There is a lot of difference use points between young people’s Japanese and older
people’s Japanese. Actually I cannot understand well about my grandmother’s words
sometimes. There are a lot of new words which are invented by young people. Older
people cannot understand those words. And young people cannot understand old words
too. Japanese has changed. Why has Japanese changed? I think that the case is that
society is changing very fast and there are machine which is invented recently and very
convenient. Young people not have opportunity to speak directly with other people with
those machine. It is the biggest problem between young people and older people.
Young people like abbreviated words. Young people use e-mail a lot of the time. Almost
all people like e-mail instead of using the telephone and speaking directly.
Young people use spoken language in e-mail so they rarely use formal language. They
want to write quickly and finish content, so there are a lot of abbreviated words in the
e-mail.
One day I sent e-mail for my grandmother, she cannot understand about my sentence.
The content is “I will arrive your house soon, but I will call in at [ サーK ] so please wait
a minute” Can you understand this sentence meaning? My grandmother cannot
understand about [ サーK ] It is convenience store’s name. [ サークルK ] Do you know?
She thought it said “I will go [ liquor store ]” She misunderstand about [ サーK ] She
thinks that [ サーK ] means [ 酒 ] So this was a funny situation. Since then I take care
when sending e-mail to my grandmother and speak in formal language different from
informal language.
Older people cannot understand abbreviated words meaning. And my mother cannot
understand recently abbreviated words. I think that young people do not know many
words. There are lots of opportunities, but young people do not choose to do those things.
But young people like reading comic books.
There are a lot of informal language and abbreviated words in the comic books.
Similarly there are strange languages on TV. Moreover there are a lot of strange
Japanese in our daily life. For example, at coffee shop employee said me “こちらコーヒ
ーになります” This sentence very strange. “なります” means “become” Already there is
coffee! Can coffee change something? Also at the register , Cashier said me “1000円から
でよろしいですか?” This sentence is very strange too. “から” means “from” I cannot
understand completely. Even young people cannot understand this Japanese well; older
people cannot ever understand this sentence’s meaning! I read a newspaper article this
content. There are comments from older people. The comments content are “Japanese
has changed, so I cannot understand” “Young people speak [ ら抜きことば ] which is
wrong Japanese. So I want young people speak formal Japanese” and so on. I
sympathize with older people’s opinions. Characteristics of almost all Japanese young
people are restless, but young people extend between word and word. This way to speak
seems lazy. One more characteristics is that young people use the way which “ら抜きこ
とば” For example “食べられる→食べれる” “見られる→見れる” “寝られる→寝れる” and
so on. I think that almost young people use “ら抜きことば” When older people hear “ら抜
きことば” ,they feel discomfort. Characteristics of older people is that they attach “お” to
beginning of the words. Sometimes they attach “さん” to termination of the words. Why
older people attach “お”? I think that older people are kind and polite. But especially “お
expresses respect. For example “おいも” “おうどん” “おまんじゅう” and so on. Usually
“さん” is attached to word which express people. But older people attach “さん” to the
word which is not express people. For example “油あげ→おあげ→おあげさん” “いなりず
し→おいなり→おいなりさん” “かまど→おくどさん” “かがみもち→おかがみさん” I think
that there is a cause of the difference between young people and older people. There is
not way only directly spoken in the past. Speaking is directly very difficult. Volume and
politeness of voice are very important. So older people speak politely and grasp the
point. But now phone and e-mail have been invented. Those way are very convenient
but young people’s speech is weak with that vehicle. Young people not have opportunity
to speak directly with other people. There are picture writing in e-mail. So young people
only attach icons, they can tell their opinion to other people.
I think that the matter which convenient machine is invented is very wonderful. But it
is unhappy to disappear the primary Japanese words with such as the machine. Young
Japanese people have to do not forget primary Japanese words and have to have
opportunity which speaking directly with other people, and primary Japanese words
never disappear and there is no different points between young people and older people.
