語学に興味のある方へ、ぜひ最後まで読んでください Kirk here. This article says that Kumamoto City is planning to begin using ChatGPT regularly in October. The city began testing usage of ChatGPT in June and 68% percent found it useful and said that that wanted to continue.

The article only described how ChatGPT will be used in very general terms (writing drafts of messages, etc.). Personally, I’d love to have more detail about exactly how they are using it.

I can’t give you detailed examples of how city employees use the service but I can give you a sample usage that I think should be quite useful to Japanese students of English. One thing that’s hard about English is that relatively simple words can be used in many different ways (in different idioms or with different meanings in different contexts). This tends to make it difficult to find a definition or explanation that fits the particular context you have found a word in.

I think ChatGPT goes a long way toward solving this problem. First here’s a prompt I wrote to ask ChatGPT for help in understanding the usage of “blew” in a sentence:

— beginning of prompt — Please answer the following questions about the use of the word “blew” in the following sentence or passage: I was amazed by his performance. His trumpet playing blew me away, man!

  1. この文の適切な和訳は何でしょうか。
  2. In this sentence or passage, what is the part of speech the word I’m asking about?
  3. What is the root, basic, or dictionary form of the word I’m asking about?
  4. Can you explain, in simple English, the meaning and special characteristics of the usage of the word I’m asking about in the sentence or passage?
  5. この文におけるこの言葉の意味や使い方の特徴を説明できますか？ — end of prompt —

And here is ChatGPT’s response:

— start quote —- Sure, let’s go through your questions about the word “blew” in the sentence:

  1. この文の適切な和訳は何でしょうか？

この文の適切な和訳は、「彼の演奏に驚嘆したよ。彼のトランペットの演奏は本当にすごかったんだ！」となります。

  1. In this sentence or passage, what is the part of speech the word I’m asking about?

The word “blew” in this sentence is a verb.

  1. What is the root, basic, or dictionary form of the word I’m asking about?

The root or dictionary form of “blew” is “blow.”

  1. Can you explain, in simple English, the meaning and special characteristics of the usage of the word I’m asking about in the sentence or passage?

In this sentence, “blew” is used figuratively to mean that the person’s trumpet playing had a very strong and positive impact on the speaker. It means that the performance was so impressive that it amazed and deeply affected the speaker. The word “blew” here is used to express a sense of awe or astonishment at the quality of the performance.

  1. この文におけるこの言葉の意味や使い方の特徴を説明できますか？

この文では、「blew」という言葉は比喩的に使われており、その人のトランペット演奏が話し手に非常に強い印象を与えたことを表現しています。これは、演奏が非常に印象的で、話し手を驚かせ、深く感銘を受けたことを意味します。ここでの「blew」は、パフォーマンスの質に対する驚きや驚嘆を表現するために使われています。 — end quote —

Pretty darn good, in my opinion. If you copy my prompt, replace the sentence and word with whatever usage you’d like to ask about, then paste it in the a ChatGPT chat, I think you’ll find that it works quite well.

ChatGPT is a large language model (LLM) so questions like these are right up its alley, so to speak. Come to think of it, lets ask ChatGPT about this usage of “alley.”

— start prompt — Please answer the following questions about the use of the word “alley” in the following sentence or passage: ChatGPT is a large language model (LLM) so questions like these are right up its alley, so to speak.

  1. この文の適切な和訳は何でしょうか。
  2. In this sentence or passage, what is the part of speech the word I’m asking about?
  3. What is the root, basic, or dictionary form of the word I’m asking about?
  4. Can you explain, in simple English, the meaning and special characteristics of the usage of the word I’m asking about in the sentence or passage?
  5. この文におけるこの言葉の意味や使い方の特徴を説明できますか？ — end prompt —

And, here’s how ChatGPT responded (it really nailed it):

— start ChatGPT answer — Certainly, let’s break down the use of the word “alley” in the sentence:

  1. この文の適切な和訳は何でしょうか？

この文の適切な和訳は、「ChatGPTは大きな言語モデル（LLM）ですので、こういった質問は、言わば彼の得意分野です。」となります。

  1. In this sentence or passage, what is the part of speech the word I’m asking about?

The word “alley” in this sentence is a noun.

  1. What is the root, basic, or dictionary form of the word I’m asking about?

The root, basic, or dictionary form of “alley” is also “alley.”

  1. Can you explain, in simple English, the meaning and special characteristics of the usage of the word I’m asking about in the sentence or passage?

In this sentence, “alley” is used figuratively to mean an area or topic that ChatGPT is very knowledgeable or skilled in. It’s not referring to a physical alley or street but is a metaphorical expression. The phrase “right up its alley” is an idiom that means something is well-suited to someone’s skills or interests.

  1. この文におけるこの言葉の意味や使い方の特徴を説明できますか？

この文では、「alley」という言葉は比喩的に使われており、ChatGPTが非常に知識が豊富で、得意とする領域やトピックを指します。物理的な路地や通りを指すのではなく、比喩的な表現です。「right up its alley」というフレーズは、何かが誰かのスキルや興味にぴったり合っていることを意味する慣用句です。 — end ChatGPT answer —