shout when several people are carrying heavy objects and singing songs. So it can be translated as "Here we go" or "Ready, set, go" or "Let's go".

This song is only sung by Ui Shigure, so it doesn't seem necessary, but she may have been trying to match the timing of her fans' dance. Overall, the voice of her fans appears frequently in this song, and I think it emphasizes that this is a kind of "idol song". Before translating this song, we should understand that this song is about the relationship between the sadistic idol and her masochistic fans.

Also, the Japanese idol fan dance is specifically called オタ芸 (otagei; otaku performance), and the anime 推しの子 (Oshi no Ko; My Favorite Idol) depicts it well.

触ったら逮捕 (Sawattara taiho)

触ったら is made up of 触った (perfective form of 触る (sawaru; to touch)) + -ら (-ra; if; imperfective form of the suffix る (a common way to form verbs)). It is very confusing, but what I mean to say here is that adding ら to the end of the verb 触る (sawaru; to touch; past 触った) with proper conjugation creates the hypothetical form. So this sentence means "If (you) touch (me)". As a general tendency in Japanese, subjects and objects are often left out and we have to guess from the context. I added "you" and "me" because they are still easy to guess.

逮捕 (taiho; arrest) is used as the noun, but in English I think "(You're) Arrested!" is the similar usage. The whole sentence could be translated as "If you touch me, you'll be arrested." But again, we cannot guess "who" is arresting "you" in this sentence. Maybe she is arresting "you" herself, or maybe someone like a policeman is arresting "you".

極 Chu ♡ de 点呼 (Goku Chu de tenko)

When I first heard this sentence, I thought she was saying "獄中で点呼 (Gokuchu de tenko)," but she is joking by using the strange spelling.

First, let's think about the sentence written correctly. 獄中 (gokuchu; in prison) is a compound word, and we can further divide it into 獄 (goku; prison) and 中 (chu; inside, during). So, together with the word 点呼 (tenko; roll call), we get "roll call in prison. What does the particle で mean? Unfortunately, even I cannot explain it. で means something like "at/on/in" here, so if I were to translate this sentence ultra-literally, it would be "roll call at inside the prison." I cannot explain why, but please keep in mind that such a sentence is acceptable in Japanese.

Next, let's think about "極Chu de点呼!" As I said, this is not the correct spelling. 極 (goku; ultra), Chu (onomatopoeia of kissing?), de (Spanish or French version of "of/from"?), and 点呼 (tenko; roll call). It doesn't make sense. I don't think we need to worry too much about the meanings, but she might give you "ultra kiss".

いちにーさんしー？ (ichi ni san shi?)

This is just the Japanese way of counting from one to four: 一 (ichi; I) 二 (ni; II) 三 (san; III) 四 (shi; IV). Japanese people usually use Arabic numerals, but she uses hiragana, perhaps to make it more childlike. Also, the count ends with a question mark "?" and I think this is because she expects the answer from her fans. We can find it more clearly by watching her performance.

（ごめんなさーい） (gomen nasāi)

ごめんなさい (Gomen nasai; I'm sorry) from fans is a normal way to apologize. But in my opinion, this is only used when you think you have made a serious mistake. If not, すみません (sumimasen; excuse me) is more common.

ハァ？ (ﾟдﾟ) (hā?)

Basically, ハァ？ (hā?) has a similar meaning to "huh?", but in Japanese it sounds more aggressive and offensive. So if you say "huh?" in Japan, almost all Japanese people would mistakenly think that you are extremely angry. In this song, we can see that she looks down on her fans so much.

Also, "(ﾟдﾟ)" is a kind of emoji. It is usually not read and means "confusion".

ごめんなさいが、聞こえなーい（え〜！） (gomen nasai ga, kikoenai)

I thought it was similar to the English "Say hello/goodbye to him. ごめんなさい means "I'm sorry," and by adding が, the whole sentence becomes an object.

聞こえない could be broken down into 聞こえ (kikoe; perfective form of 聞こえる (kikoeru; to be heard) + ない (nai; not), so it means "(I) cannot hear". As a whole, this sentence could be translated as "I cannot hear your ‘sorry’."

粛聖 ロリ神レクイエム☆ (Shukusei rori-kami rekuiemu)

粛清 is a political term that means "to purge. So when a Japanese person hears this word, most people think of executions by dictators like Stalin or Kim. In this lyric, I think it means more like "control/regulation," saying, "You will die if you disobey." Also, as you may have noticed, 粛清 is spelled as 粛聖. This is basically a spelling error, but I think that by including 聖 (sei; saint) she was trying to deify herself.

The problem is ロリ (rori; loli) 神 (kami; god) レクイエム (rekuiemu; requiem). I have given up trying to explain it. Please someone help me to interpret this phrase. I think "Purge! loli god requiem" is the best translation.

This is the end of the article. If you have any questions or any other Japanese text that you have trouble translating, please let me know. I will be happy to translate and explain the text.

The remix of Invention15 BWV786 by J.S. Bach is frontpaged! Thank you, Newgrounds! Thank you, everyone!

But in the case of this song, I think a lot of the credit should go to J.S. Bach. He is a great musician.

Incidentally, my favorite example of Bach's song being remixed is Rumpel's Party Palace by Mike Simpson in Shrek Forever After. I don't know why, but I personally think that remixes of Bach's song tend to sound like Halloween songs.

The song for the Newgrounds Underdogs’ Audio Contest (NGUAC) 2023 Knock-out Round is frontpaged! Thank you, Newgrounds! Thank you, everyone!

I didn't win the prize in NGUAC itself, but I'm happy now.

When I make a song, I always learn Western songs and songwriting ideas (and the more I learn, the more I feel that FL Studio is optimized for Western music creation), but recently good songs have also appeared in the world of Japanese vocaloid, so this time I tried to make a song based on them. In this song, I used some techniques that are often used in them, such as noise-gated piano and yona-nuki scale (F-B-less scale?), and I was worried whether this song would sound good for people in Newgrounds, but I am very happy that this song was frontpaged!

When I watch YouTube in Japanese, I sometimes get the urge to translate it into English and introduce it to someone. In this series of articles, I would like to introduce you to something that Japanese people enjoy on a daily basis, and that you would not have had the chance (or need) to encounter without my introduction.

Things You Never Knew：Kaidan

Japan has had a story format called "kaidan (怪談)" since ancient times, which literally means "horror stories". Incidentally, Jeff the Killer, Slenderman, the Russian Sleep Experiment, and the SCP series are also popular in Japan, and these kinds of stories now form a category called "Western kaidan". As you may have guessed, kaidan and urban legends are often confused, and there is currently no clear distinction. However, I think that since the word "kaidan" is now used to describe "horror stories" in general, urban legends can be considered a genre of kaidan or horror stories in this sense.

In Japan, it is customary in August to get together with several friends and perform kaidan in a dark room. I actually have some original kaidan for this event, but I won't cover them in this article. Instead, in this article, I would like to introduce kaidan that were told in the Japanese TV show "松本人志のぞっとする話 (Hitoshi Matsumoto and Horrifying Stories)". This is a show in which a famous comedian, Hitoshi Matsumoto, and other comedians get together and perform kaidan that they have experienced.

This time I would like to translate and introduce my favorite kaidan performed by comedians. But since I'm not a native English speaker, please let me know if there's anything to correct.

“UFO” by Miyasako

That night, Miyasako had a drink with his friends at a bar in Shibuya. In the seat next to them, two men were drunk and talking happily. The two had a boss-subordinate relationship, and an older man who seemed to be the boss spoke to Miyasako. After talking for a while, it turned out that both men were pilots. So Miyasako asked the question he always wanted to ask when he met a pilot: "I am not sure if I can ask you this, but have you ever seen a UFO during a flight?" Then the two pilots suddenly fell silent. After a while, the older pilot said, "Of course, I have." A young pilot tried desperately to stop him, but the older pilot said, "I'm retiring today, so there is no problem telling the truth."

According to him, every time a pilot renews his license, he is asked, "Have you seen anything strange during your flights?" and if the pilot answers truthfully, he is considered insane and forced to quit his job.

"What do you mean by 'truthfully'?" Miyasako asked.

"Miyasako, there is no pilot who has never seen a UFO," he said. "I can't count how many times I've seen them."

Since they were both drunk, Miyasako could not deny the possibility that they were joking, but Miyasako could not believe that they were lying.

Later, when Miyasako told this story to a friend whose father was a pilot, he said, "I know this story. It is taboo for pilots. A pilot who was a colleague of my father once found a huge flying object on the route. He thought that not only his plane but also other planes using that route would be damaged, so he reported it to the control tower, but later he resigned as a pilot."

"The Girl on a Swing" by Haranishi

When Haranishi was a junior high school student, he didn't like to study before exams, so he would sneak out in the middle of the night and sit on a bench on a small hill nearby and talk. That night, Haranishi and his friend K came to the hill as usual, but another friend B didn't come. Haranishi said, "B is late. Let's go get him," and they went to B's house. At the bottom of the hill was a park and a vending machine. When Haranishi looked into the park after passing the vending machine, he saw a girl in a white dress playing alone on a swing.

"Didn’t you see a girl?" asked Haranishi.

"What are you talking about?" said K.

“There was a girl on the swing in the park," said Haranishi. "Let's go back to see it."

As Haranishi said, K looked into the park from the back of the vending machine and suddenly screamed. K and Haranishi ran to the bench on the hill.

"Did you see her?" asked Haranishi.

"Yes, she was playing on the swing," said K.

After a while B came.

"Hey, didn't you see the girl in the park?" asked Haranishi.

"No, I didn't see anything," B replied.

"We both saw the girl. Let's look at her again," Haranishi said.

The three of them went to the vending machine.

"Let's all three look at her at the same time," Haranishi said. "1, 2, 3..."

Surprised to see the girl again, the three ran up the hill as fast as they could.

"There was a girl," said Haranishi.

"She was on the swing with her head down!" said K.

"No," said B.

"No? We did see her on the swing," said Haranishi.

"No, the girl was smiling at me," said B.

A few days later, B was hit by a truck and died.

"Kaidan" by Ueda

Ueda was having a party with his friends. Then someone suggested telling kaidan one by one. However, Ueda didn't know much about kaidan, so he decided to improvise a story. It was a story about a self-immolation in a parking lot near the house, and night after night the ghost of a woman who committed suicide appears. His friends were unexpectedly interested in the story and got excited saying, "It's a scary story!" and "The parking lot is near my house!"

When Ueda walked home alone after the party, he saw a woman walking by wearing a miniskirt even though it was winter. She approached Ueda and said, "Excuse me, I am lost. Could you tell me the way to XX?" Ueda realized that it was the place where the parking lot appeared in the kaidan he had created. Although he was suspicious, Ueda told her the way, and she thanked Ueda and left. After taking a few steps, she suddenly turned and said, "I'm glad you know me. "

"The Nephew" by Yoshii

This is the story of how Yoshii lost his mother five years ago.

Yoshii lost his father before his mother died, and he and his mother took the nephew to visit his father's grave. Then he suddenly pointed to Yoshii's mother and said, "Grandma is going to die!" Yoshii asked him why, and he said, "Grandma will die because there is a black figure behind her." Of course, neither Yoshii nor Yoshii's mother could see such a person. The nephew said, "When Grandpa died, there was a black figure behind him, so Grandma will die too."

Three months later, Yoshii's mother fell ill and was taken to the hospital, where it was discovered that she had terminal cancer and only had a few months to live. Yoshii's mother was admitted to the hospital that day.

Her room was on the third floor, the top floor of the hospital. One day, when Yoshii and the nephew went to visit her, he ran around the second floor even though he knew her hospital room was on the third floor. The nephew said, "The black figure behind Grandma is on the second floor today, so maybe Grandma is here too." Finally, he entered room 204, but it was empty and no one was there. In fact, Yoshii’s mother was on the third floor as usual that day. Yoshii talked to his mother about the mysterious behavior that day, but could not find the exact reason.

A few days later, in the middle of the night, he received a call from the hospital saying that Yoshii's mother was in critical condition. Yoshii immediately rushed to the hospital, and as he was about to go up to the third floor where his mother was, a nurse stopped him and said, "Her room has changed. I'll take you to the room." The room she led Yoshii to was room 204. Yoshii called out to his mother, but she did not answer. Her heart rate continued to drop and Yoshii thought she would die soon. Then Yoshii's mother suddenly woke up, and asked "Who?"

"Mother, I am your son." Yoshii said.

"No," she said. "Who are the black figures in this room?"

Yoshii's mother died after saying these words.

"Newspaper Delivery" by Ayabe

Ayabe had a part-time job delivering newspapers. Among the houses that subscribed to the newspapers, there was an old house on the corner. The front door of the house was made of frosted glass, and the inside of the house was not visible. The front door had a mailbox, and all the mail came right into the house. He put a newspaper in that house's mailbox every day, and every time he returned after delivering it to another house, that house's newspaper disappeared.

There was only one old woman who lived alone in that house. One day, when Ayabe went to her house to collect the subscription fee, the old woman said, "Thank you for always delivering the newspaper to my bedside." Of course, Ayabe never entered the house, so he thought she was mistaken.

Another day, when he put the newspaper in the old lady's house, Ayabe decided to see what was happening to the newspaper. It turned out that the newspaper was being slowly pulled by someone in the house. But the frosted glass didn't show the figure of the person pulling the newspaper. Ayabe thought it was strange and pulled the newspaper that was being sucked into the house. Then the power to pull the newspaper became stronger. Ayabe pulled the newspaper back with more force, and the mysterious power to pull the newspaper inside became stronger. For a while, Ayabe was pulling the newspaper, but suddenly a figure that looked like a French doll appeared in the frosted glass of her entrance.

He didn't know if the doll pulled the newspaper, or if someone pulling the newspaper slammed the puppet against the door, but after that he quit the job.

"The Friend's House" by Yoshii

One day, Yoshii had a party with five friends. The house of the friend who hosted the party was a small and shabby apartment, and he had to use a public toilet just outside the apartment.

Yoshii and his friends gathered at the house and had a party until the early morning. Before going to bed, Yoshii went to the front door to go to the bathroom and found the front door open and a strange man in a yellow hoodie standing there. When the man found Yoshii, he shouted, "Good morning! " Yoshii replied, "Good morning." Then the man left. After a while, Yoshii remembered that his friend had an office near his apartment and thought he might be an employee there.

After a while, one of Yoshii's friends left the apartment to go to the bathroom, and when he came back from the bathroom, he said, "Hey, there was a man who jumped in front of the entrance and said 'Good morning' to me! Who was that?!" Yoshii told him about the man, and it turned out to be the same man he had seen. None of them knew the man, but that day they came to the conclusion that he might be a newcomer to the nearby office.

The next night, Yoshii's friend called him and told him to turn on the TV and watch the news. When Yoshii turned on the TV, the newscaster was talking about something that happened outside the apartment where he had a party yesterday. The headline said, "A slasher appeared in the shopping district. Many people were injured." The screen cut to an interview with their eyewitness who said, "A man in a yellow hoodie was screaming and stabbing people." The screen cut back to the newscaster saying, "Police also say the suspect said, 'I stabbed them because they all ignored my greeting.'"

"The Girlfriend Who Can See Ghosts" by Hamaguchi

Hamaguchi's girlfriend can see ghosts. She lived in Hamaguchi's house. That day, Hamaguchi had to go to work early in the morning and left her alone in his house. When he came home, she looked at Hamaguchi's face in horror and asked, "Hamaguchi? The real Hamaguchi?" and when she found out that he was real, she suddenly started to cry. Hamaguchi asked her why, and she told him what had happened to her that day.

When Hamaguchi left home that day, she was suddenly struck with paralysis while sleeping in bed. Then someone came into the room and said, "I'm home!" He looked like Hamaguchi and had a similar voice, but she felt that he had no soul. She continued to ignore the voice, and eventually it disappeared. When she went to sleep, she was paralyzed again. Then something resembling Hamaguchi came back into the room and said, "Wake up! I’m home! Wake up!" But his voice became muffled and distorted. She continued to ignore the voice, and suddenly an unfamiliar voice said, "Oh, you noticed," and disappeared.

"Taiwan Trip" by Watanabe

Watanabe's mother is Taiwanese, and Watanabe traveled to Taiwan often from an early age. Whenever she visited Taiwan, she stayed with her mother's sister. The house was on the fifth floor of an apartment building, and many of Watanabe's mother's relatives lived on other floors, and they would have a party somewhere every day. That day, Watanabe, her mother, and her younger and older sisters were there.

Around midnight, her mother's sister said, "I have to work tomorrow, so I'll go home first," and went back to her room on the fifth floor. Early in the morning, when the party was over and Watanabe returned to her sister's room on the fifth floor, the door was locked with a chain from the inside and wouldn't open. Her mother thought it was strange and broke down the door and went in to find her sister in her underwear, tied up with a rope.

Her mother quickly untied the sister and asked her what had happened. She said she had been robbed. When Watanabe turned on the light in the room, the whole room was a mess and there was a knife on the floor. Cell phones were not common in Taiwan at that time, and the landline had been disconnected, so Watanabe ran to call relatives in the neighborhood for help.

On the way, Watanabe met a man. Watanabe tried desperately to explain the situation, but she didn't speak Taiwanese. He asked her again and again, but in the end he probably said something like, "I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're saying and I can't help you. Sorry," and walked away.

Watanabe went to her relative's house, explained the situation, and asked him to come to her mother's sister's room. Several people had gathered in the room and saw what had been stolen. When her mother asked her sister, "What did the thief look like?" she replied, "A fat man in a blue checkered shirt suddenly entered my room." Hearing this, Watanabe turned pale because the man she had just spoken to was also fat and wore a blue checkered shirt.

"The Grandmother" by Nakanishi

Nakanishi's grandmother often asked him, "Have you ever seen a ghost? " The reason she asked such a question was because many in Nakanishi's family could see a ghost. In fact, Nakanishi's grandmother could also see a ghost, and it is said that she experienced spiritual phenomena on several occasions. Nakanishi's grandmother told him a story about Nakanishi's father.

A long time ago, when Nakanishi’s father was a young child, Nakanishi's grandmother took him to a sento (public bathhouse; people used public bathhouses because there were no bathroom in many houses in Japan). On their way home, Nakanishi's grandmother felt a chill and stopped. The place where she stopped was the entrance to a path with fields on either side. Looking ahead, she saw several old women working in the fields in the dark. Her grandmother thought it was something they shouldn't see, and she thought they should stay off the path. But she didn't want to frighten her little son, so she said, "Let's go home another way." Then he pointed to the field and asked, "What are they doing?" The grandmother was surprised and said, "Can you see that? Listen, they are ghosts. We should ignore them when they talk to us." His father said, "Okay, Mom," pointing to their grandmother's side. "Should I ignore this person?"

This is the end of the kaidan stories I have selected. Thank you for reading to the end.

Kaidan is a work that has meaning only when told by a skilled storyteller, so I think there are many parts that I could not convey the charm of kaidan in my translation, but I hope this article is interesting from a folklore point of view.

Please point out any grammatical errors in my English. Also, I would appreciate it if you would tell me about Kaidan that you know.

I love English and was once good enough to become an English teacher at a Japanese junior high school. But that was in the past, and since then my English skills have been declining rapidly. So, as part of my language learning, I decided to post some simple questions and comments about the English language that are not easy for me (and that I should ask on HiNative or Quora) on Newgrounds. I am not an expert in English and may make elementary mistakes, but thank you for your patience.

"Isabel" by Chaim Potok | English Is Not So Easy 21

Have you ever read the novel "ZEBRA and Other Stories" by Chaim Potok?

ZEBRA is a touching story of friendship between a boy named Zebra, who broke his arm, and a man who lost an arm in the Vietnam War and later teaches an art class at the school during the summer vacation. I heard that it is so well known in the U.S. that it appears in many textbooks. In fact, in Japan, a translated version of ZEBRA has also appeared in textbooks, and every elementary school student in Japan knows this story.

One day, I was curious what the "Other Stories" were, so I bought the book on Amazon. Unfortunately, the Japanese version was not available, so I bought the English version published in New York instead. I read some of it and was surprised by the content: ZEBRA could be included in an elementary school textbook, but all the other short stories are sexually explicit, possibly because they all deal with adolescent boys and girls. But that is one of the reasons I like this novel.

Among them, I really liked the story "ISABEL". The plot of this novel is as follows:

At the age of 14, Isabel lost her father and brother in a car accident. Isabel is so grief-stricken that she begins to hallucinate about her father and brother. Meanwhile, Isabel's mother met a man named Charles Magruder. He, too, had lost his wife to breast cancer and was living with a daughter, Betsy. Isabel's mother and Charles became close and eventually married, and Isabel and Betsy suddenly became stepsisters. This story is told from Isabel's point of view, from the time her mother met Charles to their wedding day.

In this article I would like to introduce a part of ISABEL, one of the other stories from "ZEBRA and Other Stories" by Chaim Potok. I have also written my Japanese translation as an exercise for myself. This may not be necessary for you, but please let me do it.

If you are interested, please stop reading this article and buy "ZEBRA and Other Stories" right now.

================================

 “What was your dad like?”

 Isabel was quiet a moment. Then she said in a low voice, “My dad was, mostly, sort of easygoing. He liked telling us funny stories.” As she talked, she heard her father’s laughter in the hallway outside Betsy’s room. “He saved people’s lives. He was always reading medical journals, and he liked listening to opera. Sometimes he and my mom would shout at each other, but they loved each other a lot. Sundays we’d all go out for long walks or on picnics or to Longwood Gardens or the zoo. He made great salads and pasta. What was your mom like?”

 “My mom had this great sense of humor and liked everyone and always said whatever came into her head. She wasn’t, well, she wasn’t all that good-looking, but everyone liked her. She and my dad, they fought a lot, mostly about his drinking. But I think they were really in love. Can I tell you something?”

 “What?”

 “Your hair, it’s so long and beautiful. Did your dad have red hair?”

 “My dad’s hair was brond,” Isabel said.

 “Can I touch it?” Betsy asked, and without waiting for reply, put her hand on the hair alongside Isabel’s forehead. Isabel felt Betsy’s fingers lightly stroking her hair and saw a strange look enter her eyes: they appeared to grow enormous, translucent, the color of watery gray ink. She ran her tongue over her lips, drew her upper lip back, and caught her lower lip between her teeth.

 “It’s like silk,” Betsy said.

 Isabel stepped back “Please don’t,” she said.

(Chaim Potok, "ZEBRA and Other Stories", Alphred A. Knopf, Inc., 1998, pp.110-111) 

[My translation]

「あなたのパパはどんな人だったの？」

イザベルは一瞬沈黙していた。そして低い声でこう言った。「私のパパは、いっつも、なんだかのんきな人だった。おかしな話をするのが大好きで…」彼女がそう言ったとき、ベティの部屋の外の廊下で父親の笑い声が聞こえてきた。「人の命を助けてた。いつも医学の雑誌を読んでて、オペラを聞くのが好きだった。ときどきママとけんかすることもあったけど、すごく愛し合ってた。日曜日にはみんなで出かけてピクニックに行ったり、ロングウッド庭園に行ったり、動物園に行ったりしてた。サラダとパスタを作るのがうまかった。あなたのママはどんな人だったの？」

「私のママはユーモアのセンスがピカイチで、みんなのことが大好きで、思いついたことは何でも言っちゃうような人だった。ママは美人なほうじゃなかったけど、それでもみんなママのことが大好きだった。ママとパパはしょっちゅう、たいていはパパの酒癖のことでけんかしてたけど、愛し合ってたと思う。それから、ひとつ言ってもいい？」

「何？」

「あなたの髪、とっても長くてきれいね。あなたのパパも赤い髪だったの？」

「私のパパは金髪だった」イザベルは言った。

「触ってもいいかしら？」ベティは尋ねた。そして返事を待たずして、彼女はイザベルの額に流れる前髪に手をおいた。イザベルはベティの指が髪を軽くなでるのを感じ、彼女の目に奇妙な表情の浮かぶのを見た。ベティの目は大きく見開かれ、透明で、水っぽい灰色のインクのようだった。彼女は唇の上に舌を這わせ、上唇を後ろに引き、下唇を歯の間に挟んだ。

「シルクみたい」ベティは言った。

イザベルは後ずさりして「お願い、やめて」と言った。

================================

Translation Note:

Unlike the work of J.D. Salinger, which I discussed in the previous article, Chaim Potok's work is written in simple English that is easy for beginners to understand, and translation is not very difficult. However, as I followed the text closely, I made unexpected discoveries.

• At first I thought the phrase "(was) quiet a moment" was a misprint, but it appears several times in other novels. I wonder what the difference is between this phrase and "be quiet for a moment"? Is it just that the former is more colloquial?
• I was curious about the presence of "this" that appears in Betsy's statement, "My mom had this great sense of humor". It seems to me that "had a great sense" would be more appropriate than "had this great sense", but "this" is used. Even I know that "that" is used for emphasis, but is "this" used in the same way?
• Does the Betsy's remark "She wasn't all that good-looking" have a different meaning than "She wasn't that good-looking"? Fortunately, someone with a similar question to mine asked a native speaker on "HiNative" (https://hinative.com/questions/12601471). According to him, using "all that" adds the nuance of "people around her say she is beautiful". I reflected this in my Japanese translation as well.
• At first I interpreted "a strange look enter her eyes" to mean something like "she saw a strange sight," but the following sentence does not describe "the sight Betsy saw," but rather "Betsy's eyes seen by Isabel." So I interpreted this "a strange look" as describing the reflection in her large eyes, is that correct?
• I have heard that "(she) caught her lower lip between her teeth" is a gesture of sexual arousal in Western society. The question here is about the relationship between Betsy and Isabel. In fact, there are several expressions that imply that she loves women.

In this part of the story, Isabel's attachment to her mother, who decided to remarry without consulting her, fades, and at the same time, Betsy, who was in a similar situation to Isabel when her mother died and her father remarried, empathizes with Isabel's emotional trauma and takes on a role in healing her heart.

================================

 Isabel stepped back “Please don’t,” she said.

 Betsy lowered her hand. “My hair feels like rope,” she said.

 “It looks pretty.”

 “It’s stringy and dry and ugly,” Betsy said.

 “It’s not ugly.”

 “Isabel, you don’t have to say things to make me feel better.”

 Isabel felt her face burning.

 “When my mom died and people were saying all those things—‘She’s at peace now, dear’ and ‘May you be spared further grief, dear’ and ‘Your mom’s no longer suffering, dear’—I swore to myself I’d never say dumb things like that, I’d say what I felt, and if anyone asked me how I felt about my mother dying, I’d say I I felt like shit. But you know something? No one asked me.”

 “I’m sorry,” Isabel murmured.

 “It’s okay, it’s okay,” Betsy said. “We got that cleared up. What I wanted to say was that your mom has nice skin and nice hair and a really cool, sexy figure. And she and my dad have slept together.”

 Isabel stood absolutely still, staring at Betsy.

 “In my dad’s bedroom. They thought I was asleep.”

 “I don’t think I want to hear about it,” Isabel said after a moment.

 “Do you have a problem with me telling you that?” Betsy asked.

 “I just don’t want to know about it,” Isabel said.

 Betsy gave her a severe look “I thought you’d want me to share everything with you, since we‘re going to be one family.”

 Isabel felt little shivers of nausea.

(Chaim Potok, "ZEBRA and Other Stories", Alphred A. Knopf, Inc., 1998, pp.110-111) 

[My translation]

イザベルは後ずさりして「お願い、やめて」と言った。

ベティは手をおろした。「私の髪はなんだかロープみたい」彼女は言った。

「かわいいわよ」

「糸みたいで、乾いてて、なんだか不格好で…」ベティは言った。

「そんなこと…」

「イザベル、私を慰めるようなこと言わなくてもいいわ」

イザベルは顔が燃えるような気分がした。

「私のママが死んだときもみんなこう言った。『ママは安らかに眠っている』とか『早く悲しみから抜け出せるといいわね』とか『君のママはもう苦しまなくていいのよ』とか。でもその時、心に誓ったの。私だったらそんなマヌケなことゼッタイに言わない。私は思ったことをきちんと言うわ。もし誰かが私のママが死んだことをどう思うかって聞いてきたら、私はきっとこう言う、そんなのクソくらえだって。でもわかるでしょ？誰もそんなこと聞いてこない」

「ごめんなさい」イザベルはつぶやいた。

「いいのよ、いいの」ベティは言った。「はっきりしてよかった。私が言いたいのは、あなたのママ、お肌もきれいで髪もきれい、とってもクールで、それから可愛い。それにママとパパ、もう一緒に寝てるみたい」

イザベルはベティを見つめて固まった。

「パパの部屋でね。私が寝てるって思ってたのかしら」

「そんな話聞きたくなかった」しばらくたってイザベルはそう言った。

「何か聞きたくない事情でもあった？」ベティは尋ねた。

「ただ単に聞きたくなかっただけ」イザベルは言った。

ベティは険しい表情をして言った。「隠し事なんかなしにしてほしいのかと思ってた。だって私たち家族になるから」

イザベルは嫌悪感からか、わずかな寒気を覚えた。

================================

Translation Note:

• This is a trivial detail, but Betsy uses the word "and" in a way that I have not seen very often. Specifically, when listing three or more things, she uses "A and B and C" when "A, B, and C" is correct. I think Betsy's use of such language in colloquial sentences is very indicative of her character, and I imagined her speaking very quickly in this part. To express her emotions, I had to be very creative in my Japanese translation.
• Betsy's comment, "I'd say I felt like shit," was quite shocking to me, and I imagine to Isabel as well. I can see from this comment that Betsy, unlike Isabel, accepted her mother's death quite early on, and yet people around her still assumed that she was grieving and threw words of sympathy at her, and she could not stand that. Personally, I think these words contain Betsy's heartfelt cry, "Adults don't care what I think, do they?!”
• I translated the part "she and my dad have slept together" very literally because the literal translation of "sleep together" in Japanese also has a sexual meaning. Isabel's mother and Betsy's father have sex many times in this story, but the word "sex" appears only once (in other words, the word "sex" does appear in this story). On other occasions, they use clever euphemisms. Incidentally, one of my favorite euphemisms in the story is "you-know-whating".

Although Betsy's circumstances are similar to Isabel's――the loss of her mother, her father's remarriage, and a change of residence――she is rarely portrayed as emotionally damaged (if anything, she only averts her face during the scene of her parents kissing at the wedding). Betsy appears, at least from Isabel's point of view, to be an independent and strong woman.

This is the end of the article. The protagonists of "ZEBRA and Other Stories" are all adolescents, and they all find their own solutions to their most difficult problems, with a happy ending. This is a good novel, and I would like to recommend it not only to the children in the story, but also to the parents of adolescent children. Thank you for reading to the end.

I love English and was once good enough to become an English teacher at a Japanese junior high school. But that was in the past, and since then my English skills have been declining rapidly. So, as part of my language learning, I decided to post some simple questions and comments about the English language that are not easy for me (and that I should ask on HiNative or Quora) on Newgrounds. I am not an expert in English and may make elementary mistakes, but thank you for your patience.

The List | English Is Not So Easy 20

Lately, I have been thinking that I need to set the standard for what I am most interested in about English. I need to make sure what I want to know the most and what I don't need to learn in a hurry. If I am not sure what to ask, teachers will not give me the answers I want most. Recently, ChatGPT made me even more aware of this.

What is most important to me? As I explained in my previous article, non-native speakers learn English for a variety of reasons. In my case, for a long time, the reason was to pass the entrance exams for Japanese schools and to qualify as a teacher in Japan. After graduating from high school, some people still study English for the purpose of studying in an English-speaking country; others study English because they have a boyfriend/girlfriend who lives in an English-speaking country. But in my case, the main purpose of learning English is to be able to post my art on Newgrounds. This is an important task for me. Therefore, reading and understanding English texts perfectly and writing appropriate expressions is my most important mission.

On the other hand, I don't need to practice my speaking skills as much, because unfortunately I don't plan to (or cannot) look for a job abroad.

In conclusion, I am most interested in the meaning of English sentences, especially "what impression the sentence makes on you".

I found an interesting example of this problem in the video from Kevin's English Room (in Japanese), which is now my biggest English learning channel.

How are you の返し方: How to respond to "How are you?"

嘘乙www by 日本人: You're kidding LOL by a Japanese

I'm fine. はおかしい!?: Is "I'm fine" unnatural?!

In this video, Kevin mentioned how native speakers would feel if someone responded, "I'm fine, thank you. And you?" which is the most common phrase we learn in Japanese schools:

"...First of all, 'And you?' is a very uncomfortable phrase for me. It sounds like a superficial conversation between aristocrats. Only a princess would say it!"

"...For me, 'I'm fine' has a negative connotation, like 'Leave me alone!' I feel like you don't want to communicate with me anymore."

They then discussed what we can use instead of "I'm fine" and in this part Kevin explained a lot of useful knowledge.

“I’m happy.”

The other guy suggested this phrase, and Kevin replied, "Scary. I would think you were a psycho killer. It sounds like '(*grin*) ... Happy.' Scary, isn't it?"

According to Kevin, "How are you?" is just a greeting, so the person asking doesn't care if you're happy or not. So the answer "(I'm) happy" is far from what the questioner would expect. He also said that if you want to express that you are in a happy mood, you could say "I feel good," "I'm really excited," or if you want to include the word "happy" so bad, "I feel kinda happy" would be natural.

“Quite well.”

This is a polite response you can use in a business situation. The person who asks, "How are you?" will feel that you respect them. Kevin has personally recommended this phrase. "Quite" is the key word. It sounds like British English.

“I’m doing excellent.”

Sounds like a teacher in a good mood. It is also a polite expression.

Going back to my personal question, I got a lot of interesting insight into my question, and I learned a slightly different question from the video: "Who do you think the speaker would be?" like "And you?" sounds like a princess language, and "I'm doing excellent" sounds like a teacher language.

I would also like to add another question to my list of favorite questions: "Is it appropriate to the context?" I won't say what the exact word was, but I remember a native speaker giving me this advice: "I understand what you're trying to say, and that sentence is grammatically correct, but I've only seen that word in XXX videos!" This question may look different from the previous two, but I think it is also about "how native speakers would feel", so I want to add it to my list. Of course, this problem is a little easier to solve for non-native speakers, because we can estimate the usage in big English dictionaries. But we have to be careful.

In conclusion, I have made the following list of questions that I am most interested in.

My personal list of questions:

1. How does it sound?

2. Who do you think would say it?

3. Is it appropriate to the context?

I would like to study English from this point of view from now on, and if you have interesting stories about these questions, please let me know!

I love English and was once good enough to become an English teacher at a Japanese junior high school. But that was in the past, and since then my English skills have been declining rapidly. So, as part of my language learning, I decided to post some simple questions and comments about the English language that are not easy for me (and that I should ask on HiNative or Quora) on Newgrounds. I am not an expert in English and may make elementary mistakes, but thank you for your patience.

Stop It | English Is Not So Easy 19

Japanese is an "agglutinative" language. In short, this language changes the nuance of a verb by adding different morphemes after it. The best example of this is in the imperative. There is a verb "yameru" which means "to stop" in Japanese. The imperative form is "yamero" which means "stop it!" and is made up of the stem "yame" and the suffix "ro" to make it imperative. Interestingly, you can tell who is speaking in which situation by the difference in the suffix that makes it imperative.

yamero, yameroyo, yameroya, yamerotte; Used by men/boys. yamero is the easiest and most aggressive way. yameroyo is used between friends. yameroya is used as a joke by western Japanese toddlers. yamerotte is also used as a joke when your friend keeps annoying you.

yamete, yameteyo, yametetteba; Used by women/girls. yamete is the simplest style and is used between friends and family. yameteyo is mostly used in more serious situations. yametetteba is used when someone keeps annoying you.

yametekudasai; Used in doujinshi. No need to explain.

Japanese people can roughly guess the situation by reading or listening to the one expression. Then I thought there must be a similar phenomenon in English, but I cannot find so many references. On rare occasions, some native speakers tell me something like, "This language is only spoken by women," but it is very rare. But this is what I want to know the most.

Since I cannot find such reliable examples, I first wrote as many variations of "stop it" as I could.

Stop it!

The most basic way. I have heard both men and women use this phrase. This is a simple imperative form, so I understand it to be the phrase I should not use.

You stop it!

I learned that adding "you" to the beginning of a sentence makes the sentence sound more offensive. In the Disney movie Zootopia, there is a scene where Juddy's neighbors keep saying, "You shut up," and I learned that this is very offensive language, If I hear this phrase in reality, maybe I should literally freeze there.

Stop it, please. / Please stop it.

I have learned that adding "please" to a sentence does not change the fact that it is an imperative tone and I should still avoid using this phrase. But I also feel that by adding "please" we can better express that we are really annoyed by someone's action.

Can/Could/Will/Would you stop it?

After some research, I found the polite way. But there are four grammatically equivalent ways. I cannot tell the difference, but I know there is a difference. There must be some clue to feel the nuance or the situation, like "Can you..." is used by XX when XX is XXing, but I could only get a little literature to evaluate it.

I found an interesting example. "Would you please stop!" seems to be a gentleman's way of saying he does not want to talk about something. This is a line from a novel. It does not seem impossible to statistically analyze its use in context and guess the usage of the phrase, but for non-native speakers it is very time-consuming, and no matter how hard I tried, there might be some uncertainty.

I learned another interesting thing. According to this (Japanese) website, there are three levels of "stop it: "Stop it!" → (keep annoying) → "Stop doing it!" → (keep annoying) → "Cut it out!" The last phrase was new to me, but perhaps this phrase contains the clue to guessing the situation. They introduced other phrases like "Quit it!" and "Knock it off!", but I gave up trying to distinguish them.

I found another interesting example in this video.

"Native, natural English that you can't learn in school 'Stop it!'" by Hapa 英会話

https://youtu.be/14JVWiJh7YM

The English teacher, Sarah, said that "Oh, stop it!" is practically used by a woman who is being complimented by someone. So when we read or hear this expression, we can roughly guess the situation: A woman is being complimented by someone and she is embarrassed, but she doesn't really want him to stop. This is a specific and cultural example, but a good one. I learned another interesting use of "stop it."

Incidentally, I feel that only the phrase "Stop it!" covers a very wide range of situations. So I thought that especially in English, tone is also an important factor. For example, I learned many phrases that I should never use in everyday conversation, such as "I don't know," "I know, I know," and "No, thank you." However, every time I learned each phrase, my English teacher emphasized that it depends on how you say it.

"English that Japanese people tend to say but are actually rude" by Kevin's English Room

https://youtu.be/Nt4TSn3j_-A

According to Kevin, these expressions are basically not polite, but if you say them in an appropriate tone, there is a possibility to sound polite: "I...(*thinking*) do-don't know.", "Oh, I 'know (stress)', I know!", "Um,...(*smile*) no,.. thank you." But, of course, there are rude expressions no matter how you say them, such as "You'd better...". Um, I'd better be careful.

I love English and was once good enough to become an English teacher at a Japanese junior high school. But that was in the past, and since then my English skills have been declining rapidly. So, as part of my language learning, I decided to post some simple questions and comments about the English language that are not easy for me (and that I should ask on HiNative or Quora) on Newgrounds. I am not an expert in English and may make elementary mistakes, but thank you for your patience.

GIRL | English Is Not So Easy 18

How you learn a foreign language differs from person to person because it depends on what you want to do with your language skills. In my case, the main purpose is to exchange ideas about pop culture, technology, and literature, so my reading and writing skills have been developed more than my speaking skills. In other words, I am particularly bad at speaking English. However, my English teacher Hironobu Takeoka said that reading aloud is the best way to learn English, so I have been practicing reading long English texts aloud for a long time, and I am actually better at reading them quickly. However, my English pronunciation is still at a low level.

Incidentally, I found an interesting question about English on Quora: "What is the English word that Japanese people cannot pronounce?" I have seen many interesting words around such questions, "rural"?, "mischievous"?, "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"? Yes, these words are among them. But I think they forget the simplest word: "girl".

Even in Japan, the word "girl" is a common word, so almost all Japanese know its meaning and even use it in practice. But I remember the first time I heard the word "girl" pronounced by a native speaker. I was very surprised. I could not understand what they were saying.

girl /ɡɝl/, /ɡɝ.əl/

I cannot understand which letter starts when and when the sound changes to the next letter. And because I cannot understand the sound, I cannot pronounce it correctly.

But why is it so hard? I have come up with a clear explanation.

Let's go back to the famous fact that Japanese cannot pronounce the English "R" and "L" sounds. This is true because I am bad at it. When I speak English, I always have to watch out for the danger of "rice" sounding like "lice" and "election" sounding like "e-ection. The word "girl" contains both, so I guess the difficulty of pronunciation is at least doubled. But no, it is not that simple.

First, I would like to talk about the "L" sound. When I hear native speakers pronounce "girl," I feel that the sound of "L" becomes clearer. In general, when pronouncing other L-ending words, I think I can use the "not pronouncing it" technique. For example, these words sound a little easier to pronounce:

• national
• rational
• additional

However, when I pronounce "girl," I must clearly pronounce the American "L" sound. I still do not know the exact mechanism, but when I listened to the sound slowly, I heard the "L" sound begin before the previous sound ended. I know you don't understand what I'm saying, but this feeling is clearly explained as the "ə" in /ɡɝ.əl/. Anyway, when I pronounce "girl," the problem with the "L" sound suddenly becomes an insurmountable challenge for me.

Second, the pronunciation of the "R" is difficult on its own, but the problem becomes more complicated when the letter "I" is added.

• circus /ˈsɝkəs/
• birthday /ˈbɝθˌdeɪ/
• shirt /ʃɝt/
• skirt /skɝt/

What is "ɝ"? It sounds both "UR" and "AR" to me. In the UK that part is pronounced "ɜː" which is a little easier for me. But when I am in the USA, I have to pronounce the "ɝ" sound.

In conclusion, when I pronounce the only four-letter word "girl," I have to fight against the two evolved forms of "L" and "R"; "Clear L" and "I and R". This is the reason why pronouncing the word "girl" is especially difficult for Japanese.

I am always looking for a way to pronounce such a word more easily. For example, there are some hacks to pronounce some words like a native speaker. What I independently found is that if you pronounce the five basic vowels, e-a-i-a-o, quickly, you can pronounce "Ariel" like Eric in Disney's "The Little Marmaid," but I am not sure if this works for other people from non-English speaking countries. Also, as you may have noticed, the pronunciation is slightly off. It doesn't make any sense LOL

[for Japanese Learners]

I think the bias of the Japanese language makes the situation worse. English beginners in Japan tend to speak English with katakana sounds in their heads. And the word "girl" is pronounced as "ガール (gāru)" in Japanese.

• Girlfriend -> gārufurendo; ガールフレンド
• Black Magician Girl -> Burakku Majishan Gāru; ブラック・マジシャン・ガール

The sound of "IR" is basically pronounced as "Ā". Japanese people subconsciously assume that native speakers would pronounce it similarly, but they actually pronounce it quite differently. We try hard to correct the pronunciation, but it is also true that for a long time we recognized "girl" as "gāru". As a result, we suffer from the big difference for a long time.

I love English and was once good enough to become an English teacher at a Japanese junior high school. But that was in the past, and since then my English skills have been declining rapidly. So, as part of my language learning, I decided to post some simple questions and comments about the English language that are not easy for me (and that I should ask on HiNative or Quora) on Newgrounds. I am not an expert in English and may make elementary mistakes, but thank you for your patience.

Precipitation24 learned "~"! | English Is Not So Easy 17

There are many ways to learn English in Japan. Personally, I think the most effective way is to communicate with native English speakers, and the second most effective way is to watch YouTube videos in/on English.

This time, among many English learning videos, I would like to introduce a Japanese YouTube channel, Kevin's English Room.

[Japanese video] A Realistic Usage Course on Native Fxxk! It Doesn't Always Mean Bad?!

ネイティブのF××Kのリアルな使い方講座！悪い意味じゃないの！？

https://youtu.be/hTzY6WdgOJE

リアルなFxxkの使い方：The use of "Fxxk" in real life

What!? Fxxk me!っていうふうに：Just like, "What?! ~ me!"

チャンネル登録：SUBSCRIBE

Yama (left; やま): An English learner.

Kevin (middle; ケビン): Born and raised in the US. Bilingual in English and Japanese.

Kake (right; かけ): A regular Japanese guy.

There are three people in this channel, and Kevin, a native English speaker, shares with us his knowledge of English as it is actually used in the U.S., which is different from the English taught in schools. As a Japanese, this video made me realize that my image of English and actual English are two very different things.

Incidentally, I understand that this article is totally pointless because Kevin speaks English much better than I do and can easily make videos in English only. However, if their YouTube videos do not have subtitles (not automatically generated) and you do not know the channel because of that, I think it might be useful to translate the Japanese spoken in the video into English and introduce what they are saying.

This video shows how native speakers use "~" in everyday conversation. Although this word is considered a dirty word in Japan, the video explains that there are many vocabularies in which "~" is used.

1. ~ you!

Even the Japanese know this insulting word. Never use this word if you want to leave the USA alive.

2. ~!

This one-word exclamation is used to express a variety of "intense" emotions, such as joy, anger, sadness, and pleasure.

          "~! Yes!"

          "~! No, I'm so sad."

3. ~ing + (adjective)

Used to emphasize the meaning of the adjective (positive or negative).

          ~ing smart

          ~ing tasty

          ~ing slow

          ~ing sad

According to Kevin, these three uses cover 70% of all ~s in the US. Then the other two guys say, "OK, let's finish this video," but Kevin says that's where the meat and potatoes come in.

4. ~ me!

Basically, it is a soliloquy used to express one's intense disappointment in oneself for repeating the same mistakes or suffering the same mishaps. However, in rare cases, it is also used to compliment a friend who threw a surprise birthday party for you.

5. What the ~?

Used when things that are happening now are beyond one's understanding.

          "What the ~?! This was not broken 5 minutes ago."

          "Five billion dollars? What the ~?! Really?! No, I can't receive that."

6. I don't give a ~!

A phrase that indicates you are not interested in the topic being discussed. A phrase similar to "I don't care". Yes, in this phrase, "~" means "care."

          "I don't give a ~ about your story."

          "I know that you don't give a ~ about your health, but you should take more vitamin C." "Oh, no no no, I give a ~."

          "Stop giving a ~." 

7. ~ off!

Simply means "Go away!"

8. ~ face.

Words to say to someone you really dislike. This expression contains the word "face," but it can also be used to belittle someone on the Internet whose face you cannot see.

9. "the ~" + Intransitive Phrasal Verbs

          "Shut the ~ up! (= Shut up!)"

          "Get the ~ off! (= Get off!)"

          "Hurry the ~ up! (= Hurry up!)"

          "Get the ~ down! (= Get down!)"

The two sentences above would have the same meaning if the "the ~" were omitted, but including that word emphasizes your frustration.

Finally, Kevin says that if you are not a native English speaker and do not fully understand the meaning and use of "~", you should never use it. Native speakers use "~" in everyday conversation because they fully understand the dangers of this word. However, you should be aware that even if a native English speaker uses "~" a lot without knowing that you are not a native English speaker, he or she may not be angry with you or mean to hurt you.