How Japanese thinking influences Japanese English
BY
Kyoko Kai
A SHORT PAPER
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE OF
SEMINAR 1 (World Englishes)
Kumamoto Gakuen University Foreign Language Department
English Course
SUPERVISOR: Judy Yoneoka
Kumamoto Gakuen University
Oe 2-5-1 Kumamoto
Japan
12/29/05
This paper consists of approximately 1321 words
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Working Abstract
When Japanese speak English, they often invite misunderstanding. However,
this is a natural thing; Japanese have their way of thinking as Japanese and so do
native speakers. The original way of thinking of Japanese influences English spoken by
Japanese. My study is how Japanese thinking influences Japanese English and
comparing the differences in the Japanese way of thinking and the native
English-speaking people’s way of thinking.
Outline
1. Introduction
English is an under national language spoken all over the world and known
well as the common language. In Japan, English is regarded as one of the most
important international foreign languages, so they begin learning English in
elementary school or junior high school. However, English spoken by Japanese
sometimes brings misunderstandings. This problem is a natural thing and happens in
other countries, not only Japan.
There are some differences between Japanese English and other Englishes.
This is sometimes because Japanese have their own way of thinking. When Japanese
speak and write in English, the features of Japanese influence Japanese English. They
have their own structure and grammar, so the effects appear in Japanese English. Thus,
there are some expressions that they frequently use when they speak English. On the
other hand, there are also some expressions that they don’t use so much.
This paper discusses how Japanese structure and grammar influences
Japanese English with various examples. Also, it explains the features of English.
Finally, it compares the differences between Japanese ways of thinking and English
speakers ways of thinking.
2. Effects of Japanese grammar on English
There are many differences between Japanese grammar and English grammar.
Because of this, Japanese have a different consciousness toward words compared to
English speakers. One of the big features of Japanese sentence structures (SOV) is that
Japanese often put emphasis on the latter half of the sentence or talk more than in the
first half. In short, Japanese give a conclusion at the end. We unconsciously speak to
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people using way of talking. On the contrary, English (SVO) puts emphasis on the first
half of the sentence or talks.
For example, Japanese say “I think he is not Mr. White.” This is an unnatural
way of speaking. We usually say “I think…” not “I don’t think…” in Japanese. In case of
speaking English on the same thinking as Japanese, we make such a mistake. Actually,
native speakers usually say “I don’t think he is Mr. White.” Because English have the
feature of saying important points at the beginning, they usually make an affirmation
or negation clearly earlier. If Japanese work out this difference of structure, they could
make their English more clearly understood. Also, if Japanese know this difference,
they can reduce the missing of important words.
The sentence structure of Japanese and English is told the difference by
position of verb. Japanese have a verb after an object, at the end of sentence or talk,
while English have it after a subject. This difference influences English spoken by
Japanese. Also, it has connection with the features of the verbs. English verbs especially
are simpler than Japanese. The complicated parts of Japanese sentences are in the
inflection of verbs. We can change the form naturally when we speak Japanese, but it
takes time to learn and speak for nonnative speakers.
For example, “taberu” in Japanese changes as “tabenai”, “tabemasu”, “tabeta”
and so on. In English, they say “eat”, “do (does) not eat” and “ate”. Japanese verbs can
be expressed by only one word. The negative form, “tabenai” include “do” (does), “not”
and “eat”, three words in English. When Japanese say a negative and past sentence in
English, they just add “don’t (doesn’t)” and “ed” on the ending of the verb. However,
Japanese often miss adding “s” or “es” on the ending when they speak about a third
person. When they say “tanakasan ha ocha wo nomimasu”, they carelessly say “Mr.
Tanaka drink tea.” not saying “Mr. Tanaka drinks tea.” In Japanese, there are no
changes by person like this, so they tend to make such mistakes.
3. Japanese set expressions that influence English
There are many Japanese set expressions and when they express that in
English, the English are sometimes different with native speaker’s one. Even if
Japanese is the same saying, there are some kinds of English expressions when the
Japanese are spoken in English.
3-1. “There is (are)… “vs. “...ga arimasu”
When Japanese say “…ga arimasu.” in English, we often say “There is…” or
“There are…” Japanese can easily accept this construction of a sentence and use it when
they speak and write in English. Native speakers use this construction, but they also
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use even more often the word “have”. For example, when we want to say, “sono heya
niha isu ga 6ko arimasu,” we usually say “There are 6 chairs in the room,” in English.
On the other hand, English-speaking people might also say “the room has 6 chairs.”
These two sentences have the same meaning, but in the case of translating literally in
Japanese, they have a different translation. Japanese learn that the meaning of “have”
is “….wo motteiru” in school, so they tend to use the construction of a sentence “there is”
more than “has”.
Also, the construction of a sentence using “there is” includes a nuance of a new
subject in English, but not necessarily in Japanese. That’s why English-speaking people
use “has” more than “there is” when they say “…ga arimasu”.
3.2. Influence Japanese “…to omou” brings Japanese English
It is said that Japanese will often make an ambiguous remark. We don’t
express our thinking directly without doubt. Japanese often say “---to omou” in
Japanese when they want to tell their thinking with no deep confidence. In the case of
saying that in English, they tend to use the word “think” with the same way as
Japanese. However, the word “think” means speaker’s strong will, so we can not express
something ambiguously, using “think”.
For example, if Japanese say, “kore ha watasino monodesu”, it means
self-assertion better than saying “kore ha watasino monoda to omoimasu”. Japanese
often use the latter sentence because they are eager to make self-assertion weak.
Therefore, when Japanese want to say that in English, they unconsciously say, “I think
this is mine.” However, in that case, it becomes a different meaning from Japanese. The
basic meaning is the same, but in English “I think…” means that the speaker has
consciously made a decision at last. Saying just “this is mine.” has the closer meaning to
Japanese expression.
4. Conclusion
Japanese structure and grammar are very different to English. There are
many differences between the two languages besides the examples that I introduced.
Thus, Japanese often make some mistakes when they speak and write in English. It is
sometimes caused by Japanese construction and grammar. When they speak and write
in English, most people tend to think in Japanese at first and change that into English.
It’s natural that we make such a mistake as a grammar and the way of saying. Besides
construction and grammar of language, some other points are concerned in Japanese
English. For example, pronunciation, words and idioms can be mentioned. Each
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language has each feature about any elements of language, so we can find the
differences between the languages. This paper doesn’t mean that Japanese English is a
bad language. Even if Japanese speaks English as their original English, the English
would be one of the languages can be used as communication with people from both
native country and nonnative one. However, as a condition, if their English can get
through their listener without misunderstanding, their English can be called “Japanese
English”. Languages have native speaker’s thinking in the background, so it is difficult
for nonnative people to understand the other language completely. People could
communicate with foreign people with their English more smoothly if they know how
their thinking through their languages influences their English variety.
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