2009/12/17

Japanese language

Everyday, we talk, listen and write Japanese as natural. Languages are essential to tell information and to express our minds. We can’t live any more without them, I think. Japanese is very important for us.
Where did Japanese come from? Hideo Komatsu, a college professor and doctor of Literature, stated in his book. ‘Originally there was a Pidgin language, which Pidgin means ‘a business’ in corrupt form of Chinese. A few people in North kept controlling a lot of people in South. And a Creole language developed with some processes and born in the land, was formed with Pidgin language’s stage, and became proto Japanese.’
In the Heian era, Kanamoji was made and women wrote letters to their lovers, or books. But the expressions used in those days have changed or are no longer used.
Japan had contact with Portugal, Spain and Horland from the 16th century, and with America from the 20th century. And it borrowed many words from them, but the languages from some countries won’t arrive English even if they all adapt because the amount of language Japan borrowed from English is too many.
I think Kango , which is written in Kanji, and Katakana’s difference is soft. Kango is hard and looks bad. Katakana is soft and looks good, I think. For example, you will see ``Senior-Ryokin`` when you go to the cinema, the amusement park and so on. Why is it written so? Why isn’t written ‘Toshiyori-Ryokin’? Perhaps it’s rude for older people. It looks bad. But ‘Senior’ is soft and isn’t rude. We say same meaning with different words, but we feel differently depending on words.
Only a word changes our imaginations. Hideo said,’ it is natural that languages are changing to adapt to the new society and to enable smooth communication as long as the environment of society is changing. If the mechanism of renewal didn’t work and even if the Japanese language stopped changing, society wouldn’t stop changing. Then the communication efficiency would break down and our society would be without languages.’ He means society should stop changing to keep using languages in same states. Certainly, I agree with him. For example, ``Ziyu-Rodosha`` makes us imagine that it’s miserable and uncertain life about them, but ``Freeter`` makes us imagine that it’s arbitrary and unrestrained. The more skills and science develops, the more words will change, so Japanese borrows a lot of languages from other countries.
From now, Japanese will remain still but English words increase more than now. I think it’s OK English languages are increasing more and more, but I hope Japanese language keeps using. Japanese language was made in Japan, and it’s traditional. So I think we should be important it.

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