Finding the geographic center of American English, adventures in New Zealand with plenty of sheep, and getting complimented on chopstick use

One question I've been asked by my ESL students in Japan is, just where is "standard" American English located geographically? Most countries define a given region as the "official" dialect of their language, which is then used in textbooks nationally. In China the standard language is the Beijing dialect of Mandarin, in Italy its based on the regions of Florence and Tuscany, and in Britain it emanates from the twin pillars of "Queen's English" and the BBC. The "official" English used in the U.S. is a bit harder to pin down, and it's sometimes referred to as Standard Midwestern, since it tends to flow from that part of the country. In 1868, Japan's capital was officially moved from Kyoto to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo meaning "east capital," in imitation of China's cities of Beijing and Nanjing, the "north" and "south" capitals. This meant that the "standard" Japanese language changed from the colorful, intoned speech of the Kansai region to flatter, more robotic-sounding dialect of the Kanto Plain, something that Osaka hasn't quite forgiven Tokyo for yet. Like the U.S. and Great Britain, Japan does not have an "official' body to define its language is like the Acadmie franaise, and it's generally up to the publishers of the Kojien, Japan's answer to Oxford and Webster as the most prestigious dictionary, to bless new words by including them in its pages.

My son is back from New Zealand, and he had a great time there, doing homestay with a local family and getting to use his English a lot. New Zealand is a beautiful country, very similar to Japan if you take away 96% of the people, concrete and asphalt and add a lot of rolling hills and sheep, and the students loved it there. It's funny how social barriers can be laid low through the power of shared popular culture. For example, the kids Kazuki was staying with were into Yu-Gi-Oh battle cards, and since he had remembered to bring his collection with him, everyone immediately became fast friends, doing battle and comparing the English and Japanese cards. The students at my son's school generally learn North American English, and several of the kids in New Zealand commented on their "American" accents, something that no one from the U.S. would ever perceive. The kids at the school were interested to hear that Kazuki's father had gotten to meet Temura Morrison, the Kiwi actor who played Jango Fett and all the Clone Troopers in Star Wars episodes 2 and 3, at the Star Wars Celebration IV convention this year, and had in fact sung the New Zealand National Anthem to him. Sometimes I think that I might not be the most representative American my son could have had for a father...

Although Japanese kitchens are well stocked with spoons, forks and knives, most meals in Japan are eaten with chopsticks. Children usually learn to use chopsticks around the age of 4, when they start attending preschool, and this is quite possibly the first of many adjustments to the larger Japanese group that children have in their school lives. Every foreigner living in Japan knows the embarrassment of being told by a Japanese person hashi ga jozu ("you use chopsticks very well"). While one popular response is to compliment the speaker on their use of a knife and fork, I've found you can have more fun telling them okagesama de (oh-KA-ge sah-mah deh). This is a complex phrase which literally means "Yes, thanks to you," almost as if you had leaned how to use chopsticks from the person, even though you've never met them before. The phrase is a useful way of showing Japanese-style humility whenever someone compliments you on something, and since few would expect a gaijin to know it, it's fun to see their surprised expressions when you whip this phrase out. (If you're trying to learn to eat with chopsticks, we recommend the training chopsticks we have on the site.)

J-List is the best place to find Domo-kun related items, from plush toys to wacky T-shirts and warm hoodies to our great 2008 Domo-kun calendar that's in stock right now. Today we're happy to announce a line of cool Domo-kun hats, professionally embroidered with cool images of the official mascot of NHK, Japan's public broadcasting channel. We've got not one, not two but three new Domo-kun hats, the "Domo face," our popular "outlined Domo" design and a new one featuring Domo saluting you as he greets you. All hats are made of stone- washed cotton denim by American Apparel and are extremely well made, and are also fully size adjustable. Browse our new items now!

Here are today's "really cool products" that I thought were especially noteworthy. Note: the J-List links below may be for adult products and should probably be considered "not safe for work" (a yes/no verification screen will be displayed to filter products from our mature site). To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link. We also recommend watching our "new products" RSS feed

	Yummy new Japanese Snacks. Got some great new snack items for you today, including Roast Almond Latte flavored March of the Koalas, fantastic chocolate-covered Almond and Macadamia dusted with cocoa powder, and deep Premium Green Tea Chocolate that you will love.
	Fresh stock of 2008 calendars. See fresh stock of some excellent calendars, including Inuyasha, Gundam, Doraemon, Death Note, Evangelion, Aya Ueto, Gackt, and more -- see updated calendar images, too.
	Getsumen Touheiki Mina ~ OKAMA Artworks. One of the most popular Japanese dramas of the past few years has been Densha Otoko, e.g. Train Man, the story of an otaku who wins the love of a beautiful (non-otaku) woman. Inside the show, they created an anime called Moon Surface Rabbit Weapon Miina, which got so popular that they went and made a real anime from it.
	Lucky Star Figure Collection Basic Set of 5 *Preorder*. Lucky Star is *the* anime in Japan right now, a popular series based on a 4-koma (4-panel) comic that has seized he hearts of otaku all over the world. This is a great line of detailed figures from the series that you can preorder now.
	Domo-kun hats. As mentioned above, J-List now sells Domo-kun hats! Click to view all three of our cool new Domo embroidered hats, in sock in San Diego right now!
	Hello Kitty BARAN / Decorative Partition for Bento -- 2 types. "Baran" is the Japanese word for the plastic sheet (which usually looks like "fake grass") that keeps the meat and vegetables in your bento from running together with your rice. Here's a great item, Hello Kitty baran bento barriers!
	Sunshine Buddies Hello Kitty version. Hidamari no Tami, aka Sunshine Buddies, are the popular line of solar-powered relaxation toys from Tomy, and now they've released a fabulous Hello Kitty toy that never needs batteries, modeled after the classic 1976 original Kitty-chan!
	Sunshine Buddies Pokemon Christmas version. Also, a super limited item for Christmas, we;ve gotten in a solar powered Pikachu Sunshine Buddies, featuring the iconic Pokemon who rocks his head from side to side, never needing batteries, ever!
	Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star. Fist of the North Star is one of the most enduring anime / manga series from the 1980s, and the Seikimatsu ("End of the Century") series is the best toy line ever made. Here's Kenshiro, looking great with his flowing red cape.
	Dengeki Comic Gao Dec. 2007. Seriously, if you read only one manga in Japanese each month, make it Dengeki Comic Gao, which is always loaded with the best manga from Japan's top artists. And the page count -- more than 500 pages! And the free stuff in each issue doesn't hurt, like the "ef" pencil board you get in this issue.
	NARUTO Shippu-den Coloring Book - Nurie. Naruto fans, here's a cool nurie (noo-ree-EH) coloring book that allows you to color in all your favorite characters. Or for more serious artists, use these pages as starting points for teaching yourself Photoshop coloring (which is how virtually all Japanese artists create art these days).
	HIRAGANA Stencil. Wow, this is a fantastic idea: a plastic stencil sheet for writing all the characters in the hiragana syllable system.
	Restocked Studio Ghibli items. As always, J-List stands ready to fill all your Studio Ghibli needs, and today we've restocked the "buru buru" (vibrating) Totoro in grey and blue as well as the excellent Sitting Jiji plush toy.
	Various restocked traditional items from Japan. See a bunch of restocked traditional items, including the Daruma Hammer Game, a keychain featuring famous samurai Musashi Miyomoto, a gorgeous wooden Kokeshi doll and good luck charm to protect your "six organs" (it's a long story).
	Tons of great bento and related items. Got a lot of good bento and bento related items for you, including the popular Putifresh (puti = pucchi = petite) Banana Bento, the Hello Kitty Slide Trio Set of chopsticks, fork and spoon, a cool onigiri maker and more!
	Cup Noodle Mug Cup. One of the most popular items in J-List history, this is a spectacular coffee cup with ceramic lid that looks just like Cup Noodle from Nissin. Great for Christmas gift giving.
	Restocked snack items. Finally, for our Japanese snack lovers, yummy Glico Marble Green Tea Pocky, Toppo Cassis Mousse & Orange Liqueur, Meiji Curl Stick in Smoked Cheese flavor, Xylish Hyper Cool Gum with real caffeine, and more!
	Lucky Cat for Display -- Family Health & Fortune. Lucky Cat is the famous Japanese creature who beckons good luck into your household. Here's one of our most popular Lucky Cat display items, which promises to bring your family health and wealth.
	You -- Yu Nakamura. Although naming you photobook "You" won't get you many Google hits, this is a really excellent glossy hardcover release from a beautiful and popular Japanese photo model.
	Lots of restocked manga titles. Then see a huge number of back-in-stock manga volumes, including Secretarial Section Drop 1 & 2, Wife Life - Married Woman, Nami SOS! Naoko Black Bird, Harem x Harem, Valkyrie Anthology Comic, and more!
	All About G.J? - Toshihide Sano Works Popular "H" artbook by the famous eroge company, loaded with super art by Toshihide Sano, one of Japan's top artists today.
	Future Hospital 2 - Maid Robot Edition. In the year 20XX, we will receive an entirely different type of healing from hospitals, in the form of gorgeous maid robots. Super release from V&R.