Culture Social media reshape colloquial Japanese

[thomas]

For the first time, the Cultural Affairs Agency has examined the impact of social media on the Japanese language as part of its annual survey on attitudes toward the national language. The findings showed that nearly 90% of people felt that the rise of social media is having an impact.

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One question asked whether people truly understood the original meaning of certain words. For example, "tsukanu koto" (つかぬこと) actually means "something unrelated to the conversation so far," though many respondents were unsure. Language has always evolved, and the rise and fall of words reflects the times. Expressions such as "kogal" (コギャル), which became popular among high school girls in the late 1990s, or "MD" (エムディー), Sony's MiniDisc released in 1992, have already disappeared from dictionaries. Even "Famicom" (ファミコン), Nintendo's 1983 home console, was among the 1,000 words removed from Sanseido's Dictionary of Words That Disappeared (三省堂『消えたことば辞典』), published in 2023. At the same time, new expressions continue to emerge with every generation. In the latest survey, more than 70 percent of respondents said new words had increased with the spread of SNS (エスエヌエス). Teenagers gave examples such as "shabai" (シャバい), used to describe someone being unavailable or the situation being "uncool," and "aa-ne" (あーね), a shortened way of saying "naruhodo ne" (なるほどね, I see). Others cited "bari kakkee" (バリかっけー), an emphatic version of "cool," and abbreviations like "suki-pi" (スキピ), short for "suki people" (好きピープル), or favourite person. Over 80 percent agreed that abbreviations are on the rise.

The survey also tested whether people understood the original meaning of long-established words. One example was "yakubusoku" (役不足). While often used to mean "lacking ability," its original definition is that a role is too small for someone's abilities. Only 45.1% of respondents answered correctly.

Another word was "niyakeru" (にやける). Many in their fifties described it as smiling happily or sheepishly, but the original meaning is "to be effeminate or weak." Respondents were surprised, though some recalled being told not to "niyakeru" (にやける) when scolded at school. Similarly, "shiodoki" (潮時) is now widely understood to mean "the end of something" or "the time to give up," with nearly half of respondents using it in this sense. However, the original meaning is "the right or favourable time." One respondent in their twenties admitted, "I didn't really know Japanese. I got it wrong."

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Social Media Is Changing Japan's Everyday Language

The Cultural Affairs Agency has, for the first time, surveyed how the spread of social media is affecting the Japanese language in its annual survey on public opinion regarding the national language, revealing that nearly 90 percent of respondents believe there is some impact.

newsonjapan.com