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言葉の変化
言葉の変化
筆者は最近、日本の若者たちの言葉が乱れていると嘆く声をよく聞く。確かに、敬語の使い方を間違えたり、ワープロの普及で漢字が書けなくなっているという人たちも多いようだ。しかし、言葉とは本来、時代に合わせて自然に変化していくものではないか。筆者がそんなふうに考えているところに、友人から一通の手紙が届いた。欧州連合共通の「ユーロ英語」を作る、という冗談の手紙なのだが…。
Linguistic Mutations
By DAVID ZOPPETTI
I often hear people around me lamenting the decline of the Japanese language.
Last year's edition of the Kojien dictionary had 10,000 new entries, one-third of which were katakana "imported words." The younger generation is shifting away from traditional and elaborate expressions in favor of a simpler and more colloquial vocabulary. Many are uncomfortable with keigo "courtesy terms," often using them in an improper way or not at all. Word processors are creating people who can easily read kanji, but who are forgetting how to write them.
Although these facts are correct, I do not believe they should be seen as a "decline" in the Japanese language. They are signs of our times. Language is becoming more international and people are probably seeking a more direct type of communication. Of course, it is saddening that colorful expressions of the past should disappear and ironical that modern electronics is reducing people's literacy.
But language doesn't degenerate. It only changes. It adapts to meet the needs of those using it. Linguistic mutations are neither good nor bad. They simply mirror the changes of the society in which we live. Scholars of the Heian Court would have probably frowned upon the language used by intellectuals of the Meiji Period. These, in turn, would have certainly disapproved of the Japanese seen as correct by those criticizing modern Nihongo. When it comes to linguistic changes, conservatism often lacks objectivity and historical perspective.
Having said this, I couldn't help having mixed feelings when I read the following EC language announcement sent to me recently by a friend in Switzerland
"The European Commission announced that English will be the official language of the EU. A five-year plan to introduce this new `EuroEnglish' has been decided
"In the first year, `s' will replace the soft `c.' Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants happy. The hard `c' will be dropped in favor of the `k.' This should klear up konfusion and keyboards kan have one less letter.
"In the sekond year, the troublesome `ph' will be replaced with the `f.' This will make words like `fotograf' 20 percent shorter
"In the third year, governments will enkourage the removal of double letters, which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of the silent `e' is disgraceful, and should go away.
"By the fourth year, peopl wil be reseptiv to replasing `th' with `z' and `w' with `v.' During ze fifz year, ze unesesary `o' kan be dropd from vords kontaining `ou' and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters. FINALI ZE UNION DREM VIL KUM TRU!!" (FINALLY THE UNION DREAM WILL COME TRUE! — for those of you who lost track "en route")
The lesson might be that whereas natural linguistic mutations are unavoidable and even useful at times, artificial ones can be pretty ugly. And Japanese might not be so degenerate after all.
I often hear people around me lamenting the decline of the Japanese language.
Last year's edition of the Kojien dictionary had 10,000 new entries, one-third of which were katakana "imported words." The younger generation is shifting away from traditional and elaborate expressions in favor of a simpler and more colloquial vocabulary. Many are uncomfortable with keigo "courtesy terms," often using them in an improper way or not at all. Word processors are creating people who can easily read kanji, but who are forgetting how to write them.
Although these facts are correct, I do not believe they should be seen as a "decline" in the Japanese language. They are signs of our times. Language is becoming more international and people are probably seeking a more direct type of communication. Of course, it is saddening that colorful expressions of the past should disappear and ironical that modern electronics is reducing people's literacy.
But language doesn't degenerate. It only changes. It adapts to meet the needs of those using it. Linguistic mutations are neither good nor bad. They simply mirror the changes of the society in which we live. Scholars of the Heian Court would have probably frowned upon the language used by intellectuals of the Meiji Period. These, in turn, would have certainly disapproved of the Japanese seen as correct by those criticizing modern Nihongo. When it comes to linguistic changes, conservatism often lacks objectivity and historical perspective.
Having said this, I couldn't help having mixed feelings when I read the following EC language announcement sent to me recently by a friend in Switzerland
"The European Commission announced that English will be the official language of the EU. A five-year plan to introduce this new `EuroEnglish' has been decided
"In the first year, `s' will replace the soft `c.' Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants happy. The hard `c' will be dropped in favor of the `k.' This should klear up konfusion and keyboards kan have one less letter.
"In the sekond year, the troublesome `ph' will be replaced with the `f.' This will make words like `fotograf' 20 percent shorter
"In the third year, governments will enkourage the removal of double letters, which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of the silent `e' is disgraceful, and should go away.
"By the fourth year, peopl wil be reseptiv to replasing `th' with `z' and `w' with `v.' During ze fifz year, ze unesesary `o' kan be dropd from vords kontaining `ou' and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters. FINALI ZE UNION DREM VIL KUM TRU!!" (FINALLY THE UNION DREAM WILL COME TRUE! — for those of you who lost track "en route")
The lesson might be that whereas natural linguistic mutations are unavoidable and even useful at times, artificial ones can be pretty ugly. And Japanese might not be so degenerate after all.
Shukan ST: Jan. 29, 1999
(C) All rights reserved
- lamenting 〜
- 〜 を嘆いている
- decline
- 衰退
- edition
- 版
- entries
- 見出し語
- "imported words"
- 外来語
- is shifting away from 〜 in favor of 〜
- 〜 よりも 〜 を選ぶ
- elaborate expressions
- 凝った表現
- colloquial
- くだけた、話し言葉の
- "courtesy terms"
- 丁重な言葉
- improper
- 誤った
- signs of our times
- 今の時勢を表すもの
- is saddening
- 悲しい気持ちにさせる
- ironical
- 皮肉な
- literacy
- 読み書きの能力
- degenerate
- 退化する、堕落する
- adapts to meet the needs of 〜
- 〜 の必要性に合わせて変化する
- Scholars
- 学問のある人
- Heian Court
- 平安時代の宮廷
- would have probably frowned upon 〜
- 〜 に眉をひそめたことだろう
- Meiji Period
- 明治時代
- would have certainly disapproved of 〜
- 〜 に不満を示したに違いない
- When it comes to 〜
- 〜 のこととなると
- conservatism
- 保守主義、言葉の変化を受け入れない考え
- lacks objectivity
- 客観性に欠く
- perspective
- 見方
- EC language
- 欧州連合の言語
- soft'c'
- 軟音の c(city の c など)
- Sertainly
- (= Certainly)軟音の c をすべて s に変えるという規則に従うとこのようなつづりになる
- sivil servants
- (= civil servants)公務員
- hard'c'
- 硬音の c(c が[k]と発音される場合)
- troublesome
- わずらわしい
- double letters
- 同じ文字が2つ続くこと(been の e など)
- deterent
- (= deterrent)邪魔になるもの
- akurate
- (= accurate)正確な
- horible mes
- = horrible mess(黙音が付くのか付かないのかという)ひどい混乱
- silent'e'
- 黙音(knife の k、e など)の e
- disgraceful
- 悪評をまねく
- be reseptiv to 〜
- (= be receptive to 〜 )〜 を受け入れやすくなる
- FINALLY THE UNION DREAM WILL COME TRUE!
- 欧州連合の夢がこれでかなうわけだ!
- 〜 who lost track"en route"
- 途中で法則がわからなくなってしまった 〜
- The lesson might be that 〜
- この手紙から得られる教訓は 〜 ということかもしれない
- unavoidable
- 避けがたい
- artificial ones
- 人工的に変えられたもの(例えば手紙の例のように)
- pretty ugly
- かなり見苦しい