Quote:
Originally Posted by Yoshio I didn't know that "lovely" can be used in so many ways. The Japanese word for "lovely" that most Japanese come up with is something like attractive or pretty. I wouldn't use the word to describe wads of banknotes. |
That is what makes language so interesting. :)
There are so many ways to express your feelings and emotions.
According to the OUP dictionary link that someone recently
posted (perhaps it was MrP), "lovely" is informally used to
mean 'enjoyable, pleasant, wonderful'.
Sometimes, we may understand the meaning from the context.
At other times, we may know the meaning, but we may
still not feel very comfortable using it, even though we may be
able to use it correctly. Then there are some words that feel
natural to us, and we like them and use them, or actually
enjoy using them. So, if you hear it often enough, you may indeed
say "lovely" if someone gives you a wad of banknotes.
BTW, may I ask what are the Japanese words that you mentioned above?
Is it "kawaii" for "lovely"? And what would you say in Japanese
if someone gives you a wad of banknotes? Would you say, "sugoi"
or something else?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yoshio And "lovely" could mean the opposite of wonderful, which is surprising to me
But doesn't it depend on how you say it? If so, I think I understand a bit of it. |
It is part of many cultures (if not all) to say something and
mean something else. This is used as sarcasm or as humor.
(Sometimes saracasm is used as humor, and at other times,
humor is used to pass off sarcasm. The complexity of
language, and of human nature is amazing indeed!)
Sometimes, you can get small clues about the real meaning,
from the intonation or from the context.
For example,
Friend1: I got promoted today. Friend2: That's great! Congratulations! (expressing joy)
In a meeting to discuss the release of a product for sale:
Project Manager: Are we ready to release XYZ (software/product) tomorrow? A: Actually, B has found a bug/glitch. The team thinks it will
take at least three more days to fix it. And we need two more days to test it again after that. Project Manager: That's just great! That is going to make us late,
now that the holiday season is coming up.
(expressing displeasure/frustration)
I had not realized this earlier, but people use "actually" to indicate to the
other person that something is not according to what the other person thinks, or to say something that somebody may not like. In
the above example, you can see that by using "actually",
A lets the
project manager know that the product won't be ready as he is expecting.
In other words, "actually" is used to prime (prepare) the project manager
to hear the piece of information that is not what he expects.
In Japanese, there is something similar - "
chotto" - it primes the
other person that what he is suggesting/expecting is not OK,
although it is not said at all, because of all the non-verbal communication
that happens in Japanese and other Eastern cultures.
(Please correct me if I am wrong about this, Yoshio. Onegaishimasu).
A:
getsuyoubi ni aimashouka. (Shall we meet on Monday?)
B:
getsuyoubi wa chotto.... (Monday is somewhat .....)