Oct 24, 2024 Salon
Guests:
K-san, A-san, M-san, A'chan
Discussion Content:
I had a look at A’s notebook. She said she was embarrassed because her writing is messy, but I said it wasn’t messy at all, especially compared to my writing which is quite messy – especially when I just write notes to myself.
I asked if they also write messily when making notes, and M said, “Yes, no one can read my writing”. People use “running writing” (or “cursive”) when writing quickly.
A’chan was looking at M’s notes and copying the words “running writing”, and I jokingly said she was “cheating”. I remembered that Japanese people use the word “cunning” to refer to people cheating on a test. I explained its meaning and asked why they would use that word, and if there was a regular Japanese word instead.
After checking Google, it turns out that the word “cunning” came to be used at the end of the 19th century.
K said that her son used to often cheat in college when they lived in the USA. I wondered why he would tell his mother and said as a joke, “Perhaps he’s an honest cheater”, or he was proud of it. M said as a joke that maybe he was trying to save his parents money by cheating and making sure he graduated on time. Anyway, it seems like he got away with it and didn’t have to repeat any years.
A’chan said her niece also used to cheat in junior high school, and made notes which she put in her shirt pocket. However, she was caught cheating and, although the school decided to overlook it this time and not expel or suspend her, she was given 0.0 marks in all her subjects.
Just then, K’s phone rang and the ring-tone was the sound of an old-style telephone. I said it was like a Showa-era telephone, and she was surprised that I knew what they were like – but of course, we all had the same style of rotary telephones all over the world in those days.
I asked if they can still remember their childhood telephone numbers and everyone said they could. M said her mother still lives in the same place and so the phone number hasn’t changed.
The rotary telephones used to have letters as well as numbers on the dialer, and I said maybe that was to make it easier to remember numbers by converting them into words. Japanese business telephone numbers often do that, but I’m not sure if it’s so easy to do in English.
These days, due to cell phones and smartphones, very few people remember actual telephone numbers, and there’s also no telephone books either, so we wondered what would happen in an emergency if your phone didn’t work – how would you be able to contact people?
I asked if there was a telephone directory or operator that you could call from a public phone, and A said there is one – you dial 104 – but that this service will stop in 2026.
Useful phrases:
Running writing
cunning
19th century
proud of it
be expelled/suspended from school
got caught cheating
get away with doing something bad
No 2nd chances
3 strikes and you’re out!
rotary telephone
convert (numbers to letters)