Hugvísindasvið
The history of loan words in Japanese and their effect on the Japanese language
B.A. thesis
Benedikt Gauti Þórdísarson
February 2016
University of Iceland
School of Humanities
Japanese Language and Culture
The history of loan words in Japanese and their effect on the Japanese language
B.A. thesis
Benedikt Gauti Þórdísarson
Kt.: 041291‐2069
Instructor: Gunnella Þorgeirsdóttir
February 2016
Abstract
Throughout history, Japan has been a very isolated country. Periodically Japan has opened
relations with other countries where both language and culture were heavily influenced. From
Chinese influence since the 5th century until European influence a thousand years later, currently
the biggest linguistic influence on Japanese is American English. Loan words from these
influences can be found in all facets of Japanese life.
In this essay I will examine the effect of loan words on the Japanese language. How is the
language changing and are loan words assisting or hindering the evolution of the Japanese
language? How does katakana affect the assimilation of loan words into Japanese? Are loan
words a gain or a loss for the language as a whole? Does Japan have to take better care of its
language and if so, how?
It is certain that loan words have had an immense effect on the Japanese language and while
some can be perceived as negative, the existence of loan words and language contact has been
a catalyst for easier comprehension of the Japanese language and pushed it to evolve.
On the transcription and translation of Japanese words and names
In this thesis, Japanese will be romanised using a modified Hepburn system. An exception to this
are long vowels in Western loan words, transcribed with a hyphen (‐) akin to their realisation in
katakana, e.g. su‐pa‐ or kaba‐.
Translations are the authors unless otherwise specified.
Table of Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1
1 Brief history of the Japanese language ............................................................................... 3
2 Loan words ........................................................................................................................ 7
2.1 What is a loan word? ...................................................................................................... 7
2.2 Introduction to terminology ............................................................................................ 7
3 Loan words in Japanese ..................................................................................................... 9
3.1 The hurdles of Japanese phonology ................................................................................ 9
3.2 History of loan words in Japan ...................................................................................... 10
3.3 The function of loan words in Japanese ....................................................................... 16
3.4 Adaption of loan words in Japanese ............................................................................. 19
3.5 True and “false” loan words.......................................................................................... 23
4 The effect of loan words .................................................................................................. 26
4.1 The effect on the Japanese language ........................................................................... 26
4.2 The effect on foreign language studies ........................................................................ 28
5 The future of loan words in Japanese ............................................................................... 30
5.1 Loan words already used in Japanese .......................................................................... 30
5.2 New loan words from here on ....................................................................................... 31
6 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................... 33
References .......................................................................................................................... 35
Appendices ......................................................................................................................... 38
Appendix I. Table of hiragana and katakana syllabaries ..................................................... 39
Appendix II. List of Japanese words in this thesis ................................................................. 40
1
Introduction
Whether in spoken or written contemporary Japanese, it is inevitable to encounter loan words.
This is the result of a process which started centuries ago and continues to this day. The path of
loan words into the Japanese language is especially interesting as throughout history, Japan has
been extremely isolated. Therefore, Japan’s international relations have been very limited.
Despite this, Japanese is a language with a long history of borrowing and the language has taken
jumps as it gained access to new influences. From Chinese influence since the 5th century to
European influence a thousand years later, currently the biggest linguistic influence is American
English.
It is a characteristic of nearly every Western loan word that it is written in a different
script from the native Japanese or the Chinese loan words, called katakana. Katakana is an
angular script easily distinguished from the rounded script used for native Japanese text.
Katakana makes it possible to easily transcribe foreign words into Japanese and in practice
removes any barrier of entry for loan words. However, their angular design makes them stand
out and be instantly recognised whether on signs or in text. Rebuck (2002) quotes Heitani (1993)
that Japanese is a language that “allows everything in, but in fact gets by without anything
entering”1. The angular lines of katakana physically separate loan words from those written in
native script, protecting the language from them.
Loan words have become more and more prominent in the language, now used for many
everyday items and concepts. In many cases Japanese equivalent are either non‐existent or
poorly understood, but sometimes loan words have simply replaced their Japanese counterpart,
often alongside a modernised version of the idea. While they can be found everywhere in
Japanese society, their non‐native status is apparent by the difference in script and sound that
they have. The author has lost count of the times when an effort to recall a word in Japanese
resulted in a dictionary lookup giving no equivalent to a straight loan. The prominence of loan
words in the everyday environment of Japan and the apparent complacency towards their
existence is what prompted this thesis.
1 Literal quote in Japanese: 「なんでもいれられるけど、本当はなんにも⼊れずにすむのです」.
Translation by Rebuck (2002).
2
In this thesis I will explore the evolution of the Japanese language through loan words:
what their function in the Japanese language is and what effects they have had. How the
language is evolving and whether loan words are assisting or hindering that development. How
does katakana affect the assimilation of loan words into Japanese? Are loan words a gain or loss
for the language as a whole? Also, if the language is to survive, whether Japan needs to take
better care of its language and if so, how?
To answer this I will first study the history of the Japanese language. Then I will delve
deeper into loan words; their history in the language and what functions they serve. Then I will
examine their effect on the Japanese language before finally contemplating their future in the
Japanese language.
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1 Brief history of the Japanese language
Before discussing loan words, we must first think about the language itself. Contemporary
Japanese is a melting pot of vocabulary not only of Japanese origin, but also Chinese, and more
recently English and other European languages. Japan’s long isolation as an island nation means
it is difficult for linguists to get viable proof of the origins of the Japanese language (Scherling,
2015, p. 22). Compared to most European languages, where language contact was nearly
unavoidable because of the ease of migration across the continent, the isolation of Japan meant
that cooperation, not only linguistic but also in all scientific and social progress as well, was
extremely limited.
It was not until the 5th century A.D. that Chinese scholars began to travel to Japan,
bringing with them extensive knowledge of agriculture, metalworking as well as Buddhism, but
perhaps the most influential was the Chinese writing system of kanji (漢字). After the Chinese
characters were standardised in the 3rd century A.D., until their simplification in the 20th century,
they remained mostly unchanged. In the same period, they were adopted for use not only in
Japanese, but also in Korean, and used to represent both Chinese and native words alike. Before
kanji, Japanese does not seem to have had a writing system of its own. It posed a challenge,
however, as Japanese and Chinese are linguistically different, and differ in word order and the
use of grammatical morphemes. Until the late 6th century, writing text with kanji meant
translating Japanese into Chinese, with word order and morphemes ignored in written language.
By the Nara period (710‐794), Japan had become diglossic, with Chinese used mainly by
scholars and Buddhist monks as well as in administration and law. At the same time, Japanese
scholars started using a method devised to instantly translate Chinese texts by applying a
Japanese reading to the kanji, a so‐called kunyomi (訓読み, lit. “meaning reading“). This was the
first step to permanently borrowing Chinese script to write Japanese. The second was the
development of man‘yōgana (万葉仮名, lit. “syllabary of the man’yōshū 2”) which used kanji for
their phonetic properties to spell out Japanese words. Their earliest documented use is the early
6th century (Joshi, and Aaron, 2006, p. 483). There was no standard system and so the kanji used
was left to the author each time. At the end of the 7th century, Japanese grammatical
morphemes such as particles and auxiliaries were also added using man‘yōgana. Over time, the
2 The man’yōshū is an anthology of Japanese poems compiled during the Nara period and written with man’yōgana. (Seeley, 1991)
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amount of man‘yōgana gradually declined for practical reasons, generally leaving the simpler
characters behind, although occasional usage instances remained, for example the word France
(katakana フランス vs man’yōgana 仏蘭⻄). Man‘yōgana would then become the base for the
two syllabic alphabets currently used, hiragana (平仮名、ひらがな) and katakana (⽚仮名、
カタカナ) (Joshi, and Aaron, 2006, p. 483), collectively called kana. Within a few centuries,
Japanese had adapted a complete writing system.
While both alphabets evolved independently over a period of thousand years, they were
standardised in the year 1900 to eliminate variations. Today, the kana system consists of 46
basic symbols and 25 symbols with diacritics. The basic symbols contain the vowels a, i, u, e, o
as well as 40 consonant‐vowel syllables and one nasal sound n (Joshi, and Aaron, 2006, p. 484).
In the 1980s the katakana alphabet was extended to represent sounds not found in Japanese to
be able to more accurately represent the sound of foreign words converted into the Japanese
alphabet. In modern text, hiragana and katakana play distinct roles. Hiragana is used for native
Japanese words and grammatical morphemes. On the other hand, katakana is mainly used to
write modern loan words, onomatopoeia, names of uncommon animals, plants and chemicals.
Occasionally they are also used as visual aid to draw the attention of the viewer (Rebuck, 2002).
Appendix 1 contains a table with the two syllabaries and their readings for comparison.
The adoption of Chinese was so perfect that the vocabulary introduced alongside the
kanji has been completely accepted as Japanese vocabulary. In fact, while words of Chinese
origin represent about 47 percent of the Japanese vocabulary, not a single one features in loan
word dictionaries (Scherling, 2012, p. 23). The main reminder that these words are of Chinese
origin is the fact that they are pronounced according to the onyomi (⾳読み, lit. “sound reading“)
reading of the kanji. Onyomi is the sound derived from the original Chinese pronunciation. Some
characters have multiple on‐readings after being reintroduced multiple times as Chinese has
evolved. Another feature of their Chinese origin is a multitude of homophonic words where the
original Chinese differentiated in pronunciation but the Japanese syllabary does not, creating
two words written with different kanji but pronounced the same.
The first Europeans that arrived in Japan were the Portuguese in the 1540s. With them
came a linguistic system very different from Japanese and with it the addition of one more
writing system: the Latin alphabet. At first, they were welcomed with curiosity and open arms,
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and the Spanish and Dutch started arriving as well. Not long passed until missionaries started to
spread Christianity with great success. This made the ruling class uneasy and in 1587 Christianity
was banned. In 1633, Japan put in place a policy of self‐isolation, sakoku (鎖国), and closed its
borders off to all foreigners, save for a few Dutch and Chinese merchants through a single,
remote port. During this 90 year period, the first European loan words entered the language.
For more than 200 years, the Dutch were the only source of Western influence in Japan
(Stanlaw, 2004, p. 47). They brought with them various items and with them new words, swiftly
borrowed by the Japanese. In 1853, the American Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Edo
Bay to open trade relations with the Japanese, forcibly if needed. Japan once again found itself
on the back foot of civilisation, having fallen behind a number of technologically advanced
countries. China‘s defeat in the Opium War of 1840‐1842 and news of similar developments in
other Asian countries made it clear that Japan had to modernize, and the best way to do that
was to learn from the West. Soon, they‘d made a deal with the Americans allowing access to 5
ports and extraterritorial rights for their nationals. They also set afoot the first English course.
Not everybody was happy with this development, partly because the deal with the
Americans was seen as a one‐sided affair, and a civil war ensued, brought to an end in 1868 with
the resignation of the last Tokugawa Shogun, heralding the Meiji era (Stanlaw, 2004, p. 56). That
plan failed when the new Emperor set forth what is called the Meiji Restoration, during which
Japan industrialised and modernised with amazing speed, opening the gates for Western
technology, ideology and language to once again influence the Japanese. During this time,
German influence also became stronger as many Germans came to work in Japan as advisors.
Despite opposition from many Japanese nationalists, English became more and more
apparent in the Japanese language. This was not in the least helped by the Chinese defeat in the
Sino‐Japanese War in 1894‐1895 and the Qing dynasty’s collapse in 1911 which ended Chinese
influence in Japan (Scherling, 2015, p. 27). Thus, Japanese use of Chinese to create new words
declined heavily, fuelling the Western influence and heavily increasing the amount of loan words
in the language. In 1912, Emperor Meiji died and the Taishō period, which lasted until 1926,
brought an unprecedented influx of loan words into the language, aided by technology
inventions such as the radio and cinema. Suddenly, the everyday life of the West was broadcast
to the Japanese people, and with it new words for everyday items (Loveday, 1996, p. 80‐81).
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For a multitude of reasons, the 1930s saw Japanese militarism and nationalism rise to
complete power. With the Imperial Army’s conquests in China, Japan increasingly isolated itself
from the world. In the height of the Second World War in the early 1940s, Japan banned English
loan words, “the word of the enemy”, in various parts of society, creating ‘superior’ Japanese
terms in their place (Stanlaw, 2004, p. 69; Loveday, 1996, p. 74‐75). Their defeat in 1945 crushed
this nationalistic belief, leaving soft soil for the seeds of the victorious Americans and their
language to flourish (Loveday, 1996, p. 75). The post‐war years brought with them a one‐sided
language exchange as Japan sought to learn all they could from their victors, making English the
most popular language in Japan, swiftly replacing European languages in the competition for
language influence.
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2 Loan words
2.1 What is a loan word?
In the Merriam‐Webster dictionary, a loan word is defined as ‘a word taken from another
language and at least partly naturalized’ (Loanword, n.d.). A calque, where a meaning or idiom
from one language is translated into another, is not considered a loan word. When borrowed,
loan words can undergo changes in meaning, spelling and pronunciation. In the case of Japanese,
nearly every loan word undergoes changes in spelling and pronunciation when adjusting to the
Japanese syllabary. Changes in meaning are also frequent and will be explained more in depth
in the next section.
There are many reasons why loan words might be preferable or gain traction over native
words. The most basic reason is the import of new concepts and ideas for which there might not
be an equivalent. Often, the easiest way is to simply borrow the word with the idea. This way,
the path from the inception of the idea to its introduction is minimised as there is no time wasted
creating a new, usable word for it. This is especially relevant in today’s world, where information
can flow from one end of the globe to another in seconds, giving very little time to attempt to
translate the word before the loan word gets into general use. There is more discussion on other
reasons more specific to Japanese in chapter 3.3.
2.2 Introduction to terminology
Loan words in Japanese are most often classified into two groups, cognates and non‐cognates.
Cognates are defined as words who share the same meaning, such as computer (コンピュータ,
konpyu‐ta). Non‐cognates, sometimes called false friends, are words whose pronunciation is
similar but the meaning is different. An example of this would be cunning (カンイング ,
kan’ningu) which in English means being dexterous or crafty, while in Japanese it refers to the
act of cheating. Uchida (2001) created a more in depth classification system with six groups that
could more appropriately define Japanese loan words as appropriate:
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1) True cognates – Share the exact same meaning. An example of this is doa (ドア, lit.
“door”).
2) Convergent cognates – More than one Japanese word converges on a single English
word. For example, the English word tuna has more meanings than the Japanese
word ツナ, tsuna, which refers only to canned tuna.
3) Divergent cognates – More than one English word converges on a single Japanese
word. For example yanki‐, in Japanese ヤンキー, can refer to a delinquent or a
person from the United States, where in English only the latter meaning is relevant
4) Distant false friends – The word in Japanese has a completely different meaning
from the English equivalent, for example cunning (カンイング , kan’ningu) =
cheating
5) Close false friends – The word in Japanese has a slightly different meaning than the
English equivalent, for example sain (サイン) refers to a signature
6) Japanese English (wasei eigo) – Words seemingly of foreign origin, but are in fact
created in Japan, for example ノークラッチ (no‐kuracchi) referring to an automatic
car (from no clutch)
It is worth mentioning that the linguistic definition of a cognate is two words that have derived
from a common ancestor (Cognate, n.d.). Because of the isolation of Japan throughout the ages
there are very few words that actually fulfil this criteria. One example is the word Buddha (仏陀,
budda) which in both Japanese and English derives from Sanskrit, although Japan adapted the
word considerably earlier than English (Nagasawa, 1958, p. 53).
Occasionally, kanji are assigned to words despite not corresponding to their reading.
This generally is done with either of two methods: One is gikun (儀訓, lit. “reading of kanji by
meaning”) when a non‐standard kanji is used for effect or for special readings for old words that
did not have a kanji equivalent. The other is ateji and follows the same principles as the use of
man‘yōgana, where kanji are assigned according to their reading, with no semantic connection
to the word.
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3 Loan words in Japanese
3.1 The hurdles of Japanese phonology
Japanese’s syllabic alphabet creates various hurdles when borrowing words from alphabetic
languages such as English. Apart from the five vowels (a, i, u, e, o), and the n sound, all other
syllables are consonant‐vowel combinations. Therefore, when words containing consonant
clusters are borrowed, they are divided up with vowels. In doing so, words that have few
syllables in English can become unnaturally long once borrowed into Japanese. As an example,
the single‐syllable word strong becomes the 5‐syllable long sutorongu (ストロング) when
borrowed. More discussion on how Japanese adapts loan words to avoid this problem can be
found in chapter 3.4.
Figure 1: Main adjustments of sounds and sound sequences from English to Japanese Adapted from Nagasawa (1958)
Figure 1 shows the main adjustments of sounds when borrowed from English to
Japanese. All vowel sounds are simplified into the 5 Japanese vowels. The consonants introduce
a bigger problem as some simply do not exist in Japanese. In other cases, a specific consonant‐
vowel combo may not exist, making changing the sound a necessity. These cases are highlighted
below:
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Sound change English J alphabet J katakana
si → shi system shisutemu システム
th → s thriller surira‐ スリラー
zi → ji Zimbabwe jinbabue ジンバブエ
ti → chi team chi‐mu チーム
di → ji radio rajio ラジオ
t → tsu tour tsua‐ ツアー
v → b violin baiorin バイオリン
Sometimes, these sound changes can cause two different words to sound the same
when borrowed into Japanese. For example, the words bus and bath both become basu (バス)
when transcribed.
In the 1980s an unprecedented attempt to accommodate foreign borrowings was made
as new syllables created specifically to accommodate foreign loan words were officially
sanctioned and their uses described in a cabinet order in 1991 (Cabinet of Japan, 1991). As these
syllables are new creations they only affect the spelling and pronunciation of recent loan words
and even then are not always used when applicable. Examples of these syllables in use are
highlighted below:
Sound English J alphabet J katakana
v vampire vanpaia ヴァンパイア
ti tea ti‐ ティー
di disk disuku ディスク
che chair chea チェア
f+vowel earphones iyafon イヤフォン
In some cases, loan words can also be initials written alphabetically and are then
pronounced as if they were letters. An example of this is OL, pronounced o‐eru (オーエル,
“Office Lady”).
3.2 History of loan words in Japan
As explained in the introduction, written Japanese itself is borrowed and adapted from Chinese
over a period of centuries. Kanji both kept their original Chinese pronunciation, adapted to the
Japanese syllabary, called onyomi, as well as being assigned a native Japanese pronunciation
when assigned to words already native to Japanese, called kunyomi. Over time, Chinese
pronunciation changed and kanji already in general use were assigned more readings to reflect
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new pronunciation as more words made their way into Japanese. These readings are divided
into three groups, described by Miyake (2003) as such:
1. Goon (呉⾳, lit. “sounds of Wu”) are readings derived from the pronunciation during the
5th and 6th century. While goon consists of the earliest surviving readings, Miyake
believes it does not constitute the earliest layer of loans in Japanese. Many goon
readings were lost during the next wave of imports, kan’on, but dictionaries will
nevertheless list these readings by nearly every kanji, whether it is genuine or imaginary.
2. Kan’on (漢⾳, lit. “Sounds of Han, Chinese sounds”) are readings derived from the
general pronunciation during the Tang Dynasty which reigned over China in the 7th to
9th century. With the change in rulers came a change of high‐class dialect, and although
it took some time to become widespread enough for the Japanese to adopt it, it
eventually trumped even many goon readings previously used. Kan’on readings are the
dominant variety of Chinese loan words in contemporary Japanese.
3. Other strata are readings imported after relations between Japan and the Tang Dynasty
deteriorated. Tōsōon (唐宋⾳, lit. “sounds of Tang and Song”) are a collection of strata
and can refer to any Sino‐Japanese readings later than kan’on. While these readings
never came close to threatening the usage of kan’on or goon, they‘re still used in a
variety of words in contemporary Japanese.
Loveday (1996, p. 41) gives an example of the kanji 下 (meaning under), which has the kunyomi
reading shita, and onyomi readings ge (goon), ka (kan‘on) and a (tōsōon).
Until the arrival of the Europeans in the 16th century, the Japanese language continued
to slowly absorb and expand on the Chinese kanji, both by attaching readings to older kanji and
creating their own. Japanese‐made kanji will be discussed in more detail in chapter 4.1.
Having adopted kanji, word creation processes in Japanese formed closely after the
word formations of the originally borrowed Sino‐Japanese vocabulary. This process is often used
for long, clustered words to save time and make text more reader‐friendly. The most significant
parts of word clusters are combined to create a clipped version of the word. For example,
nagoyadaigaku (名古屋⼤学, Nagoya University) can be referred to as meidai (名⼤), combining
the first kanjis from both Nagoya and University. Note that in this case, the onyomi reading is
used when the word has been truncated. Another example is Tokyo University (東京⼤学,
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tōkyōdaigaku) which becomes tōdai (東⼤) when shortened. Similarly, the word jidōhanbaiki
(⾃動販売機, vending machine) becomes jihanki (⾃販機) in everyday speech. This behaviour
is so integrated that its effects on loan words is inevitable. Table 1 shows some examples for
these general word formation rules.
Table 1: Examples of general word formation rules in Japanese
Form Combination a Literal meaning Combined meaning
Kanji Reading
Noun + noun 部屋 heya division + house room
Noun + verb 値上げ neage value + up increase in price
Noun + relational noun 向上 kōjō direction + up progress
Relational noun + noun 後援 kōen behind + aid support, patronage
Noun + verb in kunyomi 人殺し hitogoroshi person + kill murder
Noun + verb in onyomi 中止 chuushi middle + stop cancel
Clipped verb + noun 見物 kenbutsu see + thing sightseeing
Adjective + noun 古本 furuhon old + book second hand book
Adapted from Loveday (1996). 146f.
During the first 90 years of European influence in Japan, from the first Portuguese sailors
until Japan’s self‐imposed isolation, European languages left their mark on Japanese. The biggest
influence was Portuguese, although words from Spanish also remain. Some examples are words
like pan (パン, bread, from Portuguese pão), tenpura (天ぷら, deep fried food in light batter,
from Portuguese tempero) and tabako (タバコ, tobacco, from Portuguese tobacco), which all
are ubiquitous today. Some Spanish words were also borrowed, although fewer in number. One
example of this is kasutera (カステラ, sponge cake, from Spanish Castilla). It is estimated that
between 200 and 400 of these words still survive (Stanlaw, 2005, p. 46).
Due to the Dutch being the sole Western country allowed to trade with the Japanese
after their isolation until the Americans came, there is a large amount of Dutch vocabulary from
this period. Some examples of these are garasu (ガラス, glass, from glas), miruku (ミルク, milk,
from melk), gomu (ゴム, rubber, from gom), ko‐hi‐ (コーヒー, coffee, from koffie) and bi‐ru (ビ
ール, beer, from bier). Overall, it is estimated that anywhere from 700 to 3000 loan words
entered the Japanese language during this period (Stanlaw, 2005, p. 48).
In 1853, the Americans arrived in Edo Bay determined to open relations with Japan. This
brought the need for people that could speak English and in 1857 the first English classes were
established. This development was met with great resistance as it was perceived to favour the
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West and in 1868 the Tokugawa shogunate ended with a civil war. The 15‐year‐old Emperor
Meiji took the reins and instead of turning against the Western influence, as many had hoped,
he started what is now called the Meiji Restoration. In his charter oath, he declared that
“knowledge was to be sought throughout the world” and started a system enticing foreign
teachers and advisors to work in Japan. At this time, Dutch was still the biggest linguistic
influence, but that changed in the 1870s as English was made a compulsory subject in a public
education system based heavily on the American model (Loveday, 1996, p. 66).
Despite this, there was not a visible influx of loan words during this time. During the
Meiji period, new words were mostly calques, a Western concept re‐envisioned with kanji by
intellectuals with extensive knowledge of Chinese ideograms. Using this knowledge, they
created hundreds of new words in order to translate foreign literature and advance Japanese
culture. However, the fall of the Qing Dynasty in China in 1911 marked the end of Chinese
influence in Japan and as a result, calques fell out of favour and Western loan words started
taking over. Towards the end of the Meiji period, writing loan words in katakana became the
norm. Despite the nationalistic tendencies, Western influence kept growing and during the
Taisho period (1912‐1926) loan words spread at an unprecedented speed.
With technological advancements such as radio and motion pictures, Western culture
spread everywhere in day‐to‐day life of the Japanese. Inundating the environment were
Western ideas and the accompanying linguistic contact, and the effects can be seen in the many
loan words from this period. Probably the most prominent is sarari‐man (サラリーマン, lit.
“salary man” i.e. “white collar worker”), still a standard in Japanese to refer to male office
workers and has now been borrowed back to English to refer to this class of Japanese workers
in pertaining literature. In the same time, words ending with –girl were abundant, one of which
being ofisuga‐ru (オフィスガール , lit. “office girl”), now replaced by the acronym OL
(pronounced o‐eru) for “Office Lady”, referring to the female variant. Stanlaw (2005) explains
that during the Meiji era, loans mainly referred to abstract notions dealing with Westernisation
or modernisation while Taisho era loans were related to everyday life or popular culture, and in
many cases came straight from the United States (p. 68).
Another reason for the growth of English in Japan was increased attention to both
English and English‐language education. Masses of literature, both entertainment and scholarly,
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was translated into Japanese and linguistics as a science came to be in Japan. While the biggest
boom of loan words was yet to come, the groundwork for their acceptance was laid by the
Europeans.
Coming up to World War II, nationalistic and militaristic ideals once again became
prominent in Japan and isolated it from the outside world. The continuing military expansion
and invasions into their Asian neighbours escalated tensions with Western nations, which in turn
fuelled the anti‐Western ideology as Japan seemed to prove its superiority on the battlefield.
Both public and private movements sought to abolish foreign influence in Japanese. During the
1930s, English became a symbol of the enemy and the teaching of it reduced. In 1939, the names
of foreign countries were reverted back to their kanji representation (Loveday, 1996, p. 74). In
1940, English was dropped from the entrance exams of some military academies. Over time,
English stage names, signs in railroad stations, school names and eventually all public
designations were banned (Scherling, 2015, p. 30). In place of the common loan words, Japanese
words were coined to replace them. Some examples of these are anaunsa‐ (アナウンサー,
announcer) being replaced with hōsōin (放送員, lit. “broadcasting person”) and reko‐do (レコ
ード, “music record”) became onban (⾳盤, lit. “sound plate”). During this period, only a few
terms entered the language, most related to the war efforts. Two examples are B‐29, referring
to the American bomber plane, and re‐da‐ (レーダー, “radar”).
The end of the war and subsequent revering of Western culture quickly re‐established
loan words to their former glory and many terms replaced during the war made their
reappearance while few of the replacements remained in general use. The American occupation
also brought with it masses of loan words for all things Western, as well as the need for exchange
between troops stationed in Japan and the local people. This exchange was both formal, with
local workers servicing the stations, as well as informal as troops spent their free time touring
and enjoying themselves. A small pamphlet on conversational English sold three and a half
million copies near instantly as Japanese sought out education as official education had been
severely limited in the years before. This gave birth to an English‐based pidgin as many Japanese
would rely on this communication daily, introducing even more loan words. During the Korean
War (1950‐53), the amount of servicemen stationed in and passing through Japan increased and
with that the American footprint in Japanese culture.
15
Ever since, loan words have only gotten more prominent in Japanese with easier access to
Western culture, from books to movies and lately the internet, where information can go across
the globe in seconds and when a language is as receptive to loan words as Japanese is, this
information is taken as‐is and thrown into the linguistic mix, to later be either adapted to the
linguistic schema or thrown out as alternatives are borrowed or created in their place. It is
commonly accepted that the amount of loan words in Japanese is increasing.
Tables 2 and 3 compare dictionaries released in the 20th century to approximate the
increase in loan words during that time.
Table 2: Number of entries in specialist dictionaries of loan words
Dictionary title Year # of entries
Nichiyō‐hakuraigo‐binran 1912 1,500*
Nihon‐gairaigo‐jiten 1915 6,800*
Gairaigo‐jiten 1916 10,000*
Gairaigo‐shinjiten 1932 2,200*
Bankokugoshingo‐daijiten 1935 29,000*
Gairaigo‐jiten 1941 60‐70,000*
Gairaigo‐shojiten 1959 10,290*
Gairaigo‐jiten 1966 15,000*
Kadokawa Gairaigo‐jiten 1967 25,000*
Kadokawa Gairaigo‐jiten 1977 27,000*
Nihongoninatta‐gaikokugo‐jiten 1983 38,500*
Gairaigo‐jiten 1990 30,500*
Adapted from Tomoda (1999). 234. *denotes Tomoda‘s estimate
Table 3: Number and percentage of loan words in general dictionaries
Dictionary title Year # of loans* % of loans
Genkai 1891 551* 1.4%*
Reikai‐hokugo‐jiten 1956 1,428* 3.5%*
Iwanami's Kokugo‐jiten 1963 2,918* 5.1%*
Kadokawa‐kokugo‐jiten 1969 4,709* 7.8%*
Shinmeikai‐kokugo‐jiten 1972 4,558* 7.8%*
Shinmeikai‐kokugo‐jiten 3rd ed. 1987 6,675* 11.8%*
Nihongo‐daijiten 1989 13,300* 9.95%*
Adapted from Tomoda (1999). 234. *denotes Tomoda‘s estimate
These figures have to be taken with certain precautions as definitions of what
constitutes a loan word and should be included in the figures can vary between editors. Similarly,
16
in specialist dictionaries, variations in katakana renditions and compounds can unnaturally
inflate the amount of words. The opposite may be true in general dictionaries as opinions of
what loan words are “Japanese enough” may vary. Further, inclusion of many technical terms
may produce an unnatural number of loan words as Loveday (1996) reckons that 99 per cent of
computer terminology listed in a 1985 dictionary was English‐based and 75 per cent of
marketing terminology. Also, the cumulative nature of dictionaries means that loan words that
are no longer in general use are still included. However, the same applies to native words and
thus percentages should not be affected.
Despite these possible variations, there was a clear increase in loan words throughout
the 20th century. Especially interesting is the increase of loan words in general dictionaries,
increasing from 3.5% in 1956 to around 10% by 1990. Over the same period, entries in loan word
dictionaries tripled. Scherling (2015) cites the National Institute for the Japanese Language
(NINJAL) showing a similar increase of loan words in magazines, from 2.9% in 1956 to 12.2% in
1994. However, when counting unique words in the same magazines, there was a heavy increase
in loan word usage, from 9.8% in 1956 to 34.9% in 1994! Over the same period, use of native
Japanese words dropped by 10%. Words of Chinese origin declined even more, with 15% less
unique words in the latter sample. We can speculate a similar development has continued in the
last 25 years, although perhaps not quite at the same speed.
It is undeniable, though, that loan words have become an unavoidable part of the
Japanese language. Whether in everyday language or specialised terminology, loan words have
a wide array of functions in the Japanese language.
3.3 The function of loan words in Japanese
Loan words serve various functions and creating an exhaustive list of all of them would be an
immense task. Some of these are universal and can be applied to any language, while others are
specific to the way the Japanese language treats loan words. Stanlaw (2005) argues that the
English language in general should be viewed as a linguistic resource that can be used freely in
Japanese. He also argues that its use in Japanese represents a highly creative use of visual
language as both a linguistic and artistic form of communication (Stanlaw, 2005, p. 145). The
17
wide range of functions of foreign‐based vocabulary supports this theory and also calls for a
model that encompasses all of these when discussed.
It is generally not easy to specify how to classify a loan words function and most words
can probably serve many different functions. Similarly, which functions are unique and which
can be combined into groups is an ever‐debated issue between linguists. For the purpose of this
thesis Loveday‘s (1996) comprehensive inventory of language‐contact functions will be used as
a basis, with occasional modifications where deemed appropriate.
The most basic function of loan words is to fill lexical gaps in the borrowing language.
These gaps are often the result of new concepts, ideas or technologies being introduced. Due to
Japan‘s long periods of isolation, it frequently fell behind other cultures in the adaption of newer
ideas and consequently was forced to adopt a considerable amounts of knowledge in a short
period of time. This left little leeway for slowly adopting technology and related vocabulary
forcing instead the swift adaption of loan words as new ideas flowed into the country. This is
even more apparent in the current age as development in electronic technology and science is
so rapid that new word creation to encapsulate the field would take an enormous effort. Thus,
terms are borrowed relatively unaltered into the language, allowing a quick adoption of latest
technology.
Yang (2014) compares three books of medical vocabulary, from professional to non‐
professional to home use and found that while Sino‐Japanese was the dominant source in all
editions, use of foreign loan words and acronyms dropped from a total of 26.5 percent in the
professional vocabulary book to 13.9 percent in another edition for non‐professional use and to
only 1.8 percent in the book for home use. Reversely, use of native Japanese words rose from
0.3 percent in the version for professional use to 10.2 percent in the version for home use.
In Japanese, English‐based words and phrases are often used to convey a prestige of the
user. Since the Second World War, Westernisation has generally been seen as a positive thing
and therefore Western‐based phrases have also obtained this positive image. Therefore,
advertisers and marketers seek to use Western‐sounding product names and slogans to elevate
the image of their product. Similarly, changing the title of menial jobs to more appealing names
to attract applications. Sarari‐man is one of these words, giving a more appealing name to the
menial office job. However, in current use this word has lost its prestige and can even convey
18
negative images often associated with this class of workers. Words used for prestige or status
can therefore lose that prestige over time as the exoticism of the word fades.
Loan words can also replace rare or disliked native words. While not often borrowed as
a permanent replacement, the continued use of a loan word over a native word to describe an
idea will eventually lead to this result. In the case of Japanese, this can often be caused by
speakers seeking to simplify words that use complicated or archaic kanji compounds to
something more easily conveyed.
Loan words can also be borrowed to resolve homophony. While Loveday (1996) could
not find any examples of this, Japanese is by design a very homophonous language due to its
syllabic alphabet. Moreover, many combinations are not used often even if possible. Loan words
can help solve this not only by replacing words, but also by introducing into general use certain
pronunciation themes not found in native Japanese. These themes could then promote new
native words using previously unconventional phonetic combinations.
They can also serve as synonyms to native vocabulary, especially for affective words,
slang and euphemisms. Often loan words are used to distance the text from cultural burdens
that may be attached to native words, often deeply rooted in social values. While fundamentally
different, they can also offer semantic distinction from already native vocabulary. Many
examples of this can be found in Japanese where the Western word refers to a distinct part of
the semantic variety of the native vocabulary.
Loan words can also be used to produce new pejorative and/or humorous vocabulary.
They have been especially associated with a lot of vocabulary around sexuality, both private and
business wise. They can also add more dimensions to humour and entertainment with new
options for word play as well as invoking a sense of adventure, fun and glamour (Loveday, 1996,
p. 190).
Lastly, they are used as stylistic effects to convey particular flavours of speech or
marking the tone of speech, whether for humour, parody or irony. They are also used for
emphasis or to attract attention towards a specific piece of text and to break Japanese norms
with creative inclusion of provocative and humorous loan words.
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In Japanese, a function that encompasses all these groups is the goal to obscure the
meaning of the word or even to slow or prevent comprehension. Often, this is to prevent
outsiders from understanding inside vocabulary, such as sexual talk between couples or as code
words within rebellious groups. However, perhaps more prominent is this use in advertising.
Often, long loan words, sometimes even wasei eigo (Japanese‐made English), are used in
advertisements especially for beauty products to confuse the recipient and make them think
that they‘re positive, when they might not actually state anything beyond a neutral stance.
Loan words can also be used as a means to get away from predefined gender‐specific
words. Traditionally, women are taught to speak more polite than men, both in vocabulary and
grammatically. With the prevalence of loan words and their gender‐neutral position in Japanese
women can get away from this mould and take a bigger part in vital roles of society without
being stifled.
While loan words have all these important functions in Japanese language, they
nonetheless pose several challenges to native speakers and second language learners alike.
These will be touched on further in chapter 4.2.
3.4 Adaption of loan words in Japanese
Borrowed words can undergo various changes when adapted to the language. As mentioned
above, nearly all loan words in Japanese undergo anywhere from minor to extensive
phonological changes. Every loan word, save for a number of specific abbreviations such as DNA,
written as‐is, also undergoes an orthographical change as it is ported to katakana. While
generally there is a consensus on the katakana spelling of loan words, there are no set rules and
therefore variations can appear. An example of this would be earring, which can be transcribed
both as iyaringu and iaringu. The phonetic usage of the katakana script allows an immediate
avenue for loan words into the Japanese language. From there, words can undergo other
linguistic change as described below to better align with the Japanese language.
Not long after the first Western loan words began emerging in Japanese, so did patterns
that sought to better adapt them to general use. One of these patterns was morphological
change, both by abbreviation and combination. The need to add extra vowels to accommodate
20
the syllabic structure of Japanese often creates very long words. Therefore, they are often
abbreviated as or after they enter the language. In most cases, this is done by cutting off the
end of the word. Some examples of this are puro (プロ, professional), su‐pa‐ (スーパー,
supermarket) and apa‐to (アパート, apartment).
The same applies when the word is compounded. In some cases only one word is clipped,
for example omuraisu (オムライス , omelette rice) and masukomi (マスコミ , mass
communication). In others, both words are clipped, for example pasokon (パソコン, personal
computer) and amefuto (アメフト, American football). In some cases the expanded compound
makes little sense in English, for example o‐da‐sutoppu (オーダーストップ, order stop) which
means last orders.
In rare cases, the front end of the word is clipped off and the latter used. An example of
this in a single word is ho‐mu (ホーム, platform). This behaviour can also be observed in
compound words, for example taoruketto (タオルケット, towel + blanket) which is a thin linen
used instead of a blanket in hot weather.
On top of clipping, word hybrids are often used. In these cases one part of the word is
Western and the other Japanese. Some examples of these are haburashi (⻭ブラシ, toothbrush),
made from Japanese ⻭ tooth + English brush, and bi‐dama (ビー⽟, marble), made from
Portuguese vidro (glass) + Japanese ⽟ (ball).
Similarly, a lot of basic vocabulary occurs only when compounded, and the
Japanese equivalent is used in normal speech. More discussion and examples of these Japanese‐
made English words can be found in chapter 3.5.
All of these compounds follow the basic rules shown in table 1. Table 4 contains
examples of how these rules have been applied to loan words.
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Table 4: Examples of basic loan word compounds and their creation
Form Combination Expanded compound
Compound meaning
Katakana Reading
n. + n. フロントグラス furontogurasu front + glass windscreen
n. + prep. イメージアップ ime‐jiappu image + up image improvement
prep. + n オーバードラッグ o‐ba‐doraggu over + drug overdose
n. + v. ベビーストップ bebi‐sutoppu baby + stop abortion
Clipped v. + n. スモークチーズ sumo‐kuchi‐zu smoke + cheese smoke[d] cheese
adj. + n. ハイセンス haisensu high + sense stylish
v. + v. ゴーストップ go‐sutoppu go + stop traffic lights
Affixation ミスコピー misukopi‐ miss + copy failed photocopy
adj. + n. + n. ワンマンカー wanmanka‐ one + man + car one man bus
Acronym + n. NHKアナウンサー NHK anaunsa‐ NHK + announcer NHK announcer
Adapted from Loveday (1996).
Other patterns include the lack of syntactic and morphological features from the donor
language. Due to the grammatical structure of Japanese, nearly all loan words are borrowed as
nouns, regardless of the word class in the donor language, making the shift from verb to noun
to adjective possible with a simple grammatical suffix. Simply tack on the auxiliary verb する
(suru, to do) to create a verb, for example the English verb get which in Japanese becomes getto
suru (ゲットする, lit. “to do a get”). Similarly, words can be made into adjectives using the suffix
na (な), for example hansamu na (ハンサムな, “a handsome ...”). The same applies to any of
the frequently used pre‐ and suffixes in Japanese. Examples of this are amerika‐jin (アメリカ⼈,
an American) and haikigasu (排気ガス, exhaust gases).
Also possible is even further integration by directly verbalizing clipped loan words and
thus creating a new word that is inflected like a verb rather than being treated as a noun. Two
examples of these are memoru (メモる, to take a memo) and demoru (デモる, to demonstrate).
Further, an inevitable consequence that follows the borrowing of words is a semantic
change in their meaning. Building on the groups of loan word discussed in chapter 2.2, the first
5 groups explain different degrees of semantic change in loan words. Borrowed words inevitably
acquire meanings specific to the culture they meet and often lose those specific to the donor
culture. These changes can be anywhere from a nuance to a completely different meaning.
The most common semantic change is a loan word acquiring a meaning narrower than
the donor language. This is because generally, loan words arrive alongside an idea of some sort
and without the history of the word itself. Therefore, while in the donor language the word has
22
been culturally formed to mean different things, the receiving language only acquires it for the
single specific meaning of the accompanying idea. A very common change is where the word
denotes a Western style of something that already exists. For example, a kicchin (キッチン,
kitchen) refers only to a Western‐style kitchen, whereas the original daidokoro (台所, kitchen)
usually refers to a Japanese‐style kitchen.
Another layer of such loans is when the Western loan word is used to convey a meaning
without the cultural burden of the native word. A popular example of this is the use of the words
ro‐n (ローン, loan) and kurejitto (クレジット, credit). While the dictionary explains these
words similarly to their Japanese counterparts shakkin (借⾦, debt / loan) and geppu (⽉賦,
monthly payment) they do not have the same cultural burden of association with financial
troubles.
Another example of semantic narrowing is displayed when words with the same
meaning in different languages acquire varying meanings when borrowed. Examples of this are
gurasu (グラス, from English glass) meaning “a drinking glass” and garasu (ガラス, from Dutch
glas) which refers to glass as a material. Similarly, kappu (カップ, from English cup) refers to a
cup whereas koppu (コップ, from Dutch kop) refers to a mug.
Some words have their meaning widened when borrowed, perhaps originally for a
specific purpose or idea, then later the standard meaning of the word may also be borrowed. In
some cases this standard meaning also becomes the general use case, trumping the previous
meaning. An example of this is the word tore‐na‐ (トレーナー, from English trainer) which
originally referred to a sweatshirt but later the original English meaning of a sports trainer has
become the standard usage. An example of a word where the Japanese meaning still trumps the
original meaning is rifo‐mu (リフォーム, from English reform) which is the renovation of an
apartment or house.
Also on occasion, loan words undergo syntactical change when borrowed. In the case of
Japanese, this generally happens when borrowing a phrase such as redi‐fa‐suto (レディーファ
ースト, ladies first) where the plural s is dropped when borrowed. Similarly, ko‐nbi‐fu (コーン
ビーフ, corned beef) drops the adjectival ending –ed and uses the noun corn instead. Such
changes are even more prominent in Japanese‐made loan words as discussed in the next chapter.
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3.5 True and “false” loan words
So far, the focus has solely been on actual loan words, that is words that were borrowed from
another language. However, there is an ever‐growing vocabulary of foreign‐derived words in
Japanese. As opposed to European languages, which when borrowing from English have a lexical
and cultural context between languages, there is no such immediate context when speaking of
Japanese. Therefore, the original meaning takes the back seat as words attain a context within
Japanese, often prioritising the image of the word. These words are known as wasei eigo (和製
英語, lit. “Japanese‐made English”). The distinction between actual loan words and Japanese‐
made English is not always obvious. Also, not all agree that certain morphological changes such
as some explained above should be defined as loan words, as they are clipped versions of English
words or phrases, or Japanese‐made since they‘re not immediately recognisable when
borrowed back. Therefore, there is no blanket definition for wasei eigo. Nonetheless, we shall
attempt to explain the difference and the possible pitfalls this Japanese‐made English can
introduce.
The broadest definition of wasei eigo would include all such morphed words as they
would have to be expanded in order to make sense in English. However in many cases these
would be better classified as abbreviations rather than new words, even when no connection
remains between the original and truncated phrases. This should be seen as standard behaviour
in the process of loan word adaption. Rather, wasei eigo should be thought of as words or
phrases that have no meaning in English and can be unintelligible at a glance to non‐Japanese.
Some examples of wasei eigo that is unlikely to cause confusion are words like naita‐
(ナイター, night game (sports), from English nighter) and gasorinsutando (ガソリンスタンド,
gas station, from English gasoline stand). While not correct English, these words should be
understood at a glance by English speakers.
Examples of words that might cause mild confusion when used in English are konsento
(コンセント, electrical outlet, from English concentric plug) and gattsupo‐zu (ガッツポーズ,
fist pump, from English guts pose). These words might cause momentary confusion if used in an
English context but should be easily explained, especially with context.
Then there are words whose meaning is completely different when expanded back to
English. An example of this is gyara (ギャラ, from English guarantee) which in Japanese refers
24
to a performance fee for artists. This word could cause major confusion as the loan word has
gone through a major semantic narrowing, with the Japanese meaning only retaining a fraction
of the original English meaning.
Similarly, there are phrases in Japanese that when expanded make no sense. Examples
of this are taitorubakku (タイトルバック, from English title + background) which refers to a
background scene with titles and kurankuappu (クランクアップ, from English crank + up)
which refers to the end of film shooting. These phrases could cause major confusion as when
expanded, the words themselves have very little to do with explaining the actual meaning of the
phrase as used in Japanese.
Loveday (1996, p. 195) also mentions four creative uses of English‐based vocabulary
patterns in slang creation:
Nativising and hybrid suffixation: using suffixes like –tic and –less to create new
combinations such as potetochikku (ポテトチック, potato + tic, “peasant‐like”) and
konjōresu (根性レス, J guts + ‐less, “gutless”).
Innovative formation of new verbs: Attaching the auxiliary verb suru to nouns, for
example adarutosuru (アダルトする, E adult + suru, “to act or dress in a sophisticated
style”).
Avant‐garde coining of English‐based verbs: Creating verbs with native inflection, often
by truncating the English word, for example bideoru (ビデオる, to videotape).
Metaphoric transfer: Taking loan words and attaching a different meaning to them.
Examples include poteto (ポタト, “pregnant woman”, from English potato) and mane‐
to‐ku (マネートーク, “bribery”, from money talk).
Unlike wasei eigo that has its root in print, whether advertising or other, these have a
harder time making it into common use and subsequently dictionaries. It is the nature of loan
words to die down after a time as native or easier‐to‐use alternatives arise. It is especially the
case with slang which tends to be recreated with each generation as the opportunity arises.
Wasei eigo is also very prominent in advertising, as advertisers seek to invoke various
emotions from the reader. Not only do they appear in advertising text but also product names,
giving birth to product names such as Mouth Jazz for a mouthwash and the ever prominent
Pocari Sweat for a sports‐targeted soft drink (Simon‐Maeda 1995). Simon‐Maeda (1995) goes
25
on to quote a top advertising agency president that claimed “English words are being used as a
creative device rather than for their pure communication value” and that when used, the
creators are “thinking Japanese but speaking English”.
Stanlaw (2005) quotes Shibata (1975) on how a movie scriptwriter invented new loan
words as such:
In the script I found the expression ‘flower street‘. I then asked the script writer what it meant and
where he picked up the expression. The reply was: ‘I just made it up myself.’ (Stanlaw 2005:18)
This seems to be the red line connecting all these words. It is not necessarily a conscious thought
to use English in this manner and instead, the Japanese are simply using their newly found
lexicon to create their own vocabulary as they have ever since adopting kanji.
A recent example observed in the field of design is the use of the word irare (イラレ) to
refer to Adobe Illustrator, a vector graphics editor. The author proposes that this is a
combination of already‐established loan word irasuto (イラスト , illustration) and the
remainder of the program name, re‐ta‐ (レーター, Illustrator), which has then been clipped to
the form seen above.
Therefore, while Japanese‐made loan words can and do definitely cause confusion for
English speakers, their function in the language is broader than just to bridge a gap between
Japanese and Western culture. Rather than being seen as words, having to fit together
grammatically, they are seen as ideas and used as ideograms in the same way kanji have for
hundreds of years.
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4 The effect of loan words
As should be obvious by the previous text, loan words have had an immense effect on Japanese
society. From the original Chinese loans to the Western loans of modern times, they have helped
shape the Japanese language into what it is today. In this chapter, the focus will be on how they
have and continue to affect the Japanese language as well as looking at how they affect language
learning: both for Japanese students pursuing English and English speakers studying Japanese.
4.1 The effect on the Japanese language
The most obvious effect of linguistic borrowing on the Japanese language is the kanji system and
the word formation rules it brought. Nowadays, kanji and the words of Chinese origin that came
with them are barely thought of as loans and have simply become Japanese. However, some
kanji are more Japanese than others: Soon after the initial absorption of kanji the Japanese
started constructing new symbols where needed. This process is quite similar to the word
formation process: simply combine two broader kanji into a single more specific one. Two
examples of these kanji are 込 (⻍ road + ⼊ enter) which means crowded. Similarly, 働 takes イ
(person) + 動 (move) to create the character for work.
In total, a few hundred of these Japanese‐made kanji, called kokuji (国字) exist. The
majority of them have obscure or very specific meanings and are currently not in general use,
probably because most common ideas already had usable kanji. However, these older kokuji can
offer an insight into cultural differences between Japan and China and how lexical gaps were
filled in by the Japanese.
Some kokuji were also created relatively recently for Western ideas. An example of this
is the kanji for kilometer, 粁 (⽶ rice + 千 thousand), read as kirome‐toru (キロメートル),
although simply using the truncated kiro (キロ) is more common. Kokuji show that the Japanese
creativity is not limited to word creation but also extends to the expansion of the kanji lexicon.
Moving closer to current times, the introduction to Western languages has had and will
probably continue impacting Japanese grammar and syntax. Stanlaw (2005) mentions the use
of personal pronouns such as kare (彼, he) and kanojo (彼⼥, she), which have existed in
Japanese but were used much less than in Western languages, having risen substantially over
27
the last century. Other grammatical changes that may be attributed to Western influence are
things like using inanimate things as subjects, frequent use of pronouns, tense, long prenoun
modifiers, conjunctions, comparisons, relative pronouns, personification, prefixes, suffixes, new
idioms and punctuation marks. (Scherling 2015: 112) A lot of the aforementioned changes have
to do with the rise of individuality. Kelley (1990) remarks that this is the introduction of ego‐
centric ideas to a culture where there was little emphasis on the first person.
Scherling (2015) also gives an example of a new idiom that is directly translated from
English: kai wo motsu (会を持つ, lit. to hold a meeting) replacing kai wo hiraku (会を開く, lit.
to open a meeting).
Perhaps most influential, the addition of punctuation which began with translations of
Western literature in the early 19th century. Japanese punctuation differs from Western ones in
that they are generally full‐width, that is occupy the same space as the characters surrounding
them, and designed for use both in vertical and horizontal text.
Loan words can also affect the Japanese vocabulary in other ways. They introduce new,
unusual sound combinations that widen the sphere of the Japanese language. Early on, Chinese
loan words introduced sound glides such as /kjau/ and consonantal germination (Loveday, 1996,
p. 41). This can allow for more clarity in word creation by reducing homophony. One way this
could be realised in native vocabulary is by expanding readings for kanji to extend their scope to
not just onyomi and kunyomi, but also to loan words. While this would be a long process, it is
not an impossible one, and could be vital to keep the identity of Japanese intact. However, it is
likely that Western‐based vocabulary will become accepted akin to the vocabulary previously
adopted and originating from China, and some linguists have found that many Japanese people
themselves already think of Western loan words as simply another part of the lexical pool that
makes up Japanese that isn’t necessarily latched to being a loan word. This is supported by the
fact that since the 1990s there has been a distinct change in dictionary titles: previously they
were called gairaigo (外来語, “foreign word“) dictionaries, but now they are referred to as
katakanago (カタカナ語, “katakana word“) dictionaries.
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4.2 The effect on foreign language studies
Perhaps the most researched effect of loan words in Japanese is their effect on learning English
as a second language. Torikai (2005) and Daulton (2008) believe that active usage of loan words
can be helpful and aid the acquisition of English vocabulary. Others say they can prevent the
acquisition of proper English and should thus be avoided. Studies of Japanese comprehension
of English indeed show that while loan words may be understood to some extent, their
widespread use in Japanese can also cause confusion, as shown by Kay (1995) and Stubbe (2014).
Kobayashi (1992) compared error correction of English writing as performed by
Japanese and English natives. In general, Japanese students did not correct as many errors as
their English counterparts. This was attributed to confusion between Japanese loan words and
the correct English usage. Uchida (2001) studied how many loan words were derived from the
3000 most frequent English words and how closely they were related. While over half
corresponded to at least one loan word, the relationship scored stronger as the frequency
decreased, meaning less common English words were more accurately used in Japanese.
This study ignored the phonological aspect of loan words, which is often the main
catalyst to usefulness in second language acquisition. Ogasawara (2008), Rollins (2003) and
Sheperd (1996) all highlight the difference between the English and katakana spelling of words
as the cause of pronunciation and comprehension problems. Daulton (1999) cites a study by
Yoshida (1978) where a Japanese‐speaking child was aided in particular by cognate words in
Japanese and learned English words quicker at his nursery school. However, the child’s
pronunciation was not always understandable and in the case of the word orenji (オレンジ,
orange) it maintained the Japanese katakana pronunciation.
Daulton (2008) cites his own study from 1996 in which a survey of 9 Japanese teachers
of English studied the habits of katakana usage in the classroom. Two thirds of the teachers
admitted to ‘sometimes’ using katakana to explain pronunciation, while only one said he ‘never’
used it. Three of the teachers also admitted to never correcting students’ pronunciations
because of a lack of confidence in their own ability to do so correctly. If this sample is
representative of the general teaching methods employed in Japan we can suggest that it is not
necessarily because of loan words that English ability is lacking, but rather because of the
presentation made to students.
29
Daulton (2008) also expresses that while he believes that loan words have a positive
effect on language learning, there are some obstacles that need to be overcome to realise that
effect. Learners may often have difficulty in recognising cognates. When borrowed into
Japanese the subsequent transfer to katakana transforms and makes it difficult to recognise the
original word. In fact, many students seem to perceive English through a katakana filter, where
they first convert English to katakana before tackling its meaning. The phonological changes
involved in this process hinder correct pronunciation and comprehension. Also, semantic
changes in meaning and a lack of confidence in the accuracy of cognates may confuse students.
Ogasawara (2008) states that in order to combat these issues and make loan words a
productive part of English learning, teachers need to tackle the problem of katakana
pronunciation by increasing students’ awareness of how different the two are. She goes on to
discuss that teachers need to create opportunities for learners to use the vocabulary they’re
already familiar with by discussing its existence, uses, and especially the differences between
loan words and the original words from where they were derived so students can learn their
correct usage through examples and practice. Jones (2014) showed that an explicit method of
teaching the differences had a positive effect in meaning comprehension.
Although less documented, loan words can also help English speakers studying Japanese,
serving as a crutch when the correct Japanese word is unknown. This suffers from the same
dangers as the other way around – when learners use words without being aware that their
meaning is different or incorrectly spell it out in katakana. They can also introduce an
uncertainty when foreign learners hesitate to use a loan word even in correct cases because
they expect a native word to exist. Nonetheless, they make it extremely easy to get to a basic
conversational level in Japanese and can be an invaluable asset to build on.
30
5 The future of loan words in Japanese
There is probably no language in the world that has adopted loan words as comprehensively as
Japanese. The Chinese loan words which are now regarded as fully Japanese set an interesting
precedent for what may also be the future of the Western loan words of current times. In the
following chapter the future of loan words will be discussed, both those already borrowed to
Japanese and loan words yet to come.
5.1 Loan words already used in Japanese
Some of the oldest Western loan words have been with the Japanese for close to 500 years.
However, as is the nature with loan words, many of the words in current use will not survive.
They are often borrowed to fulfil a need and then thrown away once an alternative shows up or
the need itself disappears. The question is how the words that do remain will continue to
integrate into Japanese. Many of the oldest loans have become so integrated that there should
be no discussion that they are by now Japanese words. They have been adapted to the language
and are near indistinguishable from native words and in some cases they have gained their own
kanji compounds. Some examples of this from the Nihon Kokugo Daijiten (2000) are:
煙草 (tabako, 煙 smoke + 草 grass, gikun, “tobacco”) is first cited back to 1697 and is
still in general use, although it is also frequently written with either hiragana or katakana. As
this is a gikun compound, it does not use traditional readings, but only the semantic meaning of
each kanji.
珈琲 (ko‐hi‐, ateji, “coffee”) as a compound is first cited in 1889, although other ateji
compounds age as far back as 1826. This word is currently overwhelmingly written with
katakana for general use.
天麩羅 (tenpura, 天 heaven + 麩 wheat + 羅 light fabric, “deep fried food in a light
batter”) dates back to 1813 and while 天ぷら (kanji 天 + hiragana ぷら) might be a more
common form, the full compound is probably among the most natural given to Western loan
words, having a semantic relation to the idea and using traditional readings.
These three words give examples of different methods of kanji assignment for loan
words. In the cases of tabako and tenpura, the words are often referenced either with kanji or
hiragana instead of the usual katakana used for Western loan words.
31
It is very likely that given time, words borrowed in later times may also become as
integrated as these, given that they survive in use. However, if eventually they are to gain a kanji
compound, there are things to be kept in mind. If the kanji are to gain general approval, they
must offer a usefulness above what a katakana rendition can offer. Therefore, ateji do not
provide a feasible alternative. It is a characteristic of ateji to be either complicated or archaic so
that their semantic meaning does not clash with the reading. If there is no semantic connection,
neither is there a reason to use kanji and in fact, katakana would generally both be faster and
more comprehensible than a kanji equivalent.
Therefore, Japanese should look to tabako and tenpura for examples of kanji words
done right. Kanji become useful only when they can help you deduce the meaning of the word
behind them. Japanese linguists should not be afraid of creating or adapting kanji to new
phonological challenges the Western loan words bring with them. Similarly, creating new, simple
kanji for loan words is a definite possibility to better integration of loan words and to stand
guard over what defines it.
5.2 New loan words from here on
If the amount of loan words has continued to increase at a similar pace since 1990, we can expect
there to be around 50000 loan words in Japanese in the present. Figure 2 compares the
proportions of new words by origin in 1960 and 1980.
Figure 2: Proportions of neologisms according to word origin Adapted from Scherling (2015).
1,90%
3,60%
28,80%
40,20%
57,60%
43,10%
11,70%
13,10%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
1980
1960
和語 (Japanese words) 漢語 (Chinese words)
外来語 (Western words) 混種語 (Hybrid words)
32
As it demonstrates, even in the latter half of the 20th century there was a distinct lack of
Japanese neologisms. It could definitely be argued that the vast majority of the words that are
here called Chinese are actually Japanese but simply use Chinese readings of kanji. However
there is no denying the disproportionate amount of neologisms borrowed from Western
vocabulary. Tomoda (1999: 249) points out that “in the post‐war period, national language
reforms limited the number of kanji in use thereby constraining the creation of neologisms by
the established method of compounding kanji.” This not only limits the evolution of language,
but steers it into a single direction – away from kanji.
On the other hand, we can expect that with increased knowledge of English, so should
the consciousness of the existence of loan words in Japanese. With that, it is possible that their
use will decline as people connect them less with being Japanese and more as something
external, promoting a search for native equivalents and therefore reversing some of the
dominance loan words currently have.
While it is impossible to tell the future, it is certain that Japanese will continue to import
Western vocabulary to fill their need for lexical evolution if no changes are made. It is up to the
Japanese people themselves to mark the direction Japanese will move to, and should that be
back towards kanji, the bureaucracy must also be willing to aid the language however they can.
The statistics in figure 2 beg the question whether the ability to create new Japanese words
simply is not there. Whether or not this inability is a natural thing or one induced by bureaucracy
is not easy to say, but common sense should tell us that if other languages can do so, there
should be no reason why Japanese cannot do the same.
33
6 Conclusions
It is a certainty that loan words have had an immense effect on the Japanese language ever since
first contact with the Chinese and the subsequent borrowing of their writing and vocabulary.
While the influence of Chinese is ever dwindling, the rise of Western loan words has, if anything,
been more influential in the short amount of time they have had to enter the language. By now,
they are an essential part of the Japanese language.
Western loan words are used by all Japanese people and their presence has affected
both Japanese phonology and orthography. While personal opinions differ on whether they are
a positive or negative influence, the issue is not black‐and‐white and neither faction can claim
to be correct in this matter. Loan words can have a positive effect in various ways; they can help
widen the perspective by which people see the world, ease the introduction of new ideas and
help with the study of new languages.
There can also be negative effects; at what point does Japanese cease being Japanese
and simply become a variant of English? If neologisms continue to follow the same trends, the
vocabulary corpuses might eventually converge. This begs the question whether there is always
a need for a loan word or are they being adopted in excess? While some claim that loan words
are only borrowed because there is a need for them, in the case of Japanese one has to wonder
whether this need is artificial. When compared to other languages, Japanese has an unusually
large amount of loan words. In fact, there are a lot of unique things about Japanese that defy
general theories on language contact.
Regardless of these effects, it cannot be said with a good conscience that loan words are
hindering the evolution of the Japanese language. In fact, they’ve done quite the opposite –
been the catalyst for both phonological and syntactical changes that make comprehension
easier. They have been introduced alongside a plethora of ideas that have pushed Japanese
society forward, even as it attempts to push back. And as Stanlaw (2005: 300) says: “Japanese,
English, and Japanese English are growing and evolving together: the relationships are more
symbiotic than parasitic, and their futures now are inexorably and irretrievably linked.”
Language is an ever‐evolving process that cannot be halted with legislation or
bureaucratic means. In fact, they should rather attempt to aid the progress of language as best
they can. And if the people who speak the language wish to hold on to its heritage, there needs
34
to be made a deliberate effort on behalf of all parties to do so. Due to the nature of computers,
new kanji cannot be created on a whim but have to be consciously introduced into standards
for computer use. Allowing the language to evolve requires a constant effort to keep these
standards up to date. While this is by no means an impossible task it would require not just
linguists, but the Japanese who use the language, to have the ambition to create and use native‐
based terminology. And if the will is there, and there is reason to, Japanese will continue to exist
and evolve from here on out.
35
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Appendices
39
Appendix I. Table of hiragana and katakana syllabaries
Table 5: The Japanese syllabaries, hiragana and katakana
H あ い う え お
K ア イ ウ エ オ ヴ
R a i u e o vu
H か き く け こ が ぎ ぐ げ ご きゃ きゅ きょ ぎゃ ぎゅ ぎょ
K カ キ ク ケ コ ガ ギ グ ゲ ゴ キャ キュ キョ ギャ ギュ ギョ
R ka ki ku ke ko ga gi gu ge go kya kyu kyo gya gyu gyo
H さ し す せ そ ざ じ ず ぜ ぞ しゃ しゅ しょ じゃ じゅ じょ
K サ シ ス セ ソ ザ ジ ズ ゼ ゾ シャ シュ ショ ジャ ジュ ジョ
R sa shi su se so za ji zu ze zo sha shu sho ja ju jo
H た ち つ て と だ ぢ づ で ど ちゃ ちゅ ちょ ぢゃ ぢゅ ぢょ
K タ チ ツ テ ト ダ ヂ ヅ デ ド チャ チュ チョ ヂャ ヂュ ヂョ
R ta chi tsu te to da ji dzu de do cha chu cho ja ju jo
H な に ぬ ね の にゃ にゅ にょ
K ナ ニ ヌ ネ ノ ニャ ニュ ニョ
R na ni nu ne no nya nyu nyo
H は ひ ふ へ ほ ば び ぶ べ ぼ ひゃ ひゅ ひょ びゃ びゅ びょ
K ハ ヒ フ ヘ ホ バ ビ ブ ベ ボ ヒャ ヒュ ヒョ ビャ ビュ ビョ
R ha hi fu he ho ba bi bu be bo hya hyu hyo bya byu byo
H ぱ ぴ ぷ ぺ ぽ ぴゃ ぴゅ ぴょ
K パ ピ プ ペ ポ ピャ ピュ ピョ
R pa pi pu pe po pya pyu pyo
H ま み む め も みゃ みゅ みょ
K マ ミ ム メ モ ミャ ミュ ミョ
R ma mi mu me mo mya myu myo
H ら り る れ ろ りゃ りゅ りょ
K ラ リ ル レ ロ リャ リュ リョ
R ra ri ru re ro rya ryu ryo
H や ゆ よ
K ヤ ユ ヨ
R ya yu yo
H わ を ん
K ワ ヲ ン
R wa wo n
H = hiragana, K = katakana, R = romanized
Adapted from Loveday (1996). 8.
40
Appendix II. List of Japanese words in this thesis
Japanese J reading Translation
NHKアナウンサー NHK anaunsa‐ NHK announcer
OL o‐eru office lady
アダルトする adarutosuru to act or dress in a sophisticated style
アナウンサー anaunsa‐ announcer
アパート apa‐to apartment
アメフト amefuto American Football
アメリカ人 amerikajin American
イメージアップ ime‐jiappu image improvement
イヤフォン iyafon earphones
イラスト irasuto illustration
イラレ irare Adobe Illustrator
ヴァンパイア vanpaia vampire
オーダーストップ o‐da‐sutoppu last orders
オーバードラッグ o‐ba‐doraggu overdose
オフィスガール ofisuga‐ru lit. "office girl"
オムライス omuraisu omelette with rice
オレンジ orenji orange
カステラ kasutera castella, type of sponge cake
ガソリンスタンド gasorinsutando gas station
カタカナ語 katakanago words written with katakana
ガッツポーズ gattsupo‐zu fist pump, triumphant pose
カップ kappu cup
かばー kaba‐ cover
ガラス garasu glass (as a material)
カンニング kan'ningu cheating
キッチン kicchin kitchen (refers to Western‐style)
ギャラ gyara performance fee paid by a venue to artists
グラス gurasu glass (to drink from)
クランクアップ kurankuappu the end of film shooting
クレジット kurejitto credit
ゲット getto to get
ゴーストップ go‐sutoppu traffic lights
コーヒー ko‐hi‐ coffee
コーンビーフ ko‐nbi‐fu corned beef
コップ koppu mug
ゴム gomu rubber
41
コンセント konsento electrical outlet
コンピューター konpyu‐ta‐ computer
サイン sain signature
サラリーマン sarari‐man white collar worker
システモ shisutemu system
ジンバブエ jinbabue Zimbabwe
スーパー su‐pa‐ supermarket
ストロング sutorongu strong
スモークチーズ sumo‐kuchi‐zu smoked cheese
すりらー surira‐ thriller
する suru to do
タイトルバック taitorubakku background scene with titles (film)
タオルケット taoruketto thin linen used instead of a blanket in hot weather
タバコ tabako tobacco, cigarettes
チーム chi‐mu team
チェア chea chair
ツアー tsua‐ tour
ツナ tsuna canned tuna
ティー ti‐ tea
ディスク disuku disk
デモる demoru to demonstrate (in the streets)
ドア doa door
トレーナー tore‐na‐ sports trainer
ナイター naita‐ night game (sports)
ノークラッチ no‐kuracchi car with automatic transmission
バイオリン baiorin violin
ハイセンス haisensu stylish
バス basu bus, bath
パソコン pasokon personal computer
パン pan bread
ハンサム hansamu handsome
ビール bi‐ru beer
ビー玉 bi‐dama marble
ビデオる bideoru to videotape
フランス furansu France (katakana)
プロ puro professional
フロントグラス furontogurasu windscreen
ベビーストップ bebi‐sutoppu abortion
ホーム ho‐mu train platform
42
ポテト poteto potato, pregnant woman (slang)
ポテトチック potetochikku peasant‐like
マスコミ masukomi mass communication, the media
マネートーク mane‐to‐ku bribery
ミスコピー misukopi‐ failed photocopy
ミルク miruku milk
メモる memoru to take a memo
ヤンキー yanki‐ delinquent, person from the United States
ラジオ rajio radio
リフォーム rifo‐mu to renovate (a house)
レーダー re‐da‐ radar
レコード reko‐do music record
レディーファースト redi‐fa‐suto ladies first
ローン ro‐n loan
ワンマンカー wanmanka‐ one man bus
万葉仮名 man‘yōgana Syllabary named after the man‘yōgana
万葉集 man’yōshū Anthology of Japanese poems compiled during the Nara period
中止 chuushi cancel
人殺し hitogoroshi murder
仏蘭西 furansu France (ateji)
仏陀 budda Buddha
会を持つ kaiwomotsu (idiom) to hold a meeting
会を開く kaiwohiraku (idiom) lit. "to open a meeting", to hold a meeting
借金 shakkin loan, debt
値上げ neage increase in price
働 dou (kanji) to work
儀訓 gikun lit. "reading of a kanji by meaning" ‐ refers to assigning kanji to a native word without regards to the pronunciation
包装員 hōsōin lit "broadcasting person", announcer
古本 furuhon second hand book
台所 daidokoro kitchen (refers to Japanese‐style)
名古屋大学 nagoyadaigaku Nagoya University
名大 meidai abbrevation for "Nagoya University"
向上 kōjō progress
呉音 goon lit. "sounds of Wu" ‐ refers to onyomi readings from the 5th and 6th century
和製英語 waseieigo Japanese‐made English
43
唐宋音 tōsōon lit. "sounds of Tang and Song" ‐ refers to onyomi readings adopted after kan'on
国字 kokuji Japanese‐made kanji
外来語 gairaigo foreign words
天ぷら tenpura deep fried food in light batter
天麩羅 tenpura deep fried food in light batter
平仮名 hiragana Syllabary used for words of Japanese and Chinese origin
彼 kare he
彼女 kanojo she
後援 kōen support, patronage
排気ガス haikigasu exhaust gases
月賦 geppu monthly payment
東京大学 tōkyōdaigaku Tokyo University
東大 tōdai abbrevation for "Tokyo University"
根性レス konjouresu gutless
歯ブラシ haburashi toothbrush
漢字 kanji Kanji (idiogram of Chinese origin)
漢音 kan'on lit. "sounds of Han, Chinese sounds" ‐ refers to onyomi readings from the 7th to the 9th century
煙草 tabako tobacco, cigarettes
片仮名 katakana Syllabary used for words of Western origin
珈琲 ko‐hi‐ coffee (ateji)
粁 kirome‐toru (kanji) kilometer
自動販売機 jidōhanbaiki vending machine
自販機 jihanki abbrevation for "vending machine"
見物 kenbutsu sightseeing
訓読み kunyomi lit. "meaning reading" ‐ refers to the native Japanese pronunciation of a kanji
込 ko (kanji) crowded
部屋 heya room
鎖国 sakoku National isolation ‐ refers to a ~200 year period of self‐imposed isolation in Japan
音盤 onban lit. "sound plate", music record
音読み onyomi lit. "sound reading" ‐ refers to the original Chinese pronunciation of a kanji