It's kind of stunning how fast he's picking up each word, even if Ginko can't be sure how well he understands what they mean. And, of course, if he wants to make sure he does figure out what they mean, he's going to need to pick his words a little more carefully.

Unfortunately, never having had kids or anything, he doesn't exactly have a lot of experience with teaching people Japanese. If he wants to be able to communicate with this merman, he'll just have to do his best - and see how much of his companion's communication he can figure out in turn.

"Careful not to tip it-- the boat." He pats the side that Joker is hanging onto with the hand that's not occupied with holding onto a fish. "I need the boat to stay upright."

He guesses he should just treat it like talking to a kid?? Who knows how long that will last.