Normally when I board a Japanese domestic flight I hear the flight attendants greet the people ahead of me with "Ohayo gozaimasu!", and then when they see me I am adjudged to be a "Good Morning". This used to annoy me, and I would reply in Japanese, but lately I have been having fun with the convention and conducting a little informal research. I apply my basic rule - if someone wants to speak to me in English that is fine, but I am not going to speak in slow, I-teach-English-in-Japan English. I speak the way I would normally speak. I figure that I get to judge how proficient the flight attendant is and she (FAs are always women on ANA) gets free exposure to English AIIAS(As It Is Actually Spoken). The other day the FA served me some juice and came around a few minutes later to ask:
"Would you like another?"
"No, I'm right thanks" I said as I looked up from my book.
A look of bewilderment passed over the woman's face and she moved as if to give me a refill.
"No - that's alright" I smiled and extended my hand over the mouth of the cup. This she understood.
Today as I boarded my flight the FA at the entrance to the plane saw me and reached for the English language newspapers. She grabbed a copy of the Japan Times and I said "Thank you", at which she promptly put the newspaper back. I was too surprised by this to do anything more than quietly take my seat. Perhaps I can swing a gig training flight attendants to deal with English AIIAS. Now THAT would be a job.
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