Passage Content
僕はノルウェー系アメリカ人の３世です。祖父母の家でいっぱいノルウェー話を聞いていました。小さい時から二つの言語があるのが当たり前だった。 しかし、人生が変わるぐらい影響を受けたのは17歳で日本に留学したこと。山梨県の高校に１年通った。日本語が英語とあまりに違ってびっくりした。しゃべりたいのに誰ともしゃべれないつらい日々が３か月ぐらい続いた。 ホストファミリーの食卓で家族のお兄さんが茶わんを出して「おかわり」と言った。最初は聞き取れなかったけど、ある日、僕が「おかわり」と言ったらお母さんがもっとご飯を入れてくれた。その瞬間、「おかわり」は僕の日本語になった。その喜びは今でも忘れられません。
Reference translation
English
I am a third-generation Norwegian-American. I used to hear a lot of stories about Norway at my grandparents' house. Having two languages around was second nature to me from a young age. However, what influenced me so much that it changed my life was studying abroad in Japan when I was 17. I attended a high school in Yamanashi Prefecture for a year. I was shocked at how completely different Japanese was from English. For about three months, I went through painful days wanting to speak but being unable to talk to anyone. At the dining table with my host family, the older brother held out his rice bowl and said "okawari" (seconds). At first, I couldn't catch what he said, but one day, when I said "okawari," the mother served me more rice. At that moment, "okawari" became my own piece of Japanese. I can never forget that joy even now.
Multiple Choice Questions (1)
Question 1筆者の言う喜びは何によるものか。
