Page 261 - Basic Japanese
P. 261
CULTURE NOTE Business Telephone
Conversations
When you make a phone call or receive one in a
business context, talk in slightly higher pitch than usual
and use polite language. O-sewa ni natte orimasu is almost
always used at the beginning of a telephone
conversation in a business context. Sewa means ‘care’ or
‘assistance,’ and the phrase literally means that ‘I am
always being taken care of by you.’ It sounds very
awkward when translated into English. Japanese tend to
be apologetic in phone conversation and email
communications in a business context, but it is their
way of being extremely courteous. See Lesson 9 about
polite language.
Exercises
I. Match the items that form a pair as contrasting or opposite items in the same
category.
