ニュースの英語を解説する" In the News"シリーズ
第14回の本日は"End Game"です。
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In the news Part.14 – End Game
In the June 1, 2010 Daily Yomiuri, we had the following story: Investors wary without Europe debt endgame
The first paragraph reads:
“After stocks wrapped up their worst month in more than a year, investors will face this week with caution as things are unlikely to get better until the Europeans force their debt crisis to an end game.”
A later quote includes:
The end game in this European crisis, at least for the near term, is going to be if the ECB comes up with some kind of quantitative easing package,”
The Princeton.edu site defines an end game as the final stage of an extended negotiation. Wikipedia describes it as the last part of a chess game.
In western-style chess, there’s the “opening”, which consists of both players taking turns moving their pieces from the initial starting positions; the “middle game”, where the players develop their strategies and attempt to gain a significant advantage over the other; and the “end game”, in which one player or the other makes the final moves to capture the opponent’s King. Since a game can result in a stalemate with neither playing getting credit for the win, entering the end game means that there will be a clear conclusion.
In today’s story, the reporter uses “end game” to refer to a specific form of central banking action to “end” the current financial crisis in Europe. This usage has two parts. First, the reporter, and the sources he is quoting, wants the European Central Bank (ECB) to announce a program to reduce the current debt level. Second, that this program, a “quantitative easing package”, will be guaranteed to end the debt problem.
Naturally, it’s possible that any ECB decision would just slow down the growth of the debt without fully erasing it. In chess terms, this would be the same as a stalemate, in which case there’s no clear winner. Which then means that there’s no real end game.
During George W. Bush’s presidency in the U.S., a common phrase used to describe a complete cessation of activity in an unpleasant conflict was exit strategy. That is, we would want the ECB to develop an exit strategy from the current debt crisis. However, exit strategy implies that the debt is not completely erased. End game meanwhile indicates that the debt is overwhelmingly “defeated”. Rather than a program that causes the effects of the debt to be smaller, the reporter wants something that reduces the debt to 0. Which isn’t very likely.
As you read the English newspapers this week, try to find other examples of phrases similar to end game and exit strategy.
※Unfortunately, this story is original to the Daily Yomiuri press, and they chose to print it only in the paper version of their newspaper. It is not available online to non-subscribers.
“There are truths on this side of the Pyrenees which are falsehoods on the other.”
Blaise Pascal
Though Blaise Pascal was a 17th century French mathematician, physicist, inventor and writer, the above quotation could just as easily apply to the field of global business than to any other and is as relevant today as it was 300 years ago. The message here is that two countries that are very close together – France and Spain in this case – can be very different, in terms of values, culture and attitudes.
Understanding these differences in today’s global economy is vital to conducting successful international business dealings.
What tends to happen in many countries across the world is an oversimplification of the ’foreign’; people from any given country sometimes hold the belief that the world can be simply divided into two categories: the domestic and the global. The word ‘global’ can sometimes be misleading because it oversimplifies something rather complex and varied.
Let me give you an example I can draw from my own life experience. I have spent half of my life living in two European countries: Italy and England. There are enormous differences between these 2 nations’ cultures and every time I visit them, I am reminded of these differences. They range from very obvious things such as body language, mannerisms and fashion, to more subtle differences such as sense of humour, sense of community and attitudes to work.
The key point I am trying to make here is that these differences affect the behavior of organizations within any given country and the behavior of the people within those organizations. In other words, an Italian company will reflect the cultural values of Italy and its people and an English company…you get the point.
Of course, there are ‘global’ practices: protocols and procedures to which international companies often try to adhere to. Scratch below the surface however and you will find that things are very different; the internal dynamics of a company are dictated by the cultural framework of the country it originates from.
Understanding and appreciating that framework will undoubtedly give you a professional advantage: being able to strike a more meaningful and understanding relationship with international business partners, means being able to do better business with them.
The interesting thing is that until we leave our native countries and come into contact with other cultures, we often remain oblivious to our uniqueness and to the differences that exist between our culture and those of other nations. Take any chance you have to go overseas and to experience ‘the foreign’: not only will you learn something about other cultures, you will also learn something about your own.
Parochialism and ethnocentricity have no place in a truly international company that wants to make the whole world its market place and the global population its customers.
“The level of thinking that got you to where you now are will not get you to where you dream of being.”
Albert Einstein
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VOCABULARY DEFINITIONS
Falsehoods: noun – something which is not true, false. Oversimplification: verb – the action of making something too simple. Subtle: adjective – not easy to see, understand or perceive. To draw an example from: phrasal verb – to use an example from something; usually something we have experienced directly or indirectly. To hold a belief: phrasal verb – to believe something. To adhere to: verb – to stay attached to. In this case, ‘to try to do’. Dynamics: noun – motivating or driving forces. Oblivious: adjective – unaware, unconscious. Ethnocentricity: noun – belief in the natural superiority of one’s own social group or nation. Parochialism: noun – excessive narrowness of interest or view.
PEGL SupplementのBusiness Book Club
《ビジネス洋書をみんなで読む》コースで
９月から読み始める次回指定図書をご紹介いたします。
９月から１１月の３ヶ月間は以下の本を読んでいきます：
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タイトル：The Blue-Eyed Salaryman: From World Traveller to Lifer at Mitsubishi
著者：Naill Murtagh
出版社：Profile Books
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The story describes the new soccer ball being introduced by Adidas for use at the South Africa World Cup this year (June 11 to July 11). In general, sports stories use adjectives more often than business news stories do in order to convey the excitement (or lack thereof) in some game. However, today’s story uses them to excess.
Adjectives modify nouns. That is, instead of just saying “we had an increase in costs”, we can indicate the size and rate of the increase as follows:
a slight increase
a steady increase
a dramatic increase
a lightning increase
a massive increase
an ignorable increase
For the World Cup soccer ball story, various soccer players complained about the behavior of the ball as it flies through the air. The problem is that the ball doesn’t fly in a straight line, making it unpredictable for the players trying to send it where they want. Some of the quotes are:
It’s very weird
It’s very bad
It’s incredible
It’s supernatural
It’s terrible
It’s especially bad
(this is) new technology
“It’s sad that that such an important competition like the World Cup has such an important element like this ball of appalling condition”.
(the ball is ) radically new
(the ball will have) an exceptionally stable flight and perfect grip
Adjectives add color, excitement and energy to a news story, so they are integral to the “reporter’s toolkit”. In other words, when we read newspaper stories, we will find adjectives everywhere.
As you read the English newspapers this week, try to find other examples of adjectives that the writer chose to use to enhance their articles.
※Unfortunately, this story is original to the Daily Yomiuri press, and they chose to print it only in the paper version of their newspaper. It is not available online to non-subscribers.
There is a stereotype that women love gossip, in- or outside the workplace, but the truth is that men also love to gossip as well. Rumors can start due to speculation about a person, a situation or particular event, and the danger of rumors is that they sometimes can spiral out of control (get out of control), even to the point of affecting working relations. There is a game that we sometimes play that serves as an example of how information can be changed as it is spread to many people. It is called “Telephone” in the United States, though it is not only known by that name. In Telephone, a group of people share information by passing it on one person at a time. The game starts with one person whispers a particular phrase or sentence to another person, and that person shares with another person and so on. The important part of the game is that each person spreads the information by telling another person. The point of the game is to see if the information changes by the time it gets to the last person. If the information is different by the time it gets to the last person then it is an example of how information can become gossip or a rumor.
Some common phrases that start sentences are:
“I heard that…”
“Is it true that…”
“Rumor has it, …”
“The word is…”
“Did you hear (about)…?”
Words that you may commonly hear used in discussions about rumors and/or gossip are: “rumor”, “gossip”, “scandal”, “controversy”, “affair”, etc. That is not to say that if you hear these words they will be in the context of actual gossip, but oftentimes they are used in such a context. Some topics which are often related to rumors are: people’s personal lives/relationships, promotions, staff changes, disputes, opinions about people, etc.
In order to not become responsible for spreading gossip, it is good to give noncommittal responses whenever someone relates it to you. This will indicate that you are not interested in participating in the gossiping.
Some good phrases to use are:
“Oh, I see.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Who did you get that from?”
If you would like to cut the person off (stop the person) from talking about the rumors or gossip, perhaps you can try these phrases:
“Maybe we shouldn’t talk about it.”
“It should go no further.”
“I don’t feel comfortable talking about (that/it).”
“That’s not appropriate.”
“Do you have any proof?”
“That’s hearsay.”
“It’s none of my business.”
This is important so that you do not take the conversation any further.
Below is a good conversation:
[Bill] Did you hear the news?
[Lewis] What news?
[Bill] Apparently Peter and Alice are dating. He just got his divorce finalized two months ago.
[Lewis] Oh, I see.
[Bill] Do you think they were dating while he was married? Maybe that’s why he got divorced.
[Lewis] It’s none of my business. Maybe we shouldn’t talk about it.
In this situation, if Lewis had repeated the information he got from Bill to someone else, he would also be spreading the rumor. To “spread rumors” or “spread gossip” means “to tell others rumors” or “to tell others gossip”. If Peter or Alice knew that Bill was spreading gossip about them, they would probably be angry. Such a situation, especially in a business environment, can lead to problems.
Please take care to only relate factual information about a situation, and do not rely on hearsay (rumors/gossip) for forming your opinions. If told gossip, it is best to not let it continue on by telling it to someone else!
China has been suffering from increased costs for buying property for housing. Families saving up money to buy land to build a house on are discovering that the cost of land is rising faster than their savings are growing. To combat this inflation, the Chinese government passed various laws to restrict who can buy and sell land, and how often the land can be traded. These “moves”, or attempts to control land cost increases, have made it very difficult for middle-class families to buy a house.
This brings us to one specific sentence in the article:
“But soaring property prices in China – and a series of moves by the Chinese government to rein them in – are throwing a spanner in the (woman’s) plans”.
The American version of this phrase is to throw a monkey wrench into the works (or, into the plans).
During world war two, it was common for soldiers on one side of the fighting to damage (or sabotage) the machines used by the other side. One such way of sabotaging a machine was to drop a wrench or hammer into its motor, engine, or gear box. The wrench would cause the gears, pistons or other moving parts to be severely damaged and very difficult to repair. Hence, to throw a wrench into the works means “to affect a plan or project so that it is difficult to meet deadlines or to be completed according to the schedule”.
A monkey wrench is an old style of wrench with one end (or “jaw”) that is adjustable. In England, the monkey wrench is called a spanner. So, “throwing a spanner in the works” and “throwing a monkey wrench in the works” means the same thing.
It should be easy to see why dropping a wrench like this into a machine would be a bad thing.
When you read the English newspapers, try to find other examples of plans or deadlines being disrupted.
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※Unfortunately, this story is original to the Daily Yomiuri press, and they chose to print it only in the paper version of their newspaper. It is not available online to non-subscribers.
