Kotobagari
Encyclopedia
refers to the reluctance to use words that are considered politically incorrect
in the Japanese language
. For instance words such as , , tsunbo (聾 "deaf"), oshi (唖 "deaf-mute"), kichigai (気違い or 気狂い "crazy"), tosatsujō (屠殺場 "slaughter house"), and hakuchi (白痴 "moron/retard") are currently not used by the majority of Japanese publishing houses; the publishers often refuse to publish writing which includes these words.
Another example is a school janitor in Japan
was used to be called a kozukai-san (小使いさん "chore person"). Some felt that the word had a derogatory meaning, so it was changed to yōmuin (用務員 "task person"). Now yōmuin is considered demeaning, so there is shift to use kōmuin (校務員 "school task member") or kanrisagyōin (管理作業員 "maintenance member") instead. Linguist Stephen Pinker calls this shift the euphemism treadmill.
Other examples of words which have become unacceptable include the replacement of the word hyakushō (百姓) for farmer with nōka (農家), or the replacement of the word shina
(支那) for China
written in kanji
with the version written in katakana
(シナ) or with the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese name for China, Chūgoku (中国).
NHK
, the Japanese Broadcasting Company runs a Korean language
study program, but the language is called "Hangul
" to avoid being politically incorrect. This is a result of both the North and South Korean governments demanding that the program be called by the name of one country
. North Korea
wanted the show to be called "Chōsen language" (朝鮮語) taken from its full name, 朝鮮民主主義人民共和国 or Democratic People's Republic of Korea. South Korea
wanted "Kankoku language" (韓国語) from 大韓民国 or Republic of Korea. As a compromise, "Hangul" was selected, but this has led to the use of the neologism "Hangul language" (ハングル語) to refer to the Korean language; "Hangul" normally refers to the Korean writing system.
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
in the Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
. For instance words such as , , tsunbo (聾 "deaf"), oshi (唖 "deaf-mute"), kichigai (気違い or 気狂い "crazy"), tosatsujō (屠殺場 "slaughter house"), and hakuchi (白痴 "moron/retard") are currently not used by the majority of Japanese publishing houses; the publishers often refuse to publish writing which includes these words.
Another example is a school janitor in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
was used to be called a kozukai-san (小使いさん "chore person"). Some felt that the word had a derogatory meaning, so it was changed to yōmuin (用務員 "task person"). Now yōmuin is considered demeaning, so there is shift to use kōmuin (校務員 "school task member") or kanrisagyōin (管理作業員 "maintenance member") instead. Linguist Stephen Pinker calls this shift the euphemism treadmill.
Other examples of words which have become unacceptable include the replacement of the word hyakushō (百姓) for farmer with nōka (農家), or the replacement of the word shina
Shina (word)
are Romanized Japanese transliterations for the Chinese character compound "支那" which is viewed by most Chinese people as an offensive term for China...
(支那) for China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
written in kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
with the version written in katakana
Katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
(シナ) or with the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese name for China, Chūgoku (中国).
Kotobagari and Ideology
Kotobagari has led to some confusing terminology.NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
, the Japanese Broadcasting Company runs a Korean language
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
study program, but the language is called "Hangul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
" to avoid being politically incorrect. This is a result of both the North and South Korean governments demanding that the program be called by the name of one country
Names of Korea
There are various names of Korea in use today, derived from ancient kingdoms and dynasties. The modern English name Korea is an exonym derived from the Goryeo period and is used by both North Korea and South Korea in international contexts...
. North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
wanted the show to be called "Chōsen language" (朝鮮語) taken from its full name, 朝鮮民主主義人民共和国 or Democratic People's Republic of Korea. South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
wanted "Kankoku language" (韓国語) from 大韓民国 or Republic of Korea. As a compromise, "Hangul" was selected, but this has led to the use of the neologism "Hangul language" (ハングル語) to refer to the Korean language; "Hangul" normally refers to the Korean writing system.