In the article about Japanese behavior in the following web site, what does "depracating" mean? I think it is mis-spelled of depreciation or deprecating. Please teach me.
http://www.eigotown.com/culture/story/kodansha/nihon-jin2.shtml
Japanese use humility and depracation when talking about members of their inner group to those on the outside.
When introducing one's family, those who are closest to you, take special care to be humble and depracating.
That is why the husband introduces his beloved wife in a depracating way to outsiders, even though in fact he cares deeply about her.
At the same time, Japanese should be aware that this kind of depracating approach might be taken in the wrong way by foreigners.
2007-09-03 07:43:25 · 5 answers · asked by Taro K 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
It is also a social requirement of English culture to be self-deprecating (modest) ... the Japanese deprecation of family is also a form of self-deprecation, as the family is an extension of oneself.
In both cases, I believe the reason for cultural self-deprecation is that there is a very large number of people on one small island - so boasting and bragging are culturally outlawed to facilitate peaceful coexistence and the maintenance of privacy in a crowd.
I'm all for it ... not the Uriah Heep kind of grovelling insincerity, but a respectful modesty which recognises one's own limitations and allows the other person space to respect himself in the presence of everything that you have to be proud of - that's deprecation.
2007-09-03 12:33:33 · answer #1 · answered by Cosimo )O( 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
www.m-w.com
deprecate
One entry found for deprecate.
Main Entry: dep·re·cate
Pronunciation: 'de-pri-"kAt
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): -cat·ed; -cat·ing
Etymology: Latin deprecatus, past participle of deprecari to avert by prayer, from de- + precari to pray -- more at PRAY
1 a archaic : to pray against (as an evil) b : to seek to avert
2 : to express disapproval of
3 a : PLAY DOWN : make little of
- dep·re·cat·ing·ly /-"kA-ti[ng]-lE/ adverb
- dep·re·ca·tion /"de-pri-'kA-sh&n/ noun
2007-09-03 14:52:51 · answer #2 · answered by skittles8553 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
deprecating. They just spelled it wrong. It means to belittle. I have more commony seen and heard it used in combination with self, such as self-deprecating, in which case it means to be excessively modest. That fits with the context of your sentence.
2007-09-03 16:00:46 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Probably the same
2007-09-03 14:53:00 · answer #4 · answered by Nazrat 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To deplore or disapprove of- you draw your own conclusions.
2007-09-03 14:48:41 · answer #5 · answered by llselva4 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋