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	<title>The Japan Times &#187; Peter Backhaus</title>
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	<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp</link>
	<description>News on Japan, Business News, Opinion, Sports, Entertainment and More</description>
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		<title>Hyper, mega, ultra: talking in superlatives</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/07/28/language/hyper-mega-ultra-talking-in-superlatives/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=hyper-mega-ultra-talking-in-superlatives</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/07/28/language/hyper-mega-ultra-talking-in-superlatives/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 28 Jul 2013 14:00:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Backhaus</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[intensifiers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Japanese language]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[One of the ultra-fascinating facets of Japanese is its super-large arsenal of intensifying prefixes that provide an otherwise neutral expression with some emphatic edge. The best-known (and least spectacular) of them is dai (大), which usually translates as &#8220;big.&#8221; When something went really well, for instance, people call it dai-seik&#333; (大成功, big success), whereas in [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Oyaji gyagu, more than just cheesy puns</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/05/27/language/oyaji-gyagu-more-than-just-cheesy-puns/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=oyaji-gyagu-more-than-just-cheesy-puns</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 26 May 2013 15:02:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mio Backhaus  and Peter Backhaus</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Japanese language]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Oyaji gyagu]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Stop me if you&#8217;ve heard this one. Two men aged around 50 enter a sushi restaurant. One orders a raincoat, the other a garage. What looks like the beginning of a &#8220;Monty Python&#8221; sketch is in fact the stuff of a most typical oyaji gyagu (おやじギャグ), or old man&#8217;s joke/gag. Such jokes normally center around [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Bilingual beauty, straight and permed</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/04/29/language/bilingual-beauty-straight-and-permed/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=bilingual-beauty-straight-and-permed</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/04/29/language/bilingual-beauty-straight-and-permed/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:01:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Backhaus  and Yuko Kunimatsu</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[beauty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hairstyles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Japanese language]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[language education]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Beauty must be a bilingual thing. At least that’s the impression one gets from looking at signs outside hairdressers, beauty parlors and similar types of businesses in Japan. ]]></description>
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		<title>Yoisho! A word to move mountains (and smaller things)</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/03/25/language/yoisho-a-word-to-move-mountains-and-smaller-things/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=yoisho-a-word-to-move-mountains-and-smaller-things</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/03/25/language/yoisho-a-word-to-move-mountains-and-smaller-things/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:00:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Backhaus</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[The man from next door says it. My mother-in-law says it. The guy in the grocery store says it. The nurse on TV says it. Seems like everyone says Yoisho! (よいしょ!) It&#8217;s one of those expressions that appear to be a common part of everyday Japanese life but are not usually taught in Japanese language [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<title>The Japanese traffic light blues: Stop on red, go on what?</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/02/25/language/the-japanese-traffic-light-blues-stop-on-red-go-on-what/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-japanese-traffic-light-blues-stop-on-red-go-on-what</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/02/25/language/the-japanese-traffic-light-blues-stop-on-red-go-on-what/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 24 Feb 2013 15:00:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Backhaus</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Japanese language]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[language study]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traffic lights]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Road traffic in Japan is a complicated affair. Apart from those narrow, crooked streets that sometimes end without warning, you have to get used to unclear right-of-way rules and the national fetish for backward parking. ]]></description>
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		<title>Even language has winners and losers</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2012/12/31/language/even-language-has-winners-and-losers/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=even-language-has-winners-and-losers</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2012/12/31/language/even-language-has-winners-and-losers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 31 Dec 2012 00:00:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Backhaus</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[If there&#8217;s one thing to be sure of in Japan these days, it&#8217;s that by the end of the year you will have a prime minister different from the one you started out with. This year was the sixth year in succession to follow this pattern. Somewhat differently, though, this year there was a general [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Politicians may ru the day their names became verbs</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2012/10/22/language/politicians-may-ru-the-day-their-names-became-verbs/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=politicians-may-ru-the-day-their-names-became-verbs</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2012/10/22/language/politicians-may-ru-the-day-their-names-became-verbs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Oct 2012 00:00:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Backhaus</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Which new words would you like to see added to the dictionary?&#8221; A couple of months ago the publishing house Taishukan put this generous question to Japanese high school and junior high school students. The students, among other oddities, suggested the terms nodaru (野田る), kanru (菅る) and hatoru (鳩る). With reference to the surnames of [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Indecent proposals: the language of Japanese dating spam</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2012/09/24/language/indecent-proposals-the-language-of-japanese-dating-spam/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=indecent-proposals-the-language-of-japanese-dating-spam</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2012/09/24/language/indecent-proposals-the-language-of-japanese-dating-spam/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Sep 2012 00:00:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Backhaus</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[It started with an email from a 20-year-old college student called Emi, who told me she was looking for a Showa umare no dansei (昭和生まれの男性, a man born in Showa, i.e., born before 1989). Next was Norika, a bored housewife in her early thirties asking me to spend some himajikan (ヒマ時間, spare time) with her. [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>So is it respect for &#8216;the aged,&#8217; &#8216;the elderly&#8217; or &#8216;the seniors&#8217;?</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2008/09/02/language/so-is-it-respect-for-the-aged-the-elderly-or-the-seniors/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=so-is-it-respect-for-the-aged-the-elderly-or-the-seniors</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2008/09/02/language/so-is-it-respect-for-the-aged-the-elderly-or-the-seniors/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:01:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Backhaus</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[As it is every September, people in Japan are looking forward to keir&#333; no hi, the coming national holiday dedicated to the older members of the population. Respect for the Aged Day provides an annual opportunity to visit one&#8217;s elderly relatives, get involved in various welfare activities or just stay home in bed and rest. [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>KY-style Japanese: Express yourself alphabetically</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2008/04/22/language/ky-style-japanese-express-yourself-alphabetically/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=ky-style-japanese-express-yourself-alphabetically</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2008/04/22/language/ky-style-japanese-express-yourself-alphabetically/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:01:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Backhaus</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[Waiting at the railroad crossing, I couldn&#8217;t help but overhear the animated conversation that the two students standing behind me were having. Despite having studied Japanese for more than 10 years, I didn&#8217;t have a clue what they were talking about. What on earth did jeikei, aidaburyu, emuemu and shibi mean? Were these guys even [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Odd use of foreign loan words a sign of the times</title>
		<link>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2006/03/21/language/odd-use-of-foreign-loan-words-a-sign-of-the-times/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=odd-use-of-foreign-loan-words-a-sign-of-the-times</link>
		<comments>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2006/03/21/language/odd-use-of-foreign-loan-words-a-sign-of-the-times/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Mar 2006 00:00:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Backhaus</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[Heed this safety warning: &#8220;Caution! Don&#8217;t lean on the gate. The gate would fall down when lean on it. It occurs you trouble.&#8221; Having eluded the gate, then follow this health instruction: &#8220;The Italian word pomodoro means golden fruit. Tomatoes have vitamin, carotene, potash, pectene, and is good for blood pressure, liver disease and constipation.&#8221; [...]]]></description>
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