The Foreign Word Tsunami

The massive postwar wave of mostly Englishloanwords (gairaigo) entering Japanese has met withmixed responses ranging from puristic criticism toenthusiastic praise. Supporters view this influx ofnew words as modernising and enriching the language.Opponents see them as confusing and damaging both thelanguage and culture and leading to excessiveWesternisation social division and culturalshallowness. Some see gairaigo as part of theinevitable or even welcome phenomenon ofglobalisation. This book examines the dimensions ofthe gairaigo phenomenon within the context oflanguage and cultural change. It presents thearguments issues and debates the gairaigo phenomenonhas prompted amongst academics social commentatorspoliticians language planners journalists businesspeople and members of the public. Original data isprovided throughout and most of this material is nototherwise available in English. This book will be ofvalue to people interested in language change theJapanese media cultural and political debates aboutJapanese identity the linkages between politicsacademia and the bureaucracy as well as Japanesepeople's attitudes to English and the West.