Tin Ear

I have a tin ear. Maybe not tin, but no better than brass at best. Anyone who has listened to me try to tune a guitar or pick out a tune on the piano knows this. With language, this means that it takes me 10 tries before I guess how a new word is pronounced. Alternatively, you can write it out and say it V-E-R-Y S-L-O-W-L-Y for me. Kaite kudasai. Yukkuri hanashite kudasai.

This hit home when I kept trying to hear for a week what they were saying when the door on the train closes: "Doa ga shimarimasu". I knew it meant the door was closing - they always say it just before the door closes - what else could it mean. I tried to repeat what I thought I'd heard to my secretary and she had a blank stare. One of the other guys said "Oh - Doa ga shimarimasu". She said "Oh - The door will close". The guy who knew how to say it said "Oh - Is that what it means?"

Now how is it that he could hear it and repeat it and not even know what it means? He said he had been hearing it every day for 6 months - of course he could repeat it. I think some people have a better ear for sound than others. Also, I am losing some hearing from being around too many power tools and industrial compressors without hearing protection. Not to mention firearms. But my Japanese is better than the other guys. Which shows you can excel if you try hard enough (and the other guys don't know it is a competition).