One minute of dialogue

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Today I'd like to talk about one minute of dialogue. This conversation is at the beginning of the movie. The jurors have just voted and only Juror No. 8 has voted "not guilty." The dialogue begins with Juror No. 10 asking Juror No. 8 if he believes what the boy said in court. Let's begin by listening to the whole dialogue.

J10: I want to ask you something. Do you believe his story?
J8: I don't know whether I believe it or not. Maybe I don't.
J7: So how come you vote "not guilty"?
J8: There were 11 votes for guilty. It's not easy to raise my hand and send a boy off to die without talking about it first.　
J7: Well, now, who says it's easy?
J8: No one.
J7: What? Just because I voted fast? I honestly think the guy's guilty. You couldn't change my mind if you talked for a hundred years.　
J8: I'm not trying to change your mind. It's just that we're talking about somebody's life here. We can't decide it in 5 minutes. Supposing we're wrong.
J7: Supposing we're wrong. Supposing this whole building should fall on my head? You can suppose anything.
J8: That's right.
J7: What's the difference how long it takes? Suppose we do it in five minutes. So what?
J8: Let's take an hour. The ball game doesn't start till 8:00.
J1: Whose got something to say?
J9: I'm willing to sit for an hour.
J10: Great. I heard a pretty good story last night.
J8: That's not why we're sitting here.
J10: Alright. Then you tell me. What are we sitting here for?

Let's start with Juror No. 10's question. He asks if Juror No. 8 believes the boy's "story."

J10: I want to ask you something. Do you believe his story?

He means "Do you believe what he said in court." The word "story", however, gives us the impression that the boy made up a story that's not true. Juror No. 10 doesn't believe what the boy said and the way he asks the question tells us that.

J8: I don't know whether I believe it or not. Maybe I don't.
J7: So how come you vote "not guilty"?

"How come" means "why". So Juror No. 7 is asking why Juror No. 8 voted "not guilty." When Juror No. 8 answers he says that "it's not easy to send a boy off to die."

J8: There were 11 votes for guilty. It's not easy to raise my hand and send a boy off to die without talking about it first.

When he says "it's not easy" he means "it's difficult." Juror No. 8 didn't vote "guilty" because he was very aware of how important his vote was. This made voting guilty difficult.

Juror No. 7 interprets this as a criticism. In other words, Juror No. 7 seems to think that Juror No. 8 is saying that he voted without thinking deeply enough.

J7: Well, now, who says it's easy?
J8: No one.
J7: What? Just because I voted fast? I honestly think the guy's guilty.

Then, Juror No. 7 says that he will never change his mind about the guilt of the boy. "To change your mind" means "to change your opinion or decision." So, Juror No. 7 is saying that he will never change his opinion about the boy being guilty.

J7: You couldn't change my mind if you talked for a hundred years.　
J8: I'm not trying to change your mind. It's just that we're talking about somebody's life here. We can't decide it in 5 minutes. Supposing we're wrong.

"Supposing we're wrong" means "what if we are wrong." Longman says that the phrase "supposing that" is "used when talking about a possible condition or situation, and then imagining the result." Longman has the following example sentence:

Look, suppose you lost your job tomorrow, what would you do?

So, when Juror No. 8 says "supposing we're wrong" he is saying that they need to think about the possibility that they might be wrong and how terrible it would be for a young boy to be killed for something that he didn't do.

Juror No. 7 seems to think that this is crazy. He compares it to discussing what would happen if the building they are in suddenly fell on them.

J7: Supposing we're wrong. Supposing this whole building should fall down on my head? You can suppose anything.
J8: That's right.

Juror No. 7 uses the word "suppose" again when he talks about how long it takes to make a decision.

J7: What's the difference how long it takes? Suppose we do it in five minutes. So what?

He means that even if it only takes five minutes to make the decision, that shouldn't matter if the decision is right. Juror No. 8 responds by suggesting that they discuss the case for one hour.

J8: Let's take an hour. The ball game doesn't start till 8:00.

Juror No. 9 agrees with the idea of taking one hour to discuss the case:

J9: I'm willing to sit for an hour.

Of course, Juror No. 8 wants to have a serious discussion about the facts of the case. Juror No. 10, however, interprets the idea of "sitting for an hour" to mean simply spending a little more time in the room to make it look like they considered the case carefully.

J10: Great. I heard a pretty good story last night.
J8: That's not why we're sitting here.
J10 Alright. Then you tell me. What are we sitting here for?

Now, let's listen to the whole dialogue one more time.

J10: I want to ask you something. Do you believe his story?
J8: I don't know whether I believe it or not. Maybe I don't.
J7: So how come you vote "not guilty"?
J8: There were 11 votes for guilty. It's not easy to raise my hand and send a boy off to die without talking about it first.　
J7: Well, now, who says it's easy?
J8: No one.
J7: What? Just because I voted fast? I honestly think the guy's guilty. You couldn't change my mind if you talked for a hundred years.　
J8: I'm not trying to change your mind. It's just that we're talking about somebody's life here. We can't decide it in 5 minutes. Supposing we're wrong.
J7: Supposing we're wrong. Supposing this whole building should fall down on my head? You can suppose anything.
J8: That's right.
J7: What's the difference how long it takes? Suppose we do it in five minutes. So what?
J8: Let's take an hour. The ball game doesn't start till 8:00.
J1: Whose got something to say?
J9: I'm willing to sit for an hour.
J10: Great. I heard a pretty good story last night.
J8: That's not why we're sitting here.
J10: Alright. Then you tell me. What are we sitting here for?

I selected this section because of four words that are used first by one juror and then used again when another juror answers. The four words are easy, mind, suppose, and sit. I noticed that the Japanese translations of these words change depending on which juror uses them. I'll talk about this in class. I'll also talk about why translation is difficult and why much is often "lost in translation."