Ethnography: Sumimasen すみません

 In the book “すみません (Sumimasen)” which can be found on the website Tadoku.com it can mean sorry or excuse me in English can be found nine times in the book out of the ten pages in the book itself. In the book, it was used to ask for forgiveness, say thank you to someone, and also for someone to express their gratitude. And while some might say that apologizing for everything and anything is strange I think it is starting to become more common now.

For every region, I think it will have its own common expression like “oh” or  “ope” or “sorry”. But for Midwesterners personally, I think they either will either use “ope” over “sorry” for most things. For me, I would personally use “oh” or “sorry” for most situations. Also but while it is not the same in the English language there is something called “homographs” it is where two words have the same spelling but a different meaning. An example would be to conduct business with the staff the teacher would need to finish conducting the band.

I think when it comes to learning a new language it can also help to learn about the culture is a big part of the language you are studying.  And I think a lot of languages are similar in different ways but they are also implemented in ways that can make us confused or uncomfortable since we are not accustomed to it. I am also sure that the Japanese language has a phrase similar to “ope” or “oh” and I’m also sure that there are homographs in the Japanese language as well.