Kotobagari

is a sardonic term which refers to the reluctance to use words that are considered potentially offensive or politically incorrect in the Japanese language. For instance words such as , , , , ''kichigai'' ( or "crazy"), , and are currently not used by the majority of Japanese publishing houses; the publishers often refuse to publish writing which includes these words.

Another example is that a school janitor in Japan used to be called a . Some felt that the word had a derogatory meaning, so it was changed to . Now ''yōmuin'' is considered demeaning, so there is a shift to use or instead. This pattern of change is an example of the linguistic phenomenon known as the “euphemism treadmill”.

Other examples of words which have become unacceptable include the replacement of the word ''hyakushō'' () for "farmer" with ''nōka'' ().

Since World War II, the word ''Shina'' () for China written in kanji has been recognized as derogatory, and has been largely superseded by the Japanese pronunciation of the endonym, ''Chūgoku'' () or with ''Shina'' written in katakana ().

In the 1960s, the Sino-Japanese word meaning "Mongol" was recognized for its connotation of a "stupid, ignorant, or immature" person (compare the English term “Mongoloid”), and the ethnic group is now referred to by the katakana term .

''Kotobagari'' and ideology

''Kotobagari'' has led to some confusing terminology.

NHK, the Japanese Broadcasting Company, runs a Korean language study program, but the language is referred to as "Hangul". This is a result of both the North and South Korean governments demanding that the language be called by their respective preferred name of Korea suffixed with "language" (). North Korea wanted the show to be called ''Chōsen-go'' or "''Chōsen'' language" (), taken from the Japanese pronunciation of the full name of North Korea, ''Chōsen Minshu Shugi Jinmin Kyōwakoku'' () or "Democratic People's Republic of Korea". South Korea wanted ''Kankoku-go'' or "''Kankoku'' language" () from ''Daikan Minkoku'' () or "Republic of Korea".

As a compromise, "Hangul" was selected and Korean is referred to as "the language on this program" or "this language", but this has led to the use of the neologism "Hangul language" () to refer to the Korean language; which is technically incorrect since hangul itself is a writing system, not a language.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Gottlieb, Nanett (2006). Linguistic stereotyping and minority groups in Japan. Oxon: Routledge. {{ISBN, 0415338034.

Euphemisms
Censorship in Japan
Society of Japan
Japanese vocabulary
Japanese words and phrases
Political correctness
Self-censorship