Gairaigo ( 外来 語 , lit. “word coming from outside”) [1] - a class of vocabulary in Japanese that combines borrowings from other languages, with the exception of Chinese (for words of Chinese origin there is a separate term - kango ).
Content
Description
Most gairaigo is recorded as katakana . Previously, ateji were used for this purpose. The number of gairaigo in modern texts, especially in scientific and scientific-technical literature, is very significant and reaches 30–70% of the total number of characters in separate fragments. Dictionaries of new gairaigo are regularly published in the country.
On the basis of borrowed words, word formation occurs, often with a shift in meaning ( vasei-eigo ): ク ー ラ ーku: ra: - from English. cooler - air conditioning; ト ラ ン ジ ス タToranjisuta - from the English. transistor ( slang . transistor radio ) - colloquially lively, lively person.
A good knowledge of English (or knowledge of English terminology in the area of interest) allows in most cases to quickly find out in a word written in the alphabet of Katakana its English equivalent. However, due to the natural difference between English and Japanese phonetics, some words become difficult to recognize. In these cases, it becomes necessary to know the rules of transcription. It should also be noted that some of the borrowings, especially the latest ones, are not reflected in the issued dictionaries and may not be included in the dictionaries afterwards.
Layers of Vocabulary
- Primary borrowings from European languages (XVI-XVIII centuries), mainly from Portuguese and Dutch - for the most part these are the names of objects previously unknown in Japan: コ ー ヒ ーko: hee: - coffee , ガ ラ スgarasu - glass , タ バ コtobacco - cigarettes , tobacco . These words have no Japanese counterparts, can be written in hieroglyphics, selected mainly by sound (珈 琲 - coffee , 硝 子 - glass ), less often in meaning (煙草 - tobacco ), although now such a record is considered obsolete.
- Numerous borrowings from the time of the bourgeois revolution (1867-1868) to the 30s of the XX century (about 5500 words) from English, French, German, Russian (for example, the word イ ク ラikura comes from Russian caviar ).
- Post-war borrowings from the middle of the 20th century to the present day, mainly from the American dialect of English. At the moment they are found in speech more often than others.
Examples
| Transliteration | Japanese | Original | Meaning in Japanese | Original language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| kappa | 合 羽 | capa | raincoat | Portuguese |
| otemba | お 転 婆 | ontembaar (= uncontrolled) | tomboy girl | Dutch |
| arubaito ／ byte | ア ル バ イ ト ／ バ イ ト | Arbeit (= work) | part-time work | Deutsch |
| abecca | ア ベ ッ ク | avec (= together with) | romantic couple | French |
| adzhito | ア ジ ト | propaganda center | villain's den | Russian |
| afutasabisu | ア フ タ ー サ ー ビ ス | after service (= service after (sale)) | customer service, user support, services | English |
Notes
- ↑ Vardul I.F. Institute of Asian Peoples (USSR Academy of Sciences). Japanese studies . - Science, 1967 .-- S. 123.
- Country word groups
- Japanese words of Portuguese origin
- Japanese words of Dutch origin
- Japanese words of German origin
- Japanese words of French origin
- Japanese words of Russian origin
- Japanese words of English origin
Literature
- V.M. Alpatov. Japan: language and society. - ISBN 5-8463-0093-6 .