Re: U.S. Open yusho? (off-topic)

[spullen@relgyro.stanford.edu (Sam Pullen)]

Bob Simmons wrote:

>I had thought that "yusho" was a specialized sumo term, but i just listened
to >an interview (by interpreter) with Jumbo Ozaki, who was near the lead in
the 
>tournament. When the reporter asked abpout his chance of winning, the 
>interpreter used "yusho"...but in the US Open, there is no "zensho yusho"!

        I remember hearing this interview as well.  Now that I can understand
some Japanese, I found it interesting that when the TV person (Dick Enberg?)
asked in English something like "why at age 48 are you playing so well?", 
the translator used "gambaru" instead of "jyouzu ni shimasu", which seems
like a more direct translation.  So the question gets subtly changed to
"why at age 48 are you striving so hard?".  Ozaki_san's answer was typically
non-committal...

        Now, I realize "gambaru" does not translate literally... it seems
like a catch-all term for (polite) success or striving for success.  Would it
sound strange in Japanese to directly say "you are playing so well"?  Is the
same true of Japanese interviews in general: after winning a yusho, does
Takanohana get asked about his "gambaru" spirit instead of his obvious skill?
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- Sam Pullen                                        Hansen Labs / GP-B    -
- Graduate Student                                  Stanford University   -
- Aero/Astronautics                                 Stanford, CA. 94305   -
- e-mail:            spullen@relgyro.stanford.edu                         -
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