Last week, LH Kenji and LH Naoko, the Japanese voices of Microsoft's Japanese version of Windows XP, met for the first time. This week listen as LH Kenji and LH Naoko break the ice.

Kenji: 直子さん、こんにちは。 Naoko-san, konnichi wa.
Hello, Naoko.

Naoko: こんにちは。 Konnichi wa.
Hello.

Kenji: この前、ありがとうございました。 Kono mae, arigato gozaimashita.
Thanks for last time.

Naoko: いえいえ、とんでもないです。 Ie, ie. Ton demo nai desu.
Don’t mention it.

Kenji: 週末は大体いそがしいですか。 Shuumatsu wa daitai isogashii desu ka.
Are you generally busy on weekends?

Naoko:　いいえ、大体全然暇ですよ。 Iie, daitai zenzen hima desu yo.
No, generally I’m completely free.

Kenji:　この週末も暇というわけですね。 Kono shuumatsu mo hima to iu wake desu ne.
Is that right? Meaning you’re free this weekend, too, right?

Naoko:　はい。 Hai.
Yes.

Kenji:　では、暇つぶしに映画を一緒に行ってもらえませんか。 Dewa, hima tsubushi ni eiga o issho ni itte moraemasen ka.
Well, would you like to fill in time with me and see a movie?

Naoko:　何の映画ですか。 Nan no eiga desu ka.
What movie?

Kenji:　それは二人で決めたら、いいかなと思って。 Sore wa futari de kimetara ii na to omotte.
I thought it would be nice if we could choose one together.

Naoko:　 あたし、メジャーな映画はあまり好きじゃないですね。ちょっと変わった感じがいいです。 Atashi, mejaa na eiga ha amari suki ja nai desu ne. Chotto kawatta kanji ga iidesu.
I’m not so fond of mainstream movies. I like something a little off the wall.

Kenji:　変わった感じですか。もしかしたら変わった映画をみた後、変わった料理を食べに行って、そして変わったことをしたくなるということかな。 Kawatta kanji desu ka. Moshika shitara, kawatta eiga o mita ato, kawatta ryori wo tabe ni itte, soshite kawatta koto o shitaku naru to yu koto ka na?
Off the wall, huh? Maybe once you’ve seen an off the wall movie, and then gone for some off the wall kind of cuisine, you’ll want to do something off the wall, no?

Naoko:　なあにゆってるの、健次さん。早く映画を選びましょう。 Nani yutte iru no, Kenji-san? Hayaku eiga wo erabimasho.
Kenji, what are you saying? Let’s get down to choosing a movie.

Kenji:　はい、ちょう変わったものを！ Hai, cho kawatta mono o!
Yes, a really off the wall one!

Naoko:　ひひひ
Hee hee hee.

What will they go and see? What will they do afterwards? Stay tuned!

Glossary
Ton demo nai desu: Don't be ridiculous/Don't talk nonsense/Not at all/Don't mention it.
daitai: mostly
hima: free (i.e., "with time on your hands"-free, not "free lunch"-free)
shuumatsu: weekend
eiga: movie
kawatta: literally "changed," but as an adjective meaning "odd," "different," "off the wall," "strange," "unusual."
mejaa: major, mainstream
ryori: cuisine, cooking
cho: (slang) very, extremely, greatly.



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コンピュータの規定の声　ケンジ　ナオコ



You’re familiar with the cracked avuncular tones of Microsoft Sam, or Microsoft Mike, and the weird dulcetness of Microsoft Mary or, if your OS is Vista, Microsoft Anna.

Ever wondered what the mechanical voice of the Japanese version of the Microsoft XP OS sounds like?

The standard Japanese version of XP has LH Kenji and LH Naoko (the LH standing for Lernout & Hauspie, a now-defunct Belgian speech and language technology company).

Listen here to, first, LH Kenji (sounding like he has a very bad cold) and then LH Naoko (sounding like she’s talking to a toddler), saying

“LH Kenji [Naoko] no koe o konpyuuta no kitei no koe ni sentaku shimashita.”

or, in the now familiar English:

You have selected LH Kenji [Naoko] as your computer’s default voice”

Now, let’s listen to Kenji and Naoko having a typical end-of-winter, start-of-spring conversation, about their health and the weather.


Kenji: Konnichi wa (Hello)

Naoko: Konnichi wa (Hello)

Kenji: Ogenki desuka? (Are you well?)

Naoko: Hai, okage sama de. (Yes, thanks for asking)

Kenji: Kaze o hiite imasenka. (You haven’t caught a cold?)

Naoko: Hai, hiite imasen yo. (No [lit. “Yes”], I haven’t)

Kenji: Sore wa ii desu ne. (That’s good)

Naoko: So desu ne. (Yes, isn’t it.) Kenji-san mo genkiso desu ne. (And you look well, too, Kenji)

Kenji: So desu ne. (Yes) Shikashi, shigoto de chotto tsukarete imasu yo. (But I’m a little tired from work)

Naoko: Sore wa, sore wa. (Oh, dear me.) Okarada ni ki o tsukete kudasai ne. (Look after yourself, won’t you)

Finally, LH Kenji and LH Naoko say See you again! (Mata ne!)









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