The 'JIN' Japan Inc Newsletter<br>A weekly opinion piece on social, economic and political trends<br>in Japan.<br>Issue No. 444 Wednesday December 12, 2007, Tokyo<br><br>************WHAT DO YOU THINK OF J@PAN INC?************
<br>We invite you to take a survey and to win a bottle of<br>premier gin for your troubles. Basically, we're interested to<br>know what readers think of J@pan Inc magazine, since we<br>significantly boosted readers and content at the start of
<br>this year. Tell us what you think:<br><a href="http://tinyurl.com/yof8sd" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/yof8sd</a><br><br>Katakana Times<br><br>If, as Wittgenstein suggested, the limits of our language are <br>the limits of our world, on reflection, our world has some
<br>very volatile and dynamic borders. For example, look up the <br>etymology of any English word, such as 'magazine,' and it will <br>take you on a magical mystery tour of time and place. 'Magazine'<br>comes to English from the Italian 'magazzino,' which is itself
<br>probably derived from the Arabic 'makhazin', meaning <br>'storehouses.' Its first usage in English was to refer to <br>ammunition stores, as it still does in the context of guns, and <br>it wasn't until 1731 when it officially became the word for a
<br>periodical—coined in the title of 'Gentlemen's Magazine' <br>published that year. The trickier part is tracing how and why <br>it evolved in the way that it did. However, the point here is <br>that language tells us a great deal about the moment in which
<br>it exists—allbeit that the past is forever being kicked up the <br>backside by the future.<br><br>In Japanese, in the last two centuries, one of the key areas of <br>linguistic change relates to katakana, the phonetic script used
<br>to represent words from the 'outside.' Katakana is thus the most<br>common way of writing foreign words that the language has <br>absorbed, from 'pan' (bread) to 'furaipan' (frying pan). <br><br>
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visit our Prints Gallery at <a href="http://www.travel67.com" target="_blank">www.travel67.com</a> <br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>[...Article continues]<br><br>The 46 character script of katakana was apparently devised by a
<br>9th century monk named Kukai, later known as Kobo Daishi, <br>drawing inspiration from his knowledge of Sanskrit. In the Meiji<br>era, as Japan began to interact with the wider world, after <br>centuries of relative isolation, katakana became the standard
<br>form of dealing with not only new words, but also of new <br>concepts—or at least ones that were deemed to be from the <br>outside world. Marking words as 'inside' or 'outside' is not <br>common, or at least in such a visible manner, in other languages
<br>and thus academics have often sought, over the years, to draw <br>meaningful conclusions from this relationship between language <br>and international interaction in Japanese. For example, in an <br>article written 20 years ago for the journal 'World Englishes,'
<br>Phillip R Murrow observes that katakana English words are often <br>related to 'sex or bodily functions' and from this, he <br>identifies two dynamics:<br><br>'First, loanwords allow speakers to speak indirectly or
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euphemistically, about topics which, traditionally, are somewhat <br>taboo. Second, the use of loanwords implies a modern, liberated <br>outlook which is attractive to many speakers.'<br><br>On the other hand, many Japanese commentators tend to worry
<br>that imported words are a kind of corruption or that they <br>somehow impose a particular worldview on Japanese people. <br><br>Both of these arguments have merit in that katakana words are<br>regularly 'modern', relating to technology or imported goods as
<br>much sexual taboos,and often refer to something 'Western.' <br>However, katakana words are also by their nature 'Japanese,' and<br>only modern in the same way as other new words written in kanji<br>are modern. Additionally, there are katakana words that have
<br>ballooned away from the meaning that the word had in its <br>language of origin. For example, 'arubaito,' from the German <br>word for work, has a very particular meaning in Japanese—a <br>part-time job. It is hard then to make a moral argument about
<br>what katakana has contributed to, or upset in, Japanese society.<br>It is clearly an organic feature of the language, which while it<br>may be influenced by foreign languages, evolves quite <br>chaotically, in harmony with Japanese society.
<br><br>[Article continues below...]<br><br>------------ Translation/Marketing Service ----------------
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sachie.kuroda@japaninc.com</a> for more details.<br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>[...Article continues]<br><br><br>It seems then that katakana is a puzzle however it is looked at.<br>
Some media regularly point out that many Japanese people do not <br>understand a large volume of katakana words among themselves<br>(<a href="http://tinyurl.com/2bmbxg" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/2bmbxg</a>). However, this overlooks the factors
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of generational and regional difference, not to mention urban <br>atomisation, that have probably affected mutual understand of <br>'regular' words as well. After all, in the English language, an <br>octogenarian from Scotland and a teenager from Manhattan might
<br>not necessarily recognize each other as speakers of the same <br>tongue.<br><br>Phonetic script is also a hot topic for those attempting to<br>teach foreign languages in Japan. Many teachers despair the<br>use of katakana (or 'katakana effect'
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/3av4m7">http://tinyurl.com/3av4m7</a>)<br>in teaching the reading and speaking of foreign tongues. They <br>argue that it is a serious hindrance resulting in poor <br>communicative ability. For example, Japanese learners using the
<br>katakana pronunciation when asking for a KitKat could well get <br>a blank look when they ask for a 'kitto katto.' Incidentally, <br>this particular phonetic rendering proved a massive marketing <br>success for KitKat in Japan as 'kitto katto' has a resonance
<br>with the Japanese for 'certain victory', thus making it a <br>popular snack for those doing exams or entering sports <br>contests. Nonetheless, it is probably the case that katakana <br>is best kept out of the foreign language classroom where
<br>pronunciation is concerned.<br><br>By Peter Harris<br>Chief Editor<br><br>++SPECIAL NOTICE - IMMIGRATION PROCEDURES<br>WILL YOU BE LEAVING JAPAN OVER THE HOLIDAYS?<br>If so, you may be interested in finding out how to register for
<br>the new automated gate system at immigration, brought in to<br>facilitate compliance with the new regulations that require<br>foreigners to be finger-printed. Download the information from:<br><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/misc/automated-gate-registration">
http://www.japaninc.com/misc/automated-gate-registration</a><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/misc/automated-gate-registration" target="_blank"></a><br><br><br>++CORRECTIONS<br>Last week we reported that Australia was Japan's third largest
<br>export market. We are grateful to one reader who pointed out
<br>that this is an error, it is more like Japan's tenth largest.<br>Japan is however Australia's third largest source of imports.<br><br>If you would like to comment on this article please post your<br>remarks under the online version at
<a href="http://www.japaninc.com/jin444" target="_blank">www.japaninc.com/jin444</a><br>or, email them directly to the writer:<a href="mailto:peter.harris@japaninc.com" target="_blank">peter.harris@japaninc.com</a><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/misc/automated-gate-registration" target="_blank">
</a><br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------
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For further details and brochures, please contact:
<br>Ms. Esther Wong <br>Tel No: +603 2723 6736<br>Fax No: +603 2723 6699 <br>Email add: estherw@marcusevanskl.com#<br><br>------Metropolis Magazine Valentine`s Glitterball-------<br><br>Glitterball is back!<br>Tokyo's favorite party makes its triumphant return on
<br>February 14, 2008-Valentine's Day.<br>An institution for nearly a decade, the Metropolis-hosted<br>Glitterball was on hiatus this year due to the closing of<br>Velfarre nightclub, but 2008's version promises to be better
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