When “Great job!” can be offensive...There's much more to speaking to Japanese superiors than merely translating Western phrases into Japanese. Even if you can use keigo properly, the differences in communication styles between Japanese and Westerners may still leave your boss feeling offended by your "aggressive" language.
For example, if you disagree with your Japanese boss, you may find nothing wrong with the English expressions "I disagree" or "I don't think so"; but direct translations into Japanese may sound quite forward to your superior, even when expressed using keigo. Although you need not always agree with your boss, you must be careful to express disagreement in a roundabout way.
Even praise for your boss must be carefully worded! Suppose, for example, that you have asked your boss to make a speech. Then, after the speech, you want to say something like: "That was an excellent (or impressive) speech." Avoid the Japanese translation of this - "Totemo yoi hanashi deshita" - because a word like "yoi" (good) here implies the subordinate's judgment or evaluation of the superior's ability. So it's more appropriate to say, "Okagesamade benkyou ni narimashita" - literally, "Thanks to you, I (or we) learned a lot".
When in doubt, wait for an invitation to speak. A general rule in Japanese corporate culture is that it is appropriate to express your own opinion only when your superior asks you to. |
