Comments on: Japan: Japanese Language in the Age of English

By: Martin Swift

Martin Swift — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:11:01 +0000

I believe this should be taken in the context of Mizumura’s question cited above. There she compares the content written by Japanese authors in the two languages.

Looking at the available content irrespective of the authors’ nationality, you must also keep in mind that the examples you refer to are representative of neither the quality or availability of “good” content.

Should intellectual, thought-provoking books only be available to Americans in a foreign language, say Latin, the nation would surely suffer for it. Bringing ideas closer to people which making them readily available in their native tongue is both good for the individual and society as a whole.

Whether English poses a threat to other languages is an interesting and ongoing debate.

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Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:24:54 +0000

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Global Voices Online » Japan: The year in Japanese blogs — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 20:24:16 +0000

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Sat, 06 Dec 2008 19:53:08 +0000

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Global Voices Online » Japan: Ikeda on the Fall of Japanese — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:22:07 +0000

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By: Mohamed Idris

Mohamed Idris — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:56:41 +0000

A language does not have to disappear to be considered in danger. It is simply enough for it to lose its status and some of the domains it used to occupy. We have to sound the alarm before the fire destroys the house.

By: javier

javier — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:40:03 +0000

As a japanese learner I have to say that japanese is getting overwhelmed by english. From the news on internet we could see many words usually made by foreign language.

It’s globlization effect definitely, and also we could see this part via japan’s history since the Meiji restoration. Sometime I wrote with chinese thinking behind that my japanese friend would correct my sentence with their loanword, not to use those present the same meaning in native. Hard to remember all of them.

By: some one

some one — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:42:33 +0000

English is the language of business and more often spoken between members of same business spread all over the globe.

By: Japanese Language in Decline?

Japanese Language in Decline? — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:40:40 +0000

[...] Japanese declining in “the age of English“? I’m skeptical. People have been complaining about linguistic decay since the [...]

By: Peter Porcupine

Peter Porcupine — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:34:17 +0000

“While the intellectual quality of books in libraries, articles on the net and everything written in Japanese is becoming worse and worse, productions in English in contrast would appear to be becoming richer and richer, full of intellectual energy and vitality.”

You only have to watch a few minutes of American television or pick up a magazine at a grocery store to realize that not everything in English is “full of intellectual energy and vitality.” ;-)

By: RiQ

RiQ — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:48:49 +0000

I agree with the person who made the first comment, when he says that “English has made no serious inroads into Japan, when compared to other countries”. The writer of this book should come and see the situation in India. After 2 centuries of British colonial rule and a few decades of globalization, the people of India have developed a unique balance between English and the numerous indigenous languages. I am saying this to prove, that the two can co-exist without one gobbling up the other.

By: Chris Salzberg

Chris Salzberg — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:57:23 +0000

I think you’re absolutely right that English as a language has not made serious inroads into the Japanese language (apart from increasing numbers of borrowed words, which take on a life of their own once they are coined). On the other hand, my sense in talking to many people here is that the approach to English teaching (drill it into children’s heads at the youngest age possible) has had an impact on the level of Japanese spoken and in particular written by young people today. Maybe that’s “adaptation”, but it’s really unfortunate in my view.

I am very strongly of the belief that in order to learn a language — any language — well, a person needs to know their own native language first. That native language should be tied to your culture, history, etc., so to me there is no question that it is best for Japanese to hold on to their language and if anything increase the level and depth of teaching, which in the long run would actually help them in learning English later in life. (The myth, incidentally, that people cannot learn a language at a later stage in life is just that, a myth.)

By: Turulcsirip - planetdamage

Turulcsirip - planetdamage — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:55:24 +0000

[...] language in the age of english: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/11/17/japan-japanese-language-in-the-age-of-english/ « előző | következő » planetdamage — 2008. 11. 17. [...]

By: W. David Marx

W. David Marx — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:35:17 +0000

What I find bizarre about this whole debate is that English has made no serious inroads into Japan, when compared to other countries. When you usually read about “language death,” there is some new language that everyone uses, causing the older language to go unused outside the home. If Japanese is dying, it’s just committing suicide with no foreign attacker. I don’t think English ad copy counts.

Not only do the Japanese not speak much English — at least the global standard — I don’t even get the sense that many people realize how high that standard has gotten in the rest of the world.

By: www.japansoc.com

www.japansoc.com — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 06:24:33 +0000

The End of Japanese Language?…

Will the Japanese language disappear under the pressure from globalization and the growth of English as a global lingua franca? A recent book entitled The Fall of the Japanese Language in the Age of English by Japanese author Minae Mizumura has sparked…