When learning a new language, there are many steps one must
overcome when trying to become fluent in that language. These rules may
pertain to phonology or pronunciation, then grammar which can include
morphology and syntax and finally semantics and pragmatics. Some of
these rules have to be learned and memorized such as pronunciation or
grammar but other rules are more culturally influenced and take more
than just memorization to understand. They take an understanding of that
culture and without that understanding one cannot use those rules
appropriately. Japanese is one of those languages. Let us look at the
example below:
Takahiro san, a student wants to consult with his sensei about a project
that he is working on. He meets her in the hallway after class. Out of the
following two requests, which request is more appropriate?
Takahiro:
相談したいことがあるので、今晩、先生の家に電話します。
(OR)
Takahiro:
ご相談したいことがあるんですが、今晩、先生のお宅にお
電話してもよろしいでしょうか。
Both requests are the same but the second request is definitely more
appropriate. Why? The answer lies within a very old, yet important aspect
of the Japanese language. An aspect one can only really learn through
experience but without it one cannot fully be fluent in the Japanese
language.
This characteristic of the Japanese Language is keigo (honorific
language). Keigo is not exclusively a Japanese language trait, but can be
found throughout Asian languages. Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai,
Burmese and Javanese all have their form of keigo.
A particular trait of keigo is using exalted references for others,
and more humble terms for oneself. One must watch their usage of keigo,
for if it is used in the wrong context it can be insulting to the recipient, and
may denote a lack of culture or intelligence in the speaker. One must
moderate keigo dependent upon to whom one speaks. One would exalt
one's employer, but speak modestly of other heads of companies.
(japanese.about.com)
This distinction originated from Japan's feudal past in which
precise lingual usage was a rigid social compact instilled among the social
classes (ex. Emperor, Samurai, Common Folks, etc.).(www.bus.utexas.edu)
An original and traditional purpose of honorifics was to maintain the
feudalistic system. By using honorific words, people understood who was to
be respected and who must pay respect. In other words, the feudalistic
system was the mother of honorifics, while the honorific system
simultaneously helped to sustain feudalism.
Another fundamental feature of the Japanese honorific system: it
is used to indicate upper and lower relationships defined by Confucianism.
In Confucianism, children must respect to their parents, young people
must pay respect to the elderly, and students must regard their teachers.
Today, these relationships, which come from Confucianism, are
obviously dying; children are likely to talk with their parents in the same
way that they talk with their friends. But there was a time when the
proverb "Do not step on the shadow of your teacher" enjoyed broad usage in
Japan. Nevertheless, today, Confucianistic relationships have almost
disappeared as a result of the changes following World War II, and as we
know, Japan is no longer a feudalistic country. So the question arises, how
are honorifics used in a society without feudalism and Confucianism? The
answer to this question comes easily. The remains of feudalism still survive
in relationships between companies, and the ghosts of Confucianism still
stroll through the office. (www4.ocn.ne.jp)
Keigo (敬語) is classified into four types: sonkeigo, kenjougo,
keibutsugo and teineigo. Sonkeigo (尊敬語), or honorable form includes
expressions or honorifics that are used when the addressee is in a higher
position than the addressor. This person could be a teacher, customer or
supervisor. If you are not on intimate terms with a certain business
associate, sonkeigo must be used. Not only would you use sonkeigo with a
superior about what the addressee is doing but you would also use
sonkeigo with a superior when talking about a third person. For example,
sensei ga Tokyo ni ikaremasu (the teacher will go to Tokyo.) Ikaremasu is
an expression of sonkeigo and it means, "go." You can also use
dekakeraremasu or irassharu in place of ikaremasu.
Kenjougo (謙譲語), or humble form are expressions to use when
the speaker is in a lower position than the addressee. The subject in a
kenjougo sentence is "I" or the speaker. For example, watashi ga Tokyo ni
mairimasu (I will go to Tokyo). Mairimasu is an expression of kenjougo and
it means "go." You can use ukagaimasu and ikasete itadakimasu in place of
mairimasu. (www.tokujo.ac.jp)
Keibetsugo (軽蔑語) includes those words used rather casually to
intimate friends or slightly disrespectfully to “social inferiors”. This type
includes a range of forms which can become sharper and more vitriolic
depending upon the person addressed.
Teineigo (丁寧語), or polite form is used by the speaker to express
politeness to the listener. A quality of teineigo is different from sonkeigo
and kenjougo in that teineigo is used with no relation to position of the
speaker or the listener. For example, watashi ga Tokyo ni ikimasu (I will go
to Tokyo). Sensei ga Tokyo ni ikimasu (the teacher will go to Tokyo).
Ikimasu is an expression of teineigo and it means "go." (Sugawara, 1989)
Verb
Variant
Japanese
Romanized
Usage
Speaker
Informal:
Iku
to
Suborindate or
Among
Close
Friends
Polite:
Ikimasu
All Situations
Speaker
Honorific:
Irrasyaimasu
to
Superior
(In
reference
to Superior)
Speaker
Humble:
Mairimasu
to
Superior
(In
reference
to Speaker)
(www.bus.utexas.edu)
However, not all verbs in the Japanese language change
accordingly. The set described above is that of a closed class of verbs that
act in this way. The majority of verbs form the honorific, polite and humble
in a much different but productive way.
Honorific verbs are formed but utilizing the honorific “お” prefixed
to the base verb followed by ni naru/narimasu. The polite form is still the
same with the –masu suffix affixed to the base form of the verb. The
humble form also uses the honorific “お” prefixed to the base form of the
verb followed by suru. Let us look at the example below:
Takahiro:
明日、その本をお書きになりますか。
Sensei:
いいえ。書きません。あなたわ。
Takahiro:
はい、お書きします。
Takahiro first asks a question concerning the teacher’s possible action. By
using the honorific “お” and “ni narimasu”, Takahiro is showing respect to
his teacher. The teacher’s response uses polite form because the teacher is
in a position of superiority and does not need to use sonkeigo or konjougo.
Finally, Takahiro discloses his own intent for action and hence humbles
himself out of respect by using konjougo.(Tsujimura, 1996)
This hiragana prefix
and
respectively can also be used
to convert regular nouns into polite nouns. This process enables the
speaker to convey a certain degree of courtesy to the recipient via the mere
mention of a subject or title. Examples of these nouns are shown below:
English
Japanese Romanized Japanese Romanized
(Regular) (Regular)
(Polite)
(Polite)
Introduce
Shokai
Go-Shokai
Parents
Ryoshin
Go-Ryoshin
Liquor
Sake
O-Sake
Errand
Tsukai
O-Tsukai
(www.bus.utexas.edu)
Like the previously discussed closed class of honorific verbs,
which undergo complete morphosynthesis, there are nouns that undergo a
complete change as well. These nouns still take the prefixes お and ご
respectively. An example is the Japanese equivalent for house. Regularly,
house is 家, or いえ, but honorably it becomes お宅, or おたく. Also,
family terminology can take change when made honorable. Brother, 兄, (あ
に) and sister, 姉,（あね）become お兄さん and お姉さん, respectively.
Pronouns too, depending on the situation or who one is talking to
become affected by keigo. According to one scholar, throughout the history
of the Japanese language there have been fifty-one different first person
pronouns, eighty-one different second person pronouns and twenty-seven
third person pronouns. For first person pronouns there is watakushi, used
more formally followed by watashi. Boku is used by men only and with
equals or those who are inferior to them. Temae is used to humble oneself
especially used among merchants. For second person pronouns, anata is
used most and is considered standard and formal. When one uses boku as a
first person pronoun, kimi is used as second person pronoun and conveys a
feeling of casualness among equals. Finally, for third person pronouns,
kare and kanajo are used. However, it should be noted that Japanese
people always use the person’s name rather than a third person pronoun.
San or the more formal sama is placed after the person’s name. (Sugawara,
1989)
In the office usually a superior is addressed by their position.
However, in recent years sensei has become more popular. Generally
limited to teachers and doctors sensei has become more in use when
regarding superiors in positions such as politicians, artists, and specialists
in a particular field. As much as sensei is used however, for third person
reference, a name and that person’s position is considered best to be used.
(Mizutani, 1981)
Finally, keigo can be conveyed syntactically like English. That is
in sentence length. An English example of politeness may be as follows:
Informal:
Excuse me, but what is the time?
Formal:
I am very sorry to bother you but would you be so kind as
to tell me the time please?
As you can see in these examples an English speaker will lengthen the
question or take more effort if you will when making a request. In the
second sentence the speaker is apologizing for bothering the addressee and
using the polite modal, would and ending with the polite marker of please.
The first sentence is very straightforward and blunt making it less formal
than that of the second.
In Japanese too, this method of politeness is used as in the
following illustration:
Speaker:
読んでください。
Speaker:
すみませんが、お読みになていただけないでしょうか。
Like the above English example, in Japanese as well, sentence length adds
more politeness to a request. It seems that making long requests tends to
be a universal marker of politeness.
If we go back to the beginning example we now can see why the
second request is more adequate.
Takahiro:
ご相談したいことがあるんですが、今晩、先生のお宅にお
電話してもよろしいでしょうか。
Takahiro is asking his professor if it is ok to consult with him/her about a
project he is working on. Automatically, sonkeigo is needed. Here Takahiro
uses both the honorific お and ご. He uses お宅 instead of 家. Finally, his
request is complete with the lengthening of the question, “Would it be ok if
I called your respectable house this evening, if I may be so bold to ask you?”
Even here however, Takahiro could make it even more polite maybe too
polite by changing the request to this.
Takahiro:
ご相談したいことがあるんですが、今晩、先生のお宅にお
電話させていただけないでしょうか。
Keigo is a part of the Japanese language that can perplex even
the Japanese speaker him/herself. Many youth today are losing or
forgetting how to use keigo. However, keigo is something that will not
become another topic for historical linguistics. It is deeply rooted in
Japanese culture and in the Japanese way of thinking. Even for those who
do not know exactly how and when to use still use it. Keigo is so important
for the Japanese life that one can even be judged as a good or bad speaker
based upon their ability to use keigo. Keigo involves many rules that must
be followed correctly to maintain harmony within the Japanese society. As
a learner of Japanese one should make an effort to know the ways of keigo.
However, as keigo is associated with social interaction in a very deep,
sub-conscious level, it may be nearly impossible to overcome such a rigid
structure such as keigo.
Bibliography
Abe, Namiko, 2001,
http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa052297.htm
Oct. 28, 2001.
Hideo, Remnants of Feudalism, 2000,
http://www4.ocn.ne.jp/~injapan/Honorific.htm
Oct. 28, 2001.
Ishimitsu,
Fumiko,
Do
you
know
how
to
use
keigo?
http://www.tokujo.ac.jp/Tanaka/WWW97/Hello6/fumiko.html
Oct. 28, 2001.
Lee, Leon Z., Honorifics, Feb. 1996,
http://www.bus.utexas.edu/~kotabe/EDI/Section2/Language/honorific.html
Oct. 28, 2001.
Mizutani, Osamu.
Japanese: The Spoken Language in Japanese
Life.
Tokyo : The Japan Times, 1981.
Sugawara, Makoto.
Nihongo: A Japanese Approach to Japanese
Tokyo : The East Publications, Inc., 1989.
Tsujimura, Natsuko.
An Introduction to Japanese Linguistics.
Oxford : Blackwell, 1996.
Keigo
An Overview of Politeness in
Japanese Speech
Jan. 7, 2001
World Englishes
Prof. Judy Yoneoka