The definitions in both Japanese and English dictionaries are roughly the same but seeing it used in a Japanese context there is a nuance I’m just not grasping. The contextual meaning isn’t sticking with me for one reason or another, so I was wondering if anyone can help frame how it’s often used in a different way and maybe I’ll understand it.
Most commonly hear it as the phrase, アピールしてください, but the situations can vary and often times it seems to be more of a passive statement/request. For example, in the game Phasmophobia calling out to the specter.
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Edit: Maybe this might help others if they search it.
Looking around more I found a blog for the Phasmophobia use case (日本語音声認識一覧) and there’s a set voice recognition pattern for both English and Japanese. アピールしてください’s English equivalent is “Please give us a sign.”
I went back to the definitions and saw a 4th more nebulous set of meanings:
* emphasizing (strong points, etc.); showing off; touting; calling attention to; playing up; using as a selling point; pitch
This probably accounts for a lot of the uncertain use cases I’ve been seeing, but at least to me it makes more sense now.
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So that word has two distinct meanings in Japanese. Either appeal in the literal sense, like the one a lawyer would make, or an NGO to tackle a crisis. The other is in the figurative sense. Here’s goo’s definition of appeal in that case:
人々に受け入れられること。また、人を引きつける魅力。
You can think of アピール as a kind of charm that draws people in, that makes them receptive of something/someone.
Sorry if this is a dumb suggestion, but is it possible that they mean “appear”? This would make sense in the example you gave, like “please appear”.
Just to add to your research, in Super Smash Bros. the “taunt” action is called アピール. It makes your character perform an animation + voice line that is useless except as a provocation. So in this case it’s likely an “appeal” in the sense of *provoking* or eliciting a reaction.
Cat brained people say about cats “appeal ga umai”
This literally just came up in my textbook (Minna No Nihongo Intermediate 2) last week and I was confused by it too! The context was students joining a drama group, and the teacher asking them to introduce themselves and explain their background and what aspects of theatre they were interested in so that they could give them appropriate roles (typical weird MNN scenario). The students replied using 自慢話ですが… to introduce their アピール so this was definitely the 4th meaning you’ve come across. My tutor explained it as introducing your good points.