Thinking about Japanese III

Having never experienced the mindset required for a true multilingual persona, it is difficult to imagine yourself in such a place. Take my co-worker as an example. He was born in Poland, moved to Canada, and now lives in Japan. He speaks Polish with his parents, English with his brother and friends, and Japanese at work, at home, and with other friends. This makes no mention of his high school immersion program in Canada to learn French. His French isn't perfect, but he can carry a conversation well.

This brings me to my point: Part of being bilingual, or even multilingual, is faking it. Yes, faking it. Something I have become accustomed to in Japan is making the speaker believe that I understand their words. Think of when you speak your native language (likely English); there are many small phrases used to carry the conversation.

• "Okay."
• "Sure."
• "Absolutely."
• "I was thinking the same thing."
• "I disagree."
• "I don't understand."
• "It's true."
• "Yes."

Someone could study these phrases on an aeroplane from Moscow to New York and pass for a poor English speaker the first week. I use the same types of expressions when speaking Japanese. When you enter a taxi cab in Japan, most cab drivers speak less than fifty words of English. I sense they can read much more but are too どきどき (dokidoki / nervous) to use more with you. A few catch phrases are the key.

When people first arrive in my office to Japan and are looking for advice, I tell them above all to be polite. Nearly any misunderstanding in Japan can be resolved with politeness. The same in true in a taxicab. Try a few different pronunciations and the taxi driver will do his best to understand. Apologize -- if you know how -- even in English. Most drivers understand "I'm sorry."

One part of faking fluency with which I have had difficulty is the cadence of service in Japan. In the United States and Canada, there is a specific order to which the service industry calls and responds. This may be in a number of different situations: ordering lunch from a waiter or waitress, checking into a hotel, getting home in a taxicab. While the exchange in North America is quite informal, it is elaborate and draw-out in Japan. The most difficult part for me is the cadence of repetition. At the supermarket:

• Them: "Do you need chopsticks?"
• You: "No, thank you."
• Them: "No, thank you?"
• You: "Yes, no, thank you."

At first sound, it could be maddening, but this is normal for Japanese speakers, especially service people. Since this cadence is so programmed into the Japanese as part of their language and culture, any break in this rhythm can upset the entire transaction. If, for example, you are confused by their second question confirming your first answer, their entire approach will change. Service people are not offended, only illequipped to deal with this disruption to their cadence. Suddenly and often, they will switch to broken English which further confuses both parties. I have made the mistake in the past of insisting that we switch back to Japanese by responding to their broken English with broken Japenese. Since the cadence of English is completely different, the rhythm is lost yet again. One of my informal measures of fluency is the ability to rock the boat back towards Japanese. If you can convince the Japanese speaker of your slight misunderstanding, you can gingerly tip the boat back.

Regardless, one thing I keep in mind is that most Japanese people only have the best intentions when interacting with non-native Japanese speakers. As I said before, politeness prevails in this nation -- certainly in Tokyo.