Comments on: Is there such a thing as 'Japanese English'? http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/is-there-a-japanese-english Just another WordPress weblog Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:34:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Craig Ferguson http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/is-there-a-japanese-english/comment-page-1#comment-4473 Craig Ferguson Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:48:11 +0000 http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/?p=3725#comment-4473 I find it amusing that the column on the right asking what english you speak doesn't list England, ie. Queen's English. I find it amusing that the column on the right asking what english you speak doesn’t list England, ie. Queen’s English.

]]> By: Kati Sule http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/is-there-a-japanese-english/comment-page-1#comment-997 Kati Sule Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:53:07 +0000 http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/?p=3725#comment-997 A couple of very recent Japanese additions to English are <a href="http://www.macmillandictionary.com/buzzword/entries/umami.html" rel="nofollow"><em>umami</em></a> and the rather more unpleasant <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7021033.ece" rel="nofollow"><em>wakaresaseya</em></a>. Neither of these are likely to be given back on loan any time soon. A couple of very recent Japanese additions to English are umami and the rather more unpleasant wakaresaseya. Neither of these are likely to be given back on loan any time soon.

]]> By: Stephen http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/is-there-a-japanese-english/comment-page-1#comment-996 Stephen Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:34:21 +0000 http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/?p=3725#comment-996 There's <i>salaryman</i>, which never really existed in English as one word until it came back from Japan, where it's a rather derogatory term for a corporate office worker. There’s salaryman, which never really existed in English as one word until it came back from Japan, where it’s a rather derogatory term for a corporate office worker.

]]> By: Jim Breen http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/is-there-a-japanese-english/comment-page-1#comment-995 Jim Breen Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:54:06 +0000 http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/?p=3725#comment-995 Japanese adopts and uses loanwords like no other language I know. Estimates of the number of loan words in use range up to 100,000. There is little official effort to keep them out. Major dictionaries list many loanwords, and special dictionaries of loanwords are issued by most of the major publishers. The publishers, of course, try and make sure that the loanwords have a reasonably extended currency before listing them. I can't think of a full loanword coming back into English from Japanese. The word "karaoke" is a semi-loanword; it means "empty orchestra" in Japanese, and the "oke" is a fragment of the full loanword "okesutora". Japanese adopts and uses loanwords like no other language I know. Estimates of the number of loan words in use range up to 100,000. There is little official effort to keep them out. Major dictionaries list many loanwords, and special dictionaries of loanwords are issued by most of the major publishers. The publishers, of course, try and make sure that the loanwords have a reasonably extended currency before listing them.

I can’t think of a full loanword coming back into English from Japanese. The word “karaoke” is a semi-loanword; it means “empty orchestra” in Japanese, and the “oke” is a fragment of the full loanword “okesutora”.

]]> By: Ian http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/is-there-a-japanese-english/comment-page-1#comment-994 Ian Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:03:52 +0000 http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/?p=3725#comment-994 Interesting post, Jim. Of course one question faced by dictionary folk all over the world is how quickly and to what extent these "loanwords" should be absorbed into the core lexicon, i.e. properly listed and defined in dictionaries. Some languages are more open and acquisitive than others: French resides towards the conservative end of this spectrum, while British and (even moreso) American English lies somewhere towards the other, which may in part explain the power and pervasiveness of the language. I wonder where Japanese lies on that spectrum? Are Japanese dictionaries embracing these kinds of loanwords? I also wonder if there are cases where the loanword is sufficiently richer in meaning than its originator that it ends up being loaned back (with interest!) to the international lingua franca. I can't think of any examples right now (I'm sure others will!), but given how voracious the English language can be, it seems inevitable. Interesting post, Jim. Of course one question faced by dictionary folk all over the world is how quickly and to what extent these “loanwords” should be absorbed into the core lexicon, i.e. properly listed and defined in dictionaries. Some languages are more open and acquisitive than others: French resides towards the conservative end of this spectrum, while British and (even moreso) American English lies somewhere towards the other, which may in part explain the power and pervasiveness of the language. I wonder where Japanese lies on that spectrum? Are Japanese dictionaries embracing these kinds of loanwords?

I also wonder if there are cases where the loanword is sufficiently richer in meaning than its originator that it ends up being loaned back (with interest!) to the international lingua franca. I can’t think of any examples right now (I’m sure others will!), but given how voracious the English language can be, it seems inevitable.

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