Help with Kenjougo!


I'm trying to come up with a polite introduction.

> Hajimemashite.  
>  Watashi wa Megan to moushimasu.  
>  Tekisasu kara mairimashita.  
>  watashi wa kentakkii-shuu ni sunde orimasu.  
>  Sumimasen, watashi wa nihongo wo sukoshi dake zonjite orimasu.  
>  Douzo yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.
>
> Nice to meet you.  
>  My name is Megan.  
>  I am from Texas.  
>  I live in Kentucky.  
>  Sorry, I only know a little Japanese.  
>  Please take care of me.

For the "I only know a little Japanese," would it be better to use _zonjite
orimasu_ or would it make more sense to use something like _hanashimasu_
(speak)? I didn't know if _hanashimasu_ is polite enough. And is _douzo
yoroshiku onegai itashimasu_ too polite? I'm going to an interview, if that
helps!




> Sumimasen, watashi wa nihongo wo sukoshi dake zonjite orimasu.

The problem of this sentence is that it's unclear you want to say this
positively or negatively. People will expect something negative after
_Sumimasen_ , just like English "I'm afraid..."

If you want to say this positively, like "(Yes,) I speak Japanese a little."
Don't add _Sumimasen_ :

>   * 私は日本語を少しだけ話せます／使えます。  
>  Watasi wa Nihongo wo sukosi dake hanasemasu/tsukaemasu.
>
>   * 日本語は少しだけ話せます／できます／わかります。  
>  Nihongo wa sukosi dake hanasemasu/dekimasu/wakarimasu.
>
>   * 少しは日本語が話せます／できます／わかります。  
>  Sukosi wa Nihongo ga hanasemasu/dekimasu/wakarimasu.
>
>

I feel the kenjogo 存じております is a bit overkill here, even in a job interview. It
should be spared until you want to talk about something more sensitive, such
as someone's personal affair.

If you want to say this negatively, like "I'm afraid I speak little Japanese":

>   * すみません、日本語はあまり得意ではありません。  
>  Sumimasen, Nihongo wa amari tokui de wa arimasen. (I'm not very good at
> Japanese.)
>   * すみません、日本語はまだ勉強中です。  
>  Sumimasen, Nihongo wa mada benkyo chu desu. (I'm still learning Japanese.)
>

Note that although these are semantically negative, they don't sound actually
negative to the interviewer's ears. If your Japanese is satisfactory, they
serve as humble expressions even without humble terms.

The rest of your self-introduction looks nearly perfect. Good luck!

