I won't lie, I've been waiting for Ayi to ask me about English for a long time. I'm often criticized for assuming not only that other people are as interested in learning languages as I am but also the role of teacher in that endeavor. To my credit, I have waited patiently for Ayi to ask, "英文怎么说？" -- or "How do you say this in English?"
One evening recently, Ayi was tidying up the apartment when saw something atop my armoire that peaked her interest. It happened to be the banana mask that I had worn in Tokyo for Halloween. She pointed and asked what it could possibly be. I took it down and put it on my head, "It's a banana mask!" I said.
Once we got the obligatory how-much-did-that-cost/I-don't-know-it-was-a-gift exchange out of the way, she asked me why in the hell I would own something so frivolous. I proceeded to explain the custom of Halloween in the United States and how it has been adopted by the Japanese. You can imagine how all of this might be flying miles above Ayi's head.
The conversation then took an unexpected turn, "香蕉英文怎么说？" -- "How do you say banana in English?"
I was stunned. She had never asked that about anything before. I wonder what it was that made her so curious this time. Of course, she couldn't have asked for a more ridiculous word. I told her slowly, "ba-na-na." She tried to repeat it, which she did with moderate success, and then started to giggle uncontrollably like a small school girl.
"苹果怎么说？" -- "How do you say apple?" -- Me: Apple. -- Ayi: Ah-po!
"土豆怎么说？" -- "How do you say potato?" -- Me: Potato. -- Paw-tei-tow!
"西红柿怎么说？" -- "How do you say tomato?" -- Me: Tomato. -- Tow-mei-tow!
She liked tomato the best, commenting, "好说，好记" -- meaning, "It's easy to say and (therefore) easy to remember." We quizzed her the next week, and sure enough, she remembered.
好说，好记！
