Mm... there are some loans on spanish from arabic, just a couple of words, though.leonmarino said:Anyone have similar observations?
caster51 said:Yes, that is right..
if the japanese were nationalistic, Japan would give up the Kanji like korean.
we are not stupid like that.
we are proud of kanji from China
Thanks for the CLARIFICATION,the so-called 70% Japanese loanwords PRIMARY PERTAIN to MODERN CONCEPTS only.Maciamo said:Not at all. Caster said "Today 70% of modern chinese vocabulary was made by Japanese", well in fact it is 70% of the technical vocabulary ! That's a huge difference. We could say that 70% of the technical words in French or in Japanese also come from English (esp. in computering, marketing...).
Maciamo said:My point about Japan getting most of its traditional culture from China is the same as the one about Belgium getting most of its heritage from the Romans, French, etc. I see Belgium as part and parcel of a common European civilisation. Its culture and history is intertwined with that of neighbouring countries and indeed most of Europe. Nobody denies that. However, when somebody says that Japan or Korea are part of the Chinese civilisation, as they got most of their cultural heritage from it, East Asian people get offended. Yet it is not really different from Europe's case. Europe has never been one unified country in history, and so is it for China, Korea and Japan. But all European countries belong to the European civilisation, with a common heritage, and so do Japan, Korea and China.
ricecake said:I can honestly say,Japanese SMARTLY DEVELOPED OWN UNIQUE BRAND of JAPANIZED Tang culture of China.
China is no longer a great country Japan and Korea ONCE LOOKED UP TO AS CULTURAL CENTER for that region.
Maciamo said:Sometimes I wonder why Japan, which 'imported' part of its culture from China over 1000 years ago, remains more culturally similar to modern China than neighbouring European countries like France and Germany, or Italy and Switzerland. Japanese and Chinese people share so much more than looks, kanji and traditions. They are both materialistic, money-minded, love eating, hierarchical in politics and business, very self-centered and concerned about their country's image in the world, like similar kind of music, clothes, etc.
Maciamo said:My point is that, comparing European countries between each others, eventhough they all share a similar cultural and historic heritage too, their modern culture has become very different for such things as egalitarianism (e.g. egalatarian Scandinavia vs hierachichal France), importance attributed to food (British vs French), national pride (e.g. Belgians or Germans tend to associate more with their region, while the French or Irish are very proud of their national identity), etc.
ricecake said:I have a PARALLEL EXAMPLE for you.
Koreans and Chinese HAVE THE SAME MENTALITY oppose to Japanese and Koreans SHARE CLOSEST FACIAL SIMILIARITIES,with Japanese is " a different culture " within the world of Chinese civilization.
This is ONE SECRET these 3 NE Asian nationalities are full aware of,which is not a commonly known fact to foreigners.
Maciamo said:I am not sure I understand what you mean. Facial traits are mostly irrelevant in cultural comparisons. But I agree that modern eastern Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and even Vietnamese cultures all descend from ancient Chinese culture, and thus all belong to the same civilisation. We could call it Chinese Civilisation, but also East Asian Civilisation to be more politically correct.
ricecake said:As a Chinese descent,I am FLATTERED by your assertion Chinese civilization indeed has " long lasting impact " on Japan after all these centuries for it's quite a compliment.By the way,we shouldn't leave out Korea once prided itself as " little CHINA ".
japan is a farming society.....Japanese and Koreans APPEAR CULTURALLY Chinese,but only Japanese people THINK DIFFERENTLY from both Chinese and Koreans or DO NOT HAVE SAME MENTALITY as Koreans and Chinese do.This is ONE SECRET only us know.
caster51 said:it is too exaggerated to say that Chinese cannot do without Japanese loan words.
caster51 said:The culture, language..are not one-way traffic.
caster51 said:japan is a farming society....
Maciamo said:Could you give me an example of a country that is not a farming society ?
If you consider Monaco as a country. It does not have its own currency, own army, etc. Seriously, most of the Japanese I have met believed as if it was a hard fact that the Japanese were originally (whatever that means) farmers, while Westerners were hunters. They go as far as to use this theory to explain that the Japanese are more group-minded (which they define as typical A-blood type personality, prevalent in Japan), against the individualism of Westerners (defined by O-blood type, although not more prevalent than A in Europe).ArmandV said:Monaco. Unless you want to count casino-farming.
Maciamo said:Seriously, most of the Japanese I have met believed as if it was a hard fact that the Japanese were originally (whatever that means) farmers, while Westerners were hunters. They go as far as to use this theory to explain that the Japanese are more group-minded (which they define as typical A-blood type personality, prevalent in Japan), against the individualism of Westerners (defined by O-blood type, although not more prevalent than A in Europe)
Meiki said:They treasure olden customs, like coming-of-age-ceremonies, sakura-viewings, etc.
oops...I mean riceCould you give me an example of a country that is not a farming society ?
I dont think so.Yayoi, Kofun, Yamato or Nara-period Japanese felt much more like cousins of the inhabitants of Korea and Eastern China than they do now
ricecake said:...
Japanese is more open about " sex " than Koreans and Chinese.
pipokun said:At least your fellow Chinese people in the PRC needs a bit more free speech.
ricecake said:This is uncalled for,if it's sarcasm intended otherwise people there should push for greater freedoms including the right to free speech.
I am not from PRC,my family left mainlland China back in 1880's.
Maciamo said:If you consider Monaco as a country. It does not have its own currency, own army, etc. Seriously, most of the Japanese I have met believed as if it was a hard fact that the Japanese were originally (whatever that means) farmers, while Westerners were hunters. They go as far as to use this theory to explain that the Japanese are more group-minded (which they define as typical A-blood type personality, prevalent in Japan), against the individualism of Westerners (defined by O-blood type, although not more prevalent than A in Europe).
Minty said:Rice cake, it's better to refer yourself as "Overseas Chinese" to not confuse the others.