absence of a word indicates a lack of need or a failure to consider the subject.
when i first arrived in
japan, i noticed a distinct usage of the english word
zero. this conveyed to me that before
interracial communications where established, the japanese had a very
simplistic concept of
mathematics. a zero is required for almost all math's more advanced than
integer counting. i later discovered that my surprise was unjustified, they did have a zero (rei). the question of loan words was, however, raised. so i kept my ears open for examples.
nb: not all loan words are english based, but as i don't speak any other language, recognition of such is difficult.
nb2: this is a far from comprehensive list. further examples can be found around here. my point is to demonstrate what language use signifies of a society. not the brutalization of english by the japanese, that is covered in other nodes.
combini (
convenience store) - given the overwhelming popularity of these franchises, it is safe to assume that japan was an incredibly
inconvenient place to live prior to the
7-11.
terebi (
television) - okay, this is a product of
modern(?) technological advances, along with
internet and even
radio. these words where invented long after integration, and consequently honour the inventors by there (relatively) unchanged names. "thanks guys for the bubble economy, the 10 year recession, and the fact that we are still no. 2".
biiru/uisuki (
beer/
whiskey) - 2 of the more popular beverages that compete with the ever present
sake.
shinguru madaa (single mother) - before americans popularized
divorce and
illegitimacy, i assume the closest
equivalent was "yamome" meaning "widow". (i can almost hear the down votes)
keeki (
cake) - "let them eat
dango" would have gotten her
burned instead of
guillotined. an indication of the state of japanese
desserts, regardless of the nice packaging.
all, but perhaps the last, show how the west has taught the japanese the
christian concept of
sin and
degradation, along with a solution for successful single living. all alien ideas, wish i was there.
now lets consider loan words in english. the more recent ones, as nearly all of english can be derived from dead/other languages.
hors d'oeuvre - an essential part of all fine dinning. i suspect we were scooping
gruel from the bucket before these.
champagne - goes well with every meal. a nice little sparkling white, gets you a little drunk too. an improvement on the
mead we use scoop from the bucket next to the gruel.
karaoke - what you do after too much champagne. as opposed to
brawling after too much mead. much more
civilized.
karate/
kung fu - a highly structured system of brawling, for when you have had far too much champagne, and are too civilized to brawl.
and finally....
menage a trois - thank you!