Essay The wedding vow By Kip Cates	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
結婚の誓い 学生から「英語の発音は大切ですか」と尋ねられた時、筆者は「もちろんだよ」と答える。なぜなら筆者自身、日本語の発音で大失態を演じたことがあるからなのだ。それも自身の結婚式でのスピーチにおいてのこと。奥さんはいまだにその出来事を忘れていないのだとか。

Getting married is a major life event, especially if it's with someone from a different culture. However, cross-cultural weddings can be dangerous, especially if you make a mistake. A good example is my wedding ceremony in Kobe.

My fiancee and I decided to have a traditional Japanese wedding at a Shinto shrine. As the groom, I had to give a formal speech -- the wedding vow -- as part of the ceremony. I was very nervous because it was in Japanese. Several weeks before the ceremony, I asked for a copy so I could study and prepare. Everyone told me, "We'll get that later." As the wedding slowly approached, I kept asking, but my fiancee's family was too busy reserving the hotel, choosing kimono, and so on.

Incredibly, the wedding day arrived and I still hadn't received my speech. As we were sitting in the Shinto shrine waiting for our ceremony to begin, someone finally gave it to me. Panic! It was one page -- all in Japanese -- with many difficult Chinese characters. Luckily, I had my trusty kanji dictionary with me and pulled it out from under my hakama. The next 20 minutes was the most intense period of study in my life. Frantically, I checked each character so I'd know how to pronounce it. Then, it was time for the ceremony to start.

Before my speech came the san-san-ku-do. This is when the bride and groom take 3 sips of sake from 3 different cups. My wife touched each cup to her lips 3 times, then passed it to me. I was so nervous that I drank each cup dry! When the time for my wedding vow arrived, I was half-drunk. Not good! Amazingly, I managed to recite the whole speech perfectly right up until the last word. I was really proud of myself.

The last part of my speech was: "To love, to cherish and to protect my wife, I hereby vow." In Japanese, the verb comes at the end of the sentence. The final word I had to say was "I vow" (chikaimasu). Unfortunately, I stumbled. Instead of saying chikaimasu, I said chigaimasu (which means "No, I won't").

A shock went through the room! My fiancee jumped. Her parents froze. Everyone stared. I desperately tried to correct myself ("chikaimasu! chikaimasu!") but it was too late. In front of a roomful of people, I had just declared, "I will not love, cherish or protect my wife." You can imagine my embarrassment. For the next year, everyone teased me about my mistake. Even now, 30 years later, my wife still hasn't forgotten.

Now, when my students ask me if pronunciation is important, I tell them, yes. Even a small difference like "chikaimasu" and "chigaimasu" can have a big impact on your life!

Shukan ST: APRIL 6, 2012

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