Index
Home pageFeatures
Princess Mononoke Film ComicJapanese Mistakes in The Key to Midnight
I found some funny Japanese mistakes in the novel The Key to Midnight by Dean Koontz.
If you can't see the Japanese characters on this site
but you do have a graphical browser,
activate Monash Japanese Viewer to convert it to images for you.
The novel opens in Kyoto, at a nightclub owned by Joanna Rand. She has lived in Japan for twelve years and is supposed to be very fluent in Japanese. Alex Hunter is a tourist visiting the nightclub, who is interested in her. He is also supposed to be fluent.
For local color, the author has attempted some romanized Japanese dialog. I have converted it to kanji where possible. The next line renders the sentence in English with equivalent errors. I'm not going to worry about spelling errors caused by not using long vowels. Koontz never shows them.
Joanna (to a waiter, her employee):
山田さん、ブランデを今おめがい、します。
"Mr. Yamada, a brandy now 'pleeze'."
"Omegai, shimasu" is an error. It has to be "onegai shimasu".
Yamada:
はい、はい。すぐ。
"Yes, yes. Lickety split."
"Sugu" by itself seems too informal for a response to a boss.
She comes over to Alex, introduces herself, and asks him if he is in Kyoto on business. He says he's on vacation, and says in Japanese:
Alex:
あなたの町は非常に興味がありまつ。
"My dear, your city 'hez' an interest in extremities."
He's trying to say "Your city is extremely interesting." I think he really said "Your city is interested in emergencies." The sentence works correctly if the "wa" is changed to "ni". Then the subject is "I" (implied). As it is, the city is the subject and "hijou" is the object of interest.
Of course, "arimatsu" should be "arimasu". And he's saying "anata" on first acquaintance with a woman he wishes to impress. He knows her name, so he should use it. Personal pronouns are considered somewhat rude in Japanese and they are avoided whenever possible.
Joanna:
(Sure, he does. Not.)
Later, they are riding in a taxi. The driver brakes too fast and disturbs them. He says:
Driver:
ごめんなさい、上客さん。
"Sorry, customers."
Alex:
よろしいです。かれども、うてんしゅさんゆっくり。
"That's ok. 'Hooever', driver -- SLOW!"
"Karedomo" should be "keredomo". It is arrogant to command "yukkuri" without using "onegai shimasu".
Later, a doctor helps Joanna with a serious problem. As he leaves, she says:
Joanna:
ありがとう、医者さん。
"Thanks, sawbones."
He deserves a much better "thank-you" than that. "Doumo arigatou gozaimashita" would be better. Also, she ought to call him "sensei", the proper term of respect for a doctor. "Isha" means doctor, but it would normally be used in a sentence like "There are good doctors at that hospital," and even then the honorific "o-isha" is normal usage. No one ever addresses a doctor as "isha-san." This rude form of address is repeated several places in the book.
Doctor:
どう いたしました。
"It was nutt'n."
It should be "dou itashimashite".
Joanna:
今晩は。
"Hello, nice evening."
This is a greeting, not a goodbye.
Doctor:
今晩は。
"Hello, nice evening."
This is the same problem.
Later, Alex is introduced to another doctor. After a "long series of formal greetings," he ends by saying the following.
Alex:
医者さん、よろしく。
Howdy, sawbones.
"Yoroshiku" or "Douzo yoroshiku" is a request for the other person to treat one favorably. It should be said early in a "long series of formal greetings." "Yoroshiku" is an abrupt, less polite way of saying this, so it's not very appropriate for someone of high status like a doctor. And he's using "isha-san" again.
The Doctor replies, in English "I, too, am pleased to meet you." One wonders.
