Beginning Japanese for Professionals: Book 1

42 ＋ keitai けいたい ケータイ cellphone ＋ sumaho すまほ スマホ smartphone ＋ pasokon ぱそこん パソコン computer, laptop ＋ baggu ばっぐ バッグ bag ＋ kaban かばん 鞄 brief case, bag (made of leather) ＋ kasa かさ 傘 umbrella Languages (Add – go to the country name. A few exceptions) nihongo にほんご 日本語 Japanese eigo えいご 英語 English chuugokugo ちゅうごくご 中国語 Chinese kankokugo かんこくご 韓国語 Korean furansugo ふらんすご フランス語 French supeingo すぺいんご スペイン語 Spanish rosiago ろしあご ロシア語 Russian itariago いたりあご イタリア語 Italian doitsugo どいつご ドイツ語 German betonamugo べとなむご ベトナム語 Vietnamese arabiago あらびあご アラビア語 Arabic nanigo なにご 何語 what language Grammar Notes 2-3-1 Echo Questions As we have seen, it’s common for things that are clear from the context to be left unsaid in Japanese conversation. However, the context may not always be clear to everyone involved. In such cases, people use echo questions (echoing back all or part of what has just been said) for clarification. In the dialogue above, the staff member uses the echo question ‘Do you mean this?’ to check if Michael is referring to the handouts near her. Michael: Sore, nan desu ka. What is that? Staff: Kore desu ka. Kyou no sukejuuru desu. This? It’s today’s schedule. While echo questions are not unique to Japanese, they occur a lot more frequently in Japanese conversations. This is because echo questions are not only used for clarification, but also to slow down the pace of conversation or soften the tone. Recall that hesitation noises are used to take time and avoid direct responses. Echo questions are often used for similar purposes. So, even when there is no need for clarification, Japanese speakers may ask echo questions. In such cases, an answer to the echo question is not necessarily expected. The most common echo questions are those that repeat the topic nouns, which may have been left unsaid or which are typically marked by the particle wa in the