HeatherLocklearRocks 1 Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 Look. Is this the start of something big? -- Body tries to roll back sea of katakana words Yomiuri Shimbun The National Institute for Japanese Language has proposed a list of 33 Japanese terms as replacements for 33 katakana loanwords--mostly English--that are routinely used in government documents and by the media, but that are little understood by the public. The institute also said that for the first time it had given up trying to come up with new Japanese terms for four words after scratching its head over them for the past year. When loanwords words are introduced in Japan, they are often written in katakana, and usually appear first in government documents and the media. While some gain public acceptance, others are poorly understood, according to the findings of a recent survey. The institute has said overuse of katakana words may hinder communication. The latest additions include "riterashii" for "literacy" and "sutansu" for "stance." The institute plans to hear public opinions on its suggestions and release its final report in late August. The proposals released Tuesday marked the institute's third interim report on loanwords. The first final report, presented in December 2002, listed 62 of the 63 words proposed in the interim report, and the second final report in April 2003 listed 47 words out of 52 words in the interim report. The institute said three of the pending loanwords--"onrain" for "online," "deitabeesu" for "database," "foramu" for "forum"--cannot be replaced because they will soon be in the language to stay, and the institute had difficulty selecting a better Japanese term. The institute gave up on a fourth, "mesena" for "mecenat," because the Association for Corporate Support of the Arts opposed it, saying the French word "mesena," meaning "support of arts and culture," has been introduced to denote a whole new concept, and an alternative word would hinder the association's activities to support the concept. The decision on a fifth word, "yubikitasu" for "ubiquitous," has been delayed pending further discussion on a better term. The same day, the institute released the findings of its first survey on loanwords. According to the survey, more than half of the public are opposed to the introduction of yet more loanwords. Thirteen percent said they were "uncomfortable" with the situation, and 42 percent said they were "somewhat uncomfortable." Twenty-four percent said they have "often" had trouble understanding loanwords, and 53.3 percent said they "sometimes had trouble" with loanwords. Sixty-one percent said loanwords should be replaced with more understandable Japanese terms. Asked to compare loanwords with an alternative term in kanji, the majority of pollees said kanji alternatives are easier to understand for the loanwords "infomudo konsento" for "informed consent" and "gurobaru" for "global," but they preferred a katakanaized "dei saabisu" for "day service" rather than a kanji alternative. The survey was conducted from October to November on 4,500 people aged 15 and older. Link to post Share on other sites
TheOrange 0 Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 I'm sure if I were Japanese and had to use and hear words that I did not understand like this, I'd feel a right dork. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 Sentences with katakana words are often the hardest to translate because the writer doesn't understand the original foreign word, and like Humpty Dumpty, uses the katana word to mean whatever they want it to. When you ask the author what they mean, they then condescendingly 'explain' to you what the word 'ubiquitous' itself means as if you had no idea. Most don't realize that in English, it requires some other word like 'network' or 'media' or 'infrastructure' to become meaningful. 'Society', the word most commonly combined with it in Japanese, is not on its own a candidate in English. Let's kanji, please. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 Lets Manifesto Up! Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 Some modern katakana words are simply pretentious, "mesena" (wtf?) included. It's just typical that its some no doubt non-grassroots headupitsarse organization that complains. The best way to promote the arts is to tell everyone creating things is fun, not by surrounding such activities in bourgeoius mysticism. Similar movements in other languages tend to get a bad press for nationalism, but the driving force here strikes me as common sense. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 Perhaps for this campaign they could have a good slogan like レッツ・ジャパニーズ プラウド・オブ・ジャパニーズ I particularly like that last one. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 By the way, wtf is mesena?? Link to post Share on other sites
pon farr 0 Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 yubikitasu Why dont they give these concepts Japanese words in the first placE? Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 Why would they do that when they can have something as fabtabulous as プラウド・オブ・ジャパニーズ? Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 The easy answer, if they need new words just change to English. Larger vocabulary, standard international language, it'll be cheaper in the long run and promote more trade. No good can come from trying to hang on to ones native tongue, I mean, common, look at the Welsh... Of course, Ocean11 and NoFakie might have to loose their somewhat enviable lifestyles, but, well, sometimes one must sacrifice the few... Link to post Share on other sites
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