実践ビジネス英語 2008年4月分

The first day in a new company is always a challenge, but with a new country and in a new language, challenge grows. Let’s see how Hiroshi Shiga meets the challenge.

“Welcome aboard” is a phrase usually used on ship, but you can also use it for other vehicles, too. Uh, trains might work. If you said in your car, though, it’d become a bit of a joke, probably because cars are much smaller vehicles than ships. And of course it’s often used to welcome people to a new organization.

Tyson used the word “field” to talk about  group or pool of internal candidates. He could have also said a “gamut” or a “range.” The meanings are slightly different in nuance, so the words you choose would just depend on what point of view you’re using when you say this idea.

And although the word “headquarters” has an ‘s’ on the end, you can use it either as a singular or a plural noun by the choice of your verb, of course. Usually, if it’s talking about location, you use it in the plural, but if you are using it to mean authority — so, for example, you get approval from headquarter(s) — then it tends to be singular.

One way people talk about controlling them is getting butterflies to fly in formation, so it means still nervous but you’re in control of it.

If you’re speaking more formally or if you’re writing rather formally, you probably would substitute “his or her,” instead of “their.”

In the past, the person with the position of administrative assistant was usually called secretary.

In North America, there are five Great Lakes. I think many of the states that surround it, many of the cities nearby often use Great Lakes or the actual names of the lakes to talk about companies and products or things like that. The five lakes are Michigan, Superior, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. They partially form the border between the U.S. and Canada.

Windy City is an old nickname for Chicago. Nobody’s really showed exactly where it comes from. It might be the weather — there’s a lot of wind from the lake. It might be because of all the tall buildings which kind of set up corridors that wind can blow through even when air is still elsewhere.

Finch calls it a kit. She could have called it a packet as well. They’re very similar. A kit sounds a little more like it might include some sort of tools, whether actual tools you pick up and use with your hands or something you read that gives you help. Packet would just imply that it’s papers with information.

If you fill something out, you complete it, a form usually. If you something in, it means you write in the blanks. Most of the time it’s the same result. But “fill out” includes the idea of completion, and “fill in” just focuses on putting something in the blank area, giving answers.

It can be tough starting a new job in the second language. But Shiga’s got it under control. He never hesitates to ask, to be sure he understands.

Finch uses the phrasal verb “drop by.”  She could have said “drop in,” which is similar to visit or  “stop by.” All three of these phrasal verbs mean “visit for a short period.”

Tyson only uses the word “security” to talk about the security department, the security workers, the security policy at the company.

This is a very common phrase that people use when they’re introducing a new employee to the company and other workers. It’s kind of an invitation to ask  her if you have any small detailed questions or large questions as well. She’s probably a good place to start, even if she doesn’t have the answer you’re looking for.

The word “route” (R-O-U-T-E) has another pronunciation /raut/. I think it just depends on where the speaker grew up which one they tend to use, although occasionally a phrase will get one of the pronunciations and everyone will use it that way, like Route 66. I don’t think anybody says /raut/ 66.

Finch also mentions the El station. This is very specific to Chicago. The mass transit system is called the El.

Chicago’s public transport system is probably the second or third largest in the U.S.

Chicago’s located on the south-west tip of Lake Michigan. And the lakeshore plays a large part in city life. There’s beautiful views and the weather is somewhat tempered by having that large lake there.

It’s tough for native speakers to try to speak more simply and directly. They just say what’s in their heads.  So in a case like this, it’s good Shiga asked, “what do you mean, ‘bearing’?”. And Tyson was easily able to explain his meaning. Sometimes it’s very tough, because the idiomatic phrase is the correct phrase for the meaning that you want.

Meeting lots of new coworkers can be a little overwhelming, but Shiga gets a tip how to remember them all.

If the word is something you couldn’t even hear clearly enough to repeat, you could say “My what?”

Generally, if you’re talking about line manager, it means someone with an authority relationship. It’s a kind of a boss. By saying line manager, you don’t know it’s a lower level or higher level manager. You don’t know who’s reporting to them. You don’t know it’s the direct boss, or the boss’s boss, or whatever. But you do know it’s a person with authority.

I think this might be very difficult for many Japanese people, if they haven’t had this kind of experience before, or if they weren’t expecting it, because my impression is that usually in Japan, an organization will take very careful and detailed control of the first few days of a new member. They carefully show them around, they have a structured program for them.

Inter- and intra-  in English are often pronounced similarly, but they need to be spelled differently and they have different meanings. I-N-T-R-A means “within” or “among”. So it’s used for things that are closed to a specific group, so intranet would be the computer network within a company or within a university, or even within your own home if you want build one. Inter- (I-N-T-E-R) is used to talk about things that are “outside” of the group or connecting various groups or organizations. So in the U.S., you have “interstate” highways (I-N-T-E-R), highways that connect the states.

I think if you mention “cunning paper” to English speakers, they’ll just look at you kind of blankly because they’ll understand both words but they won’t know what you mean. Probably in English we say “cheat sheet”, because of the “e” sounds and “t” sounds and “sh” and “ch” are very similar. “Sheet”, of course, means a sheet of paper.

White’ response might sound a little strong, but she’s probably a little surprised by the question.

Please remember in English usually if a word has a -free attached to it, it means “without whatever the previous word was”. You’ll often see fat-free, or cholesterol-free, for example.

Jay Tyson catches himself when he uses another idiom.

Chicago’s famous for having a long and harsh winter. It’s usually quite windy, very cold and it snows a lot.

You can’t count on being snow-free until after Easter.

Many people wonder why is junk e-mail  called spam. It seems to go back to an old British comedy show that was made in the 60s, but is still popular these days. One of the skits they had … (uh) … had a group of people singing, “Spam, spam, spam, spam” in the background when they were trying to drown out other conversations. It was pretty funny. You should try to see it sometime.

“Guise” is related to disguise. Guise is the outward appearance of something or its aspect. It can also means false appearance. Disguise focuses on making or preparing, or the method of presenting, a false appearance.

Please note that in English people usually only say “spam.” They don’t say “spam e-mail” or “spam mail.”

I imagine there’re regulations define what they mean by “excessive”, because otherwise, you know, one person’s “excessive” might be another person’s “fine, thank you.”

This is the phrase that’s often used in the U.S.. It has an interesting history, though. Free lunch used to refer to snacks that bars or saloons would give people if they ordered drinks. The food was free but you did have to buy a drink. So people would talk about free lunch, meaning, I suppose, things like peanuts that you get nowadays or sometimes popcorn if you ordered some beer. So the economic theory states that there is no such thing as a free lunch. If you change “is” to the dialectal “ain’t”, you get T-A-N-S-T-A-A-F-L , TANSTAAFL, which people also use with the same meaning.

“Oops” or “whoops” — it has basically those two pronunciations — is often used by North Americans when they realized they made a small slip.

People use this phrase when they are talking about something else that adds to some sort of trouble or problem. It’s not the main point, but it goes along with the main point.

There are lots of similar phrases using the word “step”. You could say, “Take it one step at a time,” instead of “go one step at a time.” You could say, “Take it step by step,” or you could even say,  “Do it in baby steps,” meaning very small steps.

This is a phrase that often introduces the suggestion or maybe an offer if you’re negotiating.

“Watch out for” is used when you’re reminding someone or warning someone to look out for something bad. You can use the phrase “watch for” without “out”, to tell them to look for something or wait for something neutral or even positive.

If you are warning someone about an approaching object, whether it’s a train or a car or a ball or who knows what, you could also say, “Look out!” or even “Duck!”

Sometimes in memos or in companies, you’ll hear people talking about a “heads-up” or “giving a heads-up”. This is a kind of warning, also.

And finally, there is one very idiomatic that’s used in the U.S.. It comes from .. Uh .. TV show in the 60s, “Danger, Will Robinson.”  As the TV program was about a family in space, having trouble getting back to earth, Will Robinson was the son in the family and the family’s robot would warn him this way. Nowadays, people use the phrase “Danger, Will Robinson” when they notice their friend is about to make a stupid mistake.

S : よろしく。

I : Certainly, nice to be here.

S : So we’ve been discussing the first day in the job in our current vignette. Any thoughts?

I : Well, this certainly is an area of importance from both employees’ and employers’ perspective. Whether they are talking about an internal transferee or new hire, the process of integrating a new employee  is crucial from day one.

S : How did your first day on the job go when you were working in the States?

I : Well, several years ago, I worked at a bank in Boston, my first day wasn’t similar to Hiroshi’s in some respects. I had to fill out the form in the morning, and as my job was in the HR department, the people handling my orientation were my direct colleagues. As the department was in the same area as the other executive offices, so on my first day I was also introduced to the chairman and the president. This’s supposed a bit unusual for a new hire, and you can bet I was on my best behavior. But all in all, it was an informal orientation process, and my colleagues took on-the-job training approach with me.

・　was similar なのか wasn’t similar なのか

S : So, is this the norm for most American companies?

I : Oh, I think this has been changing over the years, and of course it varies by industries and of course by position, but generally speaking, though, HR departments are taking more active role in making sure that new hires acclimate quickly to both their position and to the corporate culture.

S : How are they doing this?

I : Oh, the term that popped up in recent years is “on-boarding”, referring to the first few months of an employee’s tenure at the company, letting them onboard. And the HR division was …. department to set up the smooth transition for the new hire. Of course, this includes the dreaded administrative forms but for many companies, that also includes a comprehensive program from the start that’s designed to give the new hire or new transferee a sense of corporate culture, of  his or her job responsibilities, and just generally, how things work in the location. Now, it may also include a formal meeting at the three to six month mark(?) to check in with the employee to see how he or she is progressing. Some companies also have a “buddy” system for the new hire. They’ll choose someone at the same level, ideally from the same division, to show the new employees ropes. These buddies are often relatively new themselves, perhaps having only been with the company for a few years. They can clearly remember their own first days and are able to sense the immediate needs of the new hire. And  they also may take the lead in organizing a welcome lunch for the new employee, just as Tyson did to Hiroshi in the vignette.

S : A welcome lunch is a great idea, isn’t it?

I : It sure is. And thinking back, it’s really something that I would have appreciated in my jobs in the U.S.. I can’t remember ever having a welcome lunch in my past job in the U.S..  But rather …. it’s up to me to take the initiative to invite colleagues to lunch to get to know them better. I’d like to think my experience with that side is the norm. Actually, one of the things I really like about working for Japanese organizations is that welcome parties are standard here, and seen as an important part of building good relationships with colleagues.

S : Tyson also mentioned corporate policies and gift giving and entertainment. Do most companies have strict regulations about this?

I : Yes, I’d say that most large companies do have detailed regulations and ethics and codes of conduct. A strong code of ethics is good for business, good for the company’s impression and certainly good for preventing legal troubles. The guideline for gifts is common, and this can be a real challenge for global corporations. Gift-giving customs, as you know, vary from culture to culture, and finding the way to balance local customs with the corporate code of ethics can be difficult.

S : In the vignette, Hiroshi thought about the Great Lakes smoke-free environment. This is fairly standard in the U.S. now, isn’t it?

I : Yes, I’d say it’s been the case in most offices for the past twenty years or so. It’s certainly something I took for granted when I started my career. And when I first started working in Japan, I was really surprised that people smoked at their desks. I’m glad to say that this’s changed over a year or two. Now many offices in the U.S. went smoke-free before it was mandatory, but now most states have anti-smoking laws for the work place. And though I was happy to work in a smoke-free office, I always felt a little sorry for my co-workers, who huddled outside in the freezing cold on the … to smoke. This is likely a good incentive for some of them to stop smoking. And many companies have continued to introduce new programs supporting the health and welfare of their employees.

S : Any examples?

I : Companies with cafeterias inside it(?) have introduced a wide variety of healthful menu options. Other workplaces might feature a company gym, or perhaps subsidize the memberships of local health clubs.  New employees usually receive that sort of information during the orientation session on the first day at work.

S : What can employees themselves do to feel that they are part of a team as soon as possible?

I : Well, you know, in the vignette, Hiroshi was given a great piece of advice from Tyson about learning the names and faces of the team members and peers as soon as possible. And whether this is … by looking in the company directory and the Internet or with the help of a buddy in the same department, quickly learning and using the names of your colleagues makes a great first impression on them. Remembering names is very important, and can be challenging, especially if the name is unfamiliar to you. I think it’s helpful to use mnemonic tricks or strategies to help you remember the names and faces easily. For example, I met a man the other day whose last name is Matsui. So I immediately thought of an image of major baseball, so that I could recall his name quickly. Of course, there was a danger that I might call him Ichiro by mistake, but a simpler way of remembering is to try to use the other person’s name a few times in your first conversation with them, and always say it again when you leave them. For example, “It was nice meeting you, Hiroshi.” I found that it really helps the name stick in my memory.  And one of the points about the names: many Japanese expats worry that their names may be difficult for the non-Japanese colleagues to pronounce. They may adopt English nicknames or perhaps have those names given to them by their new colleagues. Now some people don’t mind this, but if you want to keep on your own name, you need to make that clear on the day one, and let your colleagues know how you’d like to be addressed. If you don’t do it clearly at the start, then your nickname will stay with you throughout your time there.

That’s right. I really like this expression. It’s a great way to describe nervous feeling … you get. It’s also kind of cute expression. So I think it is used a bit more by women, but men sometimes do use it as well.

Of course we can’t forget the “Big Apple” for New York. I think just about every major city in US has a nickname. For example, my home town, Philadelphia, is the “City of Brotherly Love”, and Boston, where I also spent a lot of time, is sometimes called “Beantown” or “The Hub”, meaning the center of the universe. So you know that Bostonians are very proud of their city.

You know, “get one’s bearings” is, you know, a great way to explain how you orient yourself, not just to a place, but also to a situation. Now you can also say “lose one’s bearings” to get lost or feel unsettled about something.

This is a great expression when you’re talking about how you need to get organized. And, frankly, this is an expression I use all the time. I really need to get my act together this weekend and organize my house.

Now “brown bag” actually does refer to the bag that we use to put lunch in. But another interesting use of it is talking about a brown bag lecture series of universities or workplaces. So this is when a bunch of co-workers or colleagues get together, invite a guest speaker and learn something new over the lunch break.

Now, this is an interesting expression that was originally related to ships. Crew members needed to show someone the ropes literally, to teach them a complicated process of working with the ropes and knots. But nowadays, we use it in a figurative sense, just meaning to teach someone something, especially on the job.

Now, “Two wrongs don’t make a right” is a very common expression, and it’s often used to give advice to someone who feels that they’re going to do something wrong, just because someone else did. So, for example, I might say, “Well, he didn’t return my call yesterday, so I’m not going to return his call today,” and my friend might say, “Two wrongs don’t make a right. You should call him back.”

Shiga decides to look for a place to live in a Japanese community. That way, it’ll be easier for him to settle into his new job and new life.

She could’ve said, “What kind of a place are you thinking of?”

It sounds like Shiga’s been doing his homework. I didn’t know there was the Japanese community in this area until I read about it in the newspaper a couple of years ago.

It might seem sort of strange to call a town or city a village. To me, “village” sounds very non-American, to tell the truth. It sounds sort of European, a small community, not closely connected to anything else, rather rural. But in the Chicago area, villages are political division. It has a technical definition. I think it goes by the population size. I think most of the U.S. doesn’t use the word “village” in the same way.

Many people use the word “realtor” to talk about people who are in the business of buying and selling property. You can call them real-estate agents.

Cortez also talks about condos that’s short for condominium. In the U.S., they’re usually buildings with separate residences inside that you can buy.

“Relocation” is the more formal word that people probably use in the industry or,you know, among the colleagues and things like that. I think most people, when they’re speaking more casually and relaxed with friends, would probably just say “moving” — “I know how stressful moving can be.”

This is kind of interesting. She uses the ING form as a verb here, which kind of indicates eventually the sort of unsettled relocation period will end — “How are you finding it?”, not “How do you find it?”, which is sort of a deeper, more philosophical question about moving.

And I’ll bet Miami feels the same way to many Chicagoans who go there for the first time.

I think it’s interesting he chose to say an American way of life, instead of the American way of life. He seems to be aware of the fact that, although it is all the US, there are many different ways to live there.

Shiga and his colleagues discuss housing in a typically American way to furnish in a new place.

In the U.S., nobody will understand what you mean if you say “1DK”. Usually in the U.S., you could talk about a one-room or studio apartment, and then after that, people usually talk about how many bedrooms and baths it has.

People in the U.S. will probably say “supermarket” or “grocery store”, but everybody would, of course, understand “marketplace”.

“Kitchenette” could mean anything from a sink and a burner, basically in a closet, ( to s.. uh ..)  to a small room where you could put a small table.

Although I think most people rent unfurnished, if they can do it in anyway. You can pick up a lot of used furniture pretty quickly and easily, so it doesn’t cost a lot of money to furnish a place and you can slowly replace it with pieces you prefer.

Although in the U.S. a futon — they don’t pronounce it that way, it’s a /fuːtɑn/ — tends to be a little more like furniture and a bit less like what Japanese people know.

If you try your hand at something, you have the experience and see how well you can do at it. It’s kind of a test of your abilities.

This is a very typical out in the suburbs, which is what Arlington Heights basically is. A lot of people just as a hobby will drive around on the weekend, looking for a yard sale.

The same kind of sale is often called a moving sale. But of course in that case, it’s advertising the reason things’re on sale, not where they’re being sold.

In the U.S., people talk about the land and space around the houses as the yard. Most people on the suburbs have a front yard, which is from the front of the house to the street, and the back yard of course, behind the house up to the neighbor’s land in the back of your house. Garden usually refers only to the section of your yard where you planted bushes and flowers.

A flat is a kind of a large flat box that plants are often sold in — smaller plants. It could be ground cover like they are talking about here, or could be small flowers. If you go to a garden center in the spring to buy plants for your own garden at home, you often buy it by the flat.

Cortez says the old cardboard box for soda. Depending on which part of the U.S. you live in, .. uh .. , some people call it soda, sweet carbonated drinks. Other people call it pop, and still others call it soda pop.

Shiga learns more about garage sale in the part they play in the American life in the suburbs.

It’s rather subtle, but the way Potter says “pack rats and stuff”, he’s referring to the belongings when he says “stuff”. “And stuff” is a phrase people often add to mean “et cetera”, when they’re speaking very casually. If you use the word “things”, it sounds a bit more like you have individual objects in mind. So it’s slightly more specific. That probably won’t help you choose one word or the other, but when you’re listening to the conversations, slowly the differences will build up in your head, and maybe that will help a little bit anyway to quench your curiosity.

・　the way S + V …　　・・・から判断すると

・　～ and stuff　は， and things, and the like, and so forth と同じく「～など」

・　have ～ in mind 「～を念頭に置いている」

・　build up できあがってくる，おおきくなる

In the U.S., you can call people who collect many things a pack rat. They’re usually people who don’t want to throw stuff away.

This phrase “So much A, so little B” — this is used again and again and again in English. If you use your computer, and put it into your browser, you’ll find many, many, many examples of this.

Cortez starts off with the phrase “anything and everything.” This is a set phrase. Really you need to begin by saying anything first, and follow it up with everything.

She also uses the verb “to shift” at the end (of..). In this case, it means to get rid of something. And I think by choosing this verb, she makes it sound sort of cold and logical — getting rid of your former possessions.

This is another very well-used phrase in English — “One man’s A is another man’s B.”

Although, at a garage sale, if someone is selling an antique, it’s probably because they don’t realize it’s an old thing that is valuable to other people. Usually garage sales are just stuff you want to shift.

Yeah, I think she’s speaking a little ironically.

That’s probably because people donate things they don’t need anymore to the church or other organizations for sale. They don’t receive the money back themselves. The church gets the money.

Even in shops and stores, you often find items marked “as is.” It usually means that has some kind of a defect.

This is another phrase you’ll often see in stores, especially  if something’s been sold on a deep discount.

Ha ha… You have to try to sell it yourself when you have your own yard sale.