March 14th, 2008Is Katakana English Unnecessary?
We wouldn’t know it by his name, but Michihiro Matsumoto has a problem with katakana, a Japanese character set that is mainly used when spelling words originating from a foreign language. An English education specialist, Matsumoto has been on a mission to combat something called “Katakana English,” words that originate from English but are difficult for native English speakers to understand.
In 2001 he wrote a book on the subject and later help a symposium in Fukuoka. His main argument is that if Japanese people would learn real English from childhood rather than Katakana English, it would improve communication between Japan and the rest of the English-speaking world. Case-in-point would be a word like “furonto garasu” (front glass - フロントガラス) which, in English, is “windshield.”
But is this really a problem?
Having lived and worked in this country for less than a year, I can’t pretend to be an expert on all the crazy English that a native English speaker can find in this country, but I can tell you that working with Katakana English words can be just as foreign as words we find in the ubiquitously eloquent Japanese language.
I had thought that reading technical papers in Japanese would be relatively easy, as most of the papers seem to be replete with katakana. Unfortunately, this is not the case as standard computer terms like “hard drive” (haado disku doraibu - ハードディスクドライブ) and “wireless encryption algorithm” (無線暗号化アルゴリズム) become obtusely unreadable.
I look forward to the day I can actually read and speak in Japanese like a semi-literate adult. Saying I’m illiterate while my 29th birthday approaches is embarrassing.
Do We Need Katakana?
So if the incorporation of foreign words into the Japanese lexicon is rendered moot after the requisite adaptation to fit the requirements of katakana, why are the Japanese still using katakana? Everyone here can read romaji (the English alphabet), so wouldn’t it make more sense just to use those characters and keep the original spelling of the word intact?
It’s a question I’ve asked a few times, but never really heard an answer that makes any long-term sense.
Of course, there isn’t much chance of katakana being phased out anytime soon. The character set is found everywhere in this country, and it would be far too costly to change over all the documents, signs, posters and everything else containing katakana to the more Western-friendly romaji character system. It’s the same type of argument we hear when America is asked about their reluctance to use the metric system.
So if katakana is here to stay, at least for the time being, and Katakana English remains a standard for the next half-century or so, what can the Japanese education system do to give students a leg-up when learning the language?
Here’s a novel idea: how about schools actually make their students actively use the language in classes?
English, for the most part, is not really spoken during most English classes in Japan. Students instead focus more on reading, vocabulary and grammar. Without any time to actively use the language they’re investing so much effort into, how can educators seriously expect anyone to get around the problems introduced by Katakana English?
Foreigners Shouldn’t Be The Reason For This Argument
People learning the Japanese language know there will be a steep learning curve, and our occasional confusion or frustration with Katakana English (don’t get me started on the pronunciation of McDonald’s - マクドナルド) shouldn’t be used as part of the reason behind elimination of Katakana English. Instead, more focus could be placed on improving a system that has long been considered incomplete: English language education.
In Japan, students are expected to have six years of English language education by the time they finish high school. Considering how 98% of all post-secondary schools in this country tests a person’s English ability as part of the entrance examination, one would expect that most students would have a functional knowledge of the language. Sadly, this is not the case.
Instead, students receive six years of passive English education, where the language is essentially lectured at them as though the subject were no different than physics or calculus. While this often creates a student that has a solid understanding of basic grammar and a decent vocabulary, it does nothing for being able to communicate with an English speaker. It’s this reason that so many Japanese people later join English conversation schools where natives then focus primarily on speech rather than the other areas of language usage.
I’m not complaining about this last point, though, as both Reiko and I work at companies that offer English conversation. That said, one of the most common observations about customers of these language centers is the surprising level of English, or lack thereof, in recent post-secondary graduates.
A Different Caliber of Language Instruction
Learning another language is often a compulsory part of most educations around the world, and the practice certainly has its advantages. However, how many of us have been forced to take up a language that we don’t particularly care to learn because we don’t see the need in our future?
I’m sure that many of us can safely say that after a year or two of not using our alternative language skills, what little knowledge we had acquired is effectively gone, but it usually doesn’t take much to bring back the very basics.
For this reason, the Japanese education system should really look at re-vamping their language instruction methods. Katakana English is fine, and it works well here because the Japanese people just don’t use sounds the same way as their European counterparts. However, by offering some better language instruction and giving students the opportunity to actively speak the language in and around schools, the future generation of men and women will have a much better chance of communicating with any foreigners they may encounter.
English doesn’t need to be hammered into the kids attending school, as that would just make them dislike the language more. However, by offering students the opportunity to speak and make pronunciation errors in the classroom rather than the real world, educators could do themselves a service while also taking a chunk out of the poorer quality English language schools that are operating in every corner of this country.
What do you think of Katakana English and it’s pervasiveness in society? Is this really a problem like Michihiro Matsumoto believes?
This reminds me of a speech by former prime minister Abe. The video seems to have disappeared from the net, but…
One way to address this problem is to change how English tests are put together. TOEIC, TOEFL and Eiken are very much multiple choice tests which tap into that passive knowledge students have, but don’t really get them producing the language. If you compare them to the Cambridge PET test for example, the difference is clear, e.g:
If companies like TOEIC stopped churning out multiple choice, “fast-food”, for-profit English tests that don’t require language production and are impossible to fail, we might see a change in attitude. If students really need to learn and produce the language for themselves, they’d probably find katakana English more of a hinderance than a help.
I find Katakana English funny and I try to speak it as much as possible around the office.
What I think is unecessary is Kanji. The need to follow the Koreans lead and phase out Chinese characters. Crunching Kanji is tough.
@Nick - I agree that TOEIC and TOEFL could stand to go through a bit of a revision to give students a better test of their English abilities, but that probably won’t happen anytime soon. TOEIC and TOEFL are handled by the same standardized test company that does all the multiple-choice intelligence and proficiency tests that we see in North American schools. With such a cash cow in place now, and considering how none of the North American schools are likely to piss off this test-creating company, the odds of something changing there are slim and none.
Then again, if the Japanese education system gets serious about English, then perhaps it would be the Japanese that would find TOEIC and TOEFL to be too bland and basic, then demand something else.
Hmm … maybe not.
@Gus - Kanji is certainly a bit of a hassle to learn, and it does make the language seem much more difficult to new speakers, but I doubt this will disappear anytime soon. That said, you might be interested in this article on Ampontan’s site about Kanji and how technology has made it even more difficult for people to know what they’re saying.
It’s an interesting read, to say the least.
To be honest, I have a problem with Katakana English only because in a lot of cases there are perfectly good Japanese words that already exist. There are signs above vending machines in the station that say SUICAチャージ（ご入金）. Now, my complaint with that.. why try to cram “charge” down people’s throats when the Japanese word “gonyuukin” already exists and is in common enough use that it has to be used to explain “charge”?
My friend works at a company where the boss keeps coming around and telling them that it’s time for a ミーティング rather than the perfectly useful word 会議. Why do we eat セット instead of 定食? And don’t tell me that the Japanese had never heard of kissing until the English told them about it and provided a word.