The Language of Civilisation

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1 The Language of Civilisation Identity and Desire in the Meiji Era Japanese Language Reform Debates Naoko Hosokawa 1

2 Meiji Language Reform Debates For and against the language reforms (reduction/abolition of kanji, vernacularisation of written language etc) as part of modernisation process Debates: the origin to the modern construction of national identity in Japan and its relation to the national language Leading to contemporary discussion on the use of language (the use of kanji, keigo and gairaigo etc) 2

3 What is national language? (1) Mori Arinori (1872) All the schools the Empire has had, for many centuries, have been Chinese; and strange to state, we have had no schools nor books in our own language for educational purposes[ ]. The only course to be taken, to secure the desired end, is to start anew, by first phonetic principle. It is contemplated that Roman letters should be adopted (Unger, 1996:14). Roman alphabet = our own? 3

4 What is national language? (2) Inoue Enryô (1900) The Empire of Japan is originally a nation of kanji. Despite this fact, there is increasing number of people who claim improvement of national writing by abolishing kanji, without giving full consideration of its consequence, which is really lamentable Japan = a nation of kanji? 4

5 What is language planning? (1) Kokugo Chôsaiinkai (1902) The objectives of the Committee is to consider possibilities of replacing kanji with hiragana (Japanese cursive syllabaries) or Roman alphabet in writing, and to establish the genbun itchi form (vernacularised written form), as well as to conduct research on dialects in order to establish the standard Japanese Simplification of the national language = the objective of language planning? 5

6 What is language planning? (2) Kokugokai (1905) Simplification [of the written Japanese] would disturb the language and could even influence the national future Simplification = disturbance? Preservation of the traditional form = the objective language planning? 6

7 Two Common Assumptions There is such a thing as the national language, and that it is an important factor in shaping national identity. In order to ensure that the language takes its desired form, there needs to be an institutional body responsible for language planning, which can determine a set of regulations with regard to the use of language at the national level. Meiji Era: the beginning of language planning 7

8 The Pre-Meiji Era (1) The Tokugawa shogunate government ( ) s seclusion policy (1633-) Awareness of Others National nativist studies, called kokugaku, trying to research Japanese native culture independent of Chinese influence (on the framework of the relation between China and Japan) European studies, called rangaku, through the Dutch culture that Japan had limited access to (with denial of revolutionary intention) BUT: There was no modern notion of nationhood in relation to these Others at this time. 8

9 The Pre-Meiji Era (2) Sugita (1969 [1815]:43) All I wanted was to show somehow to the people that the real structure of the human body was different from the one described in Chinese books. I had no other intention in my enterprise Sugita (1969 [1815]:51-52) Dutch [studies in Japan] developed fast, because it expressed facts as they were and it was easier to learn [than Chinese studies] 9

10 Written Language of Pre-Meiji Japan Remarkably different from the speech form Kanbun: enjoyed special privilege (an invisible barrier between classes of the feudal system) - Vocalisation of Chinese text in Chinese pronunciation (kanbun-ondoku) - Rendition of Chinese text in Japanese, by annotating the text with diacritics and numbers to show the Japanese word order (kanbun-kundoku). 10

11 Meiji Restoration Necessity to reform the written language Different possibilities were suggested, from a limitation of kanji use to the entire Romanisation of script as well as vernacularisation of the written language (genbun itchi). Met oppositions: Conflicting worldviews 11

12 Morris-Suzuki (1998) (1) Chinese-derived spatial view : A series of concentric circles [ ] drawn from the Chinese hua-yi (in Japanese ka-i 華夷 ) model of the world, in which barbarism (i) increases the farther one moves away from the settled and civilized center (ka) (Morris-Suzuki, 1998:15) 12

13 Morris-Suzuki (1998) (2) Western-derived temporal view : identified developed and backwards regions in relation to an ideal of progress underdeveloped past and developed future (Morris-Suzuki, 1998:10) 13

14 Language Reform and Worldviews (1) Reformers: Japan as part of the Westernderived developed world through writing system close to that of the West Focus: facilitation of communication across the nation (Yasuda, 2007) Supported reduction/limitation of kanji use and replacement with kana/roman alphabet (or changing the national language to English) and establishment of the genbun itchi style 14

15 Language Reform and Worldviews (2) Conservatives: Japan as part of the Chinesederived central world Focus: Representation of the history and culture of the nation (Yasuda, 2007) Supported the kanbun-based writing system and preservation of numerous kanji 15

16 Purposes of the National Language Attempt to strengthen the solidarity of the nation = national identity Through facilitated communication and education at the national level (presentoriented group) OR Through the common history and tradition understood in kanbun-based writing/kanji (history-oriented group) 16

17 Reform Proposals (1) Maejima Hisoka (1866) Japanese students are required three times as much effort to learn the same thing as the Western students because of the non-vernacularised written system with various styles according to the purposes as well as the numerous kanji 17

18 Reform Proposals (2) Fukuzawa Yukichi (1872, 1898) To reduce the use of kanji to around one thousand and to make the written language accessible to all Mori Arinori (1872,1873) To adopt English as Japanese national language To adopt Roman alphabet for writing of the Japanese language Kokugo Chôsaiinkai (1902) To replace kanji with kana or Roman alphabet, and to establish a genbun itchi writing style 18

19 Emphasis Japanese dependency on Western civilisation could only be one of temporary expediency Japan s independence in the modern world is most important (Fukuzawa, 1872) Mori s position was not a call for a total Westernisation of the country but for a selective appropriation of its forms of economic and social development (Swale, 2000:102). Independence of the Japanese nation as a developed nation based on the Western-derived temporal view 19

20 Oppositions to Reform Miyake Setsurei (1895) As our country had long exchanged knowledge mainly with China through kanji before the arrival of the Roman alphabet, I sincerely feel the necessity to know kanji Inoue Enryô (1900) Kokugokai (1905) Valued Buddhism, Confucianism, and Chinese classics 20

21 Emphasis Western learning: would be simply hastening the country s corruption BUT: the independence of the national language strengthens the independence of the nation (Kokugokai 1905) Even though their claim appears to be traditional, their use of the term kokugo (national language) and their attempt to preserve the old writing system at the national level reveals its acceptance of the modern national system. 21

22 Conclusion One can therefore explain the language debates in Meiji Japan as a contest between conflicting interpretations of Japan as a modern nation. The interpretational oppositions based on the Japanese national identity persist in the contemporary discussion on the use of language. 22

23 References (selection) (1) Blacker, Carmen. The Japanese Enlightenment: A Study of the writings of Fukuzawa Yukichi. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Fukuzawa, Yukichi. The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa. Translated by Dilworth, David. A. New York and Chicester: Columbia University Press, Fukuzawa, Yukichi. An Encouragement of Learning. Tokyo: Sophia University Press, Gottlieb, Nanette. Kanji Politics: Language Policy and Japanese Script. London and New York: Kegan Paul International Hall, Ivan Parker. Mori Arinori. Harvard East Asian Series 68. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, Maejima, Hisoka. Kokuji Kokubun Kairyô Kengisho. Kindai Digital Library. Tokyo: National Diet Library, (accessed January 26, 2011). 23

24 References (selection) (2) Morris-Suzuki, Tessa. Re-Inventing Japan: Time Space Nation. New York and London: M.E. Sharpe, Twine, Nanette. Language and the Modern State: The Reform of Written Japanese. London and New York: Routledge, Sugita, Genpaku. Dawn of Western Science in Japan (Rangaku Kotohajime). Tokyo: Hokuseido Press Swale, Alistair. The Political Thought of Mori Arinori. Surrey: Japan Library, 2000 Unger, J. Marshall. Literacy and Script Reform in Occupation Japan. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, Yasuda, Toshiaki. Kokugo Shingikai. Tokyo: Kôdansha Shinsho, Kokugomondai Kyôgikai National Diet Library Kindai Digital Library 24

The Chinese Language and Language Planning in China. By Na Liu, Center for Applied Linguistics

The Chinese Language and Language Planning in China By Na Liu, Center for Applied Linguistics This brief introduces the Chinese language and its varieties and describes Chinese language planning initiatives