Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.
Hi I’m Sarah, welcome to The Daily English Show.
Today’s mistake is: I’m waiting. Well that’s not a mistake in itself – but it is the way some people use it.
In Japanese, it can be polite to say this at the end of a phone conversation.
For example:
OK, I’ll call you back tomorrow morning.
では明日、折り返しお電話差し上げます。
OK, I’m waiting.
分かりました。 お電話お待ちしています。
In Japanese, that’s a perfectly normal thing to say. In English, it’s not.
But that’s a natural thing to do when you’re learning a language – to think of what you’d say in your native language and then just translate that. And sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t ... like in this situation. The first time someone said that to me, I thought: How rude! But I just said something like: OK, well, I’ll try and be quick. But they weren’t meaning hurry up they were just trying to use a polite expression to finish the conversation.
In English, I think when you say, I’m waiting, you’re usually angry or annoyed. So that’s why I was shocked the first time I heard Japanese people say that to me.
Like if you were supposed to meet your partner somewhere at a certain time and they didn’t show up and you were pretty annoyed about it, then you might call them and say: Where are you? I’m waiting!
So, back to this situation. What would you say in English?
I would say: OK, I’ll talk to you then.
Or: OK, bye.
Kia Ora, in Stick News today, a woman in Saudi Arabia has uploaded a video of herself driving to YouTube to try and get the government to let women drive more freely.
According to Wikipedia, women in Saudi Arabia face severe discrimination in many aspects of their lives, including education, employment, and the justice system and are clearly regarded as inferior to men.
Apparently, women are not allowed to drive or ride bicycles on public roads in large cities.
Some women want this rule to be changed.
One woman filmed herself driving and uploaded the video to YouTube for this year’s
International Women’s Day.
In the video she asks the interior minister to permit women to drive in cities.
And that was Stick News for Wednesday 12 March.
Kia Ora
in Hirafu
Check out this powder snow. This was filmed in Hirafu on the 2nd of March. The guy riding is Trevor from Christchurch in New Zealand. He’s been spending winters in Niseko for a long time. More than ten years.
Step 1: Repeat Luke’s lines.
Step 2: Read Luke’s lines and talk to Sarah.
Sarah Did you see the jump competition on Sunday?
Luke Yeah. What was it called again? Namara something.
Sarah Namara Ippatsu.
Luke What does namara mean?
Sarah Um, it’s a Hokkaido word. I think it means very.
links
music
show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site
the snow report start
artist: Olga Scotland
album: Scotland Yard
track: Absolute
from: Moscow, Russia
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site
cws start
artist: San Sebastian
track: Happy Sad
artist site
qa start
artist: ioeo
album: Groovetracks
tracks: groovetracks ending
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site
qa/sr bgm
artist: Antony Raijekov
album: Jazz U
track: Deep blue 2005
from: Sofia, Bulgaria
artist site
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