| Revision as of 04:04, 6 November 2005 editDpr (talk | contribs)5,993 edits →Kotobagari and Ideology← Previous edit | Revision as of 07:43, 6 November 2005 edit undoCarlj7 (talk | contribs)1,549 edits I've never heard Korean called 'Hangul language'; kanji look weird in italics; kanji for the job names. i think they're right…Next edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| '''''Kotobagari''''' ( |
'''''Kotobagari''''' (言葉狩り, lit. "word hunting") refers to the censorship of words considered ] in the ]. It often conveys negative connotations that sarcastically criticize the excess persistence in ]. Words such as '']'' ("foreigner/outsider"), ''rai'' ("]") , ''mekura'' ("blind") , ''tsunbo'' ("deaf") , ''kichigai'' ("crazy"), ''tosatsujō'' ("slaughter house"), and ''hakuchi'' ("moron/retard") are currently not used by the majority of Japanese publishing houses; the publishers often refuse to publish writing which includes these words. | ||
| Critics of ''kotobagari'' point out that the activity often does not serve the purpose of correcting the underlying cause of discrimination. For example, a school janitor in ] used to be called a ''kozukai-san'' ("chore person"). Some felt that the word had a derogatory meaning, so it was changed to '' |
Critics of ''kotobagari'' point out that the activity often does not serve the purpose of correcting the underlying cause of discrimination. For example, a school janitor in ] 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 person") or ''kanrisagyōin'' (管理作業員 "maintenance person") instead, an example of what ] calls the "] treadmill". | ||
| ==Kotobagari and Ideology== | ==Kotobagari and Ideology== | ||
| Kotobagari has lead to a bizarre collection of words that can be highly confusing. | Kotobagari has lead to a bizarre collection of words that can be highly confusing. | ||
| ], the Japanese Broadcasting Company runs a ] study program, but the language is called '']'' "Hangul language" to avoid being politically incorrect. This is like calling an ] course an '']'' study course. 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 ''Chosen language''( |
], the Japanese Broadcasting Company runs a ] study program, but the language is called '']'' "Hangul language" to avoid being politically incorrect. This is like calling an ] course an '']'' study course. 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 ''Chosen 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 an amusing usage of non-existent ''Hangul language'' to refer to Korean language. <!--(It can be noted that in English, ''Hangul'' is sometimes similarly used in colloquial speech.) ed: by whom? I've never heard that…--> | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| Line 12: | Line 12: | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 07:43, 6 November 2005
Kotobagari (言葉狩り, lit. "word hunting") refers to the censorship of words considered politically incorrect in the Japanese language. It often conveys negative connotations that sarcastically criticize the excess persistence in political correctness. Words such as gaijin ("foreigner/outsider"), rai ("leper") , mekura ("blind") , tsunbo ("deaf") , kichigai ("crazy"), tosatsujō ("slaughter house"), and hakuchi ("moron/retard") are currently not used by the majority of Japanese publishing houses; the publishers often refuse to publish writing which includes these words.
Critics of kotobagari point out that the activity often does not serve the purpose of correcting the underlying cause of discrimination. For example, a school janitor in Japan 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 person") or kanrisagyōin (管理作業員 "maintenance person") instead, an example of what Steven Pinker calls the "euphemism treadmill".
Kotobagari and Ideology
Kotobagari has lead to a bizarre collection of words that can be highly confusing.
NHK, the Japanese Broadcasting Company runs a Korean language study program, but the language is called Hangulgo "Hangul language" to avoid being politically incorrect. This is like calling an English language course an Alphabet study course. 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 Chosen 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 an amusing usage of non-existent Hangul language to refer to Korean language.
Categories: