安倍首相夫人不懂英語

Recently the NHK News on-line reported the following:

「安倍首相夫人は英語話さない」 トランプ大統領発言に波紋

7月21日 8時20分

アメリカのトランプ大統領は今月上旬にドイツで開かれたＧ２０サミットの夕食会で、隣に座った安倍総理大臣の夫人の昭恵氏について、「すばらしい女性だが、英語を話さない。ハローも言わないくらいだ」と述べ、波紋を広げています。

アメリカの有力紙ニューヨーク・タイムズによりますと、トランプ大統領はインタビューで今月上旬にドイツで開かれたＧ２０サミットの夕食会について、「私は安倍総理大臣の夫人の隣に座った。彼女はすばらしい女性だが、英語を話さない」と述べました。

そして記者から「全く話さないのか」と質問されると、「ハローも言わないくらいだ」と答えたうえで、「日本語の通訳がいなければ厳しかっただろう」と述べました。

これに対してアメリカメディアは、昭恵氏が２０１４年にニューヨークで英語でスピーチしたことがあると指摘し、その際の動画や昭恵氏の学歴を掲載して、トランプ大統領の発言を疑問視しています。

一部では「昭恵氏はトランプ大統領と話すのを避けるため、英語がわからないふりをしたのかもしれない」といった臆測まで出ていて、波紋を広げています。

My translation

American president Trump when talked about Ms. Akie, the wife of Prime Minister Abe who sat next to him at the dinner party of G20 Summit held in Germany at the beginning of this month, regarded her as "a wonderful lady, but could not speak English. It was to the extent that even didn’t say Hello", and a ripple was spreading.

According to an American leading newspaper the New York Times, President Trump stated in an interview regarding the dinner party of G20 Summit held in Germany at the beginning of this month that "I sat down next to the wife of Prime Minister Abe. She was a wonderful lady, but she could not speak English."

Then, when asked by the reporter "Didn't she speak at all?", he answered that "it was to the extent that even hello was not said," and stated that "When there wasn't a Japanese interpreter, it would be difficult."

In response to this, American media had pointed out that Ms. Akie had made a speech in English in New York in 2014 and posted a video taken at that time, together with the educational background of Ms. Akie, thus doubting the remarks of president Trump.

Surmise came out to the extent that some said that ‘it may be that Ms. Akie had pretended to not understand English so as to avoid talking with president Trump’. The ripple was spreading.

     It is an interesting situation. Perhaps president Trump was speaking what he truly felt. Might be he was too frank to the reporters in talking about his personal feelings. Perhaps the press was taking Trump’s comments too seriously. One thing is sure: the press love to hear such comments. I think the world in politics is different from the world of business. Good luck President Trump.