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Paco2004 Posted 21 years ago
Vocabulary

A poor English speaking Japanese

Hello Teachers

I'm seeking a good expression (without using a relative clause) to mean "a Japanese person who cannot speak English well". "A nearly non English speaking Japanese", "A poor English speaking Japanese", "A Japanese with limited English skills", "A Japanese with poor English skills"... which would be most natural? Or are there any good expressions?

Thanks

paco
  

Top answer

In my opinion, your initial description ("a Japanese person who cannot speak English well") is probably the most straight-forward and concise manner in which you could have expressed that idea. Your other examples do not work for the simple reason that "Japanese" cannot be used as a singular noun. Other than that though, the last two options sound fine to my ears.

— YoungCalifornian

  • In my opinion, your initial description ("a Japanese person who cannot speak English well") is probably the most straight-forward and concise manner in which you could have expressed that idea.
  • Your other examples do not work for the simple reason that "Japanese" cannot be used as a singular noun.
  • Other than that though, the last two options sound fine to my ears.
  • Still, if you want other possibilities then you could use: "a Japanese person with basic English skills" "an English beginner from Japan" "a Japanese person still learning English"
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7 Answers
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In my opinion, your initial description ("a Japanese person who cannot speak English well") is probably the most straight-forward and concise manner in which you could have expressed that idea. Your other examples do not work for the simple reason that "Japanese" cannot be used as a singular noun. Other than that though, the last two options sound fine to my ears. Still, if you want other possi
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Hello YoungCal

Thank you for the quick reply. I see! I was thaught in school that "Nihon-jin" was a Japanese. It's bad I can't still get rid of this wrong usage. Anyway I understand I'd better say "A Japanese person with poor/limited/basic English skills". The last choice (basic) sounds most inoffensive to me.

paco
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If it were up to me, I would choose "basic" as well. That word choice implies that the person can communicate in English at a fundamental level, but is still in the process of learning the language.
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Paco - I would particularly avoid one of your suggestions, "a poor English speaking Japanese." To me, it sounds like an impoverished Englishman who is speaking Japanese. (Although we don't really use either "English" or "Japanese" as a noun to refer to a single person.)
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KhoffPaco - I would particularly avoid one of your suggestions, "a poor English speaking Japanese." To me, it sounds like an impoverished Englishman who is speaking Japanese.
Indeed! Thank you for the advice, Khoff.

paco
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Interesting, the American Heritage Dictionary says "Japanese" can also be used as a noun (with its plural form written the same way).

http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/Japanese


Cheers!
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I took a look at that entry for "Japanese", César, and I think that you may have misinterpreted their meaning. It seems that their definition for "Japanese" as a noun is indeed limited to a plural form. By writing "pl." under the noun entry, they are not indicating that the singular and plural forms are the same, but that the noun is only a plural noun. Look up a nationality such as "Rus
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