Japanese Language. Haruhiko Kindaichi

      

      the JAPANESE LANGUAGE

      the JAPANESE LANGUAGE

      by Haruhiko Kindaichi

      Translated and Annotated by

      Umeyo Hirano

      With a new Foreword by

      Mineharu Nakayama

      T U T T L E P U B L I S H I N G

       Tokyo • Rutland,Vermont • Singapore

      Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

       www.tuttlepublishing.com

      Copyright in Japan © 1978 by Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc.

      Copyright © 2010 by Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

      Originally published in Japan as Nippongo by Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo (1957).

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2010927332

      ISBN 978-1-4629-0266-8

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      First bilingual edition

      14 13 12 11 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      Printed in Singapore

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       Contents

      Publisher’s Foreword ix

      Foreword to the new edition xi

      Author’s Preface xv

      Translator’s Note xvii

      Introduction 3

      • The life of the Japanese language 3

      • Evaluation of the language 4

      • Characteristics of Japanese 7

      PART I THE POSITION OF JAPANESE 11

      1. An Isolated Language 13

      • Origin 13

      • Originality 14

      • Role of isolation 16

      2. Contact with Other Languages 18

      • Linguistic isolation 18

      • “Degeneration” of the language 18

      • Influence from foreign languages 20

      • Chinese character words—merits and demerits 22

      • Chinese character words—what shall we do with them? 25

      • The influence of Japanese on foreign languages 28

      PART II ASPECTS OF SPEECH 31

      1. Regional Differences 33

      • Differences in dialects 33

      • The origin of dialects 35

      • The standard language and the common language 37

      2. Occupational Differences 39

      • Military jargon 39

      • Official terminology 40

      • Academic circles 42

      3. Differences by Status and Sex 45

      • Upper and lower classes 45

      • Superiors and inferiors 46