Call Me Grandfather

May 14, 2022Blog, Culture, Inspiration

Call Me Grandfather

In the case of one’s first grandchild, don’t call me jijī—just call me grandfather.

Which leads to a pronunciation conversation for those whose mother tongue is Japanese.

Mother Tongue and Identity - Land Of The Rising Son

English is the global communication tool and its pronunciation challenges will torment the Japanese until the end of time.

Most English pronunciation contains sounds which are aurally alien to native Japanese speakers.

Having grandson use grandfather will act as a permanent pronunciation exercise to haunt him throughout his life.

Along with the extremely vexing ‘r’ pronunciation at the beginning of grandfather it is also part of the double-consonant ‘gr.’

Moreover, the nasty ‘ther’ combination finishing off this pronunciation nightmare provides even more distress for Japanese speakers of English.

Language notes:
(1) Double-consonants do not exist in Japanese.
(2) For the Japanese, the most challenging pronunciation is ‘r’ and ‘l’ and ‘b’ and ‘v.’
(3) The Japanese language contains subtle intonation and complex ideograms—the torment of all Japanese learners.

常用漢字表 - Land Of The Rising Son

On the island nation of Japan, one’s grandson may be referred to as “half.”

This seems to be controversial terminology among the Occidental Anglophone, now shortened to “Occixies,” but is in fact how the Japanese innocuously referred to mixed citizens.

Growing up in the countryside of Japan, one’s own daughter, mother of grandson, was also referred to as “half.”

Sarah - Avatar - Land Of The Rising SonThis is where the contemporary and more appropriate term “hybrid” has now become a part of the Japanese lexicon, replacing the archaic “half” when referring to people of mixed race in Japan.

One can not help but consider this timely arrival of grandson to be of profound serendipity.

For this is the very year where one’s own father became god, just one month before the birth of grandson.

Now the spirit of dearly departed great-grandfather has incarnated into his own great-grandson embodying our clan’s DNA.

His great-grandfather exemplified the Milk of Human Kindness to his dying day, and endeared by all those fortunate enough to have met him.

Lawrence Joseph Filiatrault - June 15, 1935 ~ April 5, 2022 - Land Of The Rising Son

The burning question for all to consider in these extraordinary times is:

What kind of world will be left for the descendants of our Sun?

The fact of the matter remains true—all children are born pure and unadulterated.

innocence of a child - Land Of The Rising Son

It is only with the initiation of cultural and societal protocols do children internalize the notion of race and religion.

Unfortunately, this is accompanied with prejudice that come with seeing other’s differences instead of similarities, in particularly concerning religion.

For the sake of our world and future of our descendants, our children and grandchildren must have a holistic understanding of their own cultural touchstones.

Asian Values- Filial Piety - Land Of The Rising Son

They must also recognize the significance of other cultures and the unique protocols, narratives, and mythology contained within.

The Japanese have always had the notion of take things from other cultures and molding the object of their affection into something distinctively Japanese.

Now grandson has the opportunity to build a miraculous community of likeminded people from around the globe thanks to the miracle of technology.

The leaders of the future must guide us into our common humanity, representing all diverse cultural characteristics from around the globe, making our unified whole so much more than its frail parts.

Ogen-kun kore kara yoroshiku onegai shinagara, call me grandfather.