Iisjhaisha? Japan’s biggest English test sends out a baffling message

Be honest, TOEIC. Have you been drinking?

TOEIC is a pretty big deal in Japan. Administered by U.S.-based organization Educational Testing Service, it’s an English-as-a-second-language proficiency test that’s often used as part of the hiring criteria by Japanese companies for positions with an international focus, with employers taking candidates’ TOEIC scores into account when evaluating their application packages.

TOEIC, by the way, stands for Test of English for International Communication…so it’s pretty ironic that a recent message from the official TOEIC Japan Twitter account is so very, very baffling.

もっとォ…もっとォ…みんなに英語好きになってほしいいいいいいいいいいいいいい
いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい
いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいマジで人生変わるのにぃぃぃぃいぃぁあああああああああiisjhaisha

— TOEIC (@TOEIC_japan) September 30, 2024

Even if you can’t read Japanese, you can probably see that the tweet has a couple of characters that repeat a startling number of times, which is as weird a way of writing in Japanese as it is in English. So what does the tweet say? Essentially:

“We…we waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaant everyone to like English more.
Like, it’ll seriousssssss-uhlyyyyyyyyyy change your life iisjhaisha.”

And no, “iisjhaisha” isn’t a Japanese phrase or internet slang. The closest intelligible Japanese vocabulary is haisha, but that means “dentist,” but that’s obviously not something the TOEIC account is trying to shoehorn into whatever message it’s trying to send.

Since the message was posted on Septemeber 30, no explanation or clarification has been offered by TOEIC. The unhinged madness of the in-Japanese tweet has been met with utter bewilderment, as well as some earnest responses of what would, at the very least, convince more people to take the test, as shown in responses including:

“TOEIC! TOEIC! TOEIC! TOEIC! Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooah! Whoaaaaa…aa…aaa! Whoaaaaaaaah!!! TOEICTOEICTOEIC whoawhoawhoa!”
“It’s OK, TOEIC. You can tweet in English.”
“All right already, I’ll take the test! Just calm down!”
“Before you get all crazy, lower the test fee.”
“Make the test cheaper.”
“I…I waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaant you to lower the test fee. Like, it’ll seriousssssss-uhlyyyyyyyyyy increase the number of people who’ll take the test iisjhaisha.”

Currently, the cost to take the TOEIC test is 7,810 yen (US$56). That’s not exactly a budget-busting figure, but considering that the test cost only 5,830 yen in early 2020, and has had multiple price hikes since then, it’s not surprising to hear some people balking at the fee.

The next iteration of the test will be taking place on November 17, and with applications open until October 7, it’s not surprising that the TOEIC Twitter account is trying to get people excited about the examination, but this is certainly an odd way to go about doing it iisjhaisha.

Source: Twitter/@TOEIC_japan via Jin
Top image: Pakutaso (edited by SoraNews24)
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