Speedo a Japanese Company?
Back when I was learning Japanese, I distinctly remember thinking to myself that the Speedo swimsuit company had to be Japanese.
The reason for this was the way all Japanese sounds are based on syllables — for example, you can have sa, shi, su, se and so but never s by itself — which plays some tricks with English names when rendered into Japanese.
Since all syllables end in vowel sounds (except for n, the only consonant that can come at the end of words), English words get a bit of unwanted vowel at the end, which changes a word like “meet” into something like “meet-oh” and the word “friend” into “friend-oh.” The English word “speed” similarly becomes “speed-oh,” which is where my confusion came from.
The Japanese know that they often have thick accents when speaking English, and sometimes try to snip this final vowel sound in order to sound more natural. Sometimes they clip too much, though. Once a student of mine asked me for a “tish,” and it took me several minutes to realize he was trying to get me to give him a tissue.
but then wouldnt it be supeedo?
July 25th, 2008 at 12:14 amFor the longest time, I thought Mizuno was an Italian brand.
July 25th, 2008 at 12:20 amThey might have also learned some English language slang rarely used these days. I’ve heard at least one or two older people in the US refer to a tissue as a “tisch” (the same people used “delish:” for delicious). I have no clue if that was their own idiosyncrasy or a wider slang that I’m just not familiar with.
I thought the same thing, Ryo.
July 25th, 2008 at 12:54 amI can still remember the shock I felt at about eight years old when I found out Woolworth’s wasn’t an English company. Is nothing sacred?!?!
July 25th, 2008 at 12:55 amI remember my amazement and amusement upon going back to the U.S. after a long absence when I went shopping and found tags declaring “Just a skosh more room” on Levi jeans with a fuller fitting for middle-aged wearers.
According to what I eventually found on the Web, though, the word first appeared in print in American English around 1951.
July 25th, 2008 at 1:28 amI always enjoy hearing “I’d like to do a homestay in Toront.”
July 25th, 2008 at 1:48 amAs if there were any word in the English language better suited for Katakana English, yet these people still manage to get it wrong.
A Japanese friend of mine was telling me about an upcoming “sacrament” trip, and I was trying to figure out if it was some kind of religious pilgrimage, or…??? Turns out she was traveling to Sacramento CA!
July 25th, 2008 at 2:14 amThey wish Speedo was japanese.
July 25th, 2008 at 5:19 am“Tish” is just the Japanese word ティッシュ (tisshu) with the usual deprecation of the final u vowel. I don’t think this counts as over-compensation. It’s just using the Japanese word instead of the (in this case) English one. When the same word (more or less) exists in both languages, most Japanese learners start by assuming the pronunciation is the same (though heavily ‘katakanised’), unless specifically told otherwise. Try getting a low-level Japanese student to say London, soccer or Tiramisu correctly.
July 25th, 2008 at 7:14 amWell it was an Australian company originally and this is a facet of Australian slang. We shorten things by adding either an ‘o’ or an ‘ie’ sound. For example, arvo, cossie, smoko, sunnies, bottle-o, which mean respectively, afternoon, swimming costume, a smoke break, a pair of sunglasses and a liquor store.
July 25th, 2008 at 9:23 amer?..budgie smugglers? (robyn! you are far too adagio)
rem
July 25th, 2008 at 9:40 ambudgie smugglers, mmmm…. I don’t like them at all you don’t know what they hide and most of the time its not what’s being smuggled, it’s how it’s packaged.
robin
July 25th, 2008 at 9:53 amWell, the Japanese often go to Disneyworld in Orland Florida. That’s close to Toront, isn’t it? Wonder why I never hear San Francisc or Chicag?
Interesting about the Speedo. That curved logo is actually a boomerang - according that unquestionable source, Wikipedia.
July 25th, 2008 at 8:46 pm