7.1 Greetings and introducing yourself — Epoché
What you will be able to do Greet somebody at any time of day, in the right register. State your own name with either of the two verbs, and say which is which. Close an introduction with the formula that has no English equivalent. Take a business card without giving offence. Prerequisites : lessons 6.2 and 4.2 — the words for people and the copula. An English introduction is longer than a Japanese one. English fills the silence — hello, I'm Sarah, nice to meet you, so how do you know Tom? — and Japanese does not; a first exchange can be four short lines and then business. A learner who expects the English shape will keep talking past the end of the Japanese one. What Japanese has instead is a closing formula, and it is the part to learn first, because there is nothing to translate it with. It is in both exchanges below. The first exchange Two colleagues meeting for the first time at work. Polite throughout, and short. Ogawa こんにちは。おがわともうします。 [1] — Hello. My name is Ogawa. Hashimoto わたしははしもとといいます。 [2] — My name is Hashimoto. Ogawa はじめまして、どうぞよろしくおねがいいたします。 [3] — Pleased to meet you. Hashimoto おあいできてうれしいです。 [4] — I am delighted to meet you. Ogawa あなたはどこからきましたか。 [5] — Where do you come from? Hashimoto わたしはブタペストからきました。 [6] — I'm from Budapest. The first two lines use the two different verbs for stating your own name . The first is humble — it lowers the speaker, and it is what you use at work, at a reception desk or on the telephone. The second is plain and neutral and is what you use everywhere else. Both mean my name is ; neither means I am called in any literal sense worth thinking about. The second exchange A party. Still polite, but the lines are shorter and the greeting is dropped. Cyril キリルともうします、はじめまして！ [7] — My name's Cyril; pleased to meet you! Suzuki すずきともうします。 [8] — This is Mr Suzuki speaking. Cyril このまちにきたのははじめてですか。 [9] — Is this the first time that you have come to this town? Suzuki こちらこそ、わたしもおあいできてよかったです。 [10] — Likewise, it was nice to meet you. The third line is a question that will be put to you constantly: is this your first time here? The answer expected is short. Notice that the last line begins with a word meaning on the contrary, it is I who — a single word that returns a compliment, and one of the most useful four syllables in the language. Who is speaking to whom Every line above is in the polite form, and that is correct for a first meeting with anybody. There is no situation in which a stranger is addressed in the plain form, and a learner who has been practising plain forms with a friend should put them away at the door. Inside the polite form there is a second choice, and the two exchanges show it. The verb for stating your name in the first exchange is humble : it does not make the listener higher, it makes the speaker lower, and it is used when you are representing yourself formally — at work, to a customer, on the telephone, in front of a room. The verb in the second exchange is neutral. Using the humble verb at a party is not wrong but sounds like a job interview; using the neutral one at work sounds young. Age and position decide more than familiarity does. Two people who have known each other for ten years will still use the polite form if one is senior, and two strangers of the same age at a party may drop into plain forms within an hour. English decides register by how well you know somebody; Japanese decides it by the relation between you, and the relation is settled in the first minute — which is what the exchange of names and cards is for. Names are surnames. Every name in both exchanges is a surname, and that is the norm: given names are for family, for children and for close friends of long standing. An English speaker who offers a given name on first meeting is being friendly, and the Japanese speaker will use it, and will attach the suffix for politeness to it, which sounds odd to both of you. Offer your surname. Saying it another way Six more lines. The first three are the same question at three levels, and the difference between them is two syllables. Japanese English When おなまえは？ [11] What's your name? asking a name at a counter — short, and fine from somebody whose job it is あなたのおなまえは？ [12] What is your name? the same with the pronoun, a little softer あなたのなまえは？ [13] What is your name? the plain version, between people of the same age またおあいできてうれしい。 [14] Nice to see you. meeting somebody again rather than for the first time おともだちによろしくおつたえください。 [15] Say hello to your friends. closing: pass on my regards to somebody not present ごりょうしんによろしく。 [16] Give my best respects to your parents. the same, shorter, and to a family rather than friends What is going on The closing formula. Every introduction ends with a phrase that means, approximately, please treat me favourably — and no English sentence does its job. It is not nice to meet you , which reports a feeling; it is a request about the future relationship. It is said on meeting somebody, on joining a team, at the start of a piece of work and at New Year. Say it, bow slightly, and do not try to translate it. The business card. If you are meeting anybody in a working context you will be handed a card, and there is a script. Take it with both hands . Read it — actually read it, for two or three seconds. Do not put it in a pocket, and above all do not write on it. If you are sitting down, put it on the table in front of you for the length of the meeting. The card stands for the person, which is why handling it carelessly registers as handling them carelessly; none of this is ceremonial in intent and all of it is noticed. Greetings are by time of day and are not interchangeable. The morning greeting is used until about ten, the midday one until dark, and the evening one after. Using the midday greeting at eight in the morning is a small, clear error. There is also a version of the morning greeting without its polite ending, used downwards and among friends, and it is one of the few greetings with a plain form