Essay

The order of summer

By Samantha Loong

音声ダウンロード

Summer came early to my apartment. And it came in the form of a panicked, enormous cockroach. Nothing quite signals a Japanese summer like large insects scuttling about just within your peripheral vision, causing you to do a double take as your instincts battle between fight or flight.

There is however, a silver lining to this particular cloud. My summer-related Japanese vocabulary gets some practice, and I learn new words and kanji. Towards the end of June, I had to learn how to ask for and recognise words like "insecticide," "insect repellent" and "roach traps." I looked up words required to describe new, terrifying insects I've never seen in my life. And I found out different ways of expressing how large something is.

Describing something in English is not just a matter of stringing together a series of adjectives. Well, you could and you would get your point across, but to sound the most natural, there is actually an order to using adjectives. Although there are occasionally exceptions, the order is generally: opinion, size and shape, age, colour, origin or nationality, material and type or purpose. So you could say that you just saw a cockroach, or you could say it was the ugliest, largest, blackest Japanese roach you've ever laid eyes on. Similarly, with a can of insecticide, why just ask for a can, when you could ask for one that's the most effective, with a low odour and made in Japan.

But a Japanese summer isn't just about the creepy crawlies. An assortment of clothing, appliances and general goods start to hit the shelves, advertising how they keep you cool and smelling fresh. It was again in Japan that I learned how wearing cotton during summer is the quickest way to lose your cool and gain some stink. I had to look for clothing that was lightweight, quick-drying and synthetic.

The order of using adjectives also extends to describing people. This might prove particularly useful at summer beer gardens when you want to be specific about who you think won't be able to hold down their next drink, and therefore should be avoided. For example, the unsteady, tall, language teacher clutching a stolen tanuki under his arm. Then again, at a summer beer garden, it's unlikely anyone will be able to string together a coherent sentence, so perhaps directly pointing is the best way to go.

Some people say that one way to beat the scorching heat is to talk about it. And often. So this summer, as you wipe your brow with one hand while fanningyourself with the other, why not challenge yourself to make your observations and feelings as descriptive as possible. It might take your mind off the heat.

夏に使う言葉の順序

筆者に夏の到来を知らせたのは、アパートに現れた大きなゴキブリだった。しかし、ゴキブリ退治のおかげで今まで知らなかった害虫駆除に関連する日本語を学ぶことができたと思えば、そう悪くない。

The Japan Times ST: July 18, 2014