Postal Workers

Notes from the IK Class:

郵便局員

×　 post officer; post office staff
◎　postal worker

Sample Dialog:

外国人：	How do you buy a stamp to mail to the States?
日本人：	Just take your letter to the post office, and the postal worker will tell you how much to pay for the postage.

Don't fix it if it ain't broke.
Don't fix it if it ain't broken.
Don't fix it if it isn't broke.
Don't fix it if it isn't broken.
If it's not broken, don't fix it.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
If it ain't broken, don't fix it.

• 壊れていないものを修理するな。／《諺》触らぬ神にたたりなし。／へたにかき回すな。
• 壊れていないなら直すな。
• 機能しているシステムなどを下手にいじると、かえって問題が生じるという意味。
• まだ問題になっていないのに解決しようとして頭を痛めるな。

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References:

1. 英辞郎第三版
2. CD-The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
3. American Postal Workers Union
4. Canadian Union of Postal Workers

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Gibberish Baggy Anniversary

Notes from the SA Class

Here are some vocabulary that came up in the SA class:

• gobbledygook, gobbledegook: (noun) Unclear, wordy jargon
• 分かりにくい言葉、ややこしい言葉、たわ言、ナンセンス、役所言葉[官庁用語], 回りくどくてチンプンカンプンの表現, 冗長で分かりにくい文言, 文字化けした文
  

When I opened the page with Internet Explorer, all the characters were gobbledygook.

• gibberish: 1. Unintelligible or nonsensical talk or writing. 2. Highly technical or esoteric language. 3. Unnecessarily pretentious or vague language.
• わけのわからない言葉[文, 話]
  

When I opened the page with Internet Explorer, all the characters were gibberish.

• anniversary: 1. The annually recurring date of a past event, especially one of historical, national, or personal importance: a wedding anniversary; the anniversary of the founding of Rome. 2. A celebration commemorating such a date.
• an ～ (～周年)記念, ～周年祭; ～周年記念の, 例年の
  

×　We are especially busy this year because it is the 30 years birthday of our company's Mashi brand products.

◎　We are especially busy this year because it is the 30th anniversary of our company's Mashi brand products.

• baggy: Bulging or hanging loosely: baggy trousers.
• だぶだぶの、袋のような、垂れ下がった
  

Baggy pants are easy to move in.
Baggy pants are more comfortable to where when I play sports or do some work outside.

Additional Phrases that came up in class:

• "cease and desist" letter: 使用停止を求める文書
• You betcha! (You bet!): 確かにそうです。／そのとおりです。／もちろん。
  

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References:

1. CD-The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
2. 英辞郎第三版
3. CD-ビジネス技術 実用英語大辞典

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Maybe vs Might and May vs Might

Notes from the YT Class:

• Vocabulary
• maybe: 多分, おそらく, もしかすると
• might: おそらく～だろう, ～かもしれない, 可能性がある
• may: おそらく～だろう, ～かもしれない, 可能性がある
  

A student from one of today's classes brought up the subject of using "might" and "maybe" in a past tense sentence. Although there are exceptions, here are some simple rules that you can use.

Although "maybe" can be used to indicate a 50/50 chance of something happening in the simple past, simple present, or simple future, "might" can only be used to indicate a 50/50 chance of something happening in the simple future.

Examples of maybe and might:

Simple Past	Simple Present	Simple Future
Maybe he studied English.	Maybe he studies English.	Maybe he will study English.
---	---	He might study English.

Unlike the examples above, may and might can be used interchangeably for the following tenses:

Past Perfect	Present Continuous	Future Continuous
He may have studied English yesterday.	He may be studying English now.	He may be studying English (tomorrow).
He might have studied English yesterday.	He might be studying English now.	He might be studying English (tomorrow).

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References:
1. CD-The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
2. CD-ビジネス技術 実用英語大辞典

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This work is licensed under a
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