<Begin Segment 23>

TY: [Jpn.] In that case... you spoke English earlier. Then how did you learn English?

MK: [Jpn.] My learning English? I don't know English enough to say I learned English. [Laughs] Well, I used a dictionary for writing.

TY: [Jpn.] I see. Since those days.

MK: [Jpn.] Well, it's so difficult to look something up in a dictionary. It takes time. It's better to be among Caucasians and just listen even if you don't understand. That's smarter. When you don't know much, a dictionary won't help much.

TY: [Jpn.] Didn't you remember what you studied in English classes at junior and senior high schools?

MK: [Jpn.] No. Those were nothing. No help.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. When I came to the U.S., I couldn't speak at all.

TY: [Jpn.] Didn't it help at all?

MK: [Jpn.] Think. For example, in Japan you call a garage, gradu... no, garage... you know, they call it...

TY: [Jpn.] It's "gureygee."

MK: [Jpn.] So, it's "gureygee."

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] Just like that, the pronunciation is different. So it's useless.

TY: [Jpn.] I understand.

MK: [Jpn.] Uh-huh. So if you come here, it's better to go to school here. Or you live among Caucasians. Then you cannot use Japanese. Right?

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Even if you don't like it or don't understand it, you keep listening. Then gradually you understand "this" means "this." You learn without knowing.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Yes, it is different from studying at school, but it helps some.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] Then, in your case, you used a dictionary and learned English so that you can speak now.

MK: [Jpn.] No. I can't. I can't. Not at all.

TY: [Jpn.] But you can speak with your family members without any difficulty.

MK: [Jpn.] But they understand all of my Japanese.

TY: [Jpn.] Do you mean your children?

MK: [Jpn.] My children all understand Japanese.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] I said all, but they don't understand difficult Japanese words. They understand everyday Japanese. Every word. All seven children understand.

TY: [Jpn.] Is it because you, your husband and your father all spoke Japanese?

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah, that's right. So the children, also.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Everybody knows. Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] So this is the reverse of what you said earlier. You talked about living among Caucasians. This is learning Japanese by living among Japanese people.

MK: [Eng.] Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] So if you want to learn English, even housework will do. You can do the housework at a Caucasian home.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Even with that work, they don't use Japanese to say, "Do this," or "Do that."

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] See? It's English. So you learn. I heard they had to do ironing. You had to do many things. So if you do the housework, you learn about the housework (in English). That alone will help.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] Uh-huh. Yeah. So it is the best to mingle with Caucasians.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Eng.] Uh-huh.

TY: [Jpn.] So, your husband lived in Tacoma for a long time...

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] In the Japanese community there...

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah, there are Japanese all over. There, too.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] That sawmill. Most Japanese men went there. Maybe not all of them. Some went to work for a railroad.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] So, if you were a man, you wanted to work for a sawmill.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. That's the easiest. You don't have to speak at all.

TY: [Jpn.] I see. Even if you don't speak English...

MK: [Jpn.] Right.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. As long as you know what to do at work, that's all you need.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. Yeah.

<End Segment 23> - Copyright © 2000 Densho. All Rights Reserved.