Hi! Happy New Year to all members of the community. I am doing an project for Japanese Learners of English, and I was wondering if you could help me. I am studying the politeness 丁寧さ of Japanese Learners of English. Even if you are not a Japanese learner of English please feel free to answer!
How would you answer the following question?
"You are a college student and you have a very big report due in a few days. You are so busy you don't think you will be able to finish the report in time. What would you say to the teacher to give you some extra time?"
There is not one correct answer! Just your feelings! Please help me.
Thank you!
How would you answer the following question?
"You are a college student and you have a very big report due in a few days. You are so busy you don't think you will be able to finish the report in time. What would you say to the teacher to give you some extra time?"
There is not one correct answer! Just your feelings! Please help me.
Thank you!
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コメント(19)
As someone who BSed his way through no small number of extensions, I find the concept of this topic rather amusing/interesting, because the mere concept requires an inherent amount of deception that I'm pretty sure 99.5% of Japanese lack.
Some things I recall doing in my college days (bear in mind I went to a tiny liberal arts college where everyone knows everyone and professors are on a first-name basis with their students, and vice versa!):
-Showing the professor a draft, asking for help, and claiming trouble on a certain section and needing another few hours. This was usually good for a 12-24h extension.
-"But I emailed it to you! I'll send it again." A few hours if that.
-During my senior year, all I had to do was say "thesis" and my profs didn't care when I handed my assignments in as long as it was done eventually. That was pretty much school policy.
Some things I recall doing in my college days (bear in mind I went to a tiny liberal arts college where everyone knows everyone and professors are on a first-name basis with their students, and vice versa!):
-Showing the professor a draft, asking for help, and claiming trouble on a certain section and needing another few hours. This was usually good for a 12-24h extension.
-"But I emailed it to you! I'll send it again." A few hours if that.
-During my senior year, all I had to do was say "thesis" and my profs didn't care when I handed my assignments in as long as it was done eventually. That was pretty much school policy.
ダン@CDJ4日間 - Hey Dan, thanks so much for your answer. I'm sure you noticed when speaking with Japanese friends that the translation of what they mean to say doesn't match the correct level of politeness when they say it. A friend of mine always says "I want water/food/directions etc." When he means to say, Could you give me/tell me/ etc.
>>肉一郎
You mean, when my Japanese friends speak in English?
Actually that's not true because 99% of my friends don't speak any English, and the ones that do lived in the US for a bit of time so their grammar is pretty natural
Other than that I speak to all my Japanese friends in Japanese, so...
You mean, when my Japanese friends speak in English?
Actually that's not true because 99% of my friends don't speak any English, and the ones that do lived in the US for a bit of time so their grammar is pretty natural
Other than that I speak to all my Japanese friends in Japanese, so...
ダン@CDJ4日間 - Sorry, I meant people who don't have an extremely high level of proficiency like it sounds like your friends have. However, even those people who lived in the US don't you think the way they phrase requests differs from yours?
Ian - Thank you for your response too. You will notice that you made a reference that you have been working on it, but you are not finished. A few other responses I got from Non-native speakers put emphasis on the difficult situation they are in, kind of negating the importance of the assignment. What do you think?
Ian - Thank you for your response too. You will notice that you made a reference that you have been working on it, but you are not finished. A few other responses I got from Non-native speakers put emphasis on the difficult situation they are in, kind of negating the importance of the assignment. What do you think?
Were I in that place, I would simply tell the truth,
saying, "I'm sorry, but I can't finish the report in time.
Would you please give me a few more days?"
I think to be honest is a kind of politeness toward the professor.
Maybe, everyone is busy and has a lot to do, so I don't want to
use unnecessary excuse. If I try, but I can't, that's only
beyond my ability. And if I know I will be able to finish it with
extra time, I will not hesitate to ask him for time and try my
best.
saying, "I'm sorry, but I can't finish the report in time.
Would you please give me a few more days?"
I think to be honest is a kind of politeness toward the professor.
Maybe, everyone is busy and has a lot to do, so I don't want to
use unnecessary excuse. If I try, but I can't, that's only
beyond my ability. And if I know I will be able to finish it with
extra time, I will not hesitate to ask him for time and try my
best.
ダン@2011 - Thanks again for all your input. Well how about if we flip it around. You have excellent Japanese, but do you ever think that even after you have studied for many years there are some politeness issues or requests that you don't have an underlying intuitive native sense about? We can study Keigo from a book, but when is the exact right time to use what exact form and so on ...
>肉一郎
Oh yeah, all the time. I either don't bother with keigo and just stick with です・ます politeness (and since most Japanese have such low expectations of foreigners speaking Japanese that they're blown away if I say anything more than パンが好きです, they don't care), or repeat stuff I've heard other people say and bluff my way through the situation. See images.
Oh yeah, all the time. I either don't bother with keigo and just stick with です・ます politeness (and since most Japanese have such low expectations of foreigners speaking Japanese that they're blown away if I say anything more than パンが好きです, they don't care), or repeat stuff I've heard other people say and bluff my way through the situation. See images.
What you can do, you can say, “I can”,
while what you can't do, you should say, “I can't.”
I learned this kind of honesty and clearness when
I used to work with several people from several countries,
including U.S., Australia, Jordan, etc.
I don't think many Japanese people are good at it,
but I understand such honesty is part of politeness.
while what you can't do, you should say, “I can't.”
I learned this kind of honesty and clearness when
I used to work with several people from several countries,
including U.S., Australia, Jordan, etc.
I don't think many Japanese people are good at it,
but I understand such honesty is part of politeness.
7: 肉一郎
>> difficult situation they are in, kind of negating the
>> importance of the assignment. What do you think?
I think you are showing respect for the teacher by going to him / her with your difficulty. Most students wouldn't be bothered...they would either not hand in the assignment or hand in something that was below standard.
By going to the teacher, you are showing that you value the teachers efforts and that you're taking seriously the work they have done in putting together the assignment. Talking about your difficulty doesn't diminish the importance of the assignment to you.....I think it shows the teacher that you are taking the assignment very seriously.
>> difficult situation they are in, kind of negating the
>> importance of the assignment. What do you think?
I think you are showing respect for the teacher by going to him / her with your difficulty. Most students wouldn't be bothered...they would either not hand in the assignment or hand in something that was below standard.
By going to the teacher, you are showing that you value the teachers efforts and that you're taking seriously the work they have done in putting together the assignment. Talking about your difficulty doesn't diminish the importance of the assignment to you.....I think it shows the teacher that you are taking the assignment very seriously.
Wow this reminded me when I was in college, if my memory serves me right one of my friends haddone this before. Most were either legitimate or rather made up excuses. I think it was in the lines of: " Dear Professor, I do understand that this is a difficult request to make and might know the answer to this question but due to (illness, job, etc.) I could not complete the assignment on time and would like additional time to complete project..."
I think the most common one used was " my dog ate my homework" but that was when I was in High School.
I think the most common one used was " my dog ate my homework" but that was when I was in High School.
I think I would explain about it to the professor with all my honesty (although I used to be a type of student who said "My dog ate it" or something like that).
"Dear Professor XX,
I am sorry I'm afraid I am unable to submit the assignment to you by the due date of January XXth, 2011. This happened due to (your_reason), and not because I was unaware of the importance of the submission due. Do you think I could have an extension of a few days? I will be working on it with all my effort in order to get back to you with the best assignment quality as possible.
Sincerely,
(your_name)
"Dear Professor XX,
I am sorry I'm afraid I am unable to submit the assignment to you by the due date of January XXth, 2011. This happened due to (your_reason), and not because I was unaware of the importance of the submission due. Do you think I could have an extension of a few days? I will be working on it with all my effort in order to get back to you with the best assignment quality as possible.
Sincerely,
(your_name)
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