Trying to flesh out a scenario

[sukoruduwan]

By way of setup, let me say that I participate in dog shows, in the U.S. My breed of choice is the Great Dane. At the national Great Dane dog show, there are frequently a number of Japanese breeders. One of my primary reasons for Japanese is to be able to speak to these folks in their native language. One of my big concerns is that these people are older and more experienced and would be considered in a higher social stratus than myself. Because of this, it is important to me that I understand not only polite Japanese, but polite behavior. What I'd like to do within this topic is to run through a scenario describing what I say and do, and ensure that it all makes sense... So, as Peter likes to say, "Without further ado.... here we go:"

The ring is setup with a number of chairs around the side for people viewing to watch. The start of the scenario is when I walk up to where a Japanese couple is sitting and say, "すみません、このせき空けるですか。"

Is that correct? What kind of response could I expect?

[Psy]

Err... like in the last post, I'll preface that I'm not a native speaker, but... are you meaning to ask them "could you please move?" or "is this seat taken/may I sit here?"? In either case I wouldn't say what you wrote there.

[sukoruduwan]

Er... The second... Is this seat free.

[Psy]

Ah, a pretty standard (and polite) way would be 「失礼ですが、この席は空いていますか？」 For the record, 「空ける」means "can [you] empty." Generally you shouldn't put です after a plain verb without a の or ん in there.

Hope that helped!

[sukoruduwan]

Kanji is a tricky thing. I was actually using うつける which is passive for a verb meaning to become open. I thought I remembered あいて from the lessons, but couldn't pick out which verb it was conjugated from.

So, I walk up, say 失礼ですが、この席は空いていますか？ and they say, 「はい、どぞ」。 And we sit there through a few dogs and I say, 「その犬はきれいですね。」

At what point does one introduce oneself? Or is a person expected to keep their trap shut unless introduced?

[Tom]

It seems like 「失礼ですが、この席は空いていますか」 is asking "Is this seat free?" rather than "Can you free this seat?"

[jkid]

What about

「あなたといしょうにすわてもいいですか」。May I sit with you? Would that be correct Japanese. If so is that usable in sukoruduwan-san's situation?

[Psy]

Technically speaking that should be あなたといっしょにすわってもいいですか. While it's technically correct and would be understood, it is a bit wordy for the situation. If it isn't someone you know well, the person might not understand why you want to sit 「いっしょに」 "together" with him. You could simply ask 「(ここに)すわってもいいですか。」(is it okay to sit here?)

[annie]

I'm not sure it's as common for Japanese people to strike up conversations with strangers as it is for Americans.

In the last 4 months, I've probably had at least a dozen foreigners give me their business cards at the end of a conversation, but only 1 Japanese woman. (And probably only because it turns out that she knows one of my college Japanese professors.) And I did actually initiate that conversation, with a 寒いですね．while waiting for the bus that comes every 90 minutes or so after it was already 10 minutes late.

the whole point of that, i think was to suggest that you carry business cards with you as a way of introducing yourself. As to when to introduce yourself, it depends what your goal is in meeting these people. If it's to make business contacts, then definitely introduce yourself at the beginning of the conversation. Otherwise, it doesn't really matter.

[seanolan]

I've always just gestured to the seat and either said, "ii desu ka?" or "aite imasu ka?" and had no trouble at all. Remember, Japanese are very polite, but very brief when possible. Preface with a "sumimasen" and you should be fine. As a gaijin, they are very forgiving of you.

Sean

[jkid]

Technically speaking that should be あなたといっしょにすわってもいいですか. While it's technically correct and would be understood, it is a bit wordy for the situation. If it isn't someone you know well, the person might not understand why you want to sit 「いっしょに」 "together" with him. You could simply ask 「(ここに)すわってもいいですか。」(is it okay to sit here?)

I see. Thanks for the heads up