Similarities between Lebanon and Japan

Centre > Travel diaries > Japan 2000 > Similarities between Lebanon and Japan

During my stay in Japan and when I started learning the language, I was astonished to find expressions and formulae that were not only similar, but often literally identical. What do I mean by that? To take an example, "good morning" is common to all cultures in the world, but only on the level of intention. The wording is rarely similar. If we render different ways of saying "good morning" into English, verbatim, we get "good day" (French, Italian), "salute the light" (Armenian), "morning of the light" (Arabic),... You get the point. When the meaning is as peculiar as "I salute the light", it is startling to find the exact same expression in another culture, and when there are more than just one expression in common things become very interesting. This is why I kept an ear out for Japanese locutions that sounded familiar. I found quite a few, including gestures and customs.

Naturally, I am by no means trying to prove that there must have been contact of some sort between Japan and Lebanon a long time ago or anything that radical. All that this does is point out similar thinking patterns between the two cultures. Not to mention that I get a kick out of it, too.

The very first thing that hit me was the sentence used to respectfully ask someone's name: O-namae wa... ("What is the honourable name?"). In Lebanese we say Shoo-l-'esm el-kareem? that translates in exactly the same way, even in the avoidance of using the notion of "you". Up to that point any comparison between the refined Japanese and my loud, Asterix-tribe-like countrymen would never have occurred to me. Yet surprise! Their manners are just as exquisite – when they're willing to bring them out.

Consider the Lebanese word Tfaddal. I can't translate it into English; I can only explain that it is an invitation extended to someone to come in, start eating, take money if it's a cab driver I'm paying, etc. You could use "please" as an equivalent, but it is still remote. Japanese has Dôzo, a perfect match.

Another perfectly matching expression is Japanese Ojama shimasu: "I am about to disturb you", which is an apology in advance. In Lebanese we say Beddeh 3azzbak, "I am about to torture you". It is convenient because the rules of politeness demand that the bothered person protest that "it's no bother". A close equivalent is also Shitsurei shimasu: "I am about to be rude". Apparently one of the assassins of a pre-War minister said this (in the past tense) to the victim's wife before fleeing from the house. Unbelievable! And yet, it's not that different from saying it to the exhausted clerk who returns running from a tour of the neighbourhood in search of change for the big banknote you just handed him.

Here's now a series of expressions that are not as dead-on as the above but close enough. To say that something is impossible, the Japanese say it's Muzukashii, "difficult", as the word "impossible" is too harsh for their culture. If you ask a Japanese to lend you $1000 you're likely to hear the answer Muzukashii; for the same euphemistic reasons a Lebanese would reply Sa3beh ("it's difficult").
In a similar spirit of attenuation, both the Japanese and Lebanese donÕt directly ask "how are you?" but "how is your condition?" (Guai wa ikaga desu ka / Keef 7álak?). When offering a gift, the Japanese push modesty to the extent of making it sound like theyÕre handing you a miserable piece of junk (this insures one doesn't put on the receiver the burden of having to reciprocate with a valuable gift); the Lebanese don't go that far but it is customary to shift the attention off the gift and onto the receiver ("It's nothing... you deserve so much more"). As well, the polite way to say Please in Japanese is Onegai shimasu, "I beg of you". This is also the meaning of our Betrajjék, but we use it informally because it has a slightly satirical twist to it. When we say "I beg you" we don't mean "I'm on my knees begging you", but "Don't make me beg".
Do itashimashite is approximately the equivalent of English "you're welcome" or "Don't mention it", but verbatim it means "how doing?" or in other words: "how can you be thanking me while I've done nothing to deserve it?". In daily life we often say Keef lakén for the same usage; it means "how then?", or "how else could I act towards you?"
Finally there's a parting formula Mata aimash ("let's meet again"), mirrored by Lebanese Khalleena nshoofak ("Make it so that we see you again").

I don't know if I should include the furious address "Drop dead!", Kutabare in Japanese. It's more imaged in Lebanese: Toqq wmoot! "Snap and die!" I notice though that it is widely used in every language I can think of.

As for the gesture I mentioned previously, I am not sure if it's particular to those two cultures. I only mention it because when I read about it about Japan, I realized I had never seen anyone do it outside Lebanon, not even in comics or movies. It is a beckoning gesture: palm down, the hand flaps at the wrist. It is a bit paternal in Lebanon, sometimes even accompanied by a face that means: "Come here, DEAREST [so I can kick the living daylights out of you]."

I'm on the lookout for more.