「言葉と社会」より

言葉の使い分けに表われる日本人の自己規定

• 使い分ける [つかいわける] /to use properly/
• 規定 [きてい] /regulation (a-no) (vs)/provisions/identify with/to stipulate/
• 比較的 [ひかくてき] /comparatively/relatively/
• 英独仏 [えいどくふつ] /England, Germany, France/
• 諸語 [しょご] /various languages/
• 常に [つねに] /always/
• 一人称代名詞 [いちにんしょうだいめいし] /first person pronoun/
• 自称詞 [じしょうし] /words that indicating oneself/
• 明示 [めいじ] /specification (vs)/explicitly state/
• 機能 [きのう] /function/faculty/
• 喋る [しゃべる] /to talk/to chat/to chatter/
• 行為 [こうい] /act/deed/conduct/
• Summary: Japanese people that comparatively know a lot about the west, starting with speaking various European languages as an example, usually always use first person pronouns when speaking about themselves. In this kind of language if you ask what the job of first person pronouns (in other words, language that indicates oneself as the speaker) is, to say it simply, they serve the function of explicitly stating with words that I myself am speaking. Indicating that I am the one speaking and not someone else, for example, in Latin means that the speaker is acting with ego.
• 特徴 [とくちょう] /feature/characteristic/
• 状況 [じょうきょう] /circumstances/situation/
• 存在 [そんざい] /existence (vs)/being/
• 認識 [にんしき] /recognition (vs)/cognizance/
• Summary: A feature of this sort of language behavior is that the speaker identifies themselves without regard to the listener or the condition of the surroundings. In other words, it doesn't matter if the listener even existed. This means that before recognizing the existence of the listener, the speaker recognizes their own existence first.
• 構造 [こうぞう] /structure/construction/
• 目下 [めした] /subordinate(s)/inferior(s)/junior/
• 従って [したがって] /therefore/consequently/in accordance with/
• 特定 [とくてい] /specific/special/particular (vs)/
• 先行 [せんこう] /preceding (vs)/going first/
• However, Japanese has the structure of words that indicate the speaker so one can't help but think that this is exactly the opposite. For example, let's look at the example within the family of the person that calls himself "papa." The reason that this person can identify himself as "papa" within the language is that, first he has children, next he must realize that the current conversation is with his children. From the viewpoint of the children talking to him, he leaves aside (the identity of) himself, and he starts to identify himself as "papa." To other people he is certainly not a father. Therefor, he identifies himself through a specific person. Different from the case of various European languages, we say that the identification of the other party precedes the self-identification of the speaker.
• 我々 [われわれ] /us/we/selves/egos/
• 見知らぬ [みしらぬ] /unknown/unacquainted/strange/
• 相当 [そうとう] /suitable (an)/fair/tolerable/proper/
• 相対的 [そうたいてき] /relative/
• 対象 [たいしょう] /target/object (of worship, study, etc)/subject (of taxation, etc)/
• 依存 [いそん] /dependence (vs)/dependent/reliance/
• 主張 [しゅちょう] /claim (vs)/request/insistence/assertion/advocacy/emphasis/contention/opinion/tenet/
• 根拠 [こんきょ] /basis/foundation/
• 青年 [せいねん] /youth/young man/
• 男女 [だんじょ] /man and woman/men and women/
• 場面 [ばめん] /scene/setting (e.g. of novel)/
• 権力 [けんりょく] /(political) power/authority/influence/
• 度合い [どあい] /degree/
• 反映 [はんえい] /reflection (vs)/influence/
• 以上 [いじょう] /more than/exceeding/greater than/this is all/over/above/and up/beyond/the above-mentioned/since/as long as/the end/
• 型 [かた] /mold/model/style/shape/data-type/
• Summary: The exact same structure is seen when a high school sensei calls him/her self sensei with respect to the students. Also, when we talk with a child that we do not know and we call ourselves "older sister" or "old man", we also look at ourselves through the eyes of that person and think "what is most suitable?" In contrast to European languages where the person absolutely identifies themselves, my claim is that self identification in Japanese has a dependence on the target, (the foundation of) which can be seen in this. When the Japanese use self referential words other than the so called first person pronouns, you can say this. Normally, young japanese men and women, depending on the setting and conversation partner determine the usage of myself (humble) myself (neutral) and myself (informal.) This is based on the difference in the (social) power of the speaker and listener, and the degree of closeness is reflected in the usage but, this is also more than just looking from the point of view of the other party, it will not change that this is the kind of language where self identification is a dependent on the other party.
• 出現 [しゅつげん] /appearance (vs)/arrival/make one's appearance/
• 決定 [けってい] /decision/determination/
• 未定 [みてい] /not yet fixed/undecided/pending/
• 不安定感 [ふあんていかん] /sense of instability/
• 応じる [おうじる] /to respond/to satisfy/to accept/to comply with/to apply for/
• 地位 [ちい] /(social) position/status/
• 余り [あまり] /not very/not much/remainder/rest/remnant/surplus/balance/excess/remains/scraps/residue/fullness/other/
• Summary: If you think in this way, that Japanese self must have a specific target, in other words, the person you are talking to appears, and until you determine what kind of person that person is, one can think that you are feeling a state of nervousness. This indicates that if we Japanese can not determine what kind of person we are speaking to, we might have a relation to a feeling of anxiety, I think. Of course in any language one responds based on the person one is talking to and the situation, and the words are changed to a certain degree, or there even exist languages where what you call the other party changes based on their social position. But I do not think that there are examples of languages in the world where how the speaker identifies himself in the language changes based on the situation.

言葉の使い分けに表れる役割の固定化

• 固定 [こてい] /fixation (vs)/
• 性質 [せいしつ] /nature/property/disposition/
• 資格 [しかく] /qualifications/requirements/capabilities/
• 性別 [せいべつ] /distinction by sex/sex/gender/
• 階級 [かいきゅう] /class/rank/grade/
• 身分 [みぶん] /social position/social status/
• 生得 [せいとく] /inherent/
• 選択 [せんたく] /selection (vs)/choice/
• 余地 [よち] /place/room/margin/scope/
• 与える [あたえる] /to give/to present/to award/
• 関わる [かかわる] /to concern oneself in/to have to do with/to affect/to influence/to stick to (opinions)/
• 領域 [りょういき] /area/domain/territory/field/region/regime/
• 拡張 [かくちょう] /expansion (vs)/extension/enlargement/escape (ESC)/
• 契約 [けいやく] /contract/compact/agreement/
• 結ぶ [むすぶ] /to tie/to bind/to link/
• 獲得 [かくとく] /acquisition (vs)/possession/
• 価値 [かち] /value/worth/merit/
• 終身雇用制 [しゅうしんこようせい] /(Japanese) system of lifetime employment/
• 年功序列 [ねんこうじょれつ] /seniority by length of service/
• 男尊女卑 [だんそんじょひ] /male domination of women/subjection of women/
• 優勢 [ゆうせい] /superiority (an)/superior power/predominance/preponderance/
• 職業 [しょくぎょう] /occupation/business/
• 貧富 [ひんぷ] /wealth and poverty/rich and poor/
• 対比 [たいひ] /contrast (vs)/comparison/
• Summary: You can divide people into two large categories based on their qualifications and natural abilities. The first is an inherent thing based on age, sex, and different grades of status that occur in a social society, in other words something that is not based on a selection by our own free will. Another thing is one that we do with our own power, and is related to a selection based on our will. If we expand this thought into the domain of human relations, relationships like blood ties are inherent, we can say that the relationships formed between people by promises and contracts are acquired. When things like culture and society are different, which of these two types of groups are valued higher by different people is also different. The life-time employment system, seniority by length of service system, the system of men dominating over women, and so on, that are even now prevalent in Japan indicate a society that places high value on inherent qualifications, and is a great contrast to the society of America that thinks greatly about stuff gained from business from personal power, and the difference between the rich and poor.
• 夫婦 [ふうふ] /married couple/spouses/husband and wife/
• 相互 [そうご] /mutual/reciprocal/
• 圧倒的 [あっとうてき] /overwhelming (an)/
• 新婚当時 [しんこんとうじ] /honeymoon/
• 直ちに [ただちに] /at once/immediately/directly/in person/
• 父母 [ふぼ] /father & mother/
• 概念 [がいねん] /general idea/concept/notion/
• 名称 [めいしょう] /name/
• 解釈 [かいしゃく] /explanation (vs)/interpretation/
• 現象 [げんしょう] /phenomenon/
• Summary: In today's Japan it is overwhelmingly popular for married couples to call each other mama and papa, or mother and father. However during the honeymoon there are many couples that call each other by their name. Especially common is the case of husband only calling the wife by her name and the wife calling the husband some pronoun like "you". However, when these kinds of couples have a child, soon they start to call each other "mama and papa" or "mother and father." In other words, they start to use names that include the concept of "mother and father". How can we interpret this phenomena?
• 基付く [もとづく] /to base on/
• 両者 [りょうしゃ] /pair/the two/both persons/both things/
• 半ば [なかば] /middle/half/semi/halfway/partly/
• 従って [したがって] /therefore/consequently/in accordance with/
• 最早 [もはや] /already/now/
• 解消 [かいしょう] /cancellation/liquidation/
• 安定度 [あんていど] /degree of stability/
• 永続 [えいぞく] /permanence/continuation/
• Summary: You can think that men and women that marry and become a couple begin a relationship based on a type of contract (of marriage.) The role of the wife and the role of the husband both are chosen but therefor, they have the aspect that half of it is played out counciously. Therefor we can think that the situation of the married couple until a child is born includes some sense of instability. However, when a child is born, the husband becomes the father, and the wife becomes the child's mother. This role of mother and father are not roles that are chosen, but they are given to the couple. For some person that becomes someone's father can not any longer remove this relationship by their own will. The relationship between parents and children, at least among Japanese, is felt to be more stable than marriage to a high degree. So the relationship between the couple with respect to the child changes respectively to the mother and the father role given to them and they try to enter the eternal stable condition. (? something like that.) Can't this explain the change of the names to the type that reflects the inclusion of the concept "mother and father"? If you accept this as correct, then Japanese couples must act as mother and father to a child more than as husband and wife but I think that if you compare the Japanese case to the American case, this is true.
• 自ら [みずから] /for one's self/personally/
• 重点 [じゅうてん] /important point/lay stress on/colon/emphasis/
• 遥かに [はるかに] /far off/in the distance/long ago/far/by far/far and away/
• そもそも /in the first place/
• 指輪 [ゆびわ] /(finger) ring/
• 拘束 [こうそく] /restriction (vs)/restraint/
• 交換 [こうかん] /exchange (vs)/interchange/reciprocity/barter/substitution/clearing (of checks)/
• 持続 [じぞく] /continuation/
• 絶えず [たえず] /constantly/
• 愛情 [あいじょう] /love/affection/
• 交す [かわす] /to exchange (messages)/to dodge/to parry/to avoid/to turn aside/
• 贈り物 [おくりもの] /present/gift/
• 再確認 [さいかくにん] /reaffirmation (vs)/
• 強化 [きょうか] /strengthen (vs)/intensify/reinforce/
• 明示 [めいじ] /specification (vs)/explicitly state/
• 破局 [はきょく] /catastrophe/cataclysm/
• 固定 [こてい] /fixation (vs)/
• Summary: In the American society more than roles given to one by the society or not chosen by oneself, more stress is placed on roles that we choose ourself but more than Japanese married couples by far the aspect of husband and wife is strong. Their marriage begins in the first place with the symbolic exchange of the rings that represent their mutual control, and in order to maintain the relationship of the couple, they are constantly taking great pains. The exchange of loving words, on birthdays and anniversarys they exchange presents, and so on, are done as one ceremonry to strengthen and reaffirm the state of the marriage. Therefor, if these expressions of love become few, it means the destruction of the marriage. (Exchange of letters thing??) Japanese couples mostly do not explicitly display their love, and the fixed words "honey, darling" and the so called by anthropologists "saccharine terms" do not exist.
• 関連 [かんれん] /relation/connection/
• 様式 [ようしき] /style/form/pattern/
• 前章 [ぜんしょう] /prior chapter/
• 決定 [けってい] /decision/determination/identify/
• 心理 [しんり] /mentality/
• 構造 [こうぞう] /structure/construction/
• 交渉 [こうしょう] /negotiations/discussions/connection/
• 嫌う [きらう] /to hate/to dislike/to loathe/
• There is another pattern of behavior specific to Japanese that one should pay attention to aside from the relation to the role (played by the two participants in the conversation.) Like I explained in the previous chapter, we have the system of mentally identifying ourselves based on the tangible relationship that we have to our specific conversation partner. For that reason it is the truth that (Japanese) exceedingly hate conversing with more than one person when (in the group) there are people that will have more than one characteristic that differ from the speaker's.
• 同僚 [どうりょう] /coworker/colleague/associate/
• 先輩 [せんぱい] /senior (at work or school)/superior/elder/older graduate/progenitor/old-timer/
• 聴講 [ちょうこう] /lecture attendance/auditing/
• 扱う [あつかう] /to handle/to deal with/to treat/
• 指名 [しめい] /name (vs)/nominate/designate/
• すんなり /pass with no objection/slim/slender/
• 教授 [きょうじゅ] /teaching/instruction/professor/
• 遠慮 [えんりょ] /diffidence (an)(vs)/restraint/reserve/
• 議論 [ぎろん] /argument (vs)/discussion/dispute/
• 具合 [ぐあい] /condition/
• 担当 [たんとう] /(in) charge (vs)/
• 珍しい [めずらしい] /unusual/rare/
• 同士 [どうし] /fellow/companion/comrade/
• 変更 [へんこう] /change (vs)/modification/alteration/
• Summary: Generally, for north western people (hemisphere?) when someone they work with or one of their superiors comes to one of their lectures, they treat that person as a student. They ask them questions, or at a seminar they will call out their name, and make them do the same things as other students. They work under the contract of teacher and student, not bringing in the social position of that person or their personal relationship to that person from outside the class into the classroom. Even teachers who are treated as students are not reserved and ask questions and enter into discussion. In Japan, this is not done. To put it simply, it becomes difficult to teach. It isn't just your coworkers. Even if people like your children and wife come, in Japan it will not go well. I know a professor had (received the) another teacher take over his class when his own child came to the class. It is very different from America where the case of a child or a wife taking a class is not that unusual. (At this time Japanese people are really bad smell floppy can't we say?????) With regards to Japanese people, the relationship of superior vs. inferior, coworker and comrade, child and spouse the role of the relationship is fixed, and to change that role with regards to a specific case or time is very difficult.
• 要するに [ようするに] /in a word (id)/after all/the point is ../in short ../
• 本質 [ほんしつ] /essence/true nature/reality/
• 項 [こう] /item/clause/paragraph/head (pref)/main/
• 多項 [たこう] //
• 競争 [きょうそう] /competition (vs)/contest/
• 経つ [たつ] /to depart/to pass/to lapse/
• 超越 [ちょうえつ] /transcendental/
• 学識 [がくしき] /scholarship/scientific attainments/
• Summary: In short, a specific characteristic of Japanese inter-personal relations is that it is substantially based on fixed relations between two people. Compared to American interpersonal relations, the aspect of the large numbers of people that take part in interaction is very strong. For that very reason it is possible for a wife and husband to be student and teacher, or friends to sometimes be rivals. Once American graduate students receive their doctorate it is common for them the call their old professors only by their name after a little while. It is because in America (it can be thought that) the concept of colleagues has (the quality of having) transcended things like the difference in (social standing) superior and inferior, age and scientific achievements. Compared to when I graduated from college, after twenty years, when I met someone that taught be before, I couldn't call them anything but "sensei". In this way the reason the role of the pair (of people) , a specifically Japanese trait, changes based on the fixed circumstances, and the passage of time must have a relation to the way in natural language that self identification does not really have a concrete structure I think.