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1. Modern Japanese has a lot of buzzwords, such as "KY" "OL" or "イケメン". Name one that did not exist when you were a child. What does it mean? When and how did you learn its meaning?
2. Modern Japanese has a lot of loan words and phrases, such as "ケース‐バイ‐ケース" or "スマホ". Name one that did not exist when you were a child. What does it mean? Which country or language is it from? Is there a Japanese word for this? If there is, which is used more; the loan word or the Japanese? Why do you think that is?
3. Abbreviations, acronyms and jargon play a part in all businesses. Tell us about a time when you have had to adjust to and use new terminology at work or when learning something new.
4. The public often pick up catchphrases, tag lines, slogans and catchlines from advertising, movies and pop culture. Some examples would be "ピアノうってちょうだい" (from the Takamoto Piano television commercials) or "Shaken not Stirred" (from the James Bond movies). Name one. Where is it from? Why did it become famous do you think?
5. Tell us about a buzzword, loan word, idiom, phrase, saying, portmanteau, proverb, slogan, catchphrase, acronym or abbreviation, either in Japanese or English, that you really like or that makes you laugh? What does it mean? Where is from? Why do you like it or find it funny?
6. Are you good at picking up new word and phrases (either in Japanese or in English)? If yes, how do you retain new words and phrases? If no, why not?

For teachers:

1. Modern English has a lot of buzzwords, such as "hangry" "crowdfund" or "blockchain". Name one that did not exist when you were a child. What does it mean? When and how did you learn its meaning?
2. Modern English has a lot of loan words and phrases, such as "anime" "bokeh" or "hygge". Name one that did not exist when you were a child. What does it mean? Which country or language is it from? Is there an English word for this? If there is, which is used more; the loan word or the English word? Why do you think that is?
3. Abbreviations, acronyms and jargon play a part in all businesses. Tell us about a time when you have had to adjust to and use new terminology at work or when learning something new.
4. The public often pick up catchphrases, tag lines, slogans and catchlines from advertising, movies and pop culture. Some examples would be "Just Do It" (Nike) or "Shaken not Stirred" (from the James Bond movies). Name one. Where is it from? Why did it become famous do you think?
5. Tell us about a buzzword, loan word, idiom, phrase, saying, proverb, portmanteau, slogan, catchphrase, acronym or abbreviation, either in Japanese or English, that you really like or that makes you laugh? What does it mean? Where is from? Why do you like it or find it funny?
6. Are you good at picking up new word and phrases (either in Japanese or in English)? If yes, how do you retain new words and phrases? If no, why not?

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Question 1

My buzzword is "brunch". It's between breakfast and lunch. Or it is breakfast type food anytime during the day. In America it is most common to eat brunch on Sunday. People who go out late on Saturdays, might sleep in on Sundays. You can wake up late and eat breakfast type food at lunchtime. I learned this buzzword when I was 16. I started a job at a restaurant in my home town. I had to work the brunch shift.

Question 2

Most of the words that come to mind are food words like croissant. A croissant is a flaky, buttery roll shaped like a crescent. It comes to us from France.

Question 3

I've had to adjust to abbreviations, acronyms and jargon since moving to Japan and teaching English here. Many companies in Japan use acronyms. SMBC bank. UFJ bank. USJ amusement park. Here at English Please we also use acronyms, jargon and of course Japanese which is a foreign language to me.

Question 4

In 1956 the catchphrase "It's finger licking good" was released by Kentucky Fried Chicken on their commercials. The catchphrase is still used today.

Question 5

I like "ginormous". It's giant and enormous put together as a portmanteau. We use it in America to describe something that is sooooo big its ginormous! I like the way it sounds. I don't like how we put celebrities names together like "Brangelina". Can you guess who these two celebrities are?

Question 6

I think that I'm pretty good at picking up new words and phrases. In America, as a bartender, I had to memorize over a hundred cocktail recipes. Ingredients, amounts, and how to prepare them and what glass to serve them in.

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
brunch	ブランチ
croissant	クロワッサン
catchphrase	キャッチフレーズ
acronym	頭字語
memorize	暗記する