日本の方々　日本語　ちゃんと使ってほしいと思うですが　part 7 The association which administers the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) 日本語能力試験 puts english words into the test every year, trying to force foreigners to accept their belief that these words are now japanese words. I asked some japanese friends and co-workers one of the questions that appeared in last december's test. The question asked to choose the most correct word for a certain sentence, from the following options 'sense, nuance, scale and conscious' all in katakana of course. Of the 5 japanese people I asked, only 2 chose the correct answer. The JLPT association is wrong and unprofessional to try to test our understanding of english words. Their job is to evaluate our understanding and proficiency of japanese. Inserting english words into the JLPT also unfairly disadvantages the non-english speaking foreigners who take the test, as they usually dont have as thorough an understanding of these english words as english speakers do. And they have the audacity to charge us 5000 yen to take the test. I and many others ,not only foreigners but free-thinking, aware Japanese people also, wish that all Japanese people (those who automatically imitate what they hear on tv or what others say,) and the mass media, would have more pride in their own unique and beautiful language, remember who they are, and just laugh at the pretenders, instead of copying them.

日本の方々　日本語　ちゃんと使ってほしいと思うですが　part 6 Sure it may have happened in other parts of the world in history, but always as a result of conquest/colonialism or necessity, not as a result of fashion, whim or image. Is a country's language free for any other country to take and absorb en masse into its own language? Are hundreds and hundreds of words from any one language ripe for the pillaging, as easy to take home as free plastic holiday souvenirs? I think definitely NOT. The japanese word-borrowers (an inaccurate word, as its unlikely any of these words will ever be 'given back') need to understand that language is a pre-eminent part of , if not inextricable from, culture. They are inseparable. Taking all these english words and stating that they are now japanese words is arrogant and culturally insensitive. Did they never think that it might be offensive to native english speakers to see long lists of english words hijacked, bootlegged and mispronounced? Would they just as nonchalantly call the didjeridoo a japanese instrument because they made one out of bamboo? or the sari a japanese garment because they tied an obi around it? They should try to imagine how they would feel if hiragana was taught and used as the 'new native script of South Sudan' or if tatami mats, kotatsu tables and futons were distributed in England as 'new Anglo Saxon furniture.' or if Sumo was held on the beach, and called ' New Hawiian sport'. It is an especially depressing trend for foreigners with a real interest in learning japanese and speaking it well. We learn new japanese vocabulary, enjoy the sound and image of it , look forward to hearing and understanding it, but we are denied this chance, and have to listen to so many english words. Our progress is blocked. English words, scattered through japanese speech, shatter the music and spoil the magic of japanese. It is frustrating and disappointing. Japanese sometimes doesn't feel like japanese anymore . It takes so much of the esthetic appeal and exotic allure out. We didn't fly half way around the world to be shortchanged like this, buy textbooks and enrol in language courses, study diligently, only to hear or be taught, for example, ' これは町のシンボルをアレーンジしたオーダーメードオリジナルラベルです。' (this is a custom made, original label, showing the town's symbol arranged on it). Or, 私はスピーチをする前にオーナーとアーティストのインスピレーションについてリーサーチをしました(before giving a speech, I did some research on the artist's inspiration, with the owner. ) Its very boring.

日本の方々　日本語、もっと自慢してほしいと思うですが part 5 In other countries,.. while its normal and natural for new words to be introduced by emerging younger generations, they are words that already have their roots in that language or ones that are re-adapted or tweaked as slang, or words to name a new thing or concept, such as wicked, sick, bomb, planking, ranga, brekky, tune (as in, to sweet talk a girl) etc. No-one feels as urgent a need as the japanese to change their own language so comprehensively and rapidly. Nowhere else is there such a willingness to passively accept it . In each of the other countries in which I have lived, Australia, France and Indonesia, there is a love of and pride in the national language. People are proud of their own language, it resonates with them. It would be weird and unthinkable to say, 'lets stop using these 700 words from our own language, and use the words from that country instead'. It would just never happen. I have heard one long term foreign resident in Japan say that the phenomenon is just evolution of the japanese language. I find such an opinion very anglophone ethnocentric. Evolution implies 'improvement', for a higher chance of survival. Japanese survived perfectly well for over 1500 years without using any english words at all. Furthermore, that is why we have translators and interpreters. More and more english words replacing japanese words does not improve japanese, it detracts from it. The aim of evolution is to become smarter (not more basic), while preserving uniqueness and richness of variety.

日本の方々、日本語、もっと自慢してほしいと思うですが　part 4 One of the things you often hear japanese people say, when you ask them to use the correct japanese word, is.. いや、それはもう日本語になっている。。'no, this word has already become a japanese word', as if the word had already been officially adopted by the Ministry of Education. Unlike France, England and many other countries (I assume), Japan does not have any official department or academy responsible for monitoring the situation, or, officially accepting new words into the Japanese language and publishing them.. though it is must be becoming obvious that such a mechanism is badly needed. Presently, for the most part, TV and radio is doing that job, in a rampant and irresponsible way. The only guideline seems to be, 'if it can be written in katakana, its japanese'.(which means, any word in the world can become japanese as soon as it has been repeated by a minimum of 50 people and/or 2 people on tv or the radio.) People who say 'this word has already become a japanese word' assume that 'everyone' likes to use the english word instead of the japanese word. That is not the case. I recently saw results of a survey of over 1000 people, and even widely heard words such as manifesto, director, collaboration, sport etc were seen as 'established japanese words' by only 30 percent of the people surveyed. So for most english words used in japanese, it would be more accurate to say それは日本語になっているわけじゃないけど一部の日本人に使われている英語です。'Its not a japanese word, it is an english word used by some japanese people'. Sadly, the young, impressionable japanese kids are being exposed to so many english words in japanese, that over time, they will not be able to write, use or even remember the japanese word. With some japanese words, I am seeing this happen with high school students that I teach. This is a glaring contradiction for a country which otherwise has a deep affection for its own unique and sophisticated culture.

日本の方々　part 3 Once school teachers start using a certain english word when speaking japanese to their students, the original japanese word starts to die. Those students will grow up repeating whatever they hear their teachers and parents say, for example words such as...... symbol (象徴) leader(指導者) opening ceremony(開会式) speech(演説、弁論) discussion(議論) ground (校庭) single mother (片親) cost(費用), mechanism(仕組み） lifestyle（生活様式） research（研究）, specialist（専門家）, consultant（顧問）, manager（管理人）, economist（経済学者・専門家）, coach（監督）, goods（商品）, needs（必需品）, item(品目), idea（考え）, buyer（買い手）,　all japan (全日本)（too many to translate into japanese) dealer, loan, art, get, keep, enjoy, arrange, owner, driver, guide, guidebook, maintenance, gardening, walking, running, dancer, musician, singer, touch(verb), receipt, fruit, appeal(verb), approach, private, privacy, tenant, model, auction, owner, heavy drinker, heavy smoker, pressure, schedule, modern, market, innovation, business, athlete, pay, follow, hungry, vision, repeat, power, training, clear(verb and noun), straight, point(noun), keyword, contents, request, expert, option, control(verb), dialogue, contest, ticket, loan, visualize, camera, balance, healthy, type, sense, maker, communication,information, main street, top, level, impact(noun), share(noun), chorus, morals, earth(pronounced 'ass'), performance, egoist, support, rescue, trouble, scale, community, over, real, landmark, domestic violence, rule(noun), register, babysitter(pronounced 'babyshitter'), conscious, workshop, culture, culture shock, start(verb and noun),thinktank, special, present(verb and noun), symposium, panelist, discussion, debate, damage, guard(verb), stance, position, situation, observe, stage, reality, research, rival, wedding, design, merit, lesson, trend, family, relax, relaxation, rehabilitation, simulation, syndrome, episode, meeting, best, worst, pick up(verb), camera, balance, beach, healthy, sense, maker, career, project, communication, motivation.. to give just a few examples. There are hundreds, maybe already thousands. It has become an obsession. The one thing that all these words have in common, is that NONE of them was introduced into Japanese by necessity. They were ALL introduced for image, by people trying to copy other countries, trying to pretend to be more modern, worldly and knowledgeable.

日本の方々、日本語にもっと自慢してください　(英文)　part 1 In response to Joel's recent question regarding the overuse of katakana 'loan words' in japanese. 日本語能力が限られている僕にとっては、まとめた意見を翻訳するのはちょっと無理なので、英語で書いて載せます。時間があれば、理解してみるようお願いします。 This topic has generated some discussion, though in my opinion, not enough debate, and no official policy, here in Japan. If your aim in writing a list is just to have fun seeing how many english (vast majority of loan words are english words) words have been appropriated by 'some' japanese speakers, you've got your work cut out for you, the list is long. Since American Occupation and the accompanying pervasive influence of American culture, there has been an increasing tendency to with mix english words into japanese. This happens to the point where the original japanese word is often forgotten by many japanese people. The destructive driving force is the Mass Media, (TV, radio, advertising) which is committed to force-feeding the viewing/reading/listening population new non-japanese words at a steady rate. Because the mass media has such almighty status in Japan, people hear and automatically repeat whatever they hear on TV, or read in the newspaper, perpetuating and thus validating the use of such words in japanese. The existence of katakana gives the Mass Media carte blanche (a free pass) to present and pass off these english words as 'new japanese words'. Every week some pretender slips a new one into japanese, where the original japanese word is already perfectly understood by the entire literate population, hoping to give the impression that he/she is worldly, educated, fluent in english, worthy of the viewers admiration. Often, these are the kind of people who wish they could speak english well but lack the time, intelligence or dedication to learn properly. I admire those who take the time to study and learn to speak english well, they don't need to pretend. In light of the fact that everyone under 50 has a huge stock of unused english vocabulary from 6 years of compulsory grammar-oriented english language education, one can understand the temptation to revive these words, and, well, if they aren't going live or work in an english speaking country, get some mileage out of them here in Japan.

Tolong menerjemahkan ini ke bahasa inggris... 'Pantesan kamu bisa'. (itu aja.. gampang untuk kamu)