Lexical Neologisms in Japanese

The practically universal promotion of internationalisation and globalisation, coupled with the technological and scientific advances of the preceding decades, has provided a fertile ground for accelerated absorption of lexical neologisms reflecting the rapid changes in the social and material cultures of the different speech communities of the world. However, despite the universality of the language change phenomenon, the type and absorption methods of lexical neologisms differ considerably between languages. Research in language change has important pedagogical implications for language teaching in the classroom and in preparation of linguistically up to date teaching materials. It is important for students to acquire the contemporary rather than the "petrified" language variety. This paper, set within the theoretical framework of language change research, focuses on neologisms in the Japanese language. On the basis of data derived from examination of social pages of the Asahi newspaper, vocabulary that has come into being in the past ten years is examined in the categories of native, borrowed and native/borrowed neologisms. Selected examples are included to demonstrate the environments conducive to the birth of new vocabulary and the different ways the unique script used to transcribe the sounds of the language aids in the coining of Japanese neologisms. This paper deals with language change in Japanese, focusing on lexical neologisms that have entered the language in the past five years. Language, any language, reflects the lifestyle of its speakers: social organization, political system, economy, philosophy, arts, customs, mores, etc., that taken together form the culture of a particular speech community. And, as the lifestyles change over centuries so does the language. As Aichison observes; "There can never be a moment of true standstill in language. Like everything else it gradually transforms itself over centuries"(Aichison,1991:59) That language is a living entity in the process of constant change is a universally accepted fact. Some decades ago Sapir (1921:160), one of the pioneers of linguistics science, wrote: "Language moves down time in a current of its own making. Nothing is perfectly static, every word, every grammatical element, every locution, every sound and accent is slowly changing configuration moulded by the invisible and impersonal drift in the life of a language". Therefore, it is not language change itself that has occupied the attention of historical linguists for the past decades, but the causes and the processes of change. Early researchers, such as Saussure (1922) or Bloomfield (1933), for instance, maintained that the causes of linguistic change cannot be established despite numerous attempts at feasible explanations (Wardhaugh,1990:187). The majority of the early researchers have maintained also that the actual processes of change cannot be observed that what one can observe and perhaps analyses are the consequences of change. The findings of later research, however, envisage the process of change as an initial fluctuation between the new and the old, with the completion of the process occurring when the new replaces the old (Fromkin et al.,1996:295). In other words, if the new form, be it phonological, morpho-syntactic, lexical or semantic, spreads "the change is in progress, if it eventually replaces the old form, the change has become a fait accompli it has gone to completion"(Holmes,1992:212). In regard to the causes of change, although the reasons for an aspect of a language undergoing change at a particular point in time still remain unclear, a number of theories have been proposed, depending on the orientation of individual researchers. For instance, Mcmahon M.S (1994: 179-182) discussing causes of semantic change, delineates the following: • Linguistic causes • Historical causes (subdivided into "ideas" and "scientific concepts") • Social causes • Psychological causes (subdivided into "emotive factors" and "taboo") • Foreign influence • The need for a new name Aichison (1991:75), on the other hand, focusing on language change as a manifestation of a social phenomenon which portrays the changes in the social situation of a speech community, proposes three socio-linguistic causes: "fashion, foreign influence and social need" (Aichison, 1991:89). In this respect Aichison echoes the widely held view of sociolinguistic causes of language change involving the notion of need. Referred to as the functional view of language change, it postulates that "language alters as the needs of its users alter". This paper focuses on lexical changes in Japanese occurring in response to the need for a new name. The speed of scientific and technological progress, combined with the practically universal adoption of the globalisation concept by the countries of the world, have created a pressing need in all speech communities for new lexicon to name new items or concepts. New lexicon in any language can eventuate either through an internal process, that is by utilization of elements already present in the language, or an external process, that is by borrowing lexicon from another language (Wardhaugh,1990:188). Borrowing is particularly pertinent to adoption of new lexicon as single lexis are easily detachable from the donor language and in most cases do not affect the structure of the borrowing language (Aichison, 1991:89). This is particularly true of the Japanese language which has a long history of borrowing and where the processes that adapt borrowed words into the phonological and syntactic structure of the language are well established. To describe the process briefly: most of the loan words are borrowed by sound, that is following the pronunciation of the word in the donor language. As most of the recent borrowings come from English, the Japanese version follows either the English or the American pronunciation. The borrowed lexicon is adapted to the phonemic structure of Japanese and transcribed in the consonantvowel syllables characteristic of the Japanese language. Consequently, the resultant Japanese word is often incomprehensible to the speakers of the donor language. For instance, "virtual" becomes "baacharu" in Japanese. The majority of loan words are borrowed as nouns and verbalized, if necessary, by addition of the auxiliary verb suru, which can then be conjugated as needed. Nouns can also be used as adjectives by insertion of na between the borrowed lexeme and the noun it describes. An example of the former is nokku suru (to knock), and the latter hansomu na hito (a handsome person). Lexical change in a language can involve a variety of processes such as, for instance, compounding, or recombining of old words to form new ones (Fromkin et al., 1990:295), gain or loss of lexical items, change in the meaning or semantic representation of words, making it broader, narrower, or shifted ( Fromkin et al., 1990:300), word coinage, derivation of words from names, acronyms, and abbreviations or clippings ( Fromkin et al.,1990:295). The results of most of these processes can be observed in the analysis of Japanese neologisms. The data on which this paper is based are derived from a one month's survey of the morning edition of the Japanese daily newspaper Asahi. The main reason for choosing a newspaper is that the vocabulary used in the articles conforms to the rules of the standard language, so it can be safely assumed that any new word used on its pages is already well established in the language. In other words, a reputable newspaper like Asahi is not the right vehicle for "fashion" words which might occur in a less controlled environment and which might not survive in the language for long. To check the "newness" or otherwise of the words found in the different sections of the paper, the new lexicon was checked against the entries in the latest (2000-2001) Shingo Jiten (Dictionary of New Lexicon) as well as the most recent (1998) Koojien(Comprehensive Japanese-Japanese Dictionary). All Japanese lexicon used in this text is transcribed following a modified Hepburn system of romanisation. While in the larger study from which this data is excerpted, new lexicon is looked at within a number of discrete domains (eg politics, economy, etc), this paper limits discussion to the "society section" with articles on a variety of topics, aimed at the layman-reader. For instance, some of the articles that used new vocabulary are: 1. Shoshi no shinseiki (the childless era) an article about an aging society with a very low birthrate. The article quotes statistics excerpted from government sources for April 2000, showing an attrition in the 0-14 year olds of 300,000 when compared with previous years, and discusses the role these children will play in the future life of Japan. 2. Nisennen no kodomotachi (children of the year 2000). This article carries the overall theme of the first one, discussing the future education needs for this diminishing number of children. 3. Kateiban ( family pages)a section comprised of short articles on family affairs, domestic violence, plight of single mothers, problems of the aged and similar. 4. Shakaiban ( Society pages) a section comprised of short articles on current affairs, welfare, medical treatments, public health system, etc. 5. Te no kioku ( lit. a hand's memory) a selection of short articles on the role of the human hand in the production of craft objects, sign language, palmistry and similar areas. Japanese language uses four scripts, including a limited usage of the Roman alphabet for transcription of borrowed acronyms (eg PTAParent-Teacher Association). The native scripts are: • Kanji Chinese characters borrowed from China centuries ago and, in due course, somewhat modified and made structurally simpler. As a process of simplification, the number of kanji for use in newspapers and other forms of popular print media has been limited to 1945 characters referred to as Jooyoo Kanji. • Hiraganaa syllabary developed in the 11 century, used today predominantly for the transcription of particles, verb endings and other grammatical features of the language. • Katakanaa second syllabary, developed approximately at the same time as hiragana, used today mainly for the transcription of loan words, emphasis, or as a substitution for kanji that are not on the Jooyoo Kanji list. Perusal of (600) articles in the society section, yielded 79 new words (Appendix 2) not listed in the Koojien dictionary but found in theShingo Jiten. Assuming that it takes approximately 10 years for a new edition of a dictionary to appear in the bookstores, the words isolated in this study must have entered the language within approximately this time span. The distribution of the new lexicon into "native" and "borrowed" categories is shown in Table 1. Table 1 Native and Borrowed Lexicon Native Borrowed Native/borrowed Total 38 48.1% 26 32.9% 15 19.0% 79 100% As shown in Table 1, less than half of the total new lexicon came into being through the internal process of coining new vocabulary by utilisation of native elements. Coining new words in a character-based language like Japanese is a relatively easy process. As each character has a specific meaning, grouping of appropriate kanji into new compounds results in the formation of a new lexeme. For instance, in the article on new regulations for renewal of driving licenses by people over 65 years of age, a new compound fukashiryoku was found that carries a specific meaning of eye testing for distance and its usage is limited to the specific license renewal situation. The new compound is comprised of three kanji. The first one fuka(i) means deep, and the following kanji combination shiryoku means visual acuity, therefore the meaning of this compound translates into testing eyes for distance or depth, in contrast to the four character compound shiryoku kensaused for the description of the standard eye-testing procedure. A reader, even if unfamiliar with the term, can broadly understand the overall meaning by referring to the meaning of the individual kanji. However, as this particular eye testing procedure and its purpose are innovations introduced in the year 2000, the article helps the reader to understand the new term by including an explanation. Free translation of the relevant excerpt is given below and the original text (romanised) is placed in Appendix 1. Fukashiryoku refers to eyesight testing procedure that not only checks eyesight in the usual way, but also includes a new procedure for checking the sight for distance". Another interesting example is a new compound Shufubyoo ( lit. housewives' illness) that, like the example above, describes a new phenomenon in the Japanese society. The threecharacter compound can be easily understood by the reader but the nature of the "illness" requires explanation (original text in Appendix 1). Shufubyoo refers to an occupational disease, a syndrome affecting female office-workers, that manifests itself in poor performance, lack of responsibility, inattention to the tasks they are expected to perform, frequent absenteeism and general indifference to work". With two exceptions, the words tabulated in the "native" category were formed by creating new kanji compounds like the examples cited above. The two exceptions are words written in katakana (underlined) and kanji: jikochuu and okizarichuu. The former denotes a selfish person who does not care if he/she bothers other people. The latter means a litterbug, more particularly a person who litters the streets at night when nobody is around. In both cases the components written in katakana are native words which could have been written in kanji. Why the choice of katakana was made is unclear but most probably it was done to emphasize not only the novelty of the words but also the censure and condemnation of antisocial behaviour. Incidentally, pronunciation of the first compound is the same as that of an existing colloquial expression meaning a self centered person. The difference lies only in the choice of kanji. The last kanji of the older expression means centre while the kanji used in the new word means a bug or insect. This play on sound is an interesting aspect of the Japanese language, allowing subtle expression of satire, condemnation or praise. The context in which these two new words appeared is as follows: Jikochuu (lit. selfish bugs) are selfish people who are not concerned about the trouble they cause for other people. The aim of the metaphor bug used for such people is to point out the undesirability of their behaviour to them in the hope that they will take notice and improve their manners" Okizarichuu are the people who are like nocturnal animals they make frequent appearances at night, dump their rubbish around electric poles or rubbish collect points and disappear". (For original text see Appendix 1) In the "borrowed" category all new words originally came from English, are written in katakana, and in most cases, are used in different loanword combinations to express new concepts or describe new phenomena. Japanese language began to absorb Western vocabulary as early as the 16 century (Kindaichi et al. 1988: 424) with a very large intake after the Meiji restoration and the opening of Japan to the West from 1868 onwards (Schirokauer1993:187). The intake of loanwords escalated even more in the postWorld War II period, when most of the borrowings came from English. Consequently Japanese language today includes a large repertoire of foreign words that can be utilized for the purpose of neologism formation in the same way that the native neologisms are coined. For instance, kikkusuketa (kikkubodo) is a new word that combines the existing loanword kikku (a kick) used in sporting contexts (eg kickboxing) with another existing loanword suketa(skate), that is material used in some types of construction. Combined in this way, the new coinage becomes a very apt and descriptive name for the type of a scooter that has recently come into fashiona plank on wheels propelled along by "kicking" the ground with one foot. The scooter is a western invention so it is not difficult to understand the reasons for choosing loanwords as the means of naming a new fashionable device. A similar explanation can be applied to another new term mai.baggu.kyanpeen (lit. "my bag campaign"), denoting a move towards reduction of plastic waste by shoppers using their own non-disposable bags. The possessive pronoun mai (my) has been in use in Japan for a long time and, as in English, always as a modifier to another noun. The meaning, however, is somewhat different than in English. For instance, maihoomu (my home) does not equate with English my home but denotes anyone's privately owned residence. Similarly maikaa(my car) means a privately owned vehicle. The word (baggubag), although not used on its own, has been a part of the Japanese language as a component of handobaggu (handbag). The word kyanpen (campaign) has also been in use in Japan for a considerable length of time with the same meaning as in English. Since all the components of the new phrase are a part of the Japanese language, a reader would find it easy to understand the meaning: a campaign promoting usage of own bags or other receptacles for shopping rather than the plastic ones provided by the stores. Although this complete new term could be expressed by a kanji compound kaimonobukuro jisan undo (lit. "movement for using own bags"), the meaning would lack the desired nuance of modernity and identification with global concerns for the environment. The same principle has been applied to the formation of other new words like waakushearingu (job sharing) or gyarumama (lit. "girl mother). Waaku (work) has been introduced into the language some time ago as a component of waaku bukku (work book used at school) butshearingu (sharing) is new as an appropriate loanword was needed to complete the phrase that would adequately describe the practice of two or three people filling a single position. Job sharing is a relatively new phenomenon in the West and, until very recently has had no counterpart in Japan. Gyarumama, comprised of a new loanword gyaru (girl) and an existing one mama, used in some Japanese families as an address or reference term for mother, also expresses a new social phenomenon. Unmarried mothers have always existed in Japan, the same as in all other countries, but the native term mikon no haha (mikon is unmarried and haha is the mother) would not adequately describe the new social phenomenon of teen-age promiscuity and the resultant emergence of teenage unmarried mothers. Hence the need for a new term and, since the incidence of teenage pregnancies echoes the relaxed morality codes of the West, the choice of a new loanword was an obvious one. Not all new words in the "borrowed" category were coined by a combination of existing or new and existing items. Some came into usage as single neologisms, most often than not carrying a slightly different meaning to the parent word. For instance, the English word skeleton(sukeruton in its Japanese version) does not refer to a frame on which something is built (eg bone skeleton covered with flesh etc) but denotes a semi-transparent device through which the internal mechanism of a watch, computer monitor, etc can be seen. Another example of the same kind is inkyubeeta (incubator) which in Japanese does not mean an apparatus for hatching birds, rearing of prematurely born babies or developing bacteria, but the support given to small and medium enterprises for research and product development. Needless to say, words of these kind have to be acquired -the meaning cannot be deduced as is the case when native kanji-based neologisms are coined or existing loanwords combined into a new meaning. In the "native/borrowed" category, an interesting new word is chinsui kenchi pendanto comprised of a group of kanji and a loanword (underlined). This neologism names a special radio device designed for use by elderly or infirm people. The device sounds an alarm if the user is submerged in the bath for an extended period of time. The kanji in chinsui mean submerged in water, and the ones in kenchi mean checking and notifying another person. Pendanto (pendant), used in Japan in the same meaning as in English, indicates that the device is worn on a chain or cord around the neck. As all the components of this neologism are known to the readers, understanding of the basic meaning presents no problem. However, in the same way as in some of the previous examples, the contemporary meaning as well as the nature of the device, require an explanation. Many aged people suddenly die, particularly in winter, while having a bath. Every year 10 -15 thousand accidents of this nature occur. The new device, chinsui kenchi pendanto will immediately notify a member of the family or other designated person in case of an emergency, that is when its user is in the bath for an excessively long time". (For original text see Appendix 1) Another example describing a new phenomenon is hiito airando genshoo (lit. "heat island phenomenon"). The term refers to the excessive rise in the summer temperature in Tokyo (and other large cities of Japan) caused by the material used for paving the streets. The paving blocks cannot retain water with the result that the surface becomes very hot and the radiated heat affects the overall temperature of the city. In Japanese, words borrowed from another language most often have a restricted meaning. For instance, in the neologism written in kanjiand katakana (underlined) ranshi banku (an ovum bank), the English loanword banku (bank) is restricted to specific scientific contexts. According to Koojien (1998) banku refers to organisations that store specific items or collect information, while the native word ginkoo(bank) refers to financial establishments that carry out the usual banking activities. A very similar treatment is given to the English word money. In the Japanese usage the new loanword mane is used only for electronic transactions as a part of the compound denshimane (lit. electric money). The native term okane (money) is used in all other contexts. Another similar example is the use of the English word risaikuru (recycle) in contexts restricted to recycling of waste such as paper, cans or bottles. The native word, composed of kanji, saishigen (recycling) is used to denote re-use of natural resources eg water. When lexical change occurs in a language, at first there may be some fluctuation between the new and the old, before the new form takes over (Aichison,1991:98). In the copies of the Asahi scrutinized for new lexicon, several old and new words appeared in free variation in the same context. For instance: reiofu (layoff) alternated with ichiji kaiko (temporary unemployment), both being used in reference to an interval of enforced unemployment. The old term may eventually disappear or both may be retained but as carriers of different nuances. In fact, anecdotal evidence suggests that the latter is already occurring. With the erosion of the life employment system and the need to economize due to the recession Japan is undergoing at present, reiofu is beginning to come into use as a term for people loosing their jobs while the older word is retained in its original meaning. Nevertheless it can be said, until the separation of meaning gains acceptance, that in this particular instance one can perhaps observe a "change in progress". Japanese language uses numerous acronyms and neologisms of this kind that were also found of the pages of the Asahi. One such acronyms is PET botoru (PET bottle) where PET stands for Polyethylene Terephtat, a type of new plastic material used in the manufacture of bottles and similar containers. Another acronym is SOHO jinkoo where jinkoo is a native, kanji-written word for population and SOHO is an acronym for Small Office Home Office. The phrase refers to a new phenomenon of people working from home or small office, relying on internet, e-mail and other similar communication devices for the conduct of their business activities. One of the features of the Japanese borrowing is truncation of the borrowed vocabulary. Examples of these are sekuhara (sexual harassment) and risutora (restructure). The first, comprised of the first syllables of each of the two English words forming the phrase sexual harassment, seems to be replacing the original full-length loanword sekusharu harasumento. The second is a truncated version that reduces the new word to half of the original loanword risutorakucha. Once again it can perhaps be said that a "change in progress" can be observed. In view of past examples of loanword treatment (eg depaatamento.stoaa, truncated to depaato to mean department store) one can safely assume that the shorter version will in due course replace the old. An interesting example of native/borrowed coinage is anime otaku. Anime (animation) is a well established vocabulary item in Japanese but the addition of otaku to mean a maniac is new. Otaku is a native word, an honorific reference or address term meaning you or your family. In the article in which this word was found, the change in the original meaning of otaku was indicated by the simple process of substitutingkanji with katakana and attaching it to words denoting artistic or professional pursuits. Thus it has become a new word somewhat derogatory in meaning, to describe people who are interested in one thing only to the exclusion of everything else. The translation below exemplifies the meaning: Anime otaku refers to the kind of person among anime maniacs with whom people do not wish to associate. Otaku means maniacs in general. With an appropriate modifier it also refers to people occupied with one thing only, such as overly academic people, collectors and similar. (For original text see Appendix 1) Most of the new vocabulary, as illustrated by the examples, are neologisms comprising one or several-word expressions that name new concepts rather than concrete items. This is not surprising as Japan, since the 19 century, has been keeping abreast of the ideological and physical developments of the modern, predominantly Western, world. Thus vocabulary pertaining to the westernized aspects of life in Japan has been a part of the Japanese language for a considerable length of time. Neologisms that are coined now predominantly reflect the social, political, economic and cultural changes occurring not only in Japan but also on the global scene. Centuries of linguistic development through absorption of countless foreign words has made Japanese language into a very rich matrix for the coining of new lexicon. As illustrated by the examples cited above, the Japanese language being comprised of a mixture of native Japanese, Sino-Japanese and foreign vocabulary and aided by its writing system, provides countless possibilities for answering the need for new words that name new things, describe new concepts or express subtle nuances that differentiate the old words from the new. Research in the field of language change has important pedagogical application not only for classroom teaching but also for preparation of appropriate teaching materials. Teachers of Japanese in Australia are either non-native speakers, some of whom completed their studies of the language more than 20 years ago, or native speakers domiciled in Australia with limited opportunities of keeping abreast with contemporary developments in the language. It is important, therefore, that the findings of neologism research are widely disseminated among the language teaching profession so that a "living" variety and not the "petrified" kind of Japanese is taught at Australian schools and universities. Bibliography Aichison, J., Language change Progress or Decay? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1991: 59-89 Fromkin,V.,Blair,D., and Collins,P. An introduction to Language Harcourt Australia Pty Ltd NSW 1990:295-300 Holmes J., An introduction to sociolinguistics, Addison Wesley longman publishing N.Y 1992:212 Kindaichi, H., Hayasi, O., Sibata, T., An Encyclopaedia of the Japanese Language, Taishukan Publishing Company, Tokyo, 1988:424 Oogoshi, M, ed. An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words 2000,-Shingo Jiten (Dictionary of New Lexicon), Jiyuu kokuminnsha Publishers Tokyo Japan Sapir, E., Language: an introduction to the study of speech. 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