[trunker]

ever since forever i've wondered why the japanese "like" english. and not just the japanese really, but many other cultures have a thing for using english for things like catch phrases or shop names etc.

now my experience is limited to the middle east, south east asia and east asia to a lesser extent,.....

but yeah komitsuki is right in that modern pop culture plays a massive part in this.

however, having asked them why it is they use english, when they clearly dont have to, the response i've gotten is not just that its the lingua franca so theyre forced to learn it.

they say its more direct, as in its easier to get to the point than their native tongue, probably because it is such a mishmashed language, and because it is the lingua franca.

i've met arabs who both speak arabic choosing to converse in english. the same with chinese, indians, some thais, indonesians and malays of course. (spoken english is considered a status symbol as well, the better your accent the more educated you are, supposedly. a hang over from the colonial days no doubt.)

this might be an example,.... heard on tv recently: getto no chansu ( get no chance)

its wrong on so many levels, yes, but you get the point it is trying to make right?

what would that translate to in proper japanese? and why would getto no chance be prefered ?

and yes english can get stupidly flowerly, just as much as the next language, but perhaps it has to do with the fact that mediocre english is sometimes good enough to get your point across, perhaps easier,.... and not as looked down upon as say non polite japanese, or coloquial arabic, or street malay.

just my 2 cents.