Lilly and Kent attend the same university in Japan. They are talking on campus.

Lily1: ケントくんは大学何年生ですか。
Kent1: ぼくは三年生(さんねんせい)です。専攻(せんこう)は人(じん)るい学(がく)です。リリーさんは？
Lily2: 私も三年生です。専攻(せんこう)はアジア研究(けんきゅう)で、今、中国(ちゅうごく)について研究(けんきゅう)しています。ケントくんのご出身(しゅっしん)は、どちらですか。
Kent2: ぼくは ロサンゼルスから来ています。リリーさんは日本語(ご)がお上手(じょうず)ですね。日本にどのぐらいいますか。
Lily3: 私は１３さいの時(とき)、ホンコンから来て、それから、ずっと日本にいます。
Kent3: ご家族(かぞく)はこちらですか。
Lily4: 母(はは)と妹(いもうと) は中国(ちゅうごく)ですが、父(ちち)はよこはまに住んでいます。ケントくんはご兄弟(きょうだい)がいらっしゃいますか。
Kent4: 兄弟(きょうだい)は二人(ふたり)います。姉(あね)と弟(おとうと)です。
Lily5: みなさん、アメリカですか。
Kent5: いいえ、りょうしんと弟(おとうと)はアメリカですが、姉(あね) は結婚(けっこん)してヨーロッパにいます。
Lily6: へえ。お父(とう) さんはどんなお仕事をしていらっしゃいますか。
Kent6: 父はテレコムの 会社(かいしゃ)ではたらいています。

Translation

Lily1: What year of university are you in, Kent?
Kent1: I’m a junior. My major is anthropology. How about you, Lilly?
Lily2: I’m a junior, too. My major is Asian Studies, and I’m currently studying China. Where are you from, Kent?
Kent2: I’m from Los Angeles. Your Japanese is very good, Lilly. How long have you been in Japan?
Lily3: I came from Hong Kong when I was 13, and I’ve been in Japan ever since.
Kent3: Is your family here in Japan?
Lily4: My mother and younger sister are in China, but my father lives in Yokohama. Do you have any brothers or sisters, Kent?
Kent4: I have two siblings—an older sister and a younger brother.
Lily5: Are they all in the United States?
Kent5: No. My parents and younger brother are in the United States, but my older sister is married and lives in Europe.
Lily6: Oh, really? What does your father do?
Kent6: He works for a telecommunications company.

Cultural Notes

1.

Referring to Your Own and Others’ Family Members

Japanese uses different family terms depending on whose family member you are talking about. When referring to someone else’s family, honorific forms are generally used. For example, Lily asks Kent: お父(とう)さんはどんなお仕事をしていらっしゃいますか。 What does your father do? Here, Lily uses the honorific term お父さん to refer to Kent’s father. She also uses the honorific verb いらっしゃいます. When Kent answers, however, he refers to his own father using the more humble, in-group term 父(ちち): 父はテレコムの会社ではたらいています。 My father works for a telecommunications company. In Japanese, speakers generally use in-group family terms such as 父(ちち), 母(はは), 兄(あに), 姉(あね), 弟(おとうと), and 妹(いもうと) when talking about their own family to someone outside the family, while honorific forms such as お父(とう)さん and お母(かあ)さん are used when referring to someone else’s family members. Because this distinction usually makes it clear whose family member is being referred to, possessive expressions corresponding to English “my” and “your” are often unnecessary. Thus, お父(とう)さん can be understood as your father in this context, while 父(ちち) is understood as my father, even though neither “your” nor “my” is explicitly stated.