11.1 Introduction to Japan外国文学名著导读.pdf

Chapter Eleven 11.1 Introduction to Japan Status  A question: According to Professor Kachru (1986), which circle does Japanese English belong to? Significance  Japanese English belongs to the Expanding Circle.  It exhibits unique linguistic and cultural features.  Cross-cultural communication  Awareness raising Language  Japanese belongs to the Ural-Altaic language family.  Japanese is entirely distinct from Chinese, despite its use of large numbers of Chinese characters and words. Chinese: Sino-Tibetan English: Indo-European Language  Japanese is the official language in Japan.  Japanese has many regional varieties.  The national standard, based on the middle-class usage of Tokyo, is the medium of instruction throughout the country. 8 Sources of Japanese Words Japanese Writing System (1) Kanji: full Chinese characters, with a Japanese reading or value (e.g. 日本語). (2) The kana: Hiragana and Katakana; derived from kanji. Hiragana is used for writing grammatical elements attached to kanji and for some native words. Katakana is mainly used for foreign adoptions. (3) Romanji: for foreign words and loans (e.g. Canon, Sharp, UNESCO). Early Contact Stage: 1600-1867  In 1600, William Adams, Dutch merchant shipping, Liefde, Dutch learning (Yan, 2002)  By 1633, Tokugawa Ieyasu s son Hidetada banned Christianity , killed all Japanese converts who would not give up the religion , and expelled many of the Europeans. (Stanlaw, 2004)  In 1808, British raided the Dutch storehouse on Dejima in Nagasaki. (Stanlaw, 2004)  In 1848, Ranald MacDonald (Rosser, 2002)  In 1853, under threat of American invasion and Commodore Matthew