自分の名前には、ただそれだけの意味しかないと思ったら、大間違い。筆者の名前は、さまざまな国でさまざまな意味に解釈され、からかいの対象となってきた。それは何と、日本に来ても同じことだった。それが「Kip=切符」であることは、言わずもがなだろう。
I have a name problem. A big problem. Let me explain. My full name is Alexander Kippen Cates, but my family has always called me Kip. I like the name Kip because it's short, easy to remember and quite rare. The problem is that my name takes on different meanings in different countries.
I first ran into this problem when I went to England. Whenever I introduced myself to British people, they'd laugh. I soon learned the reason why. The word "kip" in British English is slang for "nap." When I introduced myself, people would say, "Your name is Kip? You must be sleepy. Why don't you take a kip?" I spent about two years in England and gradually got used to these jokes. Perhaps, I thought, I'll have better luck with my name in Europe.
When I got to Germany, people asked me what my name "Kip" stood for. When I told them that "Kip" was short for "Kippen," they laughed. Why? Because "kippen" in German means "to fall down." My German friends often joked, "Be careful going down the stairs, Kippen! You might kippen!" During my five months in Germany, I got endless jokes about falling down.
The problem got worse when I got to Holland. I still remember my first day in Amsterdam. I was hungry and went into a restaurant to eat. The waiter brought the menu. As I started to read through the dishes, I had a sudden shock. My name was on the menu! Why? Because in Dutch, the word "kip" means "chicken"! When Dutch people order Kentucky Fried Chicken, they ask for Kentucky Fried Kip. I'm still embarrassed that my name is on the menu of every restaurant in Holland.
Finally, I came to Japan. "Maybe here," I thought, "I can escape all these jokes about my name." No such luck! As soon as I introduced myself, Japanese people laughed. "What's your name?" they asked. "Kip," I said. "What kind of kippu are you?" they teased. "A bus kippu? A train kippu? A plane kippu?" When I checked my Japanese-English dictionary, I discovered that my name, Kip, means "ticket" in Japanese. Jokes, jokes and more jokes. I couldn't escape!
It was discouraging having people laugh at my name in so many places. "There must be one country," I thought, "where my name has a good meaning." Finally, I found it. Laos! It turns out that the word "kip" is the name of the money in Laos. Where Japanese use yen and Canadians use dollars, people in Laos use "kip." Now, whenever I hear too many jokes about my name, I take out the 100 kip bill from Laos that a friend gave me and remember that, at least in one country, my name has a very special value!
Shukan ST: DECEMBER 16, 2011
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- problem with 〜
- 〜にまつわる問題
- quite rare
- めったにない
- takes on different meanings
- いろいろ違う意味になる
- ran into 〜
- 〜に出くわした
- Whenever
- 〜のたびに
- introduced myself to 〜
- 〜に自己紹介した
- learned the reason why
- その理由が分かった
- slang
- スラング
- nap
- 居眠り
- take a kip
- 一眠りする
- got used to 〜
- 〜に慣れっこになった
- have better luck
- もっと運に恵まれる
- what 〜 stood for
- 〜はどんな名前を短く言ったものなのか
- fall down
- 転ぶ、ひっくり返る
- going down the stairs
- 階段を下りる
- might kippen
- 転ぶかもしれない
- endless
- 果てしない
- got worse
- 悪化した
- Holland
- オランダ
- Amsterdam
- アムステルダム
- read through 〜
- 〜に目を通す
- dishes
- 料理
- had a sudden shock
- ハッとした
- was on the menu
- メニューに載っていた
- Dutch
- オランダ語
- (am) embarrassed
- きまりの悪い
- escape
- 〜から逃れる
- No such luck
- そうは問屋が卸さなかった
- teased
- からかった
- plane
- 飛行機
- Japanese-English dictionary
- 和英辞典
- discovered that 〜
- 〜だと分かった
- discouraging
- 意気消沈させられる
- having people laugh at 〜
- 人々に〜を笑われること
- Laos
- ラオス
- turns out that
- 〜だと判明する
- take out 〜
- 〜を取り出す
- 100 kip bill
- 100キップ紙幣