I Said "C'mon," But Didn't Mean It That Way.. 「カモン」て言ったら｡｡｡

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

My nephew, Kohei, is Japanese, but was born and lives in Hong Kong and goes to an American school there. Naturally, his first language is English, the second Japanese and the third Mandarin.

In one summer when Kohei and his sister and their parents (i.e., my brother and sister-in-law) came back to Japan, we got together at my parents' house, had dinner and after that, played Concentration. Kohei was three or four years old back then.

It was fun to play cards together until the mood changed when, after turning a card face up, Kohei suddenly got quiet, just staring at the other cards. He had forgotten where the matching card was.

Seeing the little boy in deep thought made us want to do something to encourage him. First, Kohei's father teased (which is his unique way to cheer someone up!) him saying, "Did you forget where the matching card is?" His mother said, "If you don't remember, it's okay," trying to soothe him. He said nothing, still keeping staring at the cards and mumbling to himself to jog his memory, almost crying. I also wanted to say something, so I said, "C'mon, Kohei!" Then, the little boy, who hadn't respond to anyone or anything, to everyone's surprise, raised his head, stood up and "came" to where I was sitting!

Everyone but Kohei, who didn't understand why he was being laughed at, cracked up. Of course I explained to him that "come on" has two meanings, literal meaning and "cheer up." But this made me realize that people learn languages through experience...

Kohei is now a senior at Hong Kong American high school and six feet tall, working out to build muscle everyday. He speaks English, Japanese and Mandarin, making fun of his Auntie (i.e., me!) who speaks English with Japanese accents. But I sometimes remember and miss that little crybaby.....

甥の浩ちゃん（仮名）は日本人。ただ、香港で生まれ育ち、アメリカンスクールに通っているので英語、日本語、北京語を話します。

以前、浩ちゃんとその家族が日本に帰ってきたときのことです。みんなで集まって食事し、その後、トランプの神経衰弱をすることになりました。

浩ちゃんは当時3、4歳。最初は張り切っていたのですが、しばらくして自分の番になって一枚めくったところで凍り付いてしまいました。それより少し前に見たはずの同じ数字のカードの場所を忘れてしまったのです。

真面目な子で、ただでさえ真剣なのに、浩ちゃんのパパ（自分の弟ながら嫌な奴！）が「お前、忘れたのか。パパは覚えてるぞ！」とからかいました。ママは「浩ちゃん、分からなかったら分からないでいいのよ」となだめます。でも浩ちゃんは無言のまま。ほとんど泣き顔でカードを見つめています。励まそうと思った私は言いました。「C'mon（カモン） 浩ちゃん！」もちろん私は、日本語より英語が得意な浩ちゃんを鼓舞するつもりでそう言ったのです。

ところが浩ちゃん、なんと引いたカードを手に持ったまま、私の方にとことこと歩いてきてしまったのです。みんなで大笑い。私は慌てて「C'mon」には「来い」と「頑張れ」の二つの意味があるんだよと説明しました。でもその時思ったんです。言葉ってこうやって覚えるんだな｡｡｡と。

そんな浩ちゃんももう高校生。180cmを超える身長で毎日筋トレし、日本語なまりの英語を話す伯母（私のことです｡｡｡）をからかうトリリンガルの浩ちゃん。でも私は、みんなにからかわれて泣いていた、あの可愛い「浩ちゃん」を今でも忘れられません。