Dr. Clark Offner's "Timely Words"

Messages of other months can be read by clicking HERE.

Tokyo Landlords (09/04/3)

Language Study (09/04/8)

“Made in Japan” (09/04/10)

Maid in Japan (09/04/14)

Learning by Experience (09/04/18)

Visit to the Philippines (09/04/24)

Learning Japanese (09/05/08)

Timetables (09/04/28)

Tokyo Landlords (09/04/3)

In these “Daily Word” and “Timely Words” messages, I have often pointed out the irregularities of the English language in regard to pronunciation and spelling. In preparation for this message, I was surprised to recognize the irregularities related to the present and past tense of some verbs. For example, the present and past tense of “read” are spelled the same, but pronounced differently. There is a similar change in the pronunciation of the present and past tense of “lead,” but there is a different spelling. In fact, the pronunciation of the word spelled l-e-a-d depends on whether it is a verb or a noun, which is also strange. The past tense of the verb, “make,” is “made,” and it was while considering the term “made in Japan,” that I recognized these irregularities. At the present time, the expression “made in Japan,” will invoke a positive impression of high quality and expertise in the minds of those interested in modern devices in many different areas. But 60 years ago, when my wife and I arrived in Japan, it had quite a different implication. At that time, things “made in Japan” were considered cheap and temporary, not highly respected by Americans and were not expected to last a long time. Now, whether thinking of automobiles, computers or many other products, “made in Japan” is a highly respected phrase. How greatly times have changed! (1220)

Tokyo Landlords (09/04/3)

According to my dictionary, a “ landlord” is “ a person who owns and rents land, buildings, or dwelling units.” When my wife and I first arrived in Japan in November of 1951, we were completely unacquainted with the Japanese language and Japanese customs. We were very fortunate to find an appropriate place to live in a convenient area with a couple of very considerate landlords. Memories of our experiences almost 60 years ago are sharpened by reading copies of letters we wrote to our parents at that time. My mother saved all those letters and since they were written on a typewriter, they are still very legible. The landlords of the place we called home in Tokyo were an elderly Christian couple who did not speak English but were very helpful in advising us how to adjust to the Japanese lifestyle at that time. Among the hundreds of colored slides that we have kept over the years (which our children will have to dispose of eventually), there are a few that were taken on New Year’s Day in 1952, in which both my wife and I are wearing formal Japanese kimonos belonging to our landlords. The only colors included in the kimono I wore were black and brown but at the bottom of the black kimono my wife wore was artwork that included many bright colors. We are very thankful for the helpful advice, instruction and encouragement that our landlords gave us. (1218)

Language Study (09/04/8)

A common meaning of the word “romance” is “a love affair,” or “a novel dealing with a love affair.” It is rooted, however, in “Roman” and was originally related to the city of Rome. “Romance languages” are languages that developed from Latin, the language of ancient Rome. When my wife and I first arrived in Japan, we were entirely unacquainted with the Japanese language, but we had studied the Romance languages of English, Spanish and French. From January 1952, we began our study of the Japanese language. We were in small classes with other missionaries from North America and Europe. From the beginning, only Japanese was used between teachers and students. The aim was to encourage a natural development in understanding the language as a child learns his or her native tongue—without explanation in another language. As I recall, the teacher first held up a book and said, in Japanese, “This is a book.” Then he/she would add such adjectives as “big,” “small,” “thick,” “thin,” “black,” “red,” etc., in Japanese with appropriate gestures. We would then repeat the words and the teacher might correct our pronunciation, but we would understand without further explanation. However, English explanations were given in a book we could read at home after the classes. This proved to be an effective way to learn a foreign language. We attended classes daily on weekdays in classrooms of a church in downtown Tokyo. (1219)

“Made in Japan” (09/04/10)

Maid in Japan (09/04/14)

One definition of “maid,” spelled m-a-i-d, is “a female servant.” It was not long after our arrival in Japan in November 1951, that we realized we needed a maid in Japan. (By the way it was as I considered that subject that I was stimulated to compose the previous message based on a homonym in a popular expression.) Maids were not included in the middle-class families in which we were raised in the U. S. A., but in Japan at that time, it was common for foreign families to have maids. Since my wife was very busy, attending language school 5 mornings a week, studying every afternoon, going shopping to buy the Japanese ingredients needed for meals etc., it was obvious that she needed help and our landlord provided a small room where a maid could stay. We had a number of applicants who were interested in living with and working for an American couple because learning English would be a benefit for the maid. Interviewing candidates helped us to understand the different personalities, interests, abilities, etc. the Japanese have. The first young lady we chose proved to be untrustworthy, so she was replaced, but we were generally very satisfied with the character, competence and efficiency of those we chose. Our maids did not speak English and had never traveled outside of Japan. As a result, my wife and I both learned much in regard to speaking Japanese and adapting to the Japanese lifestyle. My wife learned how to prepare Japanese meals and our communication in Japanese continued to develop. (1221)

Learning by Experience (09/04/18)

Being the first and only missionaries of our American church to serve in Japan, we tried to keep supporters in our homeland well informed of our activities by writing a monthly newsletter, which our church copied and sent out to those who were interested. Looking over those newsletters now stimulates many memories (both positive and negative) and reminds us how we learn by experience. We had not informed the general readership that my wife was pregnant with our first child when we arrived in Japan, but in Tokyo, we were happy to find an American mission-related hospital where American doctors served and my wife was pleased with the advice and treatment she received there. However, when the baby was born, on March 31, 1952, the umbilical cord was wrapped three times around his neck and he suffocated during the birth process. Although we were still newcomers to Japan, we are very grateful for the sympathy expressed by the faithful friends we had made at the Tokyo Union Church and the Japanese church we attended. We cannot fully explain the reason for such sad experiences, but we found meaning and comfort in the words of the Apostle Paul in his Second Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 1, verses 3-4: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” These are the verses I quoted in my next newsletter and we believe our sad experience equipped us to more effectively comfort sorrowing people in our ministry. (1222)

Visit to the Philippines (09/04/24)

As the Pacific War ended, American military forces replaced those from Japan in the Philippine Islands. A member of our church who served there was deeply impressed with the charitable activity of a Christian man in that troublesome land and urged our church to send a regular contribution to him. Limited financial support continued following the soldier’s discharge and before we left for Japan, our church officers expressed the hope that I might be able to visit the Philippines, meet the man and observe the results of the financial aid sent to him. So it worked out that, following my wife’s recuperation, I left Japan for a two-week trip to the Philippines the latter part of April 1952. It was a very significant trip during which I not only observed the physical, economic and spiritual condition of the country, but gained insight into methods of putting Christian theory into practical action. The man our church had been supporting had established an orphan home in a rural area which had the respect of the community. The facilities, which housed a couple dozen orphans, were modest but adequate. The daily schedule included prayertime and Bible study. Subsequent trips to the Philippines were made, but that first visit was a very impressive one. (1223)

Timetables (09/04/28)

A “timetable” is “a schedule listing the times at which certain events, such as arrivals and departures at a transportation station, are expected to take place.” The accuracy of timetables for trains and busses in Japan is one of my lasting memories of that country. At certain stations, I was able to set my watch as a train or bus departed exactly on schedule. I was often reminded of this during my trips to the Philippines, where my experience was very different. The orphan home I visited and where I lived during many of my visits there was in a rural area. To go to either of the two cities connected by an unpaved country road, I had to take a bus. It took about 10 or 15 minutes to walk from the orphanage to the bus stop, but busses did not follow timetables, so it was uncertain how long one must wait for a bus to come. At times, the bus driver might stop the bus, open his window and converse with a person he knew who he happened to see along the way. I recall one time when the driver stopped the bus after seeing a man wave to him from the second-floor window of a house. We waited there until the man had descended and came to board the bus. In the two cities, which I think were about 60 kilometers apart, there were certain designated bus stops where timetables were posted, but obviously bus drivers did not feel restrained by them. Rather, at times, the bus driver drove up and down certain streets in the city, hoping more passengers would board the bus before he officially began the trip. Regarding time schedules, the country was much less rigid and more relaxed than Japan, but of course, the weather was also warmer. (1224)