Japanese English
I have been studying English since I was in junior high school. Still now, my English is not perfect and sometimes I am confused with "English made in Japan."
There are many words which seem to be English to Japanese people, but English speaker do not understand what they mean.
- "salaryman" (office worker)
- "American coffee" (weak coffee)
- "American dog" (corn dog)
- "all back" (swept back hair)
- "baby car" (stroller)
- "ball pen" (ballpoint pen)
- "sharp pencil" (mechanical pencil)
- "bed town" (commuter town)
- "cheer girl" (cheerleader)
- "consent" (electric socket)
- "cooler" (air conditioner)
- "freeter" (a permanent casual worker)
- "guardman" (security guard)
- "hello work" (job center)
- "jet coaster" (roller-coaster)
- "paper driver" (a person with a driving licence who rarely drives)
Maybe these words look weird to English native speakers, but they are very useful for Japanese people!
I haven't think deeply through these words before, but when I think about them, they are so funny. I understand both Japanese and English meaning, but I wonder how non-Japanese speakers would think! Another word that I came up is "magic tape" (velcro).
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