Academic circles
It is often said that the language of scholars is too different from that of the public. It is true that a scholar should use precisely terms related to his special field of study, and for this reason technical terms are necessary. In comparison to Europe, however, scholarly terminology in Japan has gone to extremes.*
The philosopher Ikegami Kenz
Among academic circles botanists do not usedifficult Chinese characters but rather such Yamato words as sumire (violet), tampopo (dandelion), and renges (Chinese milk vetch). This practice is well received. However, I cannot quite approve of their using scientific terms understood only among Japanese botanical circles and not internationally.
The commonly used kimpge (buttercup)—which I think excellent—was replaced by botanists with the bizarre uma no ashigata (literally, a horse’s footprints). It is said that the cyclamen which decorates spring display windows and whose roots are used as pig food has the technical name buta no manj (literally, a pig’s bean bun).
| Waga yume wa | My dream |
| oirans no | Is like the fragrance |
| ka no gotoshi | Of the phlox— |
| ame fureba nure | It becomes moist in the rain, |
| kaze fukeba chiru. | And scatters in the wind. |
—KITAHARA HAKUSH
Oirans (phlox; literally, courtesan plant), the plant mentioned in the poem, is not so listed in Makino Tomitar
In the academic world, the medical group is known for its use of the most troublesome words. This was especially true before the war. What ordinary people call mizubs (chicken-pox; literally, water smallpox) was called suit. Since this is short, we can bear it, but for otafuku kaze (mumps; literally, plump-faced cold), the name used in the medical world was kysei jikasen-en (acute parotid gland inflammation), which was very troublesome. The popular term mimikuso (earwax) was called teinei, and mushiba (decayed tooth; literally, worm-eaten tooth) was called ushi. Furthermore, kushami (sneezing) was written
Besides the above examples, there were many cases in which a technical term differed from one field to another. Uniformity has been established, but formerly the word meaning “constant” was js
Footnotes
* Chinese reading of amiage-gutsu.
†Chinese reading of monohoshiba.
*It is customary to say nori ori (getting on and off) not ori nori (getting off and on). In banks, however, we say dashi ire (withdrawing and depositing), not ire dashi (depositing and withdrawing).
*This was especially true before World War II.
*These are all Chinese character words which have no meaning in Japanese. Yamato names of flowers and diseases have meanings such as “moon-viewing grass” and “plump-faced cold” that are easy to remember.
3Differences by Status and Sex
Upper and lower classes
It has often been pointed out that speech differences match people’s stations in life. The ancient people of India were noted in this respect. According to Jespersen, the language generally called Sanskrit was spoken by gods, kings, princes, and Brahmans, but shopkeepers, minor offcials, policemen, fishermen, and the majority of women spoke a different language called Prakrit.1 Present-day Javanese is also well known for this. It is said that there are seven ranks, and the people of each rank speak a different dialect.2
In Japan it was in the
