English is a hard language, especially for some Japanese people. The grammar is different. The pronunciation is different. And sometimes, the textbooks are strange.
Please be aware that Iâm not talking about so-called âEngrishâ. Often, thatâs the result of syntax errors (i.e. using Japanese sentence structure or literal translations in English). Making fun of that is not coolâespecially seeing how native English speakers can blurt out some truly odd Japanese sentences.
Also, Iâm not talking about the English books aimed at adults or geeks that teach profanity or adult lingo on purpose.
No, what Iâm talking about are textbooks with English sentences that are technically correct, but either make no sense or simply seem out of place. In these textbooks, Japanese sentences are typically written under the English examples, and those sound pretty strange, too. Itâs like the textbooks are trolling the students.
Other times, such as below, the textbooks are âtoo easyâ.
These photos are apparently from a college entry-level English textbook. When the pics originally appeared on 2ch, Japanâs largest forum, the textbook was widely ridiculed for being way too simple. Know that Japanese people must start studying English from junior high school and need to take an English language exam to get into college.
The textbooksâ shortcomings are blamed partly for the inability of the countryâs education system to churn out skilled English students. But online, some have a good sense a humor about all this. When people in Japan find funny and peculiar things in textbooks, they might post them online to share and snicker.
Most of the examples below puzzle native English speakers as well as Japanese people, because the sentences sound strange or the pictures are oddly humorous.
Have a look. You might have seen some of these before, including one I previously posted:
âI would rather eat a book than eat your cooking!â does sound like a badass thing to say after a fight.
2ch, 2cham, AKB48g, ăăăĄă, ăăăżlog, ç èŻăŻăç””ăăç·Žçżäž, æ„ć ćźé ćçăăă°, 2ch, ăăă, ăăă, riekkunti, ăă¶ăăŒ@C84èĄăăăäŒć Ž, ćŠčăăă, ăăăă, ççŹăăčă
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