Lawrence  Collins  

Japanese  120/Prof.  Iwasaki  

7  December  2012  

#3  

  Technology  has  historically  been  a  double-­‐edged  sword  throughout  human  history.  Benefits  

have  led  to  unforeseen  consequences  and  downfalls  have  led  to  improvements.  Despite  various  im-­‐

provements  on  peoples’   lives  by   improving   technology,  many  are  concerned  about  various  short-­‐

comings  involved  with  technology.  Technology  has  allowed  people  to  learn  languages  in  ways  not  

previously   possible,   with   inventions   such   as   word   processing   and   the   Internet  making   language  

learning  a  worldwide  possibility.  For  Japanese,  challenges  have  hindered  the  use  of  advancing  tech-­‐

nology  by   its  unique  orthography,  especially  kanji.  Though   these  challenges  have  been  overcome,  

and  Japanese  has  become  a  major  world  language,  many  are  concerned  over  the  ease  of  using  tech-­‐

nology   and   the   increasing  decrease   of   people’s   ability   to  write   kanji.   Though   there  may  be   some  

need  for  concern  and  adjustments  of  people’s  use  of  technology,  the  benefits  and  consequences  of  

using   technology   such   as  word  processing   for   Japanese   is   not   a   unique   problem   exclusive   to   the  

Japanese  language  and  is  a  typical  result  of  humans’  use  of  technology  to  improve  their  lives.  

  While   the  Western  world   had  widespread   use   of   printing   and   typewriting,   as   late   as   the  

1970s,   Japanese  was  primarily  handwritten  as  writing  by  hand  was  often  faster  than  typing  (Got-­‐

lieb).  Early  attempts  at  creating  Japanese  typewriters  resulted  in  machines  that  were  not  only  com-­‐

plicated   to  use,  but   ineffective  and   impractical.   Japanese   typewriters   such  as   the  和文   typewriter  

contained  keys  for  every  kanji  needed  to  type  Japanese.  Later  keyboards  such  as  hiragana  and  the  

QWERTY  keyboards  eliminated  large  keysets  for  typing,  but  presented  the  problem  of  typing  kanji  

without  having  specific  keys  for  each  individual  kanji.  This  conversion  process  from  romaji  to  kana  

to  kanji  (or  kana  to  kanji  for  hiragana  keyboards)  resulted  in  slower  typing  speeds  and  made  blind  

typing   impossible.  Oral   input  would  not  solve   the  kanji   selection  problem  and  handwriting   input,  

though  not  practical   until   recently,  would   still   be   limited   to   one’s   handwriting   speed   (Unger).  As  

with  learning  the  language,  it  appears  that  the  cause  of  Japanese’s  (believed)  extreme  difficulty  re-­‐

volves  around  kanji.  

  When  technology  makes  a  task  easier,  often  the  once  needed  ability  becomes  lessened  as  it  

is   no   longer   needed.  With   the   advent   of  word   processing,  many   have   raised   concerned  with   the  

decreasing   ability   to  write   kanji   by   hand.  With   current  word   processors,   as   one   simply   needs   to  

select   the  desired  kanji   from  a   list,   though  kanji   is  still  able   to  be  recognized,  many  are  unable   to  

write  kanji  as  easily  as  previous  generations.  Many  view  this  ease  of  accessibility  to  kanji  as  detri-­‐

mental   to   the   language   and   speakers,   raising   concerns   of   text   printing  with   kanji   appearing   too  

“black”  and  the  increase  of  kanji  needed  to  read  Japanese.  Though  over  a  hundred  kanji  have  been  

recently  added  to  the  常用漢字List,  kanji  use  (at  least  formally)  has  become  more  standardized  as  a  

result   (Gotlieb).   When   printing   was   developed   in   Europe,   English,   with   its   diverse   and   varied  

spellings,   become   standardized   in   the   late   16th   century   with   the   aid   of   printing   (Kemmer).   As  

modern  technological  conveniences  such  as  spell  check  have  had  an  effect  on  English  speakers’  abi-­‐

lity   to  spell  words  (Tucker),  word  processing  too  has  an  effect  on  kanji,  but   that   is  not   to  suggest  

that  the  technology  should  be  abandoned  in  this  technologically  advanced  age.  

Japanese  has  become  not  only  a  major   spoken  world   language,  but   a  major  digital   one  as  

well.   By   being   the   third   largest   language   on   the   Internet   as   of   2003   (Gotlieb),   Japanese   has  

advanced   in  ways   previously   not   thought   possible.   Another   concern   of   those   hesitant   of   techno-­‐

logy’s  role  in  Japanese  is  the  alleged  loss  of  personality  and  individuality  with  typed  text.  As  a  hand-­‐

written  letter  or  note  contains  the  writer’s  handwriting  and  is  not  as  editable  as  a  typed  text,  it  does  

become  more  personalized,  yet  there  are  multitudes  of  ways  that  Japanese  writers  use  technology  

to  personalize  their  text.  Though  many  like  Ezaki  criticize  Japanese  of   its  “ambiguity”  (Ezaki),  this  

allows   personalization   and   individuality   for   the  writer.   Individual   uses   of   Japanese   such   as   kata-­‐

kanization,   kanji-­‐ization,   romaji-­‐ization   (Kataoka),   and   the   proliferation   of   Internet-­‐based   abbre-­‐

viations,   acronyms,   and   emoticons,   whose   use   and   utilization   is   unique   to   the   individual,   has  

enabled  personal  communication  through  non-­‐personal  means.  

The  advancements  of  technology  has  allowed  languages,  especially  Japanese,  to  be  learned  

more  easily  and  by  more  people  than  ever  before.  Anyone  with  access  to  the  world’s  largest  infor-­‐

mation  resource,  the  Internet,  has  a  seemingly  unlimited  amount  of  resources  available  from  which  

they  can  learn  any  language.  Japanese’s  significant  existence  on  the  Internet  is  only  possible  by  the  

advancements   of   technology.  Despite   technologies   effect   on  people’s   use   of   hand  writing   kanji,   it  

also  allows  for  greater  exposure  and  use  of  kanji.  Though  previously  Japanese  speakers  had  a  great-­‐

er  ability  to  write  kanji  by  hand,  they  were  still  limited  by  the  kanji  they  knew.  The  advent  of  word  

processing   brought   the   emergence   of   previously   unused   (complex)   kanji   such   as  綺麗,   which  

though  may  not   be  written,   is  more   known   and   recognizable   than  previously   (Gotlieb).  With   the  

Internet  and  other  technology,  one  is  able  to  know  and  recognize  a  potentially  unlimited,  or  at  least  

6,000  (Unger),  number  of  kanji  without  ever  having  been  to  Japan  or  meeting  a  Japanese  speaker.  

The  ability   to   learn   Japanese,   including  kanji,   is  now  more  easily   accessible   to   language   learners.  

Sites  dedicated  to  the  study  of  Japanese  are  abundant  and  libraries’  worth  of  information  is  able  to  

fit   in  one’s  hand.  Phones  and  other  portable  devices  are  now  able  to  not  only  access  the  Internet,  

but  able  to  store  dictionaries,  grammars,  games,  books,  and  any  resource  desired  to  aid  in  language  

learning.  Kanji,  often  the  bane  of  learning  Japanese,  can  now  able  to  be  learned  and  even  written,  if  

one  desires  to,  at  any  time.  If  a  reader  encounters  an  unknown  kanji,  using  the  multitude  of  appli-­‐

cations  available,  one  can  find  the  kanji,  know  its  meaning(s),  reading(s),  radical(s),  and  even  stroke  

order  within  seconds.  Technology  has  allowed  Japanese  to  flourish  and  prosper  in  ways  thought  im-­‐

possible,  and  though  kanji   is  not  written  as  often  as  it  once  was,  there  is  not  as  great  of  a  need  to  

write  kanji  in  modern  life.  

  Technology  has  allowed  languages  to  be  learned  and  used  more  easily  than  before.  

The  Internet  and  word  processing  have  allowed  languages  such  as   Japanese  to  become  accessible  

worldwide.  As  with  any  form  of  technology  there  are  drawbacks,  the  advantaged  of  technology  far  

outweigh   the  disadvantages.  Though  kanji   is  no   longer  written  by  hand  as   it  had  been   for  over  a  

thousand  years,  its  use  and  impact  is  greater  than  ever.  Worldwide  Japanese  texts,  books,  advertise-­‐

ments,  and  other  forms  of  print  are  easily  available  and  continue  to  increase.  One  should  be  able  to  

write  kanji,  as  English  speakers  should  know  how  to  spell,  but   the  need  for  handwriting   is  not  as  

prolific  as  it  once  was,  and  technology  continues  to  increase  the  chasm  between  what  needs  to  be  

recognized  and  produced.  Historically  the  Japanese  people  have  been  able  to  advance  and  even  sur-­‐

pass  the  Western  world  quickly,  and  though  Japanese  orthography  has  been  a  handicap,   Japanese  

continues  to  be  a  major  part  of  the  modern,  technological  world.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works  Cited  

Ezaki,  Motoko.  2010.  Strategic  deviations:  The  role  of  kanji  in  contemporary  Japanese.  

Japanese  Language  and  Literature  44.  pp.  179-­‐212.  

  Gottlieb,  Nanette.  2000.  Changes  in  writing  habits  and  their  implications  for  script  policy.  

Word-­processing  technology  in  Japan:  Kanji  and  keyboard.  Curzon.  pp.  266-­‐294.  

  Gottlieb,  Nanette.  2005.  Shifting  electronic  identities.  Language  and  society.  Cambridge    

University  Press.  pp.  120-­‐136.  

Kataoka,  Kuniyoshi.  1997.  Affect  and  letter-­‐writing:  Unconventional  conventions  in  casual  

writing  by  young  Japanese  women.  Language  in  Society,  26.  pp.  102-­‐136.  

Kemmer,  Suzanne.  (2009).  The  history  of  english:  Spelling  and  standardization.  Retrieved  

from  http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~kemmer/Histengl/spelling.html.  

Tucker,  Victoria.  (2011).  Spelling:  Does  technology  help  or  hinder  our  ability  to  spell  words  

correctly?.  Technologies  of  Writing,  8:  1-­‐2.  Retrieved  from  http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/  

writling/professional/TechWrite/8-­‐1/tucker/index.html.  

Unger,  J.  Marshall.  1984.  Japanese  orthography  in  the  computer  age.  Visible  Language  XVIII.  

pp.  238-­‐253.