Posted on 10/12/2009 12:37:16 PM PDT by nickcarraway
When Utako Sakai was changing the background music in her beauty parlor recently, she did not opt for the classical piano pieces she usually chose.
Instead, she picked her favorite CD: “President Obama’s Inaugural Address,” released by Asahi Press, a Japanese publisher of language books. She says the speech lifts her spirits and helps her to learn English all at once.
“All our customers love it,” said Ms. Sakai, who is based in Ayase City, in Kanagawa Prefecture, outside Tokyo.
The speech CD and its accompanying book have been a resounding success, selling 200,000 copies since its release in January. A compilation of President Barack Obama’s speeches has done even better, selling half a million copies since November, solidifying his role as Japan’s English teacher.
Publishers have since flooded the market with over a dozen language-learning titles, including “Speech Training: Learning to Deliver English Speech, Obama Style”; “Learn English Grammar From Obama”; and “Yes, I Can With Obama: 40 Magical English Phrases From Presidential E-mails.”
Asahi Press followed up its inauguration book and CD with a recording of Mr. Obama’s “World Without Nuclear Weapons” speech, also in book and CD form, given in Prague in April.
The publishers are trying to tap into a foreign-language teaching industry that the Yano Search Institute said was valued at ¥767 billion, or $8.7 billion, in 2008. The figure includes the cost of books, CDs, dictionaries, e-learning programs, standardized English tests, and the cost of private language lessons. The institute, in Tokyo, says the majority of the spending is aimed at learning English.
Most Japanese people, including those studying English, would have difficulty comprehending a speech given by a native English speaker.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
You mean I’ll have to listen to some poor Japanese talk in that stilted, fake way. Heck, the voice synthesis on my Mac speaks better than the head loon.
That’s where my wife was born. Sad to see this, but probably just a coincidence. There have to be Obamatrons everywhere now.
Want to make sure that I’m referring to someone talking like Obama (a thoroughly disgusting speech trait)...not some speaking with a Japanese accent (which I do not mind at all).
The decline of the post WW-II Japanese miracle contnues.
"Magical", no less !
> 40 Magical English Phrases From Presidential E-mails.”
“Magical”, no less !
Well to be fair, he was selling “hopeychangey” last November: also known as the “magical promise tour of rainbows and unicorns”.
As I recall, Asahi was fairly good beer.
I still wonder what those "magical" phrases from the Grand Kenyan could be...
OK, there's "Yes, We Can", and "Change we can believe in" (no magic so far), what else is in that list?
I really can't wait to hear 200,000 tourists wandering around Disneyworld touting “Magical” phrases like “spread the wealth around” and “let me be clear”?
Beneficium accipere libertatem est vendere
“what else is in that list?”
Ret me be creer.
"via-Gr@ cheap!"
G3nuine Ro-l3x watches..."
So now in Japan the English pronunciation of the word “and” will be “aaaaaaannnnnd”, and Pakistan will become “Pock-ee-stahn?”
mmmm mmm mmmmm
Obama as English teacher for the Japanese? I think it’s a great idea, in fact I think Mr. Obama should be encouraged to take a long sabbatical to Japan so he can spend all of his time on this project.
As a tribute to the high standards of education, every Japanese has already had eight years of English classes in school ... mostly taught by teachers who cannot speak any English themselves.
Heh. Michelle would love that. The US Embassy is in the Roppongi ward of Tokyo - a notorious red light district.
I wonder if the Secretary of State had anything to do with Bill Clinton not being named Ambassador to Japan?
Yeah, that pretty much nails it.
That reminds of a guy I knew on my first ship in the early '80s. He had been stationed on the Midway in Yokosuka before he came to this ship and he used to tell us how he taught English to Japanese while he was there. All fine except the guy was from deep backwoods Alabama and spoke like it too. We used to roll on the floor laughing at the idea of some poor Japanese kid speaking English with Ricky Runnels' accent.
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