Language bursting to get out －必死に爆発しようとする言語－

I recently heard about a man from Osaka who is living in Tokyo, and finding it stressful to be away from his home. 

“My colleagues are all from Tokyo, and I can’t speak in Osaka dialect,” he says.  “It makes me feel really irritated.  I want to speak my native Osaka dialect so much that I feel I could burst!” 

I kind of understand how he feels.  I can speak Japanese pretty well, but not perfectly.  I might think of a joke, or try to be ironic.  But the humour or irony doesn’t always get across when I try it in Japanese. 

I do speak English regularly, but generally to non-native speakers.  Then I can express myself freely, except that the other person may not understand something subtle or complex. 

I’ll try not to burst like an overly pressured balloon.  Here are some nice English words and phrases I wanted to use or share recently, but couldn’t: 

I’m flabbergasted.

(I am overcome with surprise and bewilderment.)

eg. “When my fifty year old mother told me that she was pregnant again, I was flabbergasted.”

 

A joke that I heard recently:

What do you win as a prize for surviving into old age?

Atrophy.

(Atrophy is the wasting away of the body.  But it looks and sounds a bit like “a trophy”, as in a cup you might win as a prize.)

eg. “Astronauts must exercise every day while they are in space or else their muscles will suffer atrophy.”