Internet English Part 2

Ok, so today we will be talking about some longer expressions used online(meaning on the internet) most often while people are chatting with friends via msn or yahoo messenger or in a chatroom.


A/S/L? = What's your Age/Sex/Location?

T2UL8r = Talk to you later

DYCHO? = Do You Come Here Often?

CU2nite @ 8 @ UR place? = See you tonight at 8 at your place?

ImLOkn4AFrndDoUWan2BMyFrnd = I'm looking for a friend. Do you want to be my friend?

IRLEWan2CU2nite = I really want to see you tonight

LtsSpndTNite2gtha = Let's spend the night together

IWanUINEdUILuvU = I want you, I need you, I love you

URMyCndrLa&ImYaPrnc = You are my Cinderella and I am your prince

So as you can see most of these sentences are pick up lines~! People are using the internet to try and find girlfriends or boyfriends and using this kind of shorthand English to do it. IMHO (In My Honest Opinion) I don't think these lines will really work...

The next lesson will be Part 3 in my Internet English series, I hope you find it interesting.

Have a good weekend,

Phil

Internet English Part 1

Ok, I was in my local library a few weeks ago and came across a book published by Yahoo! Japan about "メール　チャット で 英語" I thought it looked really interesting so it has inspired me to do a 3 part series about Internet English. In Part 1, I will go over some of the most common words and expressions, Part 2 will cover longer expressions and sentences and in Part 3 I will talk about different ways to talk about online activities.

So, I have been online for about 20 years. Before there was an internet I would log into a BBS(Bulletin Board Service) which was a computer in someone's home that hosted a community where you could post messages and play games with other people. I have seen many different expressions and most are probably used by young "net savvy" people but here are some I know well and sometimes use:

LOL = Laugh Out Loud

ROTFL = Rolling On the Floor Laughing

BRB = Be Right Back, used when you are leaving the computer for a minute in the middle of a conversation on a chatting program like msn or yahoo messenger

IMHO = In My Honest Opinion

OIC = Oh I see, meaning 分かりました or なるほど

IDK = I Don't Know

LetMeNo = Let Me Know

Ti2Go = Time To Go

MYOB = Mind Your Own Business, don't bother me about my life

All of the above expressions are usually used online by people chatting. The next expressions are used even offline.

ASAP = As Soon As Possible

This expression came from the US Military but is common these days in business situations. The pronunciation is DIFFERENT though~! Everyday people say A-S-A-P but military people say asap A-SAP.

FYI = For Your Information

Again people might use this in conversation and say "F-Y-I the party has been moved to the 4th floor conference room".

Then there are the ways in which English is changing for text messaging(cellphone emails). Usually, people want to send short messages and they pay by how big the mail is so people have developed a kind of shorthand way of writing English.

BTW = By The Way

Msg me 2nite = Message me tonight.

Can I C U 2nite? = Can I see you tonight?

Don't B l8 Pls = Don't be late please.

R U busy? = Are you busy?

R U OK? = Are you Ok?

You'll notice that many of these quick short ways of writing are PHONETIC meaning they follow how the letters of the alphabet sound. So,

How are you?

becomes

How R U?

and

See you later.

becomes

CU later or CU l8ter

Ok everyone, that is it for now,

CU 2morrow ppl~!

Phil

Different kinds of English...

Ok, this week I was reminded of all the levels of politeness in Japanese and that in English it is not really the same.

In English, we don't have special pronouns(watakushi, sama, ore, kimi, anata, etc.) to show levels of politeness. I think it is a bit less complicated in English but it is still a bit tough. What happens in English when people want to be more polite or formal is that they stop using contractions(It's==> It is), start using bigger words and more old fashioned styles of speaking.

Wanna go out for dinner tonight?

becomes

I would be honored if you would accompany me to dinner this evening.

In the formal example, it is not even a question but a statement and it is up to the person being invited to say(I would love to or I would be delighted).

So in today's lesson I would like to present a list of synonyms, words with similar meanings which I feel change how formal or polite you are speaking.

Formal -----------------------> Casual

challenging ----> difficult ----> hard ------> tough

tedious --------------> dull ---------------> boring

entertaining -------> enjoyable -----------> fun

fascinating --------------------------------> interesting

costly ---------------> expensive ----------> pricey

gorgeous ------- ----> beautiful ------------> pretty
(this can also show how strong the adjective is)

disheartening(adj) --> depressing (adj) ---> a downer (n)

revolting ---> disgusting -----> gross ------>yucky (kid's English)

frightening -----------> terrifying ----------> scary

delectable -----> delicious -----> tasty ----> yummy (kid's English)

So this will give you an idea of how using these different words will change the level of formality or politeness when you are speaking.

This apple is delectable~! (formal)

This apple's delicious~! (normal)

This apple's tasty~! (casual)

This apple's yummy~! (really casual and a bit childish)

Notice the use of contractions.

That movie was entertaining. (very formal)

That movie was enjoyable. (formal)

That movie was fun. (normal/casual)

In this case, the situation is casual so using a more formal adjective makes them WEAKER. It is strange to speak formally about a movie with your friends so it sounds like you didn't like the movie so much...

You also have certain phrases which may change like:

I don't understand. (normal)

becomes

I don't get it. (casual)

Ok, that is it for today. I hope you enjoyed the lesson if you have any questions just ask~~!

Phil

work for? work at?

Hey everyone, today we will talk about a common small talk topic when you meet someone new:

WORK

When someone asks "Where do you work?" they don't mean the location where you work but what is your companies name~!

A: Where do you work?

B: I work in Kyoto.----> INCORRECT!!!

This is the correct answer ^_^

A: Where do you work?

B: I work at Nintendo.

A: Where's your office? (location)

B: It's in Kyoto.

The next thing I would like to mention is the small difference between "work for" and "work at".

The difference is when you use work for, you usually represent your company or employer at many different locations. So it is often used by police officers, lawyers, the gas man, etc.

I work for Smith, Warwick & Associates. (a law firm)

I work for the LAPD. (Los Angeles Police Department)

I work for Glico. (I am a salesman so often travel to visit customers)

I work for Tokyo Gas. (I am the Gas man)

When you use work at, you usually go to the same location everyday. You don't really represent your employer anywhere outside your office.

I work at Nintendo. (at one office, maybe a salaryman)

I work at Kyoto Hospital. (doctor or nurse, I go to one hospital)

I work at Acer. (I am a researcher at one office)

I work at City Hall. (I am a government employee)

I hope that helped, just remember at for one place and for when you represent the company OUTSIDE their office and go many places.

Have a great day, enjoy the sunshine~!

Phil

It's a ten minute walk.

Today, we will talk about how far your house is from the nearest subway/train station. In North America, this is not so useful because people use their cars to go everywhere but in Europe, trains and subways are common. They are also common on the East coast of the U.S. and in Central Canada(Ontario and Quebec). You can also use these structures to talk about how long it takes to walk somewhere.

The first structure we use when talking about how long it takes to walk somewhere is:

on foot or sometimes by foot

I think on foot is much more natural but both are grammatically correct. These days, on foot is used more often...

A: Where do you live?

B: I live in Kyoto.

A: How long does it take you to get to the nearest station?

B: It takes about 10 minuteS on foot (by foot).

The second structure you can use to answer this questions is a noun phrase. This is like in Japanese when you use の to nominalize verbs.

私は読むのが好きです。
Watashi wa yomu no ga suki desu.
I like reading.

So if you want to use a noun phrase, you say:

It's a ten minute walk.

You can see here there is no S, this is because it is a noun phrase "A ten minute walk" so it is treated as a noun, for example like "a banana".

Have a good week~!

Phil

Hectic vs. Busy

Today, I will be talking about the difference in English between the words hectic and busy. In Japanese both are translated as 忙しい (isogashii) but in English while both have similar meanings how we use these words is quite different.

Hectic and busy both mean that you don't have enough time and are rushing to do things. The difference is when and how we use the words.

Busy

This word is much more flexible, just like 忙しい, you can use it to talk about people or things.

Things have been really busy at work recently.

I am SOOOO busy these days. It sucks~!

That restaurant looks busy, check out that huge lineup!

Hectic

This word is more specific. We use it ONLY to talk about THINGS, it is NOT used to talk about people.

Things have been really hectic at work recently.

Basically, the same sentence.

That restaurant looks really hectic, check out all the people~!

This sentence has changed a bit hectic gives a feel of MOVEMENT and rushing/running around. A lineup does not move, so it sounds better if you say people or crowd. It gives you the image of a bunch of people pushing and trying to get into the restaurant.

I am SOOO hectic this days.------> INCORRECT

I am a person and so hectic cannot be used to talk about yourself or other people. We use hectic most often when talking about our life or job. We usually it to complain that we are too busy and things are a little crazy/chaotic.

We are understaffed at work so it has been really hectic.

Since I had a baby my life has been too hectic.

I guess you could say hectic is a bit stronger than busy but remember you CAN'T use it when talking about people!

Mikan-chan, I have already done several lessons about medical vocabulary and English. If I think of new words to talk about I will make a new post, for now you will just have to wait. Does anyone else have any questions or requests?

Hope to hear from you, have a nice week,

Phil

Go & get...

Ok, today we will talk about the difference between go and get...

GO

This means LEAVE for somewhere. The focus is on departing a place.

work -----> home

What time do you go home?

I go home at 7pm.

Meaning I leave work at 7pm to start on my way home.

GET

This means to ARRIVE somewhere. The focus is on arriving.

work -----> home

What time do you get home?

I get home at 7:45pm.

Meaning I arrive at home at 7:45, so it takes me 45 minutes to travel from my office to my home.

I hope that helped explained the difference between the two~!

Have a nice day everyone and good luck in your studies,

Phil

Why don't you take the day off?

Hey everyone, today I will be talking about the difference between:

-take the day off

This means that you ask for or are offered the day off. You have CHOSEN to take a day off or someone OFFERED it to you.

Bob, you look a bit pale why don't you take the rest of the day off.

Sir, my son has an operation tomorrow. Can I take the day off?

-have the day off

This means that you don't have to work. These are your regular days off (for most people Saturdays and Sundays) and all national holidays. You CAN'T choose when they are, it is NOT your decision.

I have Thursdays and Fridays off.

Next Monday is Umi no Hi so I have the day off, woohoo~!

So everyone:

What are your days off?