But, let's get into anyway, shall we?
You probably know KOSO from こちらこそ which sort of sucks because it's not the most exact of term. It's pretty unhelpful in learning the grammar point, in my not very humble opinion, but I'm going to go over it anyway.
So, my textbook says that KOSO means "to express emphasis". That means that こちらこそ is trying to emphasize the place over by you. People usually translate it as "I should be the one saying that" because it's used in response to things like どぞよろしく. It's meant to let you know that you specifically are the one who should be saying something. But, since I didn't think this would be that helpful, I painstakingly searched through my mangas for a better example (read: picked up one volume and got lucky).
But first, a little enka, because I don't put enough of it on this blog (read: any). It is still an incredibly popular art form, especially since the majority of Japan's population are seniors (the only people who watch it). You can even take enka lessons, and then impress your friends at karaoke. It's very hard not to find an enka program playing in the evenings in Japan, though in my experience it's usually blaring from the televisions of elderly women who can't hear very welll. So, I'm pleased to present Mizuhara Hiroshi, one of the earlier enka singers. I'd love to blab a bit more about enka, but really, wikipedia knows more than I do.
[If you want to hear me sing enka, let me know... I'll think about maybe posting one... possibly...]
The name of the song is Kimi Koso Wagainochi. Putting what I said into practice, it means that there is emphasis in this song! Emphasis on the "you" as a matter of fact! But... it doesn't translate.... here is what I have:
- You in our life.
It's not there, is it? Also, I italicized the wrong word. Well, that's because English speakers think differently, and I have a strong suspicion that for us, "our" is the more important word to that sentence. But I'll explain it better in just a moment.
The way you use KOSO is:
- Noun + こそ
- If you don't find this particularly helpful, just think of it as a particle that can only be used with a noun. So wherever the noun you want to emphasize in a sentence is, you put the KOSO.
Whereas we usually use adverbs to indicate emphasis on verbs, and adjectives for nouns, Japanese sort of has a catch all that only works when put with a noun. But let's go on a deeper search to figure this grammar point out.
Now, if you want to talk about pop culture, this is it. Neon Genesis Evangelion has been around since 1996, and it is the most influential animes of its generation, if not all time. It is constantly parodied. People constantly make homages to it. It spawns more merchandise than you can dream of, even fifteen years after its inception. In short, Eva is one of the great cultural cornerstones of Japanese society, and that is pretty close to being understatement. The anime deals with themes of adolescence, bearing the sins of previous generations, degeneration in social ties, neglect, modernity... the list goes on and on...
It also has one of the most nuanced characters to ever exist in fiction. I also absolutely mean it when I say that Shinji Ikari is one of my most favorite characters ever conceived. He is a flawed character in every sense of the word, and yet he is the only character who even makes an attempt to better himself. Through it all, he is constantly berated by his peers, his superiors, and his own inner demons, and yet he continues to live and fight. His bravery is labeled cowardice, and accused of being incapable of love when it's denied by all the people he tries to give it too. I guess I just really love misunderstood characters.
But today is not about Shinji Ikari, nor is necessarily about Eva. No, it will be about the sentence you can't make out in the speech bubble up there.
- レイの笑顔こそ本当に誰も見たことないわ
- Rei no egao koso hontou ni daremo mita koto nai wa.
This is taken from volume three of the manga, and I do apologize about the quality. The scanner is downstairs on a computer that takes forever to boot up, whereas I am currently upstairs and my camera is sitting next to my monitor. Can you blame me?
Before I go into explaining the sentence, it would probably be good for me to talk about the scene before it. Shinji and his legal gaurdian, Misato, meet Rei on the street. She is very cold to them and walks away, and Shinji wonders why she hates him. Misato responds with the grammar point.
I think the first thing to do is just translate the sentence without the KOSO.
- No one has seen Rei's smiling face.
Okay. We know that KOSO means emphasis. I think in English, we would emphasize this sentence with a "never", or say "no one" heavily. But this isn't in search of English grammar, so we need to change our thinking up. Here, Misato is trying to make sure that you know that it is Rei's smiling face in particular that no one has seen. I guess this means people have seen other kinds of her face, so I suppose that needs emphasizing... I'm not really sure.
So just like above where Mizuhara-san really wants you to know that he wants you in his life, Misato really wants you to know that it's Rei's smiling face that's never been seen. That being said, you know how I would actually translate this sentence?
- No one has ever seen Rei smile.
Isn't translation a bitch? Aside from the italics, there is no indication whatsoever that KOSO is even there. Oh well, now you know how to particularly emphasize things when you're speaking Japanese in daily conversation.
I suppose I should wrap this interminably long post up, and I think I'll do it with one of my oldest and favoritest AMVs ever made. It also does a very good job of encompassing everything the series has to offer.
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