Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Terror or Horror? :What's the difference?

What is the difference between 'Terror' and 'Horror'?

SUSPIRIA


Do you like being scared?

I do. I love it! I truly enjoy horror movies. Well…, good horror movies anyway. And since we are just days away from Halloween it is a perfect time to treat ourselves to some scary entertainment.

There are plenty of movies and books that do their very best to try to scare us. 
Some of them succeed very well, others fail miserably. (At the end of this blog I will provide some recommendations to chill your blood).

SUSPIRIA


We have so many words in English to express various degrees of these types of sentiment:

Fear, Fright, Revulsion, Terror, Horror, Dread etc…

There are also an endless list of adjectives such as Fearful, Scary, Weird, Uncanny, Macabre, Eldritch, Abominable, Loathsome, Diabolical etc…

So, we can have many different feelings to express these emotions of "Fearful dread", "Loathsome revulsion", Uncanny fright", or "Diabolical terror", etc...

SUSPIRIA


Let us distinguish the difference between 'Terror' and 'Horror'.

SUSPIRIA


Many people, including native English speakers, use these words as if they have the same meaning, but there is a subtle difference.

According to Devendra Varma in The Gothic Flame (1966):
The difference between Terror and Horror is the difference between awful apprehension and sickening realization: between the smell of death and stumbling against a corpse.

So, from this definition, we can imagine walking into a darkened room that smells of death.
THIS gives us a feeling of Terror.
When we accidentally touch a corpse, that is - a dead body, in this darkened room, THAT gives us a feeling of Horror.

SUSPIRIA


Another way of putting it would be to hear the screeching tires of a speeding truck as the driver loses control of the vehicle, followed by a loud CRASH outside your home. This causes Terror.
As you rush outside to investigate and discover a deadly accident has happened on your street you feel Horror. Horror and Revulsion comes when you see the mangled and bloody body of the dead driver.

Most Horror movies and books (usually the better ones) spend time building the feeling of Terror through suspense and atmosphere. In literature, Edgar Allen Poe was a master at this. Alfred Hitchcock also accomplished this in his films 'PSYCHO' and 'THE BIRDS'.


SUSPIRIA

Stephen King (the famous horror story writer) defines “terror” as the suspenseful moment in horror before the actual monster is revealed. “Horror,” King writes, is that moment at which one sees the creature/aberration that causes the terror or suspense, a "shock value." King finally compares “revulsion” with the gag-reflex, a bottom-level, cheap gimmick which he admits he often resorts to in his own fiction if necessary, confessing:
“I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I'll go for the gross-out. I'm not proud.”

Ironically, in one of the best (and my favorite) horror movies, ROSEMARY'S BABY gives you horror without ever showing it to you. THAT is good story-telling

Click on this link for brief clips from 10 great horror films 

http://www.hitfix.com/news/hitfixs-ultimate-halloween-poll-the-100-greatest-horror-movies-of-all-time

Horror movies I recommend:

PSYCHO (1960)

ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968)

THE EXORCIST (1973)

THE SHINING (1980)

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)

SUSPIRIA (1977) 

EVIL DEAD (2013 and 1981)

TRICK 'R TREAT (2007)

ANGEL HEART (1987)

and anything starring VINCENT PRICE

For reading I recommend the tales and poems of Edgar Allen Poe  (Especially 'The Tell-Tale Heart' and 'The Raven') and any horror novel or short story by Stephen King ('Salem's Lot', 'The Shining', 'IT'  and 'Carrie' and the short story collections 'Night Shift' and 'Skeleton Crew').


VOCABULARY


HORROR
hor・ror *
/hɔ́ːrər|hɔ́rə/[音声]
[語源は「(恐怖で)毛が逆立つこと」]
((形)horrible, (動)horrify) 
名(複 ~s/-z/)
1U恐怖, うろたえ, ぞっとする思い(→ fear名1

TERROR
ter・ror *
/térər/[音声]
[語源は「異常な恐怖」]
((動)terrify) 
名(複 ~s /-z/)
1
1aU(極度の)恐怖, 恐れ(→ fear名1)
▶scream [freeze] in terror
恐怖のあまり叫ぶ[凍りつく]
▶a look of sheer [pure] terror on one’s face
心底恐れている表情
▶live in terror of A [doing]
A[…しないか]を四六時中おびえている
▶strike terror into A [A’s heart]
(文)A<人>を震え上がらせる

Monday, October 26, 2015

HALLOWEEN VOCABULARY - ADVANCED



Halloween is a bizarre holiday that has historical roots extending back 
thousands of years ago in Pagan Europe. This eldritch festival was called Samhain (pronounced "Sow-in"), meaning "Summer's End" in ancient Ireland. This was a turning point in the "wheel of the year" that marked the visible increasing darkness. 


The Pagan Wheel of the Year

The Equinoxes and Solstices divide the year in four quarters.
In-between those times were four more seasonal events that marked the agricultural year.
Many holidays like Christmas and Easter preserve Pagan elements such as decorating trees and painting eggs. 


A season of death; a time when the final crops had been harvested and cattle would be slaughtered in preparation for the long, hard, cold winter season of northern Europe. 




Fires would be lit and the spirits of the ancestors placated, and forms of divination would be practiced. Let us look at this holiday and learn some interesting English vocabulary.



On Halloween night, more than any other time during the year, the veil between our human world and the spiritual world is considered to be thinnest. The spirits of the dead (ghosts), and other supernatural beings (goblins, werewolves, witches, vampires & etc…,) are believed to be permitted to cross over into our human world during this night.




We celebrate this holiday in many ways in the U.S.A. but it is traditionally special for children to go 'trick-or-treating' on Halloween night. 'Trick-or-Treating' comes from old European folk customs which were brought to America by Irish immigrants. The habit of dressing in costumes and going door-to-door begging for sweets is directly connected to the ancient habit of placating the ancestors and other supernatural visitors on this night. This was done in order to avoid misfortune during the long, dark winter months.




VOCABULARY

Bizarre
bəˈzär/ adjective - very strange or unusual, especially so as to cause interest or amusement.
bɪzɑ́ːr/[音声] 
<行動・外見が>奇妙な, へんてこな, とっぴな(odd, weird).
~・ly副異様に; [文修飾]奇妙にも.
~・ness名

'Pagan' is a word we generally use to refer to those pre-Christian religious traditions as found in the Celtic, Germanic and Mediterranean countries before Christianity took over as the major religious tradition.
pa・gan †
/péɪɡ(ə)n/[音声]
[語源は「田舎者」]
1(しばしば非難して)[通例名の前で](キリスト・ユダヤ・イスラム教以外[以前]の)異教(徒)の(heathen).
2無宗教の; 不信者の.
名C[時にP-]
1(やや古・しばしば非難して)異教徒, 異端者; 多神教者; 無神論者.
2(おどけて)不信心者, 宗教心の足りない人.
~・ish/-ɪʃ/形異教徒的な.
~・ìsm名

Eldritch
/éldrɪtʃ/ 
(文)[通例名の前で]不気味な.
ˈeldriCH/ adjective - weird and sinister or ghostly.

Equinox
e・qui・nox
/ékwɪnɑ̀(ː)ks|-nɔ̀ks, ı́ːk-/[音声] 
C昼夜平分時(1年の中で昼夜の時間が同じ時); [天]分点(黄道と天の赤道の交点; その時が昼夜平分時)
▶vernal [spring] equinox
春分(3月21日ごろ)
▶autumn(al) equinox
秋分(9月22日ごろ).

Solstice
sol・stice †
/sɑ́(ː)lstəs|sɔ́l-/[音声] 
C[天](太陽の)至(し), 至点(太陽が赤道から北または南に最も遠く離れた時点)
▶the summer [winter] solstice
夏至[冬至].

Cattle would be slaughtered

Cattle
cat・tle *
/kǽt(ə)l/[音声]
[語源は「財産」; 昔家畜(ウシ)が財産であったため]
名[集合的に; 複数扱い](× a cattle, cattlesとしない)
1(家畜の)ウシ, 畜牛(!主にcows, bullsなどをさす)
▶Cattle live on grass.
ウシは草を常食とする
▶fifty (head [×heads] of) cattle
50頭のウシ(の群れ).

Slaughter
slaugh・ter *
/slɔ́ːtər/[音声](!-augh-は/ɔː/) 
名(複 ~s /-z/)
1U虐殺, 殺戮(さつりく); (戦争などの)大量殺人, 大虐殺.
2U(食用動物の)屠殺(とさつ), 畜殺.
3C(くだけて)[通例単数形で]完敗, 惨敗.

sláugh・tered
[音声] 
(英・くだけて)[be ~]酔っ払って.

Ancestors placated

Ancestor
an・ces・tor *
/ǽnsestər, -səs-/[音声](!強勢は第1音節)
[ante(先に) cestor(行く人)]
名(複 ~s/-z/)C
1祖先, 先祖(⇔ descendant)
▶Our ancestors were living in groups.
私たちの祖先は集団で生活していた.
2[生物]原型種, 始祖
▶Humans and apes have a common ancestor.
人類とサルの祖先は共通である.
3(機械などの)原型, 前身.

Placate
 pla・cate †
/pléɪkeɪt|pləkéɪt/[音声] 
(かたく)<人>をなだめる; <怒り・敵意など>を和らげる, 静める; …を懐柔する.


Divination (fortune-telling)
div・i・na・tion
/dɪ̀vɪnéɪʃ(ə)n/[音声] 
名UC
1占い, 予言.
2直感, 本能的予見.

Friday, August 28, 2015

Sounds of Sirensu by Simon and Gafunkuru: The L and R (Mis)Pronunciation Problem in Japanese language

I've written before about the incredible gymnastics our tongues do while speaking English. By contrast, the Japanese language utilizes an incredibly conservative restraint in tongue and facial muscle movement. Teaching to discriminate and pronounce the difference between the L and R sounds in Japan is the bane of any English teacher's existence.

the bane of A’s life [existence]
A<人>の身を滅ぼす原因, 命取り

In English we clearly distinguish between L and R.
e.g.: Left and right, light and right, flame and frame, etc..



In Japanese pronunciation the L/R sound usually falls somewhere between the English L and R sounds.
In practice it is maybe 80% of the time closer to L than R but the pronunciation is truly ambiguous. People wishing to adopt a Japanese accent usually change all their L's to R's and all their R's to L's.

This can often cause some confusion and frustration, as well as some giggling, for Japanese English students and their teachers. A good example of this would be the topic of America having a big election next year. I leave it to you to find why this is funny.

Another example : The word 'sirens' came up during a lesson.

                 The student asks: "Silence? Like quiet?"

                 The teacher says "No. Not 'silence' (sáɪləns) . A 'siren' (sáɪ(ə)r(ə)n); plural sáɪ(ə)r(ə)nz.

This immediately brought up the idea of Simon and Garfunkel's perennial hit song 'The Sounds of Silence' morphing through a kind of Katakana filter into the 'Sounds of Sirens'.


Here is the Sounds of Silence:


And here are the sounds of sirens:


  1. Through Japanese Katakana pronunciation Silence gets pronounced as "Sirensu", changing the L to R  and adding an extra syllable. That's because Japanese does not have just an 's' sound. It is either a 'sa', 'shi', 'su', 'se' or 'so'. As a matter of fact, all consonants are followed by a vowel in Japanese, which can change bed to 'beddo', 'want' to 'wantu ' and laugh to 'raffu'.

    The word siren comes from Greek mythology. A siren's song was said to be so bewitching that sailors would drive their ships onto the rocks or throw themselves into the sea, killing themselves.



    There are so many references to the Asian (usually Chinese or Japanese) L and R mispronunciation in movies and t.v. There is this scene from 'A Christmas Story' (1983) where Chinese restaurant staff attempt to sing the beloved Christmas carol 'Deck the Halls'; Fa la la la la becomes Fa ra ra ra ra.



    And in 'Lost in Translation' (2003) a woman demands to have her stockings ripped, er, lipped.



    This L/R mispronunciation is usually amusing, even humorous, to many foreign speakers. But if you are studying English, please don't get discouraged! English is spoken around the world in a variety of accents. If you do some travel you are sure to discover this fact. And if you travel by airplane please enjoy your fright!

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Please remove your shoes: Japanese shoe etiquette



An English student asked me a very good question: When do Americans remove their shoes?

Here in Japan there is an area within the entryway of every home for the sole purpose (excuse the pun) of removing and storing one's shoes.




This is also the case in schools where students remove their street shoes, and put on their indoor shoes, when they enter school each day.



There are also some restaurants here where shoes are removed before entering the dining area. This is standard in places where you dine sitting on the raised floors covered in tatami mats and seat cushions.

If there is one aspect of traditional Japanese culture which I think is practical, sensible and should be widely adopted by the the whole world in general, it is this: the removing of one's shoes upon entering a house, (or perhaps even a school, or temple) or other dwelling place, or designated area, for the purpose of cleanliness. At the very least this should be standard in every home. It is hygienic and serves a very good practical purpose for families with little ones who play on the floor.

It feels dirty, almost sinful, to drag the dust and grime of my footwear into someones house, as was the case when I last visited the U.S.A., especially in a house with carpeting! The very idea of people wearing the same shoes they wear outside in the street into a house, into a carpeted house in particular, thoroughly creeps me out! The image of multitudes of accumulated bacteria seeping into the matted plush weave amongst the deposited dirt and grime stands out in my mind, and in the mind of every Japanese person, as an uncomfortable pollution of one's home environment. This may derive from the traditional Japanese tradition of sitting and sleeping upon the floor rather than always relying on raised seats or beds.

Dining on the raised floor covered in tatami mats.

Sleeping on the tatami mat floor.


Even if you live in a relatively "clean" environment there are sure to be all kinds of germs on your shoes. If you happen to live in a densely populated urban area then you really have to take into account that sidewalks have been spit, vomited and pissed upon... at the very least.

In Japan, when work or repairmen visit your home (please don't think me misogynistic, dear reader, when I specify the male gender, but the chances of a Japanese repairwoman visiting your home are comparable to the chances of me finding hummus in my local supermarket here, or to a Japanese businessman telling a funny joke), they always remove their shoes and open a fresh pair of house socks to wear while working in your home.

Usually in Japan there is a step up from the shoe removing area into the dwelling place. Slippers are also often provided (though I have yet to find any pair to accommodate my size 12 feet here in Japan. so these slippers act, more often than not, as toe covers... barely).

Moreover, within almost every Japanese home, the restroom, or water closet (the tiny room that houses the toilet -- being separate from the bathroom, or "o-furo" where one showers and bathes) usually comes equipped with it's own pair of "toilet slippers" to be used exclusively when one is taking care of their toilet business.



One should switch slippers when stepping from the home proper and into the restroom (the house slippers never enter the restroom, toilet slippers never leave the restroom), and again repeat the process in reverse when they exit the restroom. This slipper -dance -game can take some practice to master as the slippers are, again, often more like toe-covers (barely) for those of us with larger than average feet.

Furthermore, if you forget to change slippers upon exiting the restroom (as many foreigners new to Japan will often do by accident) you will likely be met with embarrassed  looks, whispers and some kind of explanation from your offended host about this sensitive cultural faux pas as they hurry you back to retrieve your designated house slippers.

The idea behind all this shoe game is cleanliness.

By the way, if you ever have to use an old fashioned Asian squat toilet… you have my deepest sympathy. But that's a story for another time…

So, when do you remove your shoes?