Does Hideki speak any English

[elwhippy]

Sky played an interview where Hideki spoke totally in Japanese. Does he actually speak any English? I make a point of trying to use the local language wherever I travel.

[wmblake2000]

Someone on a tv broadcast said he's learning English and can speak ok but is not comfortable doing it on camera

[elwhippy]

Thanks. I know a lot of the Asian female players had similar issues. A fantastic player and worth a punt on a major win this season.

[DJ Aus]

I have known a few Japanese people who have stayed with my mother in law while studying in Australia. Their english would improve dramatically after a few beers and they loosened up a little, might be the same for Hideki. They weer a bit shy and not waning to be seen in a bad light.

[Soloman1]

Your Japanese must be pretty good to carry on a conversation when you travel to Japan, elwhippy?

 

It's risk management. He has no intention of making a mistake in front of the press, for which he would be relentlessly mocked.

 

You'll notice he doesn't doesn't always need his tranlator to understand the questions, but English is loaded with idioms and slang that can trip up non-native speakers. His answers in Japanese are simple and direct, but literal translation between Japanese and English would in many cases not make sense to the Engish speaker. You have to apply figurative license.

[Hankshank]

My work has brought me in contact with Chinese people, graduating with top results from universities. And they say it's VERY hard to learn English, it's so different. Being relatively easy for, like, dutch or scandinavian people speaking another germanic language, you only have go to France to find people that really struggle. And the confucian countries are like another language planet. So, I'm impressed by Inbee, IK and others with good English. And their talent is on the golf course...

[playa]

Maybe the interview was for Japanese tv?

[Boricua Golf]

He can, but like stated above, he is not very comfortable in front of the camera, I caddied on a Pro Am and he was the Pro, he spoke English to us, he said he was trying to get better at it and wanted to practice...he did fine.

[Sun Devil]

Give him time. He wants to learn and he will.

[the bishop]

Give him time. He wants to learn and he will.

Exactly. When he's comfortable he'll start speaking English to the press. There's no need to rush him.

[Petunia Sprinkle]

The people I've known from Japan are far more concerned about giving offense, through misunderstanding, than most Americans I know.

[jsixman]

He's had plenty of time. It's ridiculous. They've been saying this for 3 years.

[Hawkeye77]

He's had plenty of time. It's ridiculous. They've been saying this for 3 years.

 

What's ridiculous? Spieth know how to speak the language of every place he goes?

 

Hideki has no "obligation" to speak any particular level of English.

[Judge440]

He speaks golf.

[duffer987]

Yes I'm sure the troll OP being the polyglot he is, uses his mastery of language to communicate to locals whenever he gets to Blackpool, Skegness, or Bridgend.

 

The English speaking players do so well too, when they are in Asia or when the European Tour has its stretch on the continent once it warms up.

 

Sticking to his native tongue for all of his professional commitments throughout his career would be one of the smartest off-the-course decisions Hideki could make.

[Frankensteins Monster]

LoL "Trying a local language." What does that even mean?

[bladehunter]

He's had plenty of time. It's ridiculous. They've been saying this for 3 years.

 

It's his choice to make. If he waits till he's 65 it's ok. He doesn't owe you an English interview. Don't like it don't watch.

[Christosterone]

For those not familiar, the Japonic languages are agglutinative...

 

I'm not going to bore you all with the details y'all cannot fathom the complexity of the Japonic languages compared to the Latin or Cyrillic families...

 

For Hideki to properly interact could take a decade or more...

 

Hidekis sensibilities are born of a culture steeped in honor and he will be reticent to embarrass himself as western cultures tend to mock Asians inability to perfectly speak English...

 

I assure you he is trying....just as Ichiro did in Seattle despite never taking the proverbial plunge...

The bashful prince, Ryo(pronounced YO) Ishikawa speaks brilliantly but is no longer on Hidekis career trajectory..

 

-Chris

[UCBananaboy]

I speak fluent English and Chinese. I was fortunate enough to grow up learning both languages.

 

With that said, Chinese and English are COMPLETELY different. Chinese is a tonal language (each word has 4 tones meaning 4 different things) whereas English is non-tonal. I can't speak to the sentence structure of Japanese, but I imagine it is quite different from English as well.

 

I forget which podcast I was listening to, but they mentioned that Hideki had planned to use English in his press conferences for 2017.

[Psyber]

He's had plenty of time. It's ridiculous. They've been saying this for 3 years.

 

I'm just curious, what languages do you speak fluently besides English?

[BenHoganSlam1953]

He's had plenty of time. It's ridiculous. They've been saying this for 3 years.

 

Plenty of time??? Have you ever tried to acquire a new language as an adult? As with anything in life, we all have the time, but seem to never be able to find it. Kudos to him for trying - I just showed up in Quebec without any French and I am comfortable after many years, but I know people who have been here for decades and can barely struggle through it. No different than Toronto (and most major cities) where there are communities of various cultures in which people never picked up English even though they have been here for 40+ years - the local culture negates the need to do it.

[Noke]

He's had plenty of time. It's ridiculous. They've been saying this for 3 years.

 

What's ridiculous? Spieth know how to speak the language of every place he goes?

 

Hideki has no "obligation" to speak any particular level of English.

 

Iowan war!

[niscur24]

Sweet baby Jesus who cares!?

 

When I go to Japan I can speak a little bit as necessary to get by. But in no way shape for form can I hold a long conversation. I just make sure I'm always respectful/thankful when they finally grasp what my hands/mouth are trying to explain. Haven't had a problem yet always greeted with smiles or little giggles when I say something totally wrong. Never "speak Japanese or GTFO!"

 

I'm not going to expect something different when someone from Japan visits here. "Welcome to Murica speak english or GTFO?" F that. Hell when visiting Tokyo at Epcot (I know bad example) I try to talk with the staff I happen to interact with in Japanese and they always happily/respectfully are grateful when I make an effort to speak to them in their native language.

[Petunia Sprinkle]

LoL "Trying a local language." What does that even mean?

 

"Ick bin ein Berlinuh."

[numberonecoog]

LoL "Trying a local language." What does that even mean?

 

"Ick bin ein Berlinuh."

 

Hey Derek! Spreken ze D***. Sorry had to get a step brothers reference in

[Petunia Sprinkle]

LoL "Trying a local language." What does that even mean?

 

"Ick bin ein Berlinuh."

 

Hey Derek! Spreken ze D***. Sorry had to get a step brothers reference in

 

You should probably do something about that shoulder pain.

[legitimategolf]

I would always prefer to hear someone speak in the language they feel most comfortable expressing themselves. Angel Cabrera at the 2007 US Open was a good example. This is friggin sports, not finishing school.

[tap in birdie]

He's had plenty of time. It's ridiculous. They've been saying this for 3 years.

 

I'm just curious, what languages do you speak fluently besides English?

 

You're ridiculous. He's 23, trying to manage millions of dollars, fame, expectations, being so far from his friends and culture, and mastering arguably the hardest sport in the world......but why doesn't he have time to learn English?

 

And why do you care? (Rhetorical, I don't care about your ignorant answer)

 

Shame on you.

 

EDIT:it quoted the wrong person. Directed at jsixman not psyber

[bscinstnct]

Making progress. He can say,

 

 

"What's the wifi password?"

 

And

 

"extra guacamole, please"

[jacobEDGE]

I honestly had no idea he was only 24. Before I looked it up yesterday, I would have sworn he was in his early/mid 30's.