The Japanese Language in the Pacific Region (Routledge Studies in East Asian Linguistics) - Softcover

Long, Daniel; Imamura, Keisuke

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1032501456 ISBN 13: 9781032501451

Publisher: Routledge, 2025

Synopsis

Long and Imamura examine language contact phenomena in the Asia Pacific region in the context of early 20th-century colonial history, focusing on the effects the Japanese language continues to have over island societies in the Pacific.

Beginning in the early 20th century when these islands were taken over by the Japanese Empire and continuing into the 21st century, the book examines 5,150 Japanese-origin loanwords used in 14 different languages. It delves into semantic, phonological, and grammatical changes in these loanwords that form a fundamental part of the lexicons of the Pacific Island languages, even now in the 21st century. The authors examine the usage of Japanese kana for writing some of the local languages and the pidginoid phenomena of Angaur Island. Readers will gain a unique understanding of the Japanese language’s usage in the region from colonial times through the post-war period and well into the current century.

Researchers, students, and practitioners in the fields of sociolinguistics, language policy, and Japanese studies will find this book particularly useful for the empirical evidence it provides regarding language contact situations and the various Japanese language influences in the Asia Pacific region. The authors also offer accompanying e-resources that help to further illustrate the examples found in the book.

About this title

About the Author

Daniel Long is Professor of Japanese Linguistics at Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan.

Keisuke Imamura is Associate Professor of Japanese Language and Linguistics at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Japan.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1032501456
• ISBN 13: 9781032501451
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 234