桐壺182：その日のおまへのをりびつもの、こものなど、右大弁なむ承りはりて仕うまつらせける。
その日の源氏から帝への献上の品々、檜の曲物にいっぱいの肴、籠に満たした果物など、すべてを右大弁が承って献上する。
N君：「をりびつもの」は「折り櫃もの」つまり「木製の折櫃に詰められた食べ物の詰め合わせ」です。豪華な弁当、というイメージでしょう。
All the articles which were to be offered from Genji to the Emperor that day, such as a wooden tub filled with fishes and a bamboo basket full of fruits, were reverently presented to Him via Utaiben.
S先生：最後のところの via は by のほうがよいと思います。全体的にはまあまあですがもう少し簡潔にしたいですね。
That day Utaiben offered Genji's gifts to the Emperor : they were a cypress tray of fishes and a bamboo basket of fruits.
今日の英作談義は237回・240回に引き続いて「2012.4/8.朝日新聞コラム」を英訳してみたのでいっしょに読んでみよう。米国勤務の朝日新聞記者が英語についての愚痴をこぼす話です。題は「I am sorry my English is only for Entrance examinations 私の英語は試験用で実際の役には立たなかった」としました。おもしろいですよ。ではスタート！！
I returned from New York at the end of this month after I worked there for three years. Though I am still suffering from jet lag, I am relieved that I was freed from English. To be honest, it was very hard to have to use English in various cases, not only when I was at work but also when I had my teeth treated or when I broke a traffic regulation.
To my regret, my English is little better than "the First Common Test(共通一次試験)." By this test before the now "Center Test(センター試験)" we were examined on how we knew English Grammar or how well we could read English. As a result, it was the university students somewhat able to read English but very poor at listening and speaking English that were mass-produced.
It was when 30 years old that I, with so poor English ability, went to America. I could neither ask the way nor order my lunch. It was nearly 20 years ago. Disgracing myself in public, I managed to cover pieces of news for our newspaper, but when I spoke to elementary school students, they always asked me, "Pardon ?"
As I had been troubled over English for a long time, I got unbearably angry when some Americans who had no difficulty using English regarded me with a preconception that it was natural that I should speak English. For example, when a French reporter asks a French Ambassador in French at the United Nations Headquarters, an American reporter says, "Speak in English. All the reporters here want to ask and be answered in English." It has become to be taken for granted year after year that English is a supreme language.
There was a case where a candidate was prevented from running for a member a municipal assembly for the reason that she spoke poor English. A woman, who lived in Arizona, was sued by her opponent, with a petition that she was unqualified to run for a member of the assembly for her poor English. She lost the suit based on the result of an English test which showed clearly that she was unable to read ordinances and had difficulty to discuss in English. She was not allowed to announce her candidacy.
Though the US is an English speaking country, it will be going too far to block participation in political activity simply because a person is poor at English. Enraged at this unfairness, I managed to find out a person who judged her English ability. He was Professor Bill Egington(61), Dean of Linguistics, Brighamyoung University in Utah. He is a recognized authority on English Education for Foreigners. He said, "I was at a loss whether I should undertake the job or not. My ideal is a society where multiple languages coexist. I have been against the movement that non-English speaking immigrants should be rejected. At the same time I have been insisting that it is important to judge English ability fairly. It is from a scholar's conscience of mine that I have undertaken the job."
In judging the ability, he gave the woman the computer test he had developed himself. The test requested her to listen to English and repeat it, and the result was 56 points out of 160. He said, "Her English ability is insufficient for a member of a municipal assembly, but she would be able to show her ability fully as a politician if Spanish were an official language. It was a great pity that she was forced to give up running."
With a little hesitation, I asked him to let me take the same test, for I thought I would like to know my own English ability. I concentrated all my nerves on the headphone. The number of the questions was 40 ; "Reading a sad story, I have been depressed till night." "He would be sent to a jail this time if he were caught by the police," etc. Compared to "the English Certification Test" I took long ago, the speed of English was much faster. A cold sweat was on my face. The result was 116 points. "What grade is this ?" "Slightly above average. It is not sufficient for you to become a doctor or a lawyer. You will need to make considerable efforts to be a member of prefectural or municipal assembly." The test was only about listening and speaking. It is natural that we, the generation who were exclusively demanded to comprehend English, are not equal to the test.
This University, run by Mormon Society, sends a lot of students to Japan to propagate Mormonism. The professor also stayed in Japan when the Olympics were held in Nagano. And he has so many opportunities to meet Japanese students that he is very familiar with the Japanese peculiar habits of using English. "What is remarkable among the japanese is that they are convinced that they cannot speak English. In spite of the fact that they can speak English pretty well, every Japanese I met has an extraordinary inferiority complex about English. I think they should be freed from their complex that they are poor at English before they argue over making English their official language."
It goes without saying that our inferiority complex about English is considerably strong. And this complex spreads almost all the people. One of the reasons seems to be that all the society demands higher English ability too much. English tests are given to all the students from the 7th grade (now 5th grade !) to 12th grade almost every week, and English is necessary to take entrance examinations for universities. Even after getting jobs, they are demanded to take TOEIC, and English is an official language at Uniqlo and Rakuten. Ordeals must be undergone forever. It will be natural that young and old, men and women, should think that English is hard to tackle.
Now, if the Japanese are in an extraordinary inferiority complex about English, the Americans may well be said to be self-conceited with their own language. Lawrence Summers, the former President of Harvard University and ex-Secretary of the Treasury is a typical person. Lately he said, "English has become a world language. English will be sufficient to talk business in Asia, to treat patients in Africa and to have peace negotiations in the Middle East. From now on American Universities will have no need to give the students foreign language lessons requiring a lot of time and energy."
What an arrogant view on languages ! He seems to think it natural to force English on other peoples. Though the US is declining in the fields of military affairs and currency, the Americans are haughty as far as English is concerned. Even at the golden age of the Roman Empire, was there a person who was so arrogantly proud of Latin ? I would like to have such an arrogant person go through many hardships for three years in some country where he cannot make himself understood in English at all.
N君：面白い話でグイグイ引き込まれましたがやはり10分近くかかりました。知らなかった単語・連語をあげてみると、disgracing myself in public「人前で恥をさらしながら」、run for「立候補する」、be equal to「能力上対応可能で」、ordeal = hardship、 haughty = arrogant などです。150秒で読み要旨を50秒で80字前後にまとめる必要がありそうですがそういうことばかりやっていると、この記者さんみたいに苦労するかもしれません。僕なりの要旨を以下に示しておきます。「読む書くの勉強では太刀打ちできぬ英語の聞く話す能力を磨く苦労は並大抵ではなく、英語圏の人は他の言語を使う人に対して無理解な態度が見えるので、その苦労をわかってあげてほしい」。85字でした。
