Gov't wants to protect Japanese language from imported words

[tokyojoe]

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=220392

[Crispy]

Isn't France on this same warpath?

Anyway, the Japanese have a unique situation because of their alternate character set used for foreign words, it's a symbolic barrier that was origionally intended to shield the Japanese language from being hybridized. I think what they should really worry about is kids learning English words instead of their Japanese equivalents.

I agree that there is a problem, American culture, and the language that comes with it is addictive. However, fighting it on the supply end is as useless as trying to stop drug supply. They need to make the Japanese language, specifically the words that are in danger of being forgotten in favor of English equivalents, more desirable to use somehow. Beats me how, I hope they can do better than my country is dealing with its drug problem...

[cstaylor]

In English proficiency. Oh well, more work for the Japanese to learn how to speak properly.

[cstaylor]

A great article: Howai notto aborisshu katakana?

[Crispy]

Katakana look cool, I don't want them to be dropped. I didn't realize that Japanese had a problem with them, since they are all over the place...

[kamome]

Katakana loan words, what I termed "katakana eigo" when I was teaching English, are such an obstacle to learning and speaking English, perhaps it does make sense to get rid of it.

But what I hate the most is the borrowing of English words, subsequently morphed into katakana, and used in daily conversation as if it's an original Japanese word. I always tell Japanese people that they are actually speaking English when they use words like "losutaimu" (loss time--from soccer), or "erebeita-" (elevator), or any borrowed computer-related terminology. Almost uniformly, they express surprise that it's an English word. Sometimes I get the sense that they are offended when I suggest that they're speaking a mangled form of English rather than a chic, modern form of Japanese.

To get a sense of what I mean, try showing a native Japanese person that website "Engrish.com" and see if they laugh at any of it. They absolutely don't see anything funny at all, and consider much of the stuff on there as perfectly reasonable English.