☆ENGLISH ONLY☆コミュの"A" happy new year

doing nengajo? don't be cramming it in the end of year yall.
remember the xmas cards? good times right? hehe

About "A Happy new year" in seasons greeting cards that can be seen everywhere in japan...

i still wonder how the hell it started. i thought all j people suck at prefacing an article...
but I've also seen it on mixi with a tag saying "A happy new year" before.
hmm. weird...

please, please if you are learning english looking at this community, for the love of BUDDHA,
don't. don't even think about it. "A" Happy new year is WRONG if used only by itself.

just wanted to shout it out.
let's kill japanglish as much as we can. yes we can.

alright late.

コメント(13)

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[1] mixiユーザー 12月04日 15:26

Thank you so much for telling it !! I appriciate it!
I wrote "A" happy new year before and I was thinking if it's corrct or not.

Thanks RPO

[2] mixiユーザー 12月04日 15:41

FANTASTIC job, mate

I am a Japanese English teacher, and I have been trying to tell my students that for as long as I can remember...

I think I should print this out and start handing it out in class

Thank you, RPO

[3] mixiユーザー 12月04日 17:36

Could you explain why you can affirm that "A Happy new year" is wrong?

I just wanna know the reason why you can...

[4] mixiユーザー 12月04日 17:43

i understand it is "I wish you a happy new year", and the "I wish" is omitted.

[5] mixiユーザー 12月04日 18:05

Welcome to Japan,
The land of unspoken words

I would agree with #4, probably the verb has been omitted.
It's not proper English but heck, who cares, everyone know that New Year is a Japanese celebration...

want proof ? check how busy the shops will be changing their Xmas deco on 25th 00:00

[6] mixiユーザー 12月04日 18:53

>3

how about it...

A Merry Christmas!

A Happy Halloween!

A Good Morning!

???? whaaa?

I know "I wish you to have a ---" could be omitted but again people don't know that, and when you only state the fact it is a "happy new year", don't add any articles son, bam!

[7] mixiユーザー 12月04日 19:00

FYI i am not native though, but i am fluent enough to know that garnishing with an unnecessary article kinda leaves a sour taste to me, at least.

[8] mixiユーザー 12月04日 19:38

I'm German, haven't think to much about this issue so far. When I read cards or when writing some myself i mostly put "I wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year".

So leaving away latin terms, when expressing just the wishes "merry Christmas" and "happy new year" for example as an opener on a greeting card, then we shouldn't use the "a" right? But when these wishes are used in a sentence of other parts of a sentence they connect with, then we need that article?

Thanks for your help in advance

[9] mixiユーザー 12月04日 20:01

I do understand what you mean, but I think it can be a correct expression, though native speakers never say that...
I can enjoy Japanglish except the grammar is absolutely wrong, bacause there is a wide variety of Englishes in the world as you know.
I mean, for example, American English and British English differ in this respect.
Perhaps we should learn that it's not a general expression among native speakers, but...

I didn't mean to whinge.
So sorry if you feel displeased...

[10] mixiユーザー 12月04日 20:47

>9

hu-whaa? your statement calls for some serious backup.

[11] mixiユーザー 12月04日 21:56

i think that never be a problem when someone is really wishing "a happy new year"' for his/her friends. i mean, this extent of misunderstanding.
i'm not saying that we can ignore the rules in english.

but yeah, said that, it does sound strange if i hear "a good night" as a greeting..

[12] mixiユーザー 12月04日 22:36

Writing "A Happy New Year" could be correct in some cases.

Even if it is incorrect, it's nothing compared to the misspellings, poor grammar, and incorrect use of punctuation in the intro and comments on this topic.

[13] mixiユーザー 12月07日 14:18

I suppose it's the thought that counts at the end of the day.
Sure. Even if it's incorrect, what's the big deal, right. People make mistakes all the time. No need to pick on every single one.
Some even say it can be correct in some cases. I am personally dying to know when, though.

It's not like we don't have the expression in Japanese. We do. A good one, too.
And yet some people choose to wish their loved ones a happy new year in English (Nothing's wrong with it).
OK then, why don't they at least make it sound natural?
That's all 関係者乙san is saying, I think.
And I agree, as I have never heard my English-speaking mates say or write "A happy new year!".

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