Mariko, a Japanese university student, is studying for a month in Auckland and has booked a homestay. She arrives at her homestay and meets her homestay parents, Jenny and Paul.

⇒大学生のMarikoは英語の勉強のためにオークランドのホームスティ体験を希望し、Jenny とPaulの家に到着しました。

 

Jenny: “ Hi, you’re Mariko, aren’t you? I’m Jenny and this is my partner Paul.”

⇒Jenny：あなたはMarikoよね？私はJenny、そしてPaulよ。

Paul: “Hi Mariko how are you? You must be really tired after your flight. Bet you’d like to freshen up, maybe unpack or have a shower, eh?”

⇒Paul:やあ、Mariko、元気？”長時間のフライトで疲れてるよね？えっと、気分転換のために、荷ほどきするかシャワーでもあびたほうがいいよね？

Mariko:  “Thank you Mr and Mr Jones. It’s really nice to meet you and very kind of you to let me stay”

⇒Mariko:ありがとうございます。Jonesさん。私はここに滞在することができてとてもうれしく思ってます。

Jenny: “Mariko, please call us “Jenny” and “Paul”. We really want you to feel at home! Our house is your house while you are here”

Jenny: “How about Paul shows you to your room and I make us all a nice cuppa? Tea or coffee?”

⇒Jenny：Paulにあなたの部屋を案内してもらって、そのあとお茶でもしましょ。

Mariko: “Sorry but what is a “cuppa”? I don’t know that word.”

⇒Mariko：私はわからないのですが、“Cuppa”ってどういう意味ですか？

Jenny:  “Oh sorry.  I mean “a cup of tea or coffee”. My dear Mum always says this or that she’ll “put the kettle on”. So what’s it to be?”

 

Kiwis are usually quite informal and most would rather that you used their first names (but it always pays to check first). They like visitors to feel relaxed as soon as possible so Jenny and Paul want Mariko to know that she can treat her place as her own.  Most homestays have just a few basic rules but should be places where students can relax and learn outside of their classroom.

⇒⇒KIWIは通常打ち解けた感じなので、下の名前で呼びます。（ですが最初に確認してくださいね）彼らは来客者にすぐに自分の家のようにリラックスしてほしいので下の名前で呼んでくださいといいました。ほとんどのホームスティ家族は基本的なルールがありますが、学校以外でリラックスしながら英語を学べる場所ですよ。

 

 

“Hi, you’re Mariko, aren’t you?” 

 This is “tag question” that is used to check information and continue a conversation. Very commonly used to start a discussion with a stranger (“Shocking weather, isn’t it?”).  Jenny knows that this is Mariko but she wants to make her feel relaxed.

⇒aren’t you?は自分の発言の確認、そしてその後の会話を続けるための“付加疑問文”です。知らない人と会話を始めるときによく使われる文法です。JennyはMarikoだとわかっていましたがMarikoがリラックスできるように使っています。

 

 The bags won’t really be this heavy but Paul is exaggerating this because he wants to help Mariko.

⇒バックは本当にそんなに重くないだろうけど、Marikoを手伝うために、大げさに使っている表現です。

 

“(I)Bet you’d like to freshen up……” 

Paul leaves out the subject of his sentence.  This is very common in spoken language.

⇒自分がいうことを忘れているときにBetという言葉をネイティブスピーカーはつかうことがあります。

 

This indicates that Paul is thirsty and would really like a drink. The construction is called a “simile”: “He’s as slippery as an eel”  (Negative meaning indicating that you can’t trust him)

 

Jenny leaves out “Would you like tea or coffee?” because native speakers often leave out some words if the meaning of what they say is clear.

⇒JennyはWould you likeを省略して話しています。ネイティブスピーカーたちは言い方がよりクリアーにきこえるのでたまに、いくつかの言葉を省略して話します。

 

Jenny and Paul use these expressions without thinking that other non-native speakers will not know them and will be confused as to their meaning. But not the readers of the Downtown Desk website!