One of the most beautiful subtleties about Sebastian was probably lost in translation in many languages. I shall offer my heart-felt support as butler.Īs we can see, using ‘ keigo’, Sebas can expertly show his relative social status to another subject using language markers only.Watashi mo shitsuji toshite kokoro yori ouen moushiagemasu.Let us now have a look at how Sebastian applies ‘ keigo’, The height of one’s cultivation and education.įor more about ‘keigo’ in Kuroshitsuji, please visit this link. Use it properly is also considered a status symbol it namely reflects Ironically, while ‘ keigo’ is supposed to express humility, having the skill to Something even adult Japanese native speakers still go to class for. The difficulty of proper ‘ keigo’ should not be underestimated, it is Would be the linguistic equivalent of having an incredibly low cleavage or wearing tights without a dancer’s belt - at desk work! This type of language should not have gendered markers, because imposing your gender (which is part of yourself) onto someone else isĬonsidered impolite in ‘ keigo’. The art is to know when to apply which type of ‘keigo’, and masterly using the applicable subcategory. The key to speaking ‘ keigo’ is the minimising or even erasure of one’s own presence while elevating the status of the intended subject, or listener. It is impossible to explain all of ‘ keigo’ in one post, but the chart below can help explain the basic mechanism. ‘ Keigo’ is actually an umbrella term, and exists in three subcategories: ‘ sonkeigo’, ‘ keigo’ and ‘ kenjougo’. Sebastian only speaks in ‘ keigo’, or Japanese formal language. Sebas’ speech has been entirely gender neutral from the first word he uttered in the manga until the last (so far, but I trust he shall continue to do so). First of all, thank you for your sweet words ^^ In this chart you referred to, I indeed put Sebastian’s speech right in the middle.
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