Japan’s relationship with the English language is an interesting one. All Japanese study three years of English in junior high school (part of compulsory education) plus three more in high school (not compulsory, though 99% of students attend) and up to another four if they take it university. One thorny question is, do the Japanese view British or American English as the “default,” and my Japanese wife faced the confusing situation of learning the former in junior high and the latter in high school, which must have been a challenge for her. Because the Japanese have quite a bit of knowledge of English, they often “decorate” their world with interesting words or phrases, and I’ve noticed some trends. For some reason, guitar shops seem to like wacky and creative English, and near J-List there’s a shop called Dust Bowl whose slogan is “for steady rollin’ man’s station,” that promises “gutsy repair” of musical instruments that might break. Whenever I attend school events I know the other parents will pull out their best Engrish T-shirts, and I love walking around reading them.
Music shops in Japan have some of the best English.
