Ambiguity & hierarchy
Carraro, Robert J.
JAPAN IN TRANSLATION AMBIGUITY & HIERARCHY WHY AMERICANS DON'T GET IT Language is something that most of us take for granted. Yet it is the ability to communicate with one another that binds us...
...The Japanese are born into a society clearly divided into three categories: senpai (one's senior), kohai (one's junior), and doryo (one's equal...
...But for all the emphasis on "ranking-consciousness" in Japanese society, it is often purely symbolic...
...When he marries, his wife, even if younger than yourself, would henceforth be addressed as "older sister...
...Even among doryo, differences such as age, year of entry into an organization, or year of graduation from school contribute to a sense of senpai and kohai...
...The Japanese obsession with the indispensable calling card is related to the importance of status and hierarchy...
...Although the deftness to utilize the unique intricacies of language may have some usefulness in bilateral negotiations, the inability to react quickly to changes in the international environment handicaps Japan in multilateral forums and betrays a detachment from issues of global concern...
...This is even true among family members...
...Even if interpreted in a literally accurate way, some statements can assume different shades of meaning...
...Seldom can one individual, regardless of status, make important decisions unilaterally without ruffling some feathers...
...Much more so than Americans, the Japanese place great importance on social hierarchy...
...Other words that appear primarily in literary works and samurai dramas include Ware, Wagahai, Onore, Sessha, Temae, and Yo...
...The Japanese believe that decisions should be made by consensus-generating consultations so as to avoid personal confrontation...
...Where American society stresses equality, the Japanese consider the ranking of individuals both natural and inevitable...
...To the chagrin of their foreign counterparts, the Japanese, when confronted with an unpleasant demand for some action, are likely to say something like "zensho shimasu," which roughly translates as, "we will take the appropriate steps to deal with the situation...
...The diversity of usage in a language inherently reflects the customs and interests of the society speaking it...
...Individual dignity in Japan is often derived from and inextricably tied to one's relationship to family, school, and workplace...
...Even when Japanese political leaders like Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa make disparaging remarks about American workers, they are doing so in the belief that they are merely reinforcing obvious and commonly held opinions...
...Commonweal 5 June 1992: 7 In Japan, it is considered polite to address someone according to his or her specific status appellation, such as okusan (the lady of the house) or kacho (division chief...
...Keigo is a rigidly formal type of Japanese...
...As a long-time student of the Japanese language, I have found it to be exceptionally distinctive and rich, defining the Japanese more than any other element of their culture...
...ROBERT J. CARRARO 8: 5 June 1992 Commonweal...
...American government officials often grumble that their Japanese counterparts make what appear to be clear concessions, only to heavily qualify them at a later date...
...All languages provide some means of vagueness, yet an intentional lack of clarity is more easily accomplished in Japanese than in most European languages...
...It is a unique language, not clearly belonging to any family of languages...
...While the Japanese may seek to avoid blatant appearances of animosity, they have obtained economic success as much through toughness in negotiations as through high quality production...
...For example, the younger man would ask the other man if he had eaten by saying "Meshiagari mashita ka...
...But the older man would ask the same question of his junior by saying, "Tabe mashita ka...
...But they have not yet acquired the ability to communicate to the world a greater sense of trust, a belief in a common destiny with the rest of the world that is commensurate with Japan's capacity to make significant contributions toward solving our common problems...
...The Japanese have clearly mastered the skills necessary to develop and maintain fruitful economic relations...
...Though no nation is now more dependent on the global flow of trade than Japan, the psychological effects of isolation still linger...
...Throughout its history Japan has been the most geographically and spiritually isolated of the world's major countries...
...Points are argued in a loose, circular manner with suggestions and inference, rather than the get-to-the-point way of most Americans...
...Not surprisingly, this is reflected in the language...
...Indeed, English and Japanese have such widely different structures, with syntax largely reversed, that smooth and precise simultaneous interpretation is nearly impossible...
...Presumably clear comments can become obscure and jokes are often met with blank stares...
...This has the sound of appearing as though the speaker has the other's interest at heart but in reality it is a vague statement and commits the speaker to nothing...
...In addition to the most common word Watashi, are Watakushi (polite), Atashi (standard, female only), Washi (informal, older men only), Boku (informal, younger men only), Ore (very informal, men only), Jibun (military), and Uchi (female dialect...
...The speaker of keigo in essence supplicates himself to the other person...
...When Japanese and Americans sit down together, often much is lost in the translation, by estimates a dangerous 20 percent between speaker and interpreter, and another 20 percent between interpreter and listener...
...That many Japanese were genuinely surprised by the intensity of our anger over such comments is a sign of the inherently insular nature of Japanese society...
...Such cards enable individuals meeting for the first time to quickly learn one another's affiliation and title, making clear the language appropriate for the occasion...
...If one were to overhear a conversation between two Japanese men—without seeing their faces—one could quickly determine which of them is the senior, simply by the choice of words...
...Japanese negotiators have skillfully used the ambiguity or aimai of their language to avoid taking undesirable positions on sticky matters...
...A brother born before you would usually be called "older brother...
...This ability to pass on thought without words is known to the Japanese as ishin-denshin, literally "what the mind thinks, the heart transmits...
...In many ways it is a distinct language, invoking an entirely different vocabulary...
...Yet it is the ability to communicate with one another that binds us to our culture and our heritage...
...There are nearly a dozen different terms for "I" or "me," depending on the speaker's sex and social status relative to the person being addressed...
...This is the result of Japan's long history of hereditary power and aristocratic rule...
...There are no specific barriers in the Japanese language that prevent clear and concise presentation of thought, but the Japanese feel that often they can best convey attitudes and views by means of innuendo and nonverbal communication...
Vol. 119 • June 1992 • No. 11
