ANMI English Tips & Tools

2008-02-23

X-Box 360, PlayStation, Nintendo Wii

Since Toshiba pulled out of the high definition (HD) digital versatile disc (DVD) market, it looks like Sony's Blu-ray Disc will finally become the industry standard. Too bad for the folks who bought a HD DVD player. Since Sony lost the VHS vs. Betamax format war that started in the mid-1970s, winning the HD DVD vs. Blu-ray Disc format war must be very satisfying to the Sony Corporation.

In a related matter, the Microsoft Xbox 360 console has been shipped to the market with HD DVD compatibility, where the PSP3 console has been shipped with Blu-ray Disc compatibility.

This brings me to today's topic. How do you say ビデオゲーム、テレビゲーム、ファミコン、etc., in English?

Originally, the first video game consoles were released in the U.S. market in the late 1970s according to Wikipedia. Although The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition acknowledges the term, "video game," which is defined as, "An electronic or computerized game played by manipulating images on a video display or television screen."

Besides the term video game, we also use the term TV game in English as well. However, note that video game can refer to game consoles that can be played on on a TV or a computer video display, where TV games refers only to game consoles that can be played on a TV.

The phrase, Family Computer software (ファミコン), however, never really caught on in the English language. So, when enjoying your Xbox 360, PSP3, or Wii, be sure to use the term video game when talking about your favorite games in English.

I am not into video games, so if you have some ideas or comments related to today's topic, feel free to click on the link below and leave a comment!

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2008-02-16

In-Laws

How would you say 義理の親（配偶者の父または母）in English?

Some native English speakers might say, "parent-in-laws," which sounds natural to some ears, but the correct form is "parents-in-law." However, if you drop "parents," you can say "in-laws" which would include everybody: father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, etc.

Here is a short list of other nouns that have irregular plural forms:

・ father-in-law → fathers-in-law (義理の父)
・ mother-in-law → mothers-in-law (姑、義母)
・ brother-in-law → brothers-in-law (義理の兄弟、義兄、義弟)
・ sister-in-law → sisters-in-law (義理の姉)
・ attorney general → attorneys general or attorney generals (検事総長)
・ secretary-general → secretaries-general (事務総長)

Be careful with the usage of dashes. All of these nouns need a dash except for attorney general.

References:
1.
CD-The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language

2.

Browse FAQs | Ask a Question | Answer Questions

3.
英辞郎第三版

Disclaimer

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.1 Japan License.

2008-01-08

Notes from the January 7, 2007, KM Class

Today's keywords are お年玉 and 田舎.

In Japan, parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts give young children and teenagers small envelopes of cash called otoshidama (お年玉) during the New Year's holidays.

Here are some examples of using お年玉 in English sentences.

Japan Wikipedia

I gave my nieces and nephews small envelopes of cash as a New Year's gift.
My son got 1,000 yen from his grandmother as a New Year's gift.

In Japanese, the word inaka (田舎) can be translated as hometown. Additionally, the word can also be defined as rural, rural area, or countryside.

Here are some examples of the word 田舎 in a few English sentences.

I went to my company's factory in a rural area in Tottori Prefecture.
I visited my wife's hometown in a rural town called Gamagori in Aichi Prefecture.

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.1 Japan License.