Sanseido Kokugo Jiten
Encyclopedia
The , or the Sankoku for short, is a general-purpose Japanese dictionary. It is closely affiliated with another contemporary dictionary published by Sanseido
, the Shin Meikai kokugo jiten
.
The Sanseidō kokugo jiten has been revised about once a decade.
Japanese linguist
and lexicographer Kenbō Hidetoshi (見坊豪紀, 1914-1992) was chief editor of the first four editions. Among his prominent coeditors, Kindaichi Kyōsuke (金田一京助, 1882-1971), his son Kindaichi Haruhiko (金田一春彦, 1913-2004), and Yamada Tadao (山田忠雄, 1916-1996) began with the 1st edition; Shibata Takeshi (柴田武) with the 2nd; Hida Yoshifumi (飛田良文) with the 4th; and Ichikawa Takashi (市川孝) began editing with the 5th edition Sanseidō kokugo jiten. Several of these lexicographers worked together on a predecessor Sanseido dictionary, the Meikai kokugo jiten (明解国語辞典). Kenbō began working with its chief editor Kindaichi Kyōsuke on the 1st edition (1943) and was an editor on the 2nd edition (1952).
In 1959, Sanseido placed Kenbō in charge of the Sanseidō kokugo jiten, and subsequently put Yamada in charge of the comparatively larger Shin Meikai kokugo jiten (1972 … 2005). The 1st edition Sanseidō kokugo jiten (1960) had 57,000 headword
s, while the 2nd-5th editions increased the numbers to 62,000 (1974), 65,000 (1982), 73,000 (1992), and 76,000 (2001) respectively.
Emphasizing contemporary usage is one of Sanseidō kokugo jitens most significant contributions to modern Japanese lexicography
. Many traditional Japanese dictionaries copy usage examples from earlier dictionaries, often taken from Classical Japanese language
sources. When Kenbō Hidetoshi began compiling the 1st edition, he started collecting Japanese word usages from newspapers, magazines, and broadcasts, which he would write on cards. By the time he died, he had recorded some 1,400,000 usage example cards.
The Sanseidō kokugo jiten is known for including neologisms, katakana
loanword
s, and informal expressions. Tom Gally, a Japanese translator and lexicographer, gives this evaluation:
Sanseido
is a Japanese publishing company known for publishing dictionaries and textbooks....
, the Shin Meikai kokugo jiten
Shin Meikai kokugo jiten
The , commonly called the Shinmeikai or affectionately the , is a popular Japanese dictionary published by Sanseido. They also publish the analogous Sanseido Kokugo Jiten dictionary, a lexicographical sister that shares several of the same editors....
.
The Sanseidō kokugo jiten has been revised about once a decade.
- 1960, 1st edition
- 1974, 2nd edition
- 1982, 3rd edition
- 1992, 4th edition
- 2001, 5th edition
- 2007, 6th edition
Japanese linguist
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and lexicographer Kenbō Hidetoshi (見坊豪紀, 1914-1992) was chief editor of the first four editions. Among his prominent coeditors, Kindaichi Kyōsuke (金田一京助, 1882-1971), his son Kindaichi Haruhiko (金田一春彦, 1913-2004), and Yamada Tadao (山田忠雄, 1916-1996) began with the 1st edition; Shibata Takeshi (柴田武) with the 2nd; Hida Yoshifumi (飛田良文) with the 4th; and Ichikawa Takashi (市川孝) began editing with the 5th edition Sanseidō kokugo jiten. Several of these lexicographers worked together on a predecessor Sanseido dictionary, the Meikai kokugo jiten (明解国語辞典). Kenbō began working with its chief editor Kindaichi Kyōsuke on the 1st edition (1943) and was an editor on the 2nd edition (1952).
In 1959, Sanseido placed Kenbō in charge of the Sanseidō kokugo jiten, and subsequently put Yamada in charge of the comparatively larger Shin Meikai kokugo jiten (1972 … 2005). The 1st edition Sanseidō kokugo jiten (1960) had 57,000 headword
Headword
A headword, head word, lemma, or sometimes catchword is the word under which a set of related dictionary or encyclopaedia entries appear. The headword is used to locate the entry, and dictates its alphabetical position...
s, while the 2nd-5th editions increased the numbers to 62,000 (1974), 65,000 (1982), 73,000 (1992), and 76,000 (2001) respectively.
Emphasizing contemporary usage is one of Sanseidō kokugo jitens most significant contributions to modern Japanese lexicography
Lexicography
Lexicography is divided into two related disciplines:*Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries....
. Many traditional Japanese dictionaries copy usage examples from earlier dictionaries, often taken from Classical Japanese language
Classical Japanese language
The is the literary form of the Japanese language that was the standard until the early Shōwa period . It is based on Early Middle Japanese, the language as spoken during the Heian era , but exhibits some later influences. Its use started to decline during the late Meiji period when novelists...
sources. When Kenbō Hidetoshi began compiling the 1st edition, he started collecting Japanese word usages from newspapers, magazines, and broadcasts, which he would write on cards. By the time he died, he had recorded some 1,400,000 usage example cards.
The Sanseidō kokugo jiten is known for including neologisms, 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...
loanword
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
s, and informal expressions. Tom Gally, a Japanese translator and lexicographer, gives this evaluation:
Like the other Sanseidou dictionaries, this one has a strong contemporary emphasis and shows the influence of its late editor's renowned citation collecting. The entries include many colloquialisms that were missed or ignored by other lexicographers. (1999)