General Yuzuru Chat

[Sombreuil]

All the talk about English made me wonder if he'll ever be able to do a full after competition press conference without a translator. Now that's something I'd like to see. As wonderful as all the people who translate his Japanese answers are, still, a lot of things get lost in translation nevertheless, so I wish he could convey his thoughts in English easily so that I could understand him without thinking that something might have gotten lost in translation.

(then I realize he might _do_the_thing_ earlier than reach such a level of fluency in English and well excuse me while I cry in the corner ok)

 

If "the thing" is what I think it is, given all the "shuu/paa" talk ( my spellcheck really didn't like that combination of letters) I'm not sure we'd be any the wiser however good his English became!

[OmNom]

All the talk about English made me wonder if he'll ever be able to do a full after competition press conference without a translator. Now that's something I'd like to see. As wonderful as all the people who translate his Japanese answers are, still, a lot of things get lost in translation nevertheless, so I wish he could convey his thoughts in English easily so that I could understand him without thinking that something might have gotten lost in translation.

(then I realize he might _do_the_thing_ earlier than reach such a level of fluency in English and well excuse me while I cry in the corner ok)

 

If "the thing" is what I think it is, given all the "shuu/paa" talk ( my spellcheck really didn't like that combination of letters) I'm not sure we'd be any the wiser however good his English became!

 

'So it goes "whoosh" like this, with remnants of "fsshhh" in the background. And then what follows is a "zweee" but veering more towards "voosh" rather than "wreee". Y'all know what I mean right?" :space:

[Dara]

All the talk about English made me wonder if he'll ever be able to do a full after competition press conference without a translator. Now that's something I'd like to see. As wonderful as all the people who translate his Japanese answers are, still, a lot of things get lost in translation nevertheless, so I wish he could convey his thoughts in English easily so that I could understand him without thinking that something might have gotten lost in translation.

(then I realize he might _do_the_thing_ earlier than reach such a level of fluency in English and well excuse me while I cry in the corner ok)

I think in that case something would be lost in his internal translation :xD:

Even when you know foreign language at very high level, you still think in your native language. And sometimes foreign language just doesn't have exact expressions or nuances your native language has.

[Hydroblade]

All the talk about English made me wonder if he'll ever be able to do a full after competition press conference without a translator. Now that's something I'd like to see. As wonderful as all the people who translate his Japanese answers are, still, a lot of things get lost in translation nevertheless, so I wish he could convey his thoughts in English easily so that I could understand him without thinking that something might have gotten lost in translation.

(then I realize he might _do_the_thing_ earlier than reach such a level of fluency in English and well excuse me while I cry in the corner ok)

I think in that case something would be lost in his internal translation :xD:

Even when you know foreign language at very high level, you still think in your native language. And sometimes foreign language just doesn't have exact expressions or nuances your native language has.

Emerges from the depths

I definitely think in english and japanese when i'm speaking either of those languages though... So it is doable...

[Dara]

Emerges from the depths

I definitely think in english and japanese when i'm speaking either of those languages though... So it is doable...

I think Japanese if speak it for days, BUT it's only to certain level. When conception is too complex I still switch to my native language. And Yuzu certainly tends to explain quite complex feelings at press-conferences. I don't believe that thinking 100% in foreign language in possible.

[edamame]

I saw a chart of linguistic distances, in which English and Japanese were placed at opposite ends.

I'm in a situation a bit similar to him, living abroad for a while, often lacking communication with local people, and talking with my family and friends every day in Japanese. That doesn't help improve your ability to speak English... :cry:

Maybe... learning English is not his priority at the moment? He might spend most of his time (except for skating) for studying, making strategies, or just gaming to refresh his mind.

But I believe someday he will concentrate to develop his English proficiency for his future career.

[Hydroblade]

Emerges from the depths

I definitely think in english and japanese when i'm speaking either of those languages though... So it is doable...

I think Japanese if speak it for days, BUT it's only to certain level. When conception is too complex I still switch to my native language. And Yuzu certainly tends to explain quite complex feelings at press-conferences. I don't believe that thinking 100% in foreign language in possible.

In my case i can think 100% in english, and i am not in a bilingual environment. I think it is possible :pbow: That said, for example, during the first days of planet Hanyu i couldn't japanese at all, my brain couldn't handle it bc of the stress and lack of sleep... I think it's something you acquire with practice

[BrightonDogwoods]

Guys i edited the first post :D thanks so much to yuzuangel for the bio and dasani for the competition results :bow: :bow:

If you have any suggestions about it, post away!

Very nice!

[sesinda]

Yuzuru seems to understand English well, because he always nods and smiles at everything they tell him. But then again, he could be nodding and smiling to hide the fact that he didn't understand what you said. :devil:

He lives in Toronto for so much time during the year, he's probably stuck in the situation "I get most of what people tell me but I can't express myself as fluently because I don't practice a whole lot". Which is expected from the world's top figure skater whom, when he's not skating or training off-ice, he's playing videogames and hiding from the media xD Jk. I bet he studies English as much as he can. Every time he lipsyncs an English song, I'm there thinking 'I bet he read the lyrics and translated them all to memorize it'.

 

But I think it's also something else. Whenever people interview him, before and after performances, at press conferences and shows, no matter how easy or difficult the question might be, Yuzuru always has a very precise and analytic answer. His intelligence runs deep, but when your language abilities follow you up to a certain point, you either decide to begin a speech that you don't know you're going to be able to finish, or you decide to simplify your thoughts. I think Yuzuru does this a lot in English, so, in the end, he always says the same things.

:acceptable: He's a skating genius. He doesn't have to be able to speak. We're fortunate to use the translations from Japanese.

[sesinda]

Re: Yuzu and english... I think he's actually better at conversational english. You can sometimes hear him at the K&C with Brian and it seems fine. He's also able to communicate well with other skaters - his talk with P.Chan at the green room at worlds was so endearing. haha..

 

I think he struggles more with interviews because his mind works really quick. Most interviews happen after he performs and that's the moment where his mind is working overtime analysing everything (hence his quick fire japanese when he's being interviewed in japanese). So to think critically while translating his thoughts in english can be very hard.

 

:space: Or maybe just Yuzu has a blockade before speaking in a foreign language in a large forum. Many people talk freely in the circle of close friends, but when they hear more people, they have the stage.

[Sombreuil]

My passive vocabulary in the languages I did at school is a lot better than my active one. So I would struggle to make a sentence in French, couldn't do it at all in Italian or German, but can understand a fair amount of what is said to me. It could be a bit like that I suppose.

[BrightonDogwoods]

Ok, I'm starting to miss the Church... ugh, I'm better at lurking than posting but I guess I'm gonna have to work on it if I'm ever getting back :-)

[Arwen]

Ok, I'm starting to miss the Church... ugh, I'm better at lurking than posting but I guess I'm gonna have to work on it if I'm ever getting back :-)

Bro! I miss it, too.

I haven't been to forums for ages, and now it seems kinda difficult to catch up with everything and comment (I much more like reading lol).

But we'll manage to get back! I know that :pbow:

[Hydroblade]

Ok, I'm starting to miss the Church... ugh, I'm better at lurking than posting but I guess I'm gonna have to work on it if I'm ever getting back :-)

Ok, I'm starting to miss the Church... ugh, I'm better at lurking than posting but I guess I'm gonna have to work on it if I'm ever getting back :-)

Bro! I miss it, too.

I haven't been to forums for ages, and now it seems kinda difficult to catch up with everything and comment (I much more like reading lol).

But we'll manage to get back! I know that :pbow:

The purple bananalord is waiting for you

[AmudoBun]

Emerges from the depths

I definitely think in english and japanese when i'm speaking either of those languages though... So it is doable...

I think Japanese if speak it for days, BUT it's only to certain level. When conception is too complex I still switch to my native language. And Yuzu certainly tends to explain quite complex feelings at press-conferences. I don't believe that thinking 100% in foreign language in possible.

In my case i can think 100% in english, and i am not in a bilingual environment. I think it is possible :pbow: That said, for example, during the first days of planet Hanyu i couldn't japanese at all, my brain couldn't handle it bc of the stress and lack of sleep... I think it's something you acquire with practice

I agree - I think it is doable :pbow: But it just gradually comes - and then leaps when you least expect it xP