created on Jul 31, 2015 modified on May 30, 2021 01:50
Japan is considered a homogeneous society with a rich traditional culture. However, upon closer examination, you will find influences of foreign cultures in its long history and how creative Japanese were to adapt them and turn them into an integral part of Japanese culture. One of the prominent examples is adapting foreign words and creating new usages of them. While these loanwords are enriching Japanese language and culture, the increasing number of loanwords started to create issues these days. According to the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics, there are about 5000 loanwords (most of them are borrowed from English and European languages) used in newspapers, TV and radio programs in Japan. Although loanwords are easy to introduce new and foreign concepts and they sound modern, sophisticated and fashionable, many Japanese and Japanese language learners find difficulty in understanding them. It is particularly problematic when they are used in public documents. They are also very confusing for Japanese language learners because many of them do not carry the original meanings of their source language and they are phonologically altered in order to suit Japanese phonetic rules. The National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics For Japanese now has a research group to standardize the use of loanwords and suggest retranslating them back to Japanese, especially in the public documents. Some researchers stress the need to teach loanwords explicitly to Japanese language learners to avoid miscommunication. Thus, studying the current state of loanwords in Japan also leads to a much broader issue, language change and language policy.
This PBLL is a part of the CLILL course on Japanese Linguistics in a study abroad program in Japan where students from US consortium colleges study Japanese as a foreign language while living with Japanese host-families. The project is to look into kaleidoscopic Japanese culture in its linguistic adaptations and changes, namely, through the analysis of Japanese loanwords. Students will investigate what role loanwords play in Japanese culture and society, what they do to the Japanese language. They will first study the historical backgrounds of Japanese loanwords, and learn basic linguistic concepts and methods in order to analyze the phonological and morphological structure of loan words, then investigate the current state of Japanese loanwords by themselves through data collection from newspapers, magazines, manga, TV commercials and natural speech conversation among host-families. They will also explore perceptions of loanwords through interviews and questionnaires with native speakers of Japanese as well as Japanese language learners. As a cumulative product, they will conduct a public debate involving Japanese college students and people from the community. Two groups of students will debate whether or not loanwords are enriching Japanese language and culture. In their final report, they summarize what role loanwords play in Japanese culture and society and suggest how we can improve their role in Japanese language and culture and look at this issue through the perspective of language change and language policy.
1. Learning linguistics concepts and key terminologies - As a part of the CILL linguistics course, students will be introduced to basic linguistic concepts and key terminologies. more detail
1. Katakana confusion - Students will read episodes that depict how confusing loanwords are in Japan and will share their own experiences as well. more detail
2. Suggestions for paraphrasing loanwords - Students will read and study suggestions for paraphrasing loanwords proposed by a group of researchers at the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics. more detail
3. Collecting loanword samples - Students will collect loanword samples to learn the current state of loanword use by themselves. more detail
4. Interview - Students will interview native speakers of Japanese, foreign residents in Japan and Japanese language learners to investigate how they perceive loanwords and their opinions about loanword use. more detail
5. PowerPoint Presentation - Students will report the interview results to their peers using powerpoint. more detail
1. How to conduct interviews - Plan and practice interviews more detail
2. Effective powerpoint presentation - Students will watch a sample video and discuss what makes presentations effective and interesting. more detail
3. How to conduct debates - Students will lean the format of the debates, strategies and useful expressions. more detail
1. Peer evaluation - Students make comments and suggestions to their peers' powerpoint presentation. more detail
2. Public Debate - Students will conduct a public debate: " Wether or not loanwords enrich Japanese culture and language" more detail
3. Reflection and self assessment - Students will self-assess their performance at the debate. more detail