Zauriel said:Why were bushido, katanas, kimonos, cherry blossoms, Japanese words (Tsunami, kamikaze, etc) and tea ceremony/flower arrangement not included in the poll?
Maciamo said:They are not really contributions to the world. Cherry blossoms ? They are not originally from Japan. Japanese words ? Then it could be said for any language, usually to a greater extent (Japanese words in English almost only refer to Japanese cultural things, except tsunami). The rest are cultural stuff, mostly limited to Japan or a few afficionados (like here ;-) )
Zauriel said:If Kamikaze is only confined to Japanese cultural references, then why are the media referring to Muslim terrorists, etc as kamikazes? I heard of kamikaze attacks, kamikaze bombings, kamikaze pilots, etc.
Maciamo said:I personally don't use this word except for referring to the WWII events. Maybe the American media use more commonly the word kamikaze. :?
Maciamo said:I personally don't use this word except for referring to the WWII events. Maybe the American media use more commonly the word kamikaze. :?
The word "kamikaze" when it was used by the Japanese in WWII referred to the failed 13th century invasion of Japan by Kubilai Khan, whose fleet was destroyed by a typhoon. The Japanese called it "kamikaze", i.e. "holy winds" that protected Japan from the foreign invador. It is in this sense that the word was used by the Japanese airforce attacking US ships toward the end of WWII. They were seen as a "divine power protecting Japan". So it does not even refer to 'suicide attack' but just to protecting Japan (even if they were only bombing the US ships and not crashing into them). That is why it is mistaken to use the word "kamikaze" in the sense of "suicide attack".
.
mizer said:Maciamo: I can appreciate the concern for where the word originated from and what was it's first meaning... but, as words get absorbed into the languages (and other languages, lol), the meaning can change... Maybe you would call it 'distortion' of the meaning, but it's all part of the evolution of language and what makes language so interesting! I mean, there are lots of words in English that are a long way from their original roots now - for examples, 'sinister' and 'dexterity' which originally came from Latin for 'left' and 'right'!
Maciamo said:I know that. I have observed such distortion from Latin even in French or Italian. But it's been hundreds and hundreds of years since the words 'sinister' and 'dexterity' have changed meaning in French and English. Note that in Italian it is still "destra" and "sinistra" to say "right" and "left", but "desterita" for "dexterity" and sinistro for sinister. Not the same word, so.
As for kamikaze, the word has only come into English and other languages since 1945, and there is no reason such a distortion should happen, especially that people nowadays are much better education than in the past centuries since Roman times.