Reference Materials

A book of English phrases was recently brought to my attention. There is no shortage of these books in Japan. And many of them are geared as quick references for surprisingly specific uses.

The particular book I was shown was designed to assist with English phrases in short notes, post cards, etc. Many of the phrases were standard, some more eccentric. The same was true of the situations in which the phrases were set out.

There were the standard phrases for Thank You notes, birthday cards, congratulatory cards for all manner of accomplishment. There were some phrases outlined for praising the contributions to one's own success.

The phrases that really caught my attention, however, came at the end of the book. Under the heading "Adultery". The example phrases were all written as coming from women to a lover, and included such useful lines as:

"My husband means nothing to me."
"My body hungers for yours."

Although there is widespread infidelity here, I had not realized it had reached a point where it was necessary to have such useful phrases at the ready in English.