willoller.com » Linguistics http://www.willoller.com Learning to match the beat of the Old World man. Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:33:16 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Omakase, Amazon.com http://www.willoller.com/omakase-amazoncom/ http://www.willoller.com/omakase-amazoncom/#comments Thu, 14 Sep 2006 15:03:47 +0000 will http://wp.willoller.com/omakase-amazoncom Amazon.com has a new product out for their Affiliate Program. It seems to intend to compte with Adwords, as it precludes the use of Adwords on the same page.

We were working on a client’s website (petconnection.com) which uses Amazon’s affiliate program to sell pet-related books. The new feature went live during development, and the name was intriguing right off the bat: “Omakase”.

“I know what that is”, I thought, even though I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. It sounded Japanese, maybe it’s a martial arts term. Wikipedia to the rescue!
Translated, omakase means “I leave it to your discresion”, literally “entrusting” the sushi-sama to choose the dish, preparation, and price. At some restaurants, the omakase dish will be a multi-course dinner, and is often mentioned on the menu specifically.


As far as etymology, a little bit of googling brought me to this thread on E-Budo.com, which is a good place for perspective on Japanese culture from generally non-japanese individuals with significant and strong knowledge of Japan.1

A more precise definition came from a menu from a restaraunt in Seattle, and explains the verb conjugation. Omakase is the form of makasu, “to trust.”

Now, here’s a trick: makasu also translates to “defeat”, as in (zoku) makasu, “to see out”, or possibly, “to see through”, as in to fruition or completion.2

Obviously Amazon did not come by this word by accident. Not only would the word have some tertiary familiarity to sushi diners, but with a little investigation the name of the new product means serious business.

Like the sushi chef, Amazon’s context results need to be better than good; they need to build trust in the web designer’s mind. This kind of trust will always keep the customer coming back for more. For Amazon, the customer must be trusting enough to steer clear of Google.

I ask to any linguists out there: how common is makasu used to mean “defeat”? How likely is it that Amazon is aware of this definition?

(My guess the answers will be “not often”, and “How the hell should I know?”, respectively.)

Here is an example of the Omakase link in action:

1 Another thread, which I have not read through, exists at chowhound.com, where some omakase-related ettiquete is discussed.

2 This was “borrowed”, and probably misunderstood, from a dissertation by a Mr. Collin Freeman Baker, UC Berkely, 1999

]]> http://www.willoller.com/omakase-amazoncom/feed/ 0 Russian Language Podcast http://www.willoller.com/russian-language-podcast/ http://www.willoller.com/russian-language-podcast/#comments Wed, 23 Aug 2006 20:48:43 +0000 will http://wp.willoller.com/?p=10 As a lover of language, I enjoy listening to a wide array of literature on my iPod. And, with my discovery of SpoonfulOfRussian, I now love listening to other languages on the same iPod. I even donated to my new favorite Russian language broadcast.

The cast itself has a DIY quality, with the hostess Natalia’s daughter as a frequent second voice. But, the quality of the information is very good, and every lesson includes a sample of Russian music. This alone is worth the download, as the tunes are not anything you will find on the radio.

So go and see Natalia’s blog, and add some Russian to your playlist.

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