Re: tlug: Re: Japanese input

[Karl-Max Wagner <karlmax@example.com>]

> Your idea is actually quite a good one, and is interesting to ponder,
> but I don't think that it'll fly. It's just too political an
> issue. 
That's what I fear, too
> have pretty much given up. [Korean may be a good example of how things
> could change according to what I believe you want to propose, but I
Exactly.....
> think that the Japanese will not go down that path.]
Yes. Probably not.
> For all the complexity, there are real advantages in kanji. Japan has
> the lowest illiteracy rate in the world. Of course, the educational
> system has a lot to do with it, but not everything. Dyslexia
> is unheard of (correct me if I'm wrong here) in Japan and
> China, and this is almost certainly attributable to the fact that
> kanji/hanzi are used. 
Hmmm.....for all what I know the Japanese government is very much
like the German government - and the latter is extremely good at
sweeping unpleasant facts under the carpet......
> Culturally, kanji/hanzi are so much a part of the heritage of Japan
> and China that loosing the ability to read and write them would take a 
> huge toll. Historical records, literature, paintings and other art 
> would loose much of there meaning. True, you could transliterate the
> books -- but paintings?? 
Well, it's just the signature and the title of a painting -
these things normally are written out on a board close to the
painting in any decent gallery anyway.
> [An aside: for the Chinese, the writing system is one thing that
> ties the country together like nothing else. With such wide diversity in
> spoken dialects (languages), the writing system used to be the 
> lingua-franca that Chinese from different parts of the country could
> use to communicate.]
If they converse in written form - actually, I use that, too,
but it's much like reading a Dutch or Swedish newspaper without
knowing the languages. You can get the overall picture but not
much more. If they have to communicate by talking, it's no use.
I wouldn't be astonished if they use English then. In India, for
example, English is an official languages. If that happens in
China, too, it will spell the death knell for the Kanji
anyway......
> Of course the disadvantages of using kanji + kana are numerous, and 
> the hairy gaijin trying to learn them will soon be able to
> enumerate them. So the logical balance is not necessarily in favor of
> keeping the complicated system. But I'm pretty sure that the cultural
> and political factors are more important in this case. 
Hmmmm.....however, the "cost of ownership" IS high. In this case
I wonder why there is some reluctance still. In my experience
about 90 % of Japanese culture already went down the pipes
anyway. Just two examples: how many people wear kimono more or
less regularly - and how many men actually own one. And how many
apartments still have a tokonoma ? Not many, actually. And the
day draws close when kimono for men will be unavailable and for
women difficult to get. So what ? If they flush all this they
could throw in the Kanji in, too......

                                 Karl-Max Wagner
                                 karlmax@example.com
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