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Gairaigo (外来語,Japanese pronunciation:[ɡaiɾaiɡo]) isJapanese for "loan word", and indicates atranscription into Japanese. In particular, the word usually refers to a Japanese word of foreign origin that was not borrowed in ancient times fromOld orMiddle Chinese (especiallyLiterary Chinese), but in modern times, primarily fromEnglish,Portuguese,Dutch, and modern Chinese languages, such asStandard Chinese andCantonese. These are primarily written in thekatakana phonetic script, with a few older terms written in Chinese characters (kanji); the latter are known asateji.
Japanese has manyloan words from Chinese, accounting for a sizeable fraction of the language. These words were borrowed during ancient times and are written inkanji. Modern Chinese loanwords are generally consideredgairaigo and written inkatakana, or sometimes written inkanji (either with the more familiar word as a base text gloss and the intendedkatakana asfurigana or vice versa); pronunciation of modern Chinese loanwords generally differs from the corresponding usual pronunciation of the characters in Japanese.
For a list of terms, see theList of gairaigo and wasei-eigo terms.
Japanese has a long history of borrowing from foreign languages. It has been doing so since the late fourth century AD. Some ancientgairaigo words are still being used nowadays, but there are also many kinds ofgairaigo words that were borrowed more recently.
Most, but not all, moderngairaigo are derived fromEnglish, particularly in the post-World War II era (after 1945). Words are taken from English for concepts that do not exist in Japanese, but also for other reasons, such as a preference for English terms or fashionability – manygairaigo have Japanese near-synonyms.[1]
In the past, moregairaigo came from other languages besides English. The first period of borrowing occurred during the late fourth century AD, when a massive number of Chinese characters were adopted. This period could be considered one of the most significant in the history ofgairaigo, because it was the first moment when the written communication systems usingkanji were formed.
The first non-Asian countries to have extensive contact with Japan werePortugal and theNetherlands in the 16th and 17th centuries, and Japanese has several loanwords fromPortuguese andDutch, many of which are still used. The interaction between Japan and Portugal lasted from the Late Middle Ages until the early Edo era (1549–1638). An example of the loanwords from Portuguese israsha, meaning a thick wool cloth that was indispensable during the period, but not used often nowadays. In the Edo era (1603–1853), words from the Dutch language, such asglas,gas, andalcohol, started to have an impact in the Japanese language. Also, during the Edo era, many medical words likeGaze (meaninggauze) andneuroses came from German, and many artistic words such asrouge anddessin came from French. Most of thegairaigo since the nineteenth century came from English.
In theMeiji era (late 19th to early 20th century), Japan also had extensive contact withGermany, and gained many loanwords fromGerman, particularly for Western medicine, which the Japanese learned from the Germans. Notable examples includearubaito (アルバイト, part-time work) (often abbreviated tobaito (バイト)) from GermanArbeit ("work"), andenerugī (エネルギー, energy) from GermanEnergie. They also gained several loanwords fromFrench at this time.
In modern times, there are some borrowings from Modern Chinese and Modern Korean, particularly for food names, and these continue as new foods become popular in Japan; standard examples includeūron (烏龍 ウーロン "oolong tea") andkimuchi (キムチ "kimchi"), respectively, while more specialized examples includehoikōrō (回鍋肉 ホイコーロー "twice cooked pork") from Chinese, andbibinba (ビビンバ "bibimbap") from Korean. Chinese words are often represented with Chinese characters, but withkatakana gloss to indicate the unusual pronunciation, while Korean words, which no longer regularly use Chinese characters (hanja), are represented inkatakana. There is sometimes ambiguity in pronunciation of these borrowings, particularly voicing, such asto (ト) vs.do (ド) – compare English'sDaoism–Taoism romanization issue.
Some Modern Chinese borrowings occurred during the 17th and 18th centuries, due both to trade and resident Chinese inNagasaki, and a more recent wave of Buddhist monks, theŌbaku school, whose words are derived from languages spoken inFujian. More recent Korean borrowings are influenced both by proximity, and to the substantial population ofKoreans in Japan since the early 20th century.
In 1889, there were 85gairaigo of Dutch origin and 72gairaigo of English origin listed in a Japanese dictionary.[which?][citation needed] From 1911 to 1924, 51% ofgairaigo listed in dictionaries were of English origin, and today, 80% to 90% ofgairaigo are of English origin.[citation needed]
There have been some borrowings fromSanskrit as well, most notably for religious terms. These words are generally transliterations which were unknowingly borrowed from Chinese.[2]
In some cases,doublets or etymologically related words from different languages may be borrowed and sometimes used synonymously or sometimes used distinctly.
The most common basic example iskappu (カップ, "cup (with handle), mug") from Englishcup versus earlierkoppu (コップ, "cup (without handle), tumbler") from Dutchkop or Portuguesecopo, where they are used distinctly. A similar example isgurasu (グラス, "glass (drinkware)") from Englishglass versus earliergarasu (ガラス, "glass (material); pane") from Dutchglas; thusgarasu no gurasu (ガラスのグラス, "a glass glass") is not redundant but means a drinking vessel specifically made of glass (e.g. as opposed to plastic). A more technical example issorubitōru (ソルビトール) (Englishsorbitol) versussorubitto (ソルビット) (GermanSorbit), used synonymously.
In addition to borrowings, which adopted both meaning and pronunciation, Japanese also has an extensive set of new words that are crafted using existing Chinese morphemes to express a foreign term. These are known aswasei-kango, "Japanese-made Chinese words". This process is similar to the creation ofclassical compounds in European languages. Many were coined in the Meiji period, and these are very common in medical terminology. These are not consideredgairaigo, as the foreign word itself has not been borrowed, and sometimes a translation and a borrowing are both used.
Inwritten Japanese,gairaigo are usually written inkatakana. Older loanwords are also often written usingateji (kanji chosen for their phonetic value, or sometimes for meaning instead) orhiragana, for exampletabako from Portuguese, meaning "tobacco" or "cigarette" can be writtenタバコ (katakana),たばこ (hiragana), or煙草 (thekanji for "smoke grass", but still pronouncedtabako – an example of meaning-basedateji), with no change in meaning. Another common older example istempura, which is usually written in mixedkanji/kana (mazegaki) as天ぷら, but is also written asてんぷら, テンプラ, 天麩羅 (rare kanji) or天婦羅 (common kanji) – here it is sound-basedateji, with the characters used for their phonetic values only.
Fewgairaigo are sometimes written with a singlekanji character (chosen for meaning or newly created); consequently, these are consideredkun'yomi rather thanateji because the single characters are used for meaning rather than for sound and are often written as katakana. An example ispēji (頁、ページ, page); seesingle-character loan words for details.
There are numerous causes for confusion ingairaigo: (1)gairaigo are often abbreviated, (2) their meaning may change (either in Japanese or in the original language after the borrowing has occurred), (3) many words are not borrowed but rather coined in Japanese (wasei-eigo "English made in Japan"), and (4) not allgairaigo come from English.
Due to Japanese pronunciation rules and itsmora-based phonology, many words take a significant amount of time to pronounce. For example, a one-syllable word in a language such as English (brake) often becomes several syllables when pronounced in Japanese (in this case,burēki (ブレーキ), which amounts to four moras). The Japanese language, therefore, contains manyabbreviated and contracted words, and there is a strong tendency to shorten words. This also occurs withgairaigo words. For example, "remote control", when transcribed in Japanese, becomesrimōto kontorōru (リモートコントロール), but this has then been simplified torimokon (リモコン). For another example, the transcribed word for "department store" isdepātomento sutoa (デパートメントストア) but has since been shortened todepāto (デパート).Clipped compounds, such aswāpuro (ワープロ) for "word processor", are common.Karaoke (カラオケ), a combination of the Japanese wordkara "empty" and the clipped form,oke, of the English loanword "orchestra" (J.ōkesutoraオーケストラ), is a clipped compound that has entered the English language. Japanese ordinarily takes the first part of a foreign word, but in some cases the second syllable is used instead; notable examples from English includehōmu (ホーム, from "(train station) plat-form") andnerushatsu (ネルシャツ, "flan-nel shirt").
Some Japanese people are not aware of the origins of the words in their language, and may assume that allgairaigo words are legitimate English words. For example, Japanese people may use words liketēma (テーマ, from GermanThema, meaning "topic/theme") in English, orrimokon, not realizing that the contraction of "remote control" torimokon took place in Japan.
Similarly,gairaigo, while making Japanese easier to learn for foreign students in some cases, can also cause problems due to independentsemantic progression. For example, English "stove", from whichsutōbu (ストーブ) is derived, has multiple meanings. Americans often use the word to mean a cooking appliance, and are thus surprised when Japanese take it to mean a space heater (such as a wood-burning stove). The Japanese term for a cooking stove is anothergairaigo term,renji (レンジ), from the English "range"; a gas stove is agasurenji (ガスレンジ).
Additionally, Japanese combines words in ways that are uncommon in English. As an example,left over is abaseball term for a hit that goes over the left-fielder's head rather than uneaten food saved for a later meal. This is a term that appears to be a loan but is actuallywasei-eigo.
It is sometimes difficult for students of Japanese to distinguish amonggairaigo,giseigo (onomatopoeia), andgitaigo (ideophones: words that represent the manner of an action, like "zigzag" inEnglish —jiguzaguジグザグ in Japanese), which are also written inkatakana.
Wasei-eigo presents more difficulties for Japanese and learners of Japanese as such words, once entered the lexicon, combine to form any number of potentially confusing combinations. For example, the loanwordschance,pink,erotic,over,down,up,in,my, andboom have all enteredwasei-eigo lexicon, combining with Japanese words and other English loanwords to produce any number of combination words and phrases. 'Up', orappu, is famously combined with other words to convey an increase or improvement, such asseiseki appu (increased results) andraifu appu (improved quality of life). 'My', ormai, also regularly appears in advertisements for any number and genre of items. From "My Fanny" toilet paper to "My Hand" electric hand drills,mai serves as a common advertising tool. Infamously, the beverage brand Calpis sold a product namedmai pisu or 'my piss' for a short time.[3]
Wasei-eigo is often employed to disguise or advertise risque or sexual terms and innuendos, especially when used by women.Wasei-eigo terms referencing a person's characteristics, personality, and habits also commonly appear as Japanese street slang, frompoteto chippusu or 'potato chips' for a hick andesu efu 'SF' for a 'sex friend'.[3]
Gairaigo are generally nouns, which can be subsequently used as verbs by adding auxiliary verb-suru (〜する, "to do"). For example, "play soccer" is translated as サッカーをする (sakkā o suru).
Some exceptions exist, such assabo-ru (サボる, "cut class", fromsabotage), which conjugates as a normal Japanese verb – note the unusual use ofkatakana (サボ) followed byhiragana (る). Another example isgugu-ru (ググる, "to google"), which conjugates as a normal Japanese verb, in which the final syllable is converted intookurigana to enable conjugation.
Gairaigo function as do morphemes from other sources, and, in addition towasei eigo (words or phrases from combininggairaigo),gairaigo can combine with morphemes of Japanese or Chinese origin in words and phrases, as injibīru (地ビール, local beer) (comparejizake (地酒, local sake)),yūzāmei (ユーザー名, user name) (compareshimei (氏名, full name)) orseiseki-appu (成績アップ, improve (your) grade).
In set phrases, there is sometimes a preference to use allgairaigo (inkatakana) or allkango/wago (inkanji), as inマンスリーマンション (mansurii manshon, monthly apartment) versus月極駐車場 (tsukigime chūshajō, monthly parking lot), but mixed phrases are common, and may be used interchangeably, as inテナント募集 (tenanto boshū) and入居者募集 (nyūkyosha boshū), both meaning "looking for a tenant".
Borrowings traditionally have had pronunciations that conform to Japanese phonology andphonotactics. For example,platform was borrowed as /hōmu/, because */fo/ is not a sound combination that traditionally occurs in Japanese. However, in recent years, somegairaigo are pronounced more closely to their original sound, which is represented by non-traditional combinations ofkatakana, generally using smallkatakana or diacritics (voicing marks) to indicate these non-traditional sounds. Compareiyahon (イヤホン, "ear-phones") andsumaho (スマホ, "smart phone"), where traditional sounds are used, andsumātofon (スマートフォン, "smart-phone"), a variant of the latter word using traditional sounds, where the non-traditional combinationフォ (fu-o) is used to represent the non-traditional sound combination /fo/. This leads to long words; e.g., the word for "fanfare" is spelled out asfanfāre (ファンファーレ), with sevenkana, no shorter than the Roman alphabet original (it is possible that it was not loaned from English because the "e" is not silent).
Similarly, Japanese traditionally does not have any /v/ phoneme, instead approximating it with /b/, but today /v/ (normally realizednot as [v] but as bilabial [β]) is sometimes used in pronunciations: for example, "violin" can be pronounced eitherbaiorin (バイオリン) orvaiorin (ヴァイオリン), withヴァ (literally "voiced u"+"a") representing /va/.
Another example of the Japanese transformation of English pronunciation istakushī (タクシー), in which the two-syllable wordtaxi becomes three syllables (and four morae, thanks to longī) becauseconsonant clusters do not occur in traditional Japanese (with the exception of the coda ん/ン or /n/), and in which the sound [si] ("see") of English is pronounced [ɕi] (which to monoglot English speakers will sound like "she") because /si/ in Japanese is realized as such.
This change in Japanese phonology following the introduction of foreign words (here primarily from English) can be compared to the earlier posited change in Japanese phonology following the introduction of Chinese loanwords, such asclosed syllables (CVC, not just CV) andlength becoming a phonetic feature with the development of bothlong vowels andlong consonants – seeEarly Middle Japanese: Phonological developments.
Due to the difficulties that Japanese have indistinguishing "l" and "r", this expansion of Japanese phonology has not extended to use of differentkana for /l/ vs. /r/, though application of handakuten for representing /l/ has been proposed as early as Meiji era. Therefore, words with /l/ or /r/ may be spelled identically if borrowed into Japanese. One important exception, however, does occur due to the fact that Japanese typically borrows English words in anon-rhotic fashion.
The English words that are borrowed into Japanese include many of the most useful English words, including high-frequency vocabulary and academic vocabulary. Thusgairaigo may constitute a useful built-in lexicon for Japanese learners of English.
Gairaigo have been observed to aid a Japanese child's learning of English vocabulary. With adults,gairaigo assist in English-word aural recognition and pronunciation, spelling, listening comprehension, retention of spoken and written English, and recognition and recall at especially higher levels of vocabulary. Moreover, in their written production, students of Japanese prefer using English words that have becomegairaigo to those that have not.[4]
The wordarigatō (Japanese for "thank you") sounds similar to the Portuguese wordobrigado, which has the same meaning. Given the number of borrowings from Portuguese, it may seem reasonable to suppose that the Japanese imported that word—which is the explanation accepted and indeed published by many. However,arigatō is not agairaigo; rather, it is an abbreviation ofarigatō gozaimasu, which consists of aninflection of the nativeJapanese adjectivearigatai (有難い) combined with thepolite verbgozaimasu.[5] There is evidence, for example in theMan'yōshū, that the wordarigatai was in use several centuries before contact with the Portuguese. This makes the two termsfalse cognates. If the Portuguese word had been borrowed, it would most likely have taken the form オブリガド (oburigado), or maybeōrigado (due to historicalafu andofu collapsing toō), and while it is even possible that it would be spelled with有難 asateji, it would regardless start witho rather thana, and the finalo would have been short rather than long.
Somegairaigo words have beenreborrowed into their original source languages, particularly in the jargon of fans of Japanese entertainment. For example,anime (アニメ) isgairaigo derived from the English word for "animation", but has been reborrowed by English with the meaning of "Japanese animation". Similarly,puroresu (プロレス) derives from "professional wrestling", and has been adopted by English-speaking wrestling fans as a term for the style of pro wrestling performed in Japan.Kosupure (コスプレ), orcosplay, was formed from the English words "costume play", referring to dressing in costumes such as those of anime,manga, or videogame characters, and is now commonly used in English and other languages (also usingWestern cartoon realms).
There are also rare examples of borrowings from Indo-European languages, which have subsequently been borrowed by other Indo-European languages, thus yielding distant cognates. An example isikura (イクラ, salmon eggs), originally borrowed from Russianикра (ikra), and possibly distantly cognate (from the same Indo-European root) to English "roe" (fish eggs), though the only indication is the shared "r".
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