"Brett Robson" <info@secret-web.com> wrote in message
news:cgjcsh$u5m$1@nnrp.gol.com...
>
>
> necoandjeff wrote:
>
> > Interesting that you know so much about me and my experiences. Which
part is
> > shit exactly?
>
> You must have gone through a lot of pens and paper writing
> "several thousands" of female given names or did you have a
> special book like a bird watcher? Publishing a bood? Making up or
> exaggerating experiences to support your lame assertions is pathetic.

At worst I made a bad estimate but I don't think several thousand is too
crazy of a number over 17 years time. Work at a Japanese company for a few
years and meet several hundred women, go out to clubs regularly and meet 2
or 3 at least on any given night, play roller blade hockey at Komazawa Koen
2 or 3 times a week for a few years and meet who meet who knows how many
people who pass through the park, meet 10 or so at every large party you go
to in Tokyo, friends, family and co-workers of my wife, friends of friends,
etc. How is that so hard to believe? And I never said I write everyone's
name down or "collect" peoples names, just that I make it a habit to ask
people how they write their names when I meet them. In some cases, I don't
need to ask (like when I was working at Bridgestone and could see their name
tags, when I meet someone professionally and exchange meishi, etc.) Bottom
line: you suggested that I didn't know many Japanese women (apparently
assuming that I was limited to those I may have met here in San Franciso)
but that was a terribly incorrect assumption.

> > Good, so you, like many foreigners, were curious enough about 奈 that
you
> > took the time look it up in a kanwa jiten.
>
> My best friend has that kanji in her given name, the former
> school I worked for also used it. For someone that likes to
> lecture about making assumptions you are pretty quick to do the
> same thing. I think it's about time to tell you to fuck off.

The chances that you know someone with that kanji in her name are pretty
high. That doesn't tell you what it means though, nor will ordinary exposure
to Japanese tell you what it means unless you take the time to actually look
it up. That's also why the majority of Japanese don't know what it means
(and they are so used to seeing it that most don't bother to look it up.)
Foreigners are more tempted to let curiosity get the better of them and look
it up, just as I did about 15 years ago when I met 美奈子. The point is, you
had to look it up (or perhaps ask one of the few people who actually know)
because it is far from intuitive, given the fact that it appears almost
exclusively in names (which usually don't have meanings.)

> > Go ask 100 Japanese what that kanji alone means, then
> > we'll talk.
>
> I asked one and got an answer.

Damn. You should have saved that luck for the takarakuji. Try asking around
a little bit. You'll start to see what I mean.

> > Or, perhaps you mean to suggest that the first of the thousands of women
I
> > referred to above was named "beautiful what child?"
>
> I have already said that these kanji are usually used for there
> sounds alone.

Is that what you're saying? I thought you were saying that names had
meanings because the kanji have meanings. Isn't that why you told me what 奈
"means?"

> > Do you honestly mean to suggest that her parents knew the meaning of
> 奈 and deliberately named her "beautiful what child?"
>
> No but surely you are not suggesting that they used a kanji not
> knowing it's meaning? Ever noticed that the 3 kanji you listed
> (now deleted sorry) are only used for women? MI is very
> occassionly used for men and often gets a giggle.

Yes. I am suggesting that. They knew the meaning of 美 and 子 of course, but
it is quite likely that they didn't know (and didn't care) what 奈 means.

> >
> > And does your friend also suggest that she was actually named zinc
something
> > (assuming she writes her name with 亜)? If that's the case, I'd love to
meet
> > her parents.
>
> Yes that is the correct kanji. Obviously you don't know the word
> for zinc and you didn't look it up. Admittedly the word zinc
> doesn't pop up in general conversation with several thousands of
> Japanese women (watashi ha jeffu desu. anata no onamae ha nan
> desu ka?) but you really should learn it. And the kun-yomi of
> that kanji is interesting too, has a nice nuance to it.

亜鉛 is a word I've known for probably 12 years or so, thank you. 亜 is a
kanji that, outside of 亜鉛, I have known primarily as the "a" in the old
way of writing many geographical names (亜細亜, 亜米利加, 露西亜, etc.) and
the あ used in many Japanese names. What I admittedly did not know (until I
just looked it up) was the meaning of 亜 alone, and I'll bet you'll run into
a lot of Japanese who don't know it either since it mostly appears in names.
But that's exactly my point isn't it?

And seriously, if that gaiginese exchange above is your idea of actual
Japanese, gambare. If you think it is my idea of actual Japanese, I really
don't give a shit.

Jeff