3/5 (Wed.) 〜 3/7 (Fri.)

実践ビジネス英語　　　Wednesday, March 5

1) Pearson introduces Pat MacMillan who will soon transfer from H&B’s London office to its New York office. MacMillan says he hasn’t found an apartment in New York that he likes yet. And Pearson explains that MacMillan was asked to serve H&B’s new brand manager when a qualified candidate couldn’t be found locally. MacMillan says it's an honor to join the H&B staff on this side of Big Pond, an expression Umemura is unfamiliar with.

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Separated by a Common Language (１）

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2) allow me to introduce: This is a polite way to introduce someone. Pearson also could have said, "Kay, Seiji, let me introduce Pat McMillan." This would be a little less formal. Or "May I introduce Pat McMillan?" This would be more deferential towards Kay and Seiji, and it might be more natural for a subordinate to say it to a boss. "Mr. Jones, may I introduce Helen Smith?"

3) familiarize: Make familiar with something, in other words. You can say things like, "I spent the morning 'familiarizing' myself with the new computer system." Or "I tried to 'familiarize' myself with local culture before visiting a new country."

4) welcome aboard: Welcome to the company, Breakstone is saying, as if MacMillan has gotten on the same ship, train, whatever with the other employees. You can use this when someone joins a variety of groups: a team, a club, a movement of some kind.

5) promising lead on: In this case, a "lead" is information that may guide you to something beneficial, something useful. It's leading you to something good, something you want. Let's say, you hear about a good used car available at a reasonable price. You could say, "I've got a good 'lead' on a used car." Or "He's got a 'lead' on a job in publishing."

6) strike someone's fancy: Appeal to someone's preferences, their desires. You can say things like, "I went shopping for a present but I didn’t see anything that 'struck my fancy.'" "Catch one's fancy" is another way to say this. "I went looking for a new briefcase but nothing 'caught my fancy.'"

7) locally: In New York, Pearson means, or around that area. You'll also hear terms like "local hire." And this refers to someone hired from the same area, as opposed to someone a company would have to bring in from another location. A foreign company in Tokyo might look for local hires because it would be cheaper than transferring someone in from the United States.

8) step into the breach: This is to do some work, fulfill some responsibility when someone else can't do it or won't do it. This expression uses "breach" in a sense of a gap made in a military defects. So I if I "step into the breach" I act like a soldier filling that gap. Let's say, the chief editor my paper calls in sick one morning and my supervisor says to me, "Heather, could you 'step into the breach,' act as chief editor today?"

9) The Big Pond: As Pearson says after this, this is a British term for the Atlantic Ocean. "Pond" originally refers to a body of water, smaller than a lake. Fishing pond is a very common expression, for example.

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実践ビジネス英語　　　Thursday, March 6

1) Pearson says Canadian English is influenced by both British and American English and recalls how his father insisted on what he considered correct English. MacMillan and Breakstone agree that British and American English are quite different. And MacMillan describes his initial shock at being told "shut up" by an　American realtor. He says the realtor quickly explained that Americans sometimes use that term ironically.

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Separated by a Common Language (2)

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2) Canuck: This means a Canadian, according to my dictionary, especially a French Canady. I was wondering what the origin is, but apparently it is unknown.

3) stickler for: When you are a "stickler for" something, you insist on it, you think it's very important, as if you stick resolutely to that thing. So if I say, "Trevor is a real 'sticker for' punctuality," then he is always punctual himself and wants everyone else to be punctual, too. Or "She is a real 'stickler' when it comes to honesty. That's someone who believes that honesty is extremely important and should always be observed.

a stickler for grammar = 文法にうるさい人
a stickler for spelling = つづりにうるさい人
a stickler for punctuality = 時間に厳しい人

4) Americanism: Pearson is using this to mean English expressions that are distinctly American. Apparently, "wet behind the ears," for example, is an Americanism. This means inexperienced and often young, but when I said it to a British man a few years ago, he didn't understand me.

5) a million and a half: Americans mean 1.5 million when we say this. But Pearson's father would probably say, "It sounds like one million point five." We use this construction with many different amounts and time periods. "We've released three new products in the last 'year and a half,'" for example. Or "He was 'an hour and a half' late to the conference."

150万のことを
a million and a half ⇒ アメリカ
one and a half million ⇒ イギリス

6) Blighty: This is a British expression meaning England. Apparently, it comes from a Hindi word, "bilayati." Please forgive me if I’m pronouncing that incorrectly, which means the country.

7) steep learning curve: McMillan means a tough leaning experience, one that involves leaning a lot of new things quickly. The image here is climbing a very steep graph as if it were a steep hill. You could say, " Figuring out this new software is a pretty 'steep learning curve.' It's so different from our previous software."

8) be taken aback: This means to be shocked, astonished. Imagine moving backward in strong reaction to something. For example, "She 'was taken aback' by his foul language." According to my idiom dictionary, this expression comes from sailing. In the 18th century, a ship "was taken aback," it's stalled when the wind changed and pushed the sails back against the mast.

9) shut up: Yes, the realtor probably said it like, "shut up" or "SHUT up." This means you are kidding, no, things like that. Imagine someone tells you they get up at 5 a.m. every morning to run 15 kilometers. You might reply, "Shut up. That is some serious exercise."

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実践ビジネス英語　　　Friday, March 7

1) Umemura says learning the nuance of American slang can be quite difficult but that he's gradually gotten used to American slang. MacMillan tells him that "gotten" has fallen out of use in Britain and that he's heard the term "awesome" many times since he arrived in America. Umemura says he's confused by the use of the word "sick" to indicate approval. And Breakstone explains that it's a very new piece of slang that means cool.

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Separated by a Common Language (3)

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2) get out of here: As Breakstone says, this often means "No, I don't believe that." Or "No kidding!" If someone said to me, "I own a hundred pairs of shoes," I could reply, "Get out of here." Or, let's say a colleague tries to trick me, tell me that work will start at 7 a.m. from now on. "Get out of here."

3) slang: "Slang" has become a Japanese word too, hasn't it? We also have the adjective "slangy," which refers to using "slang" or sounding like "slang." You might tell a new employee, for example, "fresh out of college." You need to speak more formally in business settings. Your speech is too "slangy" right now. Or you shouldn't use abbreviations like FYI in business emails. They are too "slangy."

4) give someone a funny look: It's common in English to differentiate between the meanings of "funny" to say something like, "It was 'funny' strange. You are not funny, ha ha." And MacMillan is using this to mean look at someone like you think their behavior is odd or strange. It could also mean give someone a look that the recipient thinks is odd.” I might say, "He 'gave me a funny look' when he got off the train. I don’t know what he was thinking."

5) And it could also be used "give someone a funny look" to mean a look that makes them laugh that they think it's humorous. Let's say I tried to cook, and my husband's face says. "Oh, boy! Get the fire extinguisher ready." I'd say later, "He 'gave me the funniest look' like he was terrified."

6) fall out of use: Stop being used, MacMillan means. VHS tapes gradually "fell out of use" after DVDs were introduced, for example. Also in America, I'd say the expression "not my cup of tea" has largely "fallen out of use."

7) kosher: Originally, this refers to food that conforms with Jewish dietary laws. However, MacMillan is using it to mean proper, acceptable. I'd say it's most often used in the expression "not be kosher," not be acceptable in other words or proper, such as, "In the United States, pointing with your middle finger is not 'kosher.'"

8) I can't tell you how many times: We use this when something happens very often. Like it's so often, we can’t keep track, things like, "'I can't tell you how many times' I've forgotten my train pass at home." Or "'I can't tell you how often' I've heard that excuse."

9) sick: I guess this is like Japanese kids saying "yabai" to mean something good. From what people in the States tell me, it's mostly used by young people and often about things like technology, equipment or some extreme action. So you might say, "What a 'sick' car!" Or Someone might say to a skateboarder, "That was a 'sick' move."

10) cutting-edge: If something is "cutting-edge," it represents the very latest development of something. It's at the very forefront. Think of being on the sharp side of a blade, the side that cuts through something, moves ahead. We also say "on the cutting edge," in which case there's no hyphen between "cutting" and "edge," things like, "This hospital is on the 'cutting edge' of cancer research." Or "That automaker is on the cutting edge' of hybrid technology.

【原稿チェック： Sei Shimura】
【ディクテーション： Sanae】