カテゴリー：未分類

3 July 2017

How do you say “GIF”? 

One of the areas of concern when learning a foreign language is if we are pronouncing the words correctly, indeed incorrect pronunciation can lead to an embarrassing situation and we all want to avoid those. Of course, we are aware that there may be subtle differences in pronunciation can depend on accent and location. There has been some debate on the pronunciation of the term “GIF”, the term itself is an acronym and more common than it’s full name: Graphics Interchange Format. These images are very popular on the internet and many companies use them for logos, marketing, games and small animations. But how is the term actually pronounced?

Many dictionaries indicate that there are two pronunciations that are acceptable:

1. The soft “g” (think of gym or giraffe)
2. The hard “g” (think of gift or game)

Although the creators of the technology use the soft “g”, recent surveys have indicated that the majority of people pronounce the term with the hard “g” sound. So don’t worry if you meet someone that pronounces it differently, you are both correct!

We tend to view silence (especially in the Western world) as mere absence of speech—but in reality, silence can be a powerful tool of communication.

Indeed, it can convey much information that language fails to do. It is a kind of nonverbal communication and it can express a wide range of emotions and feelings that go from happiness, joy, and embarrassment to anger, grief, denial, fear, and withdrawal of acceptance.

Additionally, silence is also a tool to enforce etiquette and social standards and a way to communicate agreement or disagreement.

The importance of silence is recognized by all cultures in the world; traces of its significant role in the communicative context can be found in sayings such as “speech is silver, but silence is golden” or the Chinese maxim, “silence is better than eloquence.” However, silence becomes a real philosophy when we move to the Far East, especially in Japanese culture.

I have nothing but respect for some up-and-coming stars that I see on the news these days. I’m sure you’ve all heard about Fujii, the 14 year old shogi genius who has been on a record-breaking winning streak. It’s hard to believe that he has not lost a single game since becoming a professional player. I’ve been told that shogi is a complicated version of chess and that games are generally longer. Good on him!

Then last month, Horimoto- another young lad, aged 13 at the time made headlines by defeating an Olympic bronze medalist at the World Table Tennis Championships. I was able to watch some of the highlights on television and his performance was simply amazing.

The next summer Olympics will be held in Tokyo, so I see the media covering a lot of potential athletes such as sprinter Sani Brown (18), table tennis players Miu Hirano (17) and Mima Ito (16), and swimmer Rikako Ikee (16).

It takes passion and pure dedication to reach that high level of fitness and competitiveness, and that is something I truly admire about these young athletes.

What’s in a colour?

Have you ever considered the meaning of a colour? Colours can have a big impact on our impressions of people, places and objects. We associate certain personality types with clothing colours, the atmosphere of an environment by the decor colours and how some objects should be used by the colour of some objects. Here are some common meanings in the UK, are they the same in Japan?

Red: commonly associated with physical representations. This colour indicates power, strength, warmth and energy. Although sometimes it can indicate aggression and defiance.

Blue: commonly associated with intellectual representations. This colour denotes trust, efficiency, serenity and calm. However, it can also indicate a lack of emotional connection and coldness.

Yellow: commonly associated with the emotions. This colour indicates confidence, optimism, friendliness and creativity. Although it can also be associated with fear, depression and anxiety.

Green: commonly associated with balance. This colour denotes harmony, refreshment, reassurance and peace. However, it can be associated with boredom and stagnation.

Violet: commonly associated with spiritual representations. This colour signifies authenticity, quality and vision. Although sometimes it indicates suppression and inferiority.

What does your favourite colour mean?

I’ve taken up Sudoku again recently. It helps keep me awake and pass the time especially while I’m commuting to work on the train. Before console games and smartphones were invented I loved doing brain teasers, putting together jigsaw puzzles, and playing card games and board games with family and friends. My favourite games were and still are Monopoly, Boggle, and Pictionary.
I’ve never been the type to play games on my tablet, so I don’t play Sudoku electronically, but on paper. This number-placement puzzle is a brain stimulating activity that I do daily to sharpen my mind – or so I tell myself. I can’t actually prove that it does, but it helps me unwind and moreover I get a sense of satisfaction once I complete the puzzle within a set time limit.
One game that I aim to learn someday is a traditional Japanese game called Hanafuda. I have no idea how to play it, but the pictures on the cards are really pretty. 🙂
Do you know how to play it? Could you teach me?