Hello everyone! Welcome to E-com Monthly Intro to American culture.
I'm Heather.
And I'm Marcellus.
And it's summertime! It's...
Woo-hoo!
It's August, which means it's summer vacation in Japan.
So, we thought we'd like to talk a little bit about summer vacation in America.
That's right.
Yeah, so, summer vacation in America is much longer than Japan.
It depends where you live and if you go to private or public school.
So, typically, summer vacation is from May until August.
Or June to September.
Yeah, that's right.
And I think in the North, it tends to be the later, June to September, I think.
And in the South, or private schools, maybe May to August. Ummm, but, ummmm...
Yeah, it's really tough, I don't...
We're not sure what the actual system is.
I know that she's right and in the North, it tends to be June to September.
But in my hometown, for example, it was June to September for public school
and I went to private school, so for us it was from May 'til August was summer vacation.
Yeah, we were trying to think about what the reason for the difference in the summer vacation times could be.
One may be there are a lot of very popular places to go for summer vacation.
So, by spreading the time out, maybe these places don't get as crowded at one time.
Maybe that's one reason.
That is actually a good reason.
And you had another good reason.
Well, I heard, and I'm not sure how true this is,
but back in the old days, summer vacation was created, at least the time frame for summer vacation was created,
so that students could go home and help their parents with farm work.
Because, back then America had lots and lots of farms.
And so, beginning of summer was a time when you planted the crops and by August or September,
depending on the region that you're in, harvest time comes and you collect all the vegetables,
and then, when that's done, you go back to school.
Okay, yeah, so that sounds like a very reasonable, traditional reason for the difference in times.
But, I don't know about it, but it is summer vacation.
That's right.
So, are you ready?
Woo-hoo!
Let's get started!
Alright, welcome back! This month, our topic is communicating in America.
Mmmm, that's right. And we have three key words for you.
The first one is: multi-lingual.
The second one is: joke.
And the third one is: body language.
That's right. Now, multi-lingual, what can you tell our viewers about multi-lingual?
Well, "lingual" is talking about how many languages you can speak.
So we have, bilingual, means two languages and multi-lingual means three, two or more, I guess.
That's right.
But maybe usually, we're saying three, four, five languages.
Yeah, and I guess, not many Americans speak more than one language.
That's right. Although, in America, there are many people coming from South America.
So, now, Spanish is becoming more popular in America.
So, in the Southern states especially, and also in the West, in New Mexico and California,
you can see a lot of places where you can see English written and here,
announcements in English, but also in Spanish as well.
That's right. Spanish is quickly becoming a second language and,
actually, many people don't know this, but America doesn't have an official language.
Really!?
Did you know?
No, I didn't.
It's just a traditional belief and understanding that we use English,
but it's not written down as being an official language.
My god, maybe we should make Japanese the official language.
Maybe.
Also, did you know this?
We talked about Spanish, but if you go to New Orleans, then a lot of people there speak French.
Uh-huh. Or Creole.
That's right, which is a blending of, like, French and English and some older African words as well.
Yeah.
Pretty interesting.
There's a kind of funny joke about Americans and language and these guys forced me to tell you, so I'm gonna tell you.
What do you call a person who speaks three languages? Trilingual.
What do you call a person who speaks two languages? Bilingual.
And what do you call a person who speaks only one language?
American.
And it's a funny joke.
That's right.
But, we have to say it's a stereotype, right.
That means we think it's funny or many people believe Americans only speak one language,
but that's a stereotype, because it's not true, right.
Many Americans speak two or more languages.
That's right. Because, as we remember from earlier broadcasts,
America's a melting pot, which means there are many people from all over the world
who have immigrated to America and they bring their languages with them.
So, a lot of people speak Japanese, or French, or Spanish, or Chinese.
There's a big Chinese community in America, actually.
So, wherever you go, depending on the city, you can find yourself speaking or hearing more than just English.
Now, that brings us to our second key word, which is joke.
Sometimes language makes it hard for us to understand jokes.
For example, this joke, typical American joke, right.
Two fish are swimming in the water. One fish hits a wall and the other fish says, "Dam(n)."
So this joke is an example of a typical American joke.
I wonder if they got it...
We love using jokes with pun.
And a pun is using one word that has two meanings.
Right, so, in this case, we had the word "dam(n)", which on the one hand,
it means the wall in the river or in the lake, that's the wall stops the water.
That's right.
And the wall is called a dam.
And the other meaning of "dam(n)" is kind of, like, "Oh no!".
That's right. It's an expression of intense surprise.
That's right.
Damn!
But be careful using that word, because you can't use that word in front of your boss,
if you're working in America or in front of your friends' parents,
if you're a student visiting America.
So, be a little bit careful.
Right.
Uh, and then, the last key word I have on the list is body language.
And, tell us a little bit about body language.
Well, body language is an easy way to communicate.
If you don't know the English or you don't know the word,
then your body language can really help to express what you want to say.
That's right.
Yes, so if your English is really not so great, please don't hesitate, don't worry, just use your body.
Yeah, so, where, where is the cafe? or something, right.
That's right.
So don't be embarrassed, just use your body language.
And body language can be very powerful to express friendliness, so don't be afraid to smile, to be friendly to people.
If you are upset or unhappy, for example, the taxi driver didn't give you your change back,
you can use body language to express anger.
Where's my money?!
So, body language also is an important part of communicating.
Yeah, and the body language is just like language, it differs with the culture or the place.
So, American body language may be different from Japanese body language.
So, it's something you'll want to do some research on before you try to use it. Right?
That's right.
So, for example, money in Japanese, money in English.
And this, in English, may mean, okay, you can keep the change.
That's right, okay, right? Okay. So...
Anyway, see you next time!
Bye-bye.
Alright everyone, that's all we have for today.
It's summertime, which means it's a perfect time to travel abroad.
If you're going to an American or English speaking country,
you can practice your English and your body language as you travel, okay.
And if you're stuck in Japan, well, it's a good chance
to meet some English-speaking travellers who are visiting Japan.
So, don't be afraid to help them out and to go talk to them.
And that's all we have for today, we'll see you next time.
Bye-bye.