The unique particulars of the Japanese language

For someone who grew up with Bengali and English, learning Japanese is a fresh and bracing experience, writes Baizid Khoorshid Riaz

Prof Baizid Khoorshid Riaz at the Shahid Minar in Ikebukro Nishiguchi Park Tokyo.

In 1999, UNESCO declared Feb 21 as International Mother Language Day. Soon after, I came across a slogan in a country's leaflet, which when translated into English means – “Each letter is a star in the galaxy of language”.

The line stuck with me and eventually led to me writing the first line of a Bengali song composed by renowned music director Maqsud Jamil Mintoo and sung by popular vocalist Atiq Hasan: “Stars are like the alphabet in the sky.”

Just as a night sky full of stars is a treasure trove of beauty, each language made up of letters is a treasure trove of immense riches. According to information from Ethnologue, a research organisation on language intelligence, there are currently 7,164 languages in use in the world. The organization has been publishing the list of the world's largest languages for more than 15 years.

According to the list of the top 20 most spoken languages in 2024, English ranks first, Bengali ranks seventh, and Japanese ranks thirteenth. English is used by 1.5 billion people, 278.2 million people use Bengali, and 123.5 million people use Japanese.

About 99 percent of Japanese speakers live in Japan. Most Japanese speakers outside Japan live in the United States (Hawaii and California) and Brazil (São Paulo and Paraná). That connection with Brazil might be why Alessandro Santos - a famous footballer who was born in Brazil (Paraná) - played for the Japanese national team in the 2002 World Cup.

Foreign words have also become a permanent fixture in other languages, including Bengali. In addition to the words tadbhava, deshi, tatshama, and ardha-tatshama, Bengali has a lot of foreign or loanwords. The first Japanese word I learned in my life was ‘rickshaw’. While studying grammar in my childhood, I learned that the word rickshaw (রিকশা) is derived from Japanese. When I went to Japan for higher studies, I had a dream to see a Japanese rickshaw. During a visit to Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, that dream came true. I rushed towards the Japanese version of the vehicle with great interest, but I stopped after contented myself with only taking a photo. I didn't dare to get on - it was far too expensive, especially when compared to the norm in Bangladesh.

Japanese rickshaws are still running in Kyoto, are quite an attraction for tourists, and are even utilised for weddings. In Japanese, they are called `jin-rikisha’; jin means human, i.e., a human-powered vehicle. The rickshaw-pullers pull them on foot, much like the pulled rickshaws of Kolkata.

Courtesy of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, or JICA, the medium of instruction in my JDS Master’s program was English, but there was also a mandatory Japanese language course – two months in Bangladesh, and two months in Japan. It was taught by Japanese teachers. They never talked to us in English, nor in Bengali, but in Japanese. It was a serious course. There were both written and oral exams. In the end, we received a certificate. During my studies, I noticed some unique, if not strange, features of the Japanese language.

THREE TYPES OF SCRIPTS FOR THE SAME SOUND

The Bengali alphabet has 2 letters (ন/ণ) for pronouncing the sound ন (na) or 3 letters (শ/ষ/স) for pronouncing the sound শ (sh). This is not the case with the Japanese language. Bengali uses a single script derived from the ancient Brahmi script family. But the Japanese language has three sets of alphabets. In other words, the Japanese use three different writing systems: kanji, hiragana and katakana.

Kanji are called characters. They were initially used to write Chinese characters but were gradually developed systematically to represent Japanese sounds and words. The Japanese also created new characters to represent words that did not resemble Chinese kanji. These new kanji are called ‘manyogana’ (万葉仮名) and are considered the precursors of the Japanese scripts, hiragana and katakana.

Hiragana is derived from the cursive style of kanji, and katakana is derived from the segment of kanji. Hiragana and katakana are letter-based, with each letter representing a single sound. They have five vowels: a, i, u, a, o.

The bottom-line message is that there are 3 types of characters or scripts for the same sound in Japanese. For example, the sound 'ki' has characters or scripts in all three - hiragana, katakana and kanji.

To illustrate the point, let us take a look at different examples. The Japanese word for rain is 'ame', the Japanese word for flower is 'hana', and the Japanese word for river is 'kawa'. Now there are separate characters in hiragana, katakana and kanji to write 'ame', 'hana' and 'kawa'. In that case, do the Japanese write the same word in hiragana, katakana, or kanji whenever they want? No. There are rules. For example, hiragana is used for local or pure Japanese words and grammatical elements, such as: 'ame', 'hana' and 'kawa'. But only foreign words are written in katakana - writing foreign words in hiragana is incorrect. For example: The Japanese words for the English words, television, camera, personal computer, and hotel are terebi, kamera, pasokon, and hoteru, respectively. The Japanese words for the German ‘part-time job’ are ‘arubaito’, the Japanese words for the Dutch word ‘coffee’ are ‘kohi’, the Japanese words for the Turkish word ‘yogurt’ are ‘yogurto’, etc. When writing these foreign words, using the katakana alphabet is mandatory.

So, for the sake of ease of understanding, the words ‘ame’, ‘hana’ ‘kawa’ etc. that I mentioned above in katakana, are right as examples, but not right grammatically. Because these are not foreign words, they must be written in hiragana or kanji.

In the case of onomatopoeia, katakana should also be used. Onomatopoeia is the formation of words that imitate the sounds, actions, and even expressions of emotions related to the object in question. In Bengali, it means phonetic words, and imitative prepositions as terms. Examples: The cat’s call is mew mew (Japanese nyanya), the crow’s call is ka ka (Japanese kaka), the sound of rain is tip tip (Japanese potapota), the chest is pounding (Japanese dokidoki), the clock is ticking (Japanese kachikachi), etc.

Another thing to note about kanji is that not all letters or words have kanji characters. There are nearly 3,000 kanji used in Japanese names and common communication. In cases where kanji characters exist, the Japanese use kanji instead of hiragana. Interestingly, not all Japanese know all of the kanji. Only highly educated Japanese people can read and write entirely in kanji.

ABSENCE OF FUTURE TENSE

In Bengali and English, there are 3 types of tense: present, past, and future. But in Japanese, there is no specific verb form for the future. In Bengali, the suffixes ‘bo’ and ‘be’ are added to the verb to turn it into the future tense (the structure of the two suffixes may change depending on the ‘Person’). For example, আমি যাবো, সে খাবে, তিনি আসবেন, etc. In English, to indicate future tense, the principal verb (to be) remains in the present tense, but before it, a specific auxiliary verb (to be) is used, such as, shall, or will. For example, I shall go. He will eat. He will come. But in Japanese, there is no provision for the future tense. The question is, how do the Japanese express the future tense? In Japanese, future verbs are expressed by expressing time with the present tense. For example, “Ashita Nihon ni ikimasu” (আগামীকাল জাপানে যাবো). ‘Ikimasu’ is the present tense form of the verb, which means ‘to go’. However, since the time factor ‘ashita’, which means ‘tomorrow’, is used, it is clear that the verb is referring to the future. Nihon and Nippon are both Japanese names for the country, both have the same kanji. Collecting stamps was a hobby during my childhood. Japanese stamps did not have Japan written in English, but Nihon/Nippon in kanji. However, although the future tense verb does not have a separate form in Japanese, it effectively expresses future actions by expressing context and time. Even if there is no time, it can be understood with context. For example, when asked, “Who will go to Japan?”, I reply, “Ikimasu”. This also shows that I have referred future tense.

PAST TENSE FOR ADJECTIVES

In Bengali and English, there is no past tense form for adjectives. The past tense is indicated by the auxiliary verbs ‘was’, ‘were’, etc. For example: “There was a very good person” – in this sentence, the adjective ‘good’ has no past form. In Japanese, the past tense form of adjectives is used in past tense sentences. For example: The Japanese translation of the sentence “The event is enjoyable” is “bangumi wa tanoshi desu”. ‘bangumi’ means event, ‘tanoshi’ means enjoyable. But the Japanese translation of the sentence ‘The event was enjoyable’ is “bangumi wa tanoshikatta desu”. ‘Tanoshi’ is an adjective. Since it is a past event, the past tense form is given by adding ‘katta’ to ‘tanoshi’. The Japanese for “The food was enjoyable” is “tabemono wa oishikatta desu”. ‘Tabemono’ means food, and ‘oishi’ means tasty, ‘katta’ is added to indicate the past. Sometimes ‘datta’ is also added. Not only that, there are both affirmative and negative words in the past tense of the adjective.

SENTENCE STRUCTURE

The fixed order of Japanese and English sentence structure is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV). Though it is similar in the Bengali language too, it is not absolutely fixed. Sentences can be formed by changing the order of Subject, Object, Verb. Eminent writer and educationist Muhammad Zafar Iqbal gave a beautiful example in one of his works, describing this quality as elasticity. “আমি তোমাকে ভালোবাসি” - the sentence is in the SOV format. But it can be written in various ways - আমি ভালোবাসি তোমাকে, ভালোবাসি আমি তোমাকে, ভালোবাসি তোমাকে আমি, তোমাকে আমি ভালোবাসি, তোমাকে ভালোবাসি আমি. That opportunity is not available in the Japanese “Aishtemasu” or English “I love you”.

LACK OF PLURAL FORM

Nouns have distinct singular and plural forms in Bengali and English. In Bengali, the plural is expressed by the বিভক্তি রা, এরা, গুলা, গুলি etc., and the collective words সব, বৃন্দ, রাজি, গুচ্ছ etc. are added to nouns. For example ছাত্ররা, মায়েরা, টাকাগুলা, আমগুলি, ভাইসব, শিক্ষকবৃন্দ, তারকারাজি, গল্পগুচ্ছ. In English, the plural is indicated by adding s or es to a noun. However, although the duality of plurals is allowed in English, it is not so in Bengali. For example, in English, we say two birds, other guests, but in Bengali, we cannot say দুটি পাখিগুলি, অন্যান্য অতিথিবৃন্দ. In Japanese, nouns do not have distinct singular and plural forms. Context is important in understanding whether a word refers to one or more things. Moreover, the plural is indicated by using a number or a numeral before the noun. Before looking at the examples, it is necessary to know the Japanese numerals: ichi (one), ni (two), san (three), shi (four), go (five), roku (six), shichi (seven), hachi (eight), ku (nine), ju (ten). These numerals are used differently for different types of objects or animals. For example, in the case of people (hito), ‘nin’ is added to the number (like ‘জন in Bengali): 3 people = san nin hito, 8 people = hachi nin hito (but 2 people = futari hito). In the case of animals (dobotsu), ‘biki’ is added to the number; roku biki no dobotsu, meaning 6 animals.

Unlike ‘পদাশ্রিত নির্দেশক’(টা, টি, খানা) in Bengali and Article (the, a, an) in English, Japanese does not have them. Instead, it is often inferred from context.

MONTHS NAMED AFTER NUMERALS

Like the Bengali and Gregorian (which we mistakenly call the English) calendars, Japan also has 12 months. But while the 12 months in Bengali (Baishakh, Jaishtha, Ashadh, Shrawan, etc.) have different names, as do those in the Gregorian calendar (January, February, March, April, etc.), the months in Japan are not named in the same manner. Instead, they are named after numerals. The Japanese word for month is 'gatsu', so the names of their 12 months are respectively: Ichi Gatsu, Ni Gatsu, San Gatsu, Shi Gatsu, Go Gatsu, Roku Gatsu, Shichi Gatsu, Hachi Gatsu, Ku Gatsu, Ju Gatsu, Juichi Gatsu and Juni Gatsu. When translated into English, these stand for 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 4 months, etc. When a Bangladeshi friend told me in Japan, “I will go to the country in 4 months”, I was surprised! It will take four months to go to Bangladesh! Later I understood that he would go to the country in April.

CORRECT AND INCORRECT SYMBOLS

In Bengali and in many Western languages, including English, a check mark (✓) is usually used to indicate the correct answer and a cross (x) is used to indicate the incorrect answer. In Japanese, a circle (⭕) is used to indicate the correct answer and a slash (/), cross (x), or tick (✓) is used to indicate the incorrect answer. The Japanese word for a circle is ‘maru’, and the cross is ‘batsu’.

NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN UPPERCASE AND LOWERCASE

In English script, there is a clear distinction between uppercase and lowercase forms; there are also rules and regulations for where to use uppercase and lowercase letters. There is no separate uppercase or lowercase form in the Bengali or Japanese alphabets. However, it is important to note that there is a fourth set of alphabets in Japanese, called ‘romaji’. Romaji uses the Roman alphabet, i.e., the English alphabet. So, the Japanese words are written in the English alphabet. As a result, uppercase and lowercase letters have to be used according to English grammar. However, romaji is rarely used. Despite Bengali being our mother tongue, some people write Bengali on their mobile phones using English letters (and it’s unfair), and romaji also looks the same in Japanese.

ABSENCE OF THE ল ড ঢ SOUNDS AND LETTERS

There are no ল ড ঢ sounds or letters in Japanese. Where the ল sound is required, the Japanese use the letter ‘r’. For example: লিবিয়া=রিবিয়া, লাইবেরিয়া=রিবেরিয়া, লেবানন=রেবানন, বাংলাদেশ=বাংগুরাদেসু etc. There is no ‘প’ or `P’ sound in Arabic. When a Palestinian friend of mine, Wael, learned a little Bengali and said ‘বুকুর’ by showing me a pond, I didn't understand at first. Later I realized that in Arabic, the 'p' sound is pronounced with the letter 'b'. The Japanese continue the ড ঢ sound with their letter ‘দ’(だ), while those who know English use 'd'. They don't even have the 't' (ট) sound, in which case they use ‘ত’ (た). Although the English pronounce 'Tokyo' (টোকিও) using the 't', the correct pronunciation is ‘তোকিও’ (東京). Similarly, not কিয়োটো, but কিয়োতো.

EMPHASIS ON POLITENESS, RESPECT AND CONTEXT

Politeness and formality are very important for effective communication with the Japanese people. They have different levels of formality and politeness. Japanese has a complex system of honorifics, which are used to show respect or politeness to the person being spoken to. These include different verb endings, pronouns and titles depending on the social status and relationship between the speaker and the listener. Examples:

The common honorific suffixes for calling or addressing someone is by adding ‘san’ to the end of a name. For example, জনাব in Bengali and Mr. Ms. Mrs. in English. However, in Bengali and English, it is before the name and in Japanese, it is after the name. There is no gender difference. For example: Tanaka-san, Kawabe-san, Moriguchi-san. The same rule applies not only to Japanese people but also to foreigners. ‘San’ is used for people of any age, gender, or social status. The honorific title used for important guests or people of high social standing is 'sama'; the Japanese word for guest or customer is 'okiyaku', thus addressed as 'okiyakusama'. 'Kun' is used for boys and young men, often for someone of high status (such as a teacher to a student) or in a friendly, casual setting; e.g.: Rie-kun (Rie is the name of a female student). 'Chan' is used for children, close friends and sometimes pets, expressing affection and gentle feelings; e.g.: Shera-chan (Shera is the name of a girl). 'Sensei' is used for important dignitaries (teachers, professors, doctors and other professionals); e.g.: Ishibashi-sensei, Koga-sensei, Hamajima-sensei.

The suffix ‘desu’ used after adjectives, nouns and verbs and ‘masu’ used after verbs convey politeness. A level of politeness is maintained in requests. To say ‘please (give me/would you give me)’ is Japanese people commonly use ‘kudasai’, more politely ‘kudasaimasu’, formally ‘kudasaimasen ka’. ‘Onegai-shimasu’ is a polite way of asking for something. Its English is equivalent to ‘please’ or ‘excuse me’. To say sorry or to draw someone’s attention ‘Sumimasen’ is widely pronounced; ‘Gomennesai’ is uttered to beg pardon. Interestingly, the Japanese use ‘Chotto’ to mean একটু in Bengali. For example: Chotto matte kudasai (একটু অপেক্ষা করুন, or please wait a moment).

These are just a few examples of the unique and interesting features of the Japanese language. The Japanese people highly respect their language, as it reflects their culture and identity. Many Japanese people actively work to preserve traditional forms of the language, such as the classical Japanese used in literature and poetry. The Japanese language has complex layers of politeness and formality, so people strive to use the language appropriately in different social contexts. Learning Japanese is seen as a lifelong pursuit, with many people continuing to study, acquire, and refine their language skills throughout their lives. Japanese literature and the arts, such as haiku, calligraphy, and traditional theatre, often highlight the beauty and expressiveness of the Japanese language. The Japanese people's deep appreciation of the complexity, cultural significance, and expressive power of language is evident in their daily interactions and cultural practices. It serves as a powerful tool for connecting people to their heritage and fostering a sense of national pride.

The first Shahid Minar (Martyr's Monument) abroad was built in Japan to commemorate Bangladesh’s language martyrs. The Shahid Minar was erected in 2005 in Ikebukuro Nishiguchi Park in the Metropolitan Art Space, the heart of Tokyo's cultural arena. The park is known as ‘Shahid Minar Park’ to expatriate Bengalis. This steel-built minaret is a smaller version of the Shahid Minar in Dhaka. A plaque in front of the Shahid Minar reads in Japanese, English and Bengali, ‘Shahid Minar: A Minar of Love for Language.’

Once I was among a group of Nagoya University students who visited Toyota’s factory in the city. There we learnt that the founders of Toyota Company were the ‘Toyoda’ family (Sakichi Toyoda), but the company’s name is ‘Toyota’. The reason is interesting. It takes 10 strokes of the pen to write the word ‘Toyoda’ in Japanese, whereas ‘Toyota’ uses only 8. In Japanese culture, 8 is considered a lucky number, so the name ‘Toyota’ was chosen. However, we were given a Toyota introductory booklet as a gift right after our arrival. The first page contains the company’s policies; a total of seven policies. I refer to the 1st and 2nd: honour the language and spirit of the laws of every nation and undertake open and fair corporate activities to be a good corporate citizen of the world. Respect the culture and customs of every nation and contribute to economic and social development through corporate activities in communities.

Although the Japanese are very serious about their professional work, they are fond of laughter as well. So, let us end on a lighter note. From the 10th to the 19th century, Japan had an elite class of warriors who were skilled in operating both swords and bows, called ‘samurai’. At that time, an emperor needed a new chief samurai, so he sent an announcement throughout the country that he was looking for a chief samurai. Three men showed up. The emperor asked the first samurai to show why he should be made chief samurai. The first samurai opened a matchbox and a small fly came out. He took out his sword and with one slash, the fly fell to the ground in two pieces. The emperor shouted, “Excellent! Excellent!”. The emperor then called the second samurai. The second samurai also opened a matchbox and a fly came out. He brandished his sword and the fly fell to the ground in four pieces. The emperor shouted, “Great! Magnificent!”. The emperor then asked the third samurai for his performance. The third samurai also opened a matchbox and a fly came out. With lightning speed, his gleaming sword came out. Whew! In a flash, the room was filled with air. But to the utter surprise of the audience, the fly was still alive and buzzing around. The emperor, clearly disappointed, asked, “What’s the use? The fly isn’t dead!” The third samurai smiled and said, “Excellency, please look closely, the fly has been circumcised!”

[Prof Baizid Khoorshid Riaz is a lyricist and expert on public health and hospital administration]