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03-02-2011, 06:42 AM
[quote=masaegu;853820][quote=KyleGoetz;853230]
田中さんご夫妻を通しての結婚の話しは残念ながらうま くいかなかった。 The story of the Tanaka marriage, I am sorry to say, did not go well. Quote:
I'm confused as to the function of 田中さん here. Are the husband and wife the Tanakas, or is the speaker saying something about a different husband and wife to someone named Tanaka? Parsing the beginning is difficult for me. It can be rephrased as 田中さんご夫妻での結婚の話しは残念ながらうまくいか なかった。 I fully understand everything after は. Is it maybe "Talking with Mr. and Mrs. Tanaka about a wedding [to, say, their daughter], I am sorry to say, did not go well." ?? |
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03-02-2011, 07:18 AM
I`ll just drop a random hint - I can`t say that I am good at teaching Japanese so avoid doing so most of the time... but will give my insight on this.
You seem to be looking at the 結婚 as sort of standing by itself or being strongly linked to the couple (田中さんご夫妻). But it is 「結婚の話」 as a unit. Maybe you can understand it a bit better knowing this. Also, focus on the fact that "通して" is in there. |
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03-02-2011, 07:35 AM
Quote:
話し, in this context, does not mean a "story" or "talk". Rather, it means an "offer", "idea" or "suggestion" as in introducing someone as the possible spouse of another. 田中さんご夫妻を通して means "through the Tanakas". The Tanakas, the matchmakers, introduced someone looking for a spouse to another doing the same. The "offer" came by way of the said couple serving as go-betweens. This is the meaning of the phrase 田中さんご夫妻を通しての結婚の話し. And since you clearly have got the last half of the sentence, voila! It did not materialize. EDIT: Oops, I didn't get to see Nyrororin's post above! |
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03-02-2011, 08:08 AM
Thank you both. I knew that 結婚の話し was one unit, but I couldn't figure out exactly what it meant. In my head, I envisioned a son trying to get permission to marry a daughter by asking her parents.
I was applying too much of a western concept to the Japanese! I am aware of the matchmaker concept. Honestly, I've forgotten the term I learned for it years ago in Japanese, but I recently studied the kanji 媒, and through that, I learned the word 媒介, which I think was "go-between" or "mediator." Is this related? Oh wait, I remembered the word I once learned: おみあい. But based on what I'm guessing the kanji are (お見合い), I'll bet it doesn't mean "matchmaker" but rather is a meeting of two matched people. *uses dictionary* Yup. Thanks for the help, all! I hope I can at least improve the board by keeping up with these lessons and posting my translations! I still suggest learners buy the book because it has exercises in it, too. |
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