Loanwords in Japanese

Gairaigo(Từ ngoại lai,Japanese pronunciation:[ɡaiɾaiɡo])isJapanesefor "loan word",and indicates atranscription into Japanese.In particular, the word usually refers to a Japanese word of foreign origin that was not borrowed in ancient times fromOldorMiddle Chinese(especiallyLiterary Chinese), but in modern times, primarily fromEnglish,Portuguese,Dutch,and modern Chinese dialects, such asStandard ChineseandCantonese.These are primarily written in thekatakanaphonetic script, with a few older terms written in Chinese characters (kanji); the latter are known asateji.

Japanese has manyloan words from Chinese,accounting for a sizeable fraction of the language. These words were borrowed during ancient times and are written inkanji.Modern Chinese loanwords are generally consideredgairaigoand written inkatakana,or sometimes written inkanji(either with the more familiar word as a base text gloss and the intendedkatakanaasfuriganaor vice versa); pronunciation of modern Chinese loanwords generally differs from the corresponding usual pronunciation of the characters in Japanese.

For a list of terms, see theList of gairaigo and wasei-eigo terms.

Source languages

See also:Glossary of Japanese words of Portuguese originandGlossary of Japanese words of Dutch origin

Japanese has a long history of borrowing from foreign languages. It has been doing so since the late fourth century AD. Some ancientgairaigowords are still being used nowadays, but there are also many kinds ofgairaigowords that were borrowed more recently.

Most, but not all, moderngairaigoare derived fromEnglish,particularly in the post-World War II era (after 1945). Words are taken from English for concepts that do not exist in Japanese, but also for other reasons, such as a preference for English terms or fashionability – manygairaigohave Japanese near-synonyms.

In the past, moregairaigocame from other languages besides English. The first period of borrowing occurred during the late fourth century AD, when a massive number of Chinese characters were adopted. This period could be considered one of the most significant in the history ofgairaigo,because it was the first moment when the written communication systems usingkanjiwere formed.

The first non-Asian countries to have extensive contact with Japan werePortugaland theNetherlandsin the 16th and 17th centuries, and Japanese has several loanwords fromPortugueseandDutch,many of which are still used. The interaction between Japan and Portugal lasted from the Late Middle Ages until the early Edo era (1549–1638). An example of the loanwords from Portuguese israsha,meaning a thick wool cloth that was indispensable during the period, but not used often nowadays. In the Edo era (1603–1853), words from the Dutch language, such asglas,gas,andalcohol,started to have an impact in the Japanese language. Also, during the Edo era, many medical words likeGaze(meaninggauze) andneurosescame from German, and many artistic words such asrougeanddessincame from French. Most of thegairaigosince the nineteenth century came from English.

In theMeiji era(late 19th to early 20th century), Japan also had extensive contact withGermany,and gained many loanwords fromGerman,particularly for Western medicine, which the Japanese learned from the Germans. Notable examples includearubaito(アルバイト,part-time work)(often abbreviated tobaito(バイト)) from GermanArbeit( "work" ), andenerugī(エネルギー,energy)from GermanEnergie.They also gained several loanwords fromFrenchat this time.

In modern times, there are some borrowings from Modern Chinese and Modern Korean, particularly for food names, and these continue as new foods become popular in Japan; standard examples includeūron( ô long ウーロン "oolongtea ") andkimuchi(キムチ "kimchi"), respectively, while more specialized examples includehoikōrō(Hâm lại thịtホイコーロー "twice cooked pork") from Chinese, andbibinba(ビビンバ"bibimbap") from Korean. Chinese words are often represented with Chinese characters, but withkatakanagloss to indicate the unusual pronunciation, while Korean words, which no longer regularly use Chinese characters (hanja), are represented inkatakana.There is sometimes ambiguity in pronunciation of these borrowings, particularly voicing, such asto(ト)vs.do(ド)– compare English'sDaoism–Taoism romanization issue.

Some Modern Chinese borrowings occurred during the 17th and 18th centuries, due both to trade and resident Chinese inNagasaki,and a more recent wave of Buddhist monks, theŌbakuschool, whose words are derived from languages spoken inFu gian.More recent Korean borrowings are influenced both by proximity, and to the substantial population ofKoreans in Japansince the early 20th century.

In 1889, there were 85gairaigoof Dutch origin and 72gairaigoof English origin listed in a Japanese dictionary.From 1911 to 1924, 51% ofgairaigolisted in dictionaries were of English origin, and today, 80% to 90% ofgairaigoare of English origin.

There have been some borrowings fromSanskritas well, most notably for religious terms. These words are generally transliterations which were unknowingly borrowed from Chinese.

Doublets

In some cases,doubletsor etymologically related words from different languages may be borrowed and sometimes used synonymously or sometimes used distinctly.

The most common basic example iskappu(カップ,"cup (with handle), mug" ) from Englishcupversus earlierkoppu(コップ,"cup (without handle), tumbler" ) from Dutchkopor Portuguesecopo,where they are used distinctly. A similar example isgurasu(グラス,"glass (drinkware)") from Englishglassversus earliergarasu(ガラス,"glass (material);pane ") from Dutchglas;thusgarasu no gurasu(ガラス の グラス,"a glass glass" )is not redundant but means a drinking vessel specifically made of glass (e.g. as opposed to plastic). A more technical example issorubitōru(ソルビトール)(Englishsorbitol) versussorubitto(ソルビット)(GermanSorbit), used synonymously.

Wasei-kango

In addition to borrowings, which adopted both meaning and pronunciation, Japanese also has an extensive set of new words that are crafted using existing Chinese morphemes to express a foreign term. These are known aswasei-kango,"Japanese-made Chinese words". This process is similar to the creation ofclassical compoundsin European languages. Many were coined in the Meiji period, and these are very common in medical terminology. These are not consideredgairaigo,as the foreign word itself has not been borrowed, and sometimes a translation and a borrowing are both used.

Writing

Main article:Transcription into Japanese

Inwritten Japanese,gairaigoare usually written inkatakana.Older loanwords are also often written usingateji(kanjichosen for their phonetic value, or sometimes for meaning instead) orhiragana,for exampletabakofrom Portuguese, meaning "tobacco" or "cigarette" can be writtenタバコ(katakana),たばこ(hiragana), orCây thuốc lá(thekanjifor "smoke grass", but still pronouncedtabako– an example of meaning-basedateji), with no change in meaning. Another common older example istempura,which is usually written in mixedkanji/kana(mazegaki) asThiên ぷら,but is also written asてんぷら, テンプラ, thiên phu la(rare kanji) orTempura(common kanji) – here it is sound-basedateji,with the characters used for their phonetic values only.

Fewgairaigoare sometimes written with a singlekanjicharacter (chosen for meaning or newly created); consequently, these are consideredkun'yomirather thanatejibecause the single characters are used for meaning rather than for sound and are often written as katakana. An example ispēji(Trang, ページ,page);seesingle-character loan wordsfor details.

False friends andwasei-eigo

There are numerous causes for confusion ingairaigo:(1)gairaigoare often abbreviated, (2) their meaning may change (either in Japanese or in the original language after the borrowing has occurred), (3) many words are not borrowed but rather coined in Japanese (wasei-eigo"English made in Japan" ), and (4) not allgairaigocome from English.

Due to Japanese pronunciation rules and itsmora-based phonology, many words take a significant amount of time to pronounce. For example, a one-syllable word in a language such as English (brake) often becomes several syllables when pronounced in Japanese (in this case,burēki(ブレーキ), which amounts to four moras). The Japanese language, therefore, contains manyabbreviated and contracted words,and there is a strong tendency to shorten words. This also occurs withgairaigowords. For example, "remote control", when transcribed in Japanese, becomesrimōto kontorōru(リモートコントロール), but this has then been simplified torimokon(リモコン). For another example, the transcribed word for "department store" isdepātomento sutoa(デパートメントストア) but has since been shortened todepāto(デパート).Clipped compounds,such aswāpuro(ワープロ) for "word processor", are common.Karaoke(カラオケ), a combination of the Japanese wordkara"empty" and the clipped form,oke,of the English loanword "orchestra" (J.ōkesutoraオーケストラ), is a clipped compound that has entered the English language. Japanese ordinarily takes the first part of a foreign word, but in some cases the second syllable is used instead; notable examples from English includehōmu(ホーム,from "(train station) plat-form" )andnerushatsu(ネルシャツ,"flan-nel shirt" ).

Some Japanese people are not aware of the origins of the words in their language, and may assume that allgairaigowords are legitimate English words. For example, Japanese people may use words liketēma(テーマ,from GermanThema,meaning "topic/theme" ) in English, orrimokon,not realizing that the contraction of "remote control" torimokontook place in Japan.

Similarly,gairaigo,while making Japanese easier to learn for foreign students in some cases, can also cause problems due to independentsemantic progression.For example, English "stove", from whichsutōbu(ストーブ) is derived, has multiple meanings. Americans often use the word to mean a cooking appliance, and are thus surprised when Japanese take it to mean a space heater (such as a wood-burning stove). The Japanese term for a cooking stove is anothergairaigoterm,renji(レンジ),from the English "range"; a gas stove is agasurenji(ガスレンジ).

Additionally, Japanese combines words in ways that are uncommon in English. As an example,left overis abaseballterm for a hit that goes over the left-fielder's head rather than uneaten food saved for a later meal. This is a term that appears to be a loan but is actuallywasei-eigo.

It is sometimes difficult for students of Japanese to distinguish amonggairaigo,giseigo(onomatopoeia), andgitaigo(ideophones:words that represent the manner of an action, like "zigzag" inEnglish—jiguzaguジグザグin Japanese), which are also written inkatakana.

Wasei-eigopresents more difficulties for Japanese and learners of Japanese as such words, once entered the lexicon, combine to form any number of potentially confusing combinations. For example, the loanwordschance,pink,erotic,over,down,up,in,my,andboomhave all enteredwasei-eigolexicon, combining with Japanese words and other English loanwords to produce any number of combination words and phrases. 'Up', orappu,is famously combined with other words to convey an increase or improvement, such asseiseki appu(increased results) andraifu appu(improved quality of life). 'My', ormai,also regularly appears in advertisements for any number and genre of items. From "My Fanny" toilet paper to "My Hand" electric hand drills,maiserves as a common advertising tool. Infamously, the beverage brand Calpis sold a product namedmai pisuor 'my piss' for a short time.

Wasei-eigois often employed to disguise or advertise risque or sexual terms and innuendos, especially when used by women.Wasei-eigoterms referencing a person's characteristics, personality, and habits also commonly appear as Japanese street slang, frompoteto chippusuor 'potato chips' for a hick andesu efu'SF' for a 'sex friend'.

Grammatical function

Gairaigoare generally nouns, which can be subsequently used as verbs by adding auxiliary verb-suru(〜する,"to do" ).For example, "play soccer" is translated as サッカーをする (sakkā o suru).

Some exceptions exist, such assabo-ru(サボる,"cut class", fromsabotage),which conjugates as a normal Japanese verb – note the unusual use ofkatakana(サボ) followed byhiragana(る). Another example isgugu-ru(ググる, "to google" ), which conjugates as a normal Japanese verb, in which the final syllable is converted intookuriganato enable conjugation.

Gairaigofunction as do morphemes from other sources, and, in addition towasei eigo(words or phrases from combininggairaigo),gairaigocan combine with morphemes of Japanese or Chinese origin in words and phrases, as injibīru(Mà ビール,local beer)(comparejizake(Mà rượu,local sake)),yūzāmei(ユーザー danh,user name)(compareshimei(Thị danh,full name)) orseiseki-appu(Thành tích アップ,improve (your) grade).

In set phrases, there is sometimes a preference to use allgairaigo(inkatakana) or allkango/wago(inkanji), as inマンスリーマンション(mansurii manshon,monthly apartment) versusNguyệt cực trú bãi đỗ xe(tsukigime chūshajō,monthly parking lot), but mixed phrases are common, and may be used interchangeably, as inテナント mộ tập(tenanto boshū) andNhập cư giả mộ tập(nyūkyosha boshū), both meaning "looking for a tenant".

Phonology

Further information:Katakana

Borrowings traditionally have had pronunciations that conform to Japanese phonology andphonotactics.For example,platformwas borrowed as /hōmu/, because */fo/ is not a sound combination that traditionally occurs in Japanese. However, in recent years, somegairaigoare pronounced more closely to their original sound, which is represented by non-traditional combinations ofkatakana,generally using smallkatakanaor diacritics (voicing marks) to indicate these non-traditional sounds. Compareiyahon(イヤホン,"ear-phones" )andsumaho(スマホ, "smart phone" ), where traditional sounds are used, andsumātofon(スマートフォン,"smart-phone" ),a variant of the latter word using traditional sounds, where the non-traditional combinationフォ(fu-o) is used to represent the non-traditional sound combination /fo/. This leads to long words; e.g., the word for "fanfare" is spelled out asfanfāre(ファンファーレ),with sevenkana,no shorter than the Roman Alpha bet original (it is possible that it was not loaned from English because the "e" is not silent).

Similarly, Japanese traditionally does not have any /v/ phoneme, instead approximating it with /b/, but today /v/ (normally realizednotas [v] but as bilabial [β]) is sometimes used in pronunciations: for example, "violin" can be pronounced eitherbaiorin(バイオリン)orvaiorin(ヴァイオリン),withヴァ(literally "voiced u" + "a" ) representing /va/.

Another example of the Japanese transformation of English pronunciation istakushī(タクシー),in which the two-syllable wordtaxibecomes three syllables (and four morae, thanks to longī) becauseconsonant clustersdo not occur in traditional Japanese (with the exception of the coda ん/ン or /n/), and in which the sound [si] ( "see" ) of English is pronounced [ɕi] (which to monoglot English speakers will sound like "she" ) because /si/ in Japanese is realized as such.

This change in Japanese phonology following the introduction of foreign words (here primarily from English) can be compared to the earlier posited change in Japanese phonology following the introduction of Chinese loanwords, such asclosed syllables(CVC, not just CV) andlengthbecoming a phonetic feature with the development of bothlong vowelsandlong consonants– seeEarly Middle Japanese: Phonological developments.

Due to the difficulties that Japanese have indistinguishing "l" and "r",this expansion of Japanese phonology has not extended to use of differentkanafor /l/ vs. /r/, though application of handakuten for representing /l/ has been proposed as early as Meiji era. Therefore, words with /l/ or /r/ may be spelled identically if borrowed into Japanese. One important exception, however, does occur due to the fact that Japanese typically borrows English words in anon-rhoticfashion.

As a built-in lexicon of English

The English words that are borrowed into Japanese include many of the most useful English words, including high-frequency vocabulary and academic vocabulary. Thusgairaigomay constitute a useful built-in lexicon for Japanese learners of English.

Gairaigohave been observed to aid a Japanese child's learning of English vocabulary. With adults,gairaigoassist in English-word aural recognition and pronunciation, spelling, listening comprehension, retention of spoken and written English, and recognition and recall at especially higher levels of vocabulary. Moreover, in their written production, students of Japanese prefer using English words that have becomegairaigoto those that have not.

Misconceptions

The wordarigatō(Japanese for "thank you" ) sounds similar to the Portuguese wordobrigado,which has the same meaning. Given the number of borrowings from Portuguese, it may seem reasonable to suppose that the Japanese imported that word—which is the explanation accepted and indeed published by many. However,arigatōis not agairaigo;rather, it is an abbreviation ofarigatō gozaimasu,which consists of aninflectionof the nativeJapanese adjectivearigatai(Gặp nạn い) combined with thepolite verbgozaimasu.There is evidence, for example in theMan'yōshū,that the wordarigataiwas in use several centuries before contact with the Portuguese. This makes the two termsfalse cognates.If the Portuguese word had been borrowed, it would most likely have taken the form オブリガド (oburigado), or maybeōrigado(due to historicalafuandofucollapsing toō), and while it is even possible that it would be spelled withGặp nạnasateji,it would regardless start withorather thana,and the finalowould have been short rather than long.

Reborrowings from Japanese

Further information:Reborrowing

Somegairaigowords have beenreborrowedinto their original source languages, particularly in the jargon of fans of Japanese entertainment. For example,anime(アニメ) isgairaigoderived from the English word for "animation",but has been reborrowed by English with the meaning of" Japanese animation ". Similarly,puroresu(プロレス) derives from "professional wrestling",and has been adopted by English-speaking wrestling fans as a term for the style of pro wrestling performed in Japan.Kosupure(コスプレ), orcosplay,was formed from the English words "costume play", referring to dressing in costumes such as those of anime,manga,or videogame characters, and is now commonly used in English and other languages (also usingWestern cartoonrealms).

There are also rare examples of borrowings from Indo-European languages, which have subsequently been borrowed by other Indo-European languages, thus yielding distant cognates. An example isikura(イクラ,salmon eggs),originally borrowed from Russianикра(ikra), and possibly distantly cognate (from the same Indo-European root) to English "roe"(fish eggs), though the only indication is the shared" r ".

See also

• Cognate
• List ofgairaigoandwasei-eigoterms
  • Japanese words of Portuguese origin
  • Japanese words of Dutch origin
• Engrish
• List of English words of Japanese origin
• Japanese Pidgin English

References

Inline citations

Sources

• permanent dead link] http:// tsu.ac.jp/bulletin/bulletin/pdf/15/087-101.pdf
• Olah, Ben. "English Loanwords in Japanese: Effects, Attitudes and Usage as a Means of Improving Spoken English Ability".Journal of Humanities, Bunkyo Gakuin Daigaku(Văn kinh học viện đại học nhân gian học bộ nghiên cứu kỷ yếu)Vol.9, No.1, pp. 177–188, December 2007.
• "Gairaigo towa(Từ ngoại lai とは)",(Nước Nhật ngữ đại từ điển, thế giới đại bách khoa sự điển nội ngôn cập,ブリタニカ quốc tế đại bách khoa sự điển tiểu hạng mục sự điển, デジタル đại từ tuyền, bách khoa sự điển マイペディア, thế giới đại bách khoa sự điển đệ ２ bản, Nhật Bản đại bách khoa toàn thư (ニッポニカ), tinh tuyển bản).Kotobank,the Asahi Shimbun.
• Miller, Laura."Wasei eigo: English" loanwords "coined in Japan".Papers in Linguistics in Honor of William Bright.academia.edu: 123–139.