Please help me to read this English sentence:

[YuriTokoro]

Originally Posted by snbzk

I believe what she meant is that the Prime Minister was taking polite humility to an inappropriate (extravagant) extent by suggesting failure. He doesn't actually expect to fail - he just didn't want to seem impolitely confident.

Some suggestions:
"Despite that, I believe saying 'We might fail' is excessive."
"Despite that, I believe saying 'We might fail' is taking it too far."
"Despite that, I believe he went too far by saying 'We might fail.'"

I think 'extravagant' is normally used with the meaning of 'opulent' or 'lavish' (positive) or 'wasteful' (negative).

Thanks a lot, snbzk!
You always understand what I mean. Thanks.

[Koir]

Originally Posted by YuriTokoro

What do you think?:

"We are entering the realm of the unknown."

Yukio Hatoyama took office as prime minister, and gave his inaugural address on September 16th. “We are entering the realm of the unknown” was a part of his speech.
He promised to reduce bureaucratic meddling in politics, eliminate the practice of wasting tax revenue, and to make the best effort with a sense of responsibility.
He did acknowledge “we might fail through a trial and error process”. It was then that he said “We are entering the realm of the unknown.”, and asked for people to be tolerant.
This would be an odd thing to hear, right? This is the Japanese way of speaking. I believe The President of the U.S. would not speak in this way.
Some Japanese people don’t like a person who displays any confidence when beginning something. For example, a Japanese person new to a company would say he or she has no knowledge, needs help, and is not confident even if he or she knows the business well and is confident. If you say you are full of confidence when you are new, you arouse ill feeling.
Despite that, I believe he went too far by saying “we might fail”.

Looks good to me, Yuri!

[YuriTokoro]

Originally Posted by Koir

Looks good to me, Yuri!

Koir, thanks as always!

[YuriTokoro]

Hi. I have a question.

What is the difference among them?
1. exhibit bravery
2. display bravery
3. demonstrate bravery

Thank you.

[Koir]

Originally Posted by YuriTokoro

Hi. I have a question.

What is the difference among them?
1. exhibit bravery
2. display bravery
3. demonstrate bravery

Thank you.

Looking at them together, there's little difference among them. But if "bravery" is seen as an item or state of being, some notable differences can be seen.

1. "Exhibit bravery" can be viewed as person showing bravery in order to provide an example for other to follow. The person may not have that kind of bravery normally, but is put into a situation where an example must be given.

2. "Display bravery" is a slightly different method than exhibiting bravery. The person can be displaying bravery as more of a show and not as an example. In this way, the person could not be feeling truly brave, but instead making it appear that way. He or she could be very scared, but not show much or any outward signs.

3. "Demonstrate bravery" is similar in meaning to "exhibit bravery" in the sense that is a more formal way of speaking. The emphasis is more on the example of "bravery" than any internal feelings the person performing the action may have in the situation.

These are only my interpretations of these three examples. As with most things, the true differences can be better shown in context examples.

Hope that helps, Yuri.

[YuriTokoro]

Originally Posted by Koir

Looking at them together, there's little difference among them. But if "bravery" is seen as an item or state of being, some notable differences can be seen.

Koir, thanks as always.

1. "Exhibit bravery" can be viewed as person showing bravery in order to provide an example for other to follow. The person may not have that kind of bravery normally, but is put into a situation where an example must be given.

A father would exhibits bravery in front of his children. Is this right?

2. "Display bravery" is a slightly different method than exhibiting bravery. The person can be displaying bravery as more of a show and not as an example. In this way, the person could not be feeling truly brave, but instead making it appear that way. He or she could be very scared, but not show much or any outward signs.

He or she could endure a scare from pride. I see.

3. "Demonstrate bravery" is similar in meaning to "exhibit bravery" in the sense that is a more formal way of speaking. The emphasis is more on the example of "bravery" than any internal feelings the person performing the action may have in the situation.

More formal, and unconcerned with the person’s internal feelings. OK.

Thanks again! You are always very helpful.

[Koir]

Originally Posted by YuriTokoro

Koir, thanks as always.


A father would exhibits bravery in front of his children. Is this right?

That's a correct interpretation, Yuri.

More formal, and unconcerned with the person’s internal feelings. OK.

It's not necessarily "unconcerned" with the person's feelings, but more emphasis or focus is on the demonstration of bravery. Being unconcerned with the person's feelings could be thought of as forcing the person to act brave in spite of their true feelings.

Thanks again! You are always very helpful.

I just do what little I can, Yuri.

[YuriTokoro]

Hi.
Could you correct my English?

"Yokozuna"

Yokozuna is in the highest posision in the sumo world. Yokozuna Asashoryu won in the Akibasho(Autumn Tournament). He displayed a sign of pleasure with his fists in the air when he won the last mach, and this behavior is a problem in the Yokozuna Deliberation Council.
They say that Yokozuna should not behave like that. I agree with them. I believe a Japanese sumo wrestler would not do that. Asashoryu is from Mongolia, and he does not have Japanese feelings or sensitivity.
I used to do Karate, and I had never behaved like that when I won. Showing your pleasures is rude when you have a Japanese traditional match and win. If he was a soccer player, there is no problem.
However, some people approve his behavior. They say Asashoryu is exciting, and we need to accept foreign manners because we need to have international exchanges. These days, judoists display their pleasure when they win in the Olympics or some other matches, and there are many foreign judoists in the world.
Should we change our culture? I don’t think so, but I need to accept that. Still, I don't like seeing people showing their pleasure when they win in Japanese traditional matches.
Do you understand what I feel?

Sumo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Asashōryū Akinori - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Koir]

Originally Posted by YuriTokoro

Hi.
Could you correct my English?

"Yokozuna"

Yokozuna is in the highest position in the sumo world. Yokozuna Asashoryu won in the Akibasho(Autumn Tournament). He displayed a sign of pleasure with his fists in the air when he won the last match. This kind of behavior is a problem in the eyes of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council.
They say that Yokozuna should not behave like that. I agree with them. I believe a Japanese sumo wrestler would not do that. Asashoryu is from Mongolia, so he does not have Japanese feelings or sensitivity.
I used to do Karate, and I had never behaved like that when I won. Showing your pleasure is rude when you win a Japanese traditional match. If he was a soccer player, there would not have been any problems.
However, some people approve of his behavior. They say Asashoryu is exciting, and that we need to accept foreign manners when non-Japanese are involved. These days, judoists display their pleasure when they win in the Olympics or similar matches, and there are many foreign judoists in the world.
Should we change our culture? I don’t think so, but I need to accept the possibility. Still, I don't like seeing people showing their pleasure when they win in Japanese traditional matches.
Do you understand what I feel?

Sumo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Asashōryū Akinori - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Made some revisions, Yuri. Not much needed to be done actually, beyond some minor word changes. Not sure if "judoist" is the correct word to use to describe a person who practices the art of judo, so I left it in.

As for sports celebrations, I find nothing wrong with most of them. As I'm a Canadian, I grew up watching celebrations hockey players did after scoring goals. Most of the time it's just a raised stick by the player followed by a group congratulation before the play starts again. It's a good release of energy after being successful in playing a game properly.

On the other hand, celebrations can be *too* ridiculous. I don't like how elaborate and choreographed end-zone celebrations are in the National Football League. Sure, the player just scored but we don't need him dancing around like he's on stage at a music concert.

You're quite correct in your thinking of the new Yokozuna's celebration. He came from a different background compared to the sport he's playing, so his way of expressing himself is not traditional. In a way, this could motivate the more traditional Japanese-born sumo wrestlers to train harder so they can triumph over him and have a more dignified reaction when they win.

Good work, Yuri!

[YuriTokoro]

Originally Posted by Koir

Made some revisions, Yuri. Not much needed to be done actually, beyond some minor word changes. Not sure if "judoist" is the correct word to use to describe a person who practices the art of judo, so I left it in.

Koir, thanks!
An online dictionary says it’s “judoist”.
I don’t want to say” judo player” because judo is not a sport. It’s a martial art.
I think I could say “a fighter”. Martial arts were originally created for the purpose of making war. But the word sounds like a fighter jet.

As for sports celebrations, I find nothing wrong with most of them. As I'm a Canadian, I grew up watching celebrations hockey players did after scoring goals. Most of the time it's just a raised stick by the player followed by a group congratulation before the play starts again. It's a good release of energy after being successful in playing a game properly.

I don’t find anything wrong when people celebrate playing sports.
Sumo is one of historical shrine rituals. I don’t like seeing people celebrate when they do Sumo and martial arts.

On the other hand, celebrations can be *too* ridiculous. I don't like how elaborate and choreographed end-zone celebrations are in the National Football League. Sure, the player just scored but we don't need him dancing around like he's on stage at a music concert.

I have seen them dancing thinking that’s your culture and parts of the games. I have thought sports games are a kind of shows and the audience enjoy celebrating with the players.

You're quite correct in your thinking of the new Yokozuna's celebration. He came from a different background compared to the sport he's playing, so his way of expressing himself is not traditional.

Thanks for understanding as always!

In a way, this could motivate the more traditional Japanese-born sumo wrestlers to train harder so they can triumph over him and have a more dignified reaction when they win.

Unfortunately, most Japanese-born sumo wrestlers are smaller than wrestlers from foreign countries. I don’t know why, but Japanese people are small. Many strong sumo wrestlers are not Japanese now. How frustrating!

Koir, thanks again.