Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. conquer (v.) [kong-ker] – to be victorious; to win
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. conquer (v.) [kong-ker] – to be victorious; to win
Example: The basketball team conquered the
international league because of its
players’ perseverance during practices.
2. massive (adj.) [mas-iv] – great;
large in terms of intensity or degree
Example: There was a massive blackout in the
three nearby cities.
3. inflict (v.) [in-flikt] – to cause
pain or damage
Example: Doctors inflict pain in order to cure
diseases.
4. nickname (n.) [nik-neym] – a name that
is different from your real name but is what your family, friends, etc., call
you when they are talking to you or about you
Example: French soccer player Franck Ribéry
earned his nickname Scarface because of a noticeable scar on his left face.
5. humble (adj.) [huhm-buhl] –not
to think of yourself as better than other people
Example: A humble person accepts corrections when
he is wrong.
Article
Read the text below.
“Nadeshiko Japan”, the nickname of the women’s national soccer team, was awarded by U-Can, Inc. as the top buzzword of 2011 for the yearly U-can Shingo Ryukogo Taisho prizes.
The
national soccer team became famous when they conquered the World Cup in Germany last July. They were the first Japanese soccer team to
be awarded as champions by FIFA. Their triumph gave
the country hope amid struggles from
the March earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.
Because
of its massive media coverage, only
Nadeshiko was ranked as No. 1, while the other words on the top 10 list were
not ranked.
Five
out of the nine buzzwords that followed Nadeshiko on the list were related to the March 11 disaster.
Included in the list was the date “3.11”, and the word kizuna or “human bonds”, which became popular as people united to
help the victims of the disaster. Kitaku nanmin, meaning “refugees who
cannot return home”, also made it on the list.
“Kodama de shouka?” or “Is that just an
echo?” became famous when it was used repeatedly in a public service
commercial by the Advertising Council of Japan after
the calamity. The ad, created to emphasize the need to help the victims of such
disaster, used the phrase to send the message that people pass on to others
the kindness shown to them.
U-Can,
an education and career support company, also selected “fuhyohigai”, which pertains to the
financial damage experienced by farmers and fishermen due to fear inflicted by the nuclear power plant
crisis.
Other
words included were suma-ho, short
for smartphones, and dojo naikaku,
the nickname given to the Cabinet
of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. The nickname compares the cabinet to an ugly
and humble kind of fish.
A
term often used by Kansai comedians, “Doya-gao”, was also counted in.
Completing the list was comedian Tanoshingo’s “rabu chunyu”, a meaningless phrase
he always uses while forming a heart-shape with his hands.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
What
factors do you think influence the selection of top buzzwords?
·
Can
you think of other famous words or phrases that can possibly be included in the
list?
Discussion B
·
Do
you think people benefit from knowing the top buzzwords of the year? Why or why
not?
·
What do
you think the list of buzzwords reveals about your country’s culture?