Diglossia and Literary Translations in Later 19th Century Japan

Michiaki Kawato July 2nd 2011

Heidelberg, Germany

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1.Awareness(1) The Japanese language around 1868

• In Japan, the year 1868 is seen as a landmark year when the 260-year-long Tokugawa Shogunate collapsed and the new Meiji Government started.

• As for the Japanese language of those days, a conspicuous gap between the spoken and the written language could be seen.

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Ｓｃｈｏｏｌ ａｓｓｉｇｎｍｅｎｔ

For example, school children were given this kind of assignment.

▼Change the following Japanese into the written style.「けふ は よい てんき ゆゑ あたり へ おい

でには なりませぬか」

“It is fine, today. Would you come around here?”▼An example of the answer is,「今日は好天気につき辺へ御携丈如何に候哉」

「御携杖如何候哉」＝“Would you come～?”from “新国字論” ｂｙ 上田萬年.

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Why did such a big gap come into existence?

• The written Japanese was developed under the influence of the Chinese classics which were the main channels to introduce Chinese cultureinto Japan.

• Meanwhile, as for daily conversation, people relied on the vernacular.

• And with the passage of time, a gap became evident between the spoken and the writtenlanguage.

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(2) When and how did people become aware of the gap?

• By concluding the commercial treaty with the USA in 1858,Japan gave up its 200-year-long isolation policy and

opened its door to Western countries.• Once the door was open, Western books

and products poured into Japan.• People realized that the written Japanese

was developed so as to be useful to read Chinese classics and

was of little use to read Western books.

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• They felt they urgently needed to convert it from a Chinese-compatible to Western-language-compatible version.

• Otherwise, they could not acquire new knowledge indispensable to build up a new Western-style state.

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(3) Solutions to the problemTo solve this problem, various solutions were proposed.

1) Restrictions on the number of kanji,or Chinese characters

Some people thought it essential to lessen the number of kanji, so as not to be too much of a burden to children.

2) The movement for writing in kana,or the Japanese syllabaries

Other people started the campaign to write in kana without any kanji.

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3) The campaign to write in Roman lettersMeanwhile there were those who insisted on abolishing both kana and kanji and to write in 26 alphabetical letters as European people did.

4) The “Genbun-itchi” movementRelated closely to these movements, around 1887occurred the “Genbun-itch” movement whose main goal was to create the new written style.

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2. Dissolution(1) The main points of this reportAmong these movements, what contributed most to closing the gap was

the “Genbun-itchi” movement.• This movement proceeded in the field of

literature, especially literary translations.• Its ultimate goal was to create the new

written language based on the vernacular.

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• However, in attempting to create the new style they realized that the Japanese spoken language lacked a vital word to create the new written style.

The word “de-aru (である)”• In this report, I focus on this word and trace

the process of how they adopted it, made it merge with the spoken language and finally promoted this spoken language to the status of the formal written language.

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(2) A peculiarity of the word “de-aru”

• Viewing from the words used at the end of sentences, today’s written Japanese can be divided into three groups, those of “de-aru”, “desu” and “da”.

• Among these words “de-aru” is peculiar in that it is hardly used in daily conversation.

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• In spite of this, it is so common that we can find the word in almost any kind of formal writings, such as literary works, essays and articles of newspapers, etc.

• This is contrary to the common beliefthat today’s written language is based on the spoken language.

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(3) “de-aru,” as an essential word in the language reform

• Why did such a word need to be adopted in the new written language based on the spoken language?

• To find an answer to this, we have to go back to the time when the word was first introduced by the advocates of the“Genbun-itchi” movement.

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Hogetsu’s view• Shimamura Hogetsu, a contemporary critic,

wrote the following about the word.

島村抱月

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• ▼In English, there is the verb “be” which can be generally used no matter whom we talk with, for example, with seniors, juniors, superiors, etc.

• ▼However, the vernacular Japanese lacks its equivalent;

• “desu” sounds too polite and “da” sounds tooimpolite to be generally used in conversation.

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• ▼When we relied on the old language, we had the word “nari” which was an equivalent for the verb “be”, but we decided not to adopt the old style.

• ▼Therefore, trying to create the new written language, Ozaki Koyo, an advocate of the “Genbun-itchi” movement, took the initiative in devising the word which mediates between “desu” and “da”.

• ▼As a result, the word is now widely used.

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(3) Summary

• To translate this from a sociolinguistic viewpoint,

• the word “de-aru” was essential to the language reform that promoted the spoken language to the status of the literary language.

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(4) Contradictions to the prevailing view

• Who, then, first introduced the word into literary works?

• According to the most prevailing view, as shown in the Hogetsu’s, it was Ozaki Koyowho started to use the word.

• However, there are some contradictory facts to this.

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Bimyo’s “Musashino”

• For example, Yamada Bimyo, a pioneer of the new style, used the word five years earlier than Koyo.

• ▼「三郎は十九で忍藻は十七であつた。」“Saburo was 19 and Oshimo was 17.”

（「武蔵野」 “The Musashino Plain”, 1887 ）

• Bimyo used “de-atta”, the past form of “de-aru”, about 10 times in his “Musashino”

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Futabatei’s Ukigumo

• Meanwhile, Futabatei Shimei, another pioneer of the new style, also used “de-aru”, three years earlier than Koyo.

• ▼「お勢は実に軽躁（かるはずみ）で有る。」

“Osei is very flippant.”（「浮雲」第３編 Ukigumo pt.3, 1889）

• Futabatei used “de-aru” and its past and future forms “de-atta” and “de-arou”, more than 20 times in his Ukigumo pt.3.

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(4) Summary• These are obviously inconsistent with the

prevailing view and we must reconsider from the beginning when and how the word was introduced into literary works.

二葉亭四迷山田美妙

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(5) The source of “de-aru”Where, then, did “de-aru” come from?Shimamura Hogetsu wrote as follows.▼The word “de-aru” is not Edo language. ▼It belongs to the words of foreign origin which

used to be called “Yokohama language”.▼ In Edo, people did not use such an awkward

word as to be pronounced “a” after “de”.• As Hogetsu points out, “de-aru” is often seen in

the foreign language textbooks used in Yokohama and other settlements of foreign residents.

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John Manjiro’s textbook

• We can see an example in a conversational reader edited in 1859 by John Manjiro, a returnee from the U.S.A.

▼ It is serene weather. (A text with a translation)

それ ある二 うららかな ひよりで一

• We call this style the “word-for-word translation style” .

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The traits of this style;the origin of “de-aru”

• The Japanese equivalent for a foreign word is unified like “それ” for “it” or “ある” for “is” and no other word is used.

• One of a few exceptions is a noun after the verb “be”such as “ひよりで” in the above sentence.

• This is composed of “ひより” meaning “weather” and “で”meaning a postpositional word.

• In Japanese the postpositional word “で” usually needs to be put between a noun and the verb “be” such as “ひよりである”.

• This is why such an awkward word as to be pronounced “a” after “de” appeared.

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The spread of the word

• How widely, then, did the word spread among students who studied English?

• In 1886, under the reformed educational law, English could be taught in elementary schools.

• Even elementary school children recited such sentences as this.

• ▼ “She is a girl.” 彼女は一箇の女児である。

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Grammar books

• The heroine in Futabatei’s Ukigumo studied English using the grammar of “Swinton’s New Language Lessons” which started with this sentence.▼”Grammar is the science that treats of the

principles of language.” ▼文法ハ国語ノ道理ニツイテ論ズル所ノ学問デアル。

• Out of 10 different guidebooks of the same grammar, nine adopted the de-aru” style.

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(5) SummaryIn short, “de-aru” had been quite common among students who studied English around 1887 when the ”Genbun-itchi” movement started in the literary world.

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(6) From language textbooks to literary translations

• When and by whom was the word “de-aru” introduced into literary works?Here are some examples from Futabatei’s translations.

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“A Secret Meeting”(あひゞき),by Ivan Turgenev, 1888

▼I was sitting… 私は…座していた。

▼I sat looking about and listening.自分は座して、四顧して、耳を傾けていた。

▼It was a scarcely audible, drowsy chatter. 漸く聞取れるか聞取れぬ程のしめやかな私

語の声で有つた。

(Translated from the Russian original.)

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The characteristics of “あひゞき”

• About 90 percent of the sentences end with “ta（た）” reflecting the original text written in the past tense.

• Among them, there are six sentences which end with “de-atta(で有つた)”, or the past form of “de-aru”.

• In other words, this translation is composed of the “ta(た)” style, not of the “da(だ)” style as many critics believe.

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“An Encounter”(めぐりあひ) by Ivan Turgenev, translated in 1888 from the Russian original

The characteristics of this translation• The frequency in the use of “de-atta”

increased to 14 compared with six in “あひゞき”.

• The other forms of “de-aru” appear;“de-arou(で有らう)”, or the future form of “de-aru”and “de-attarou(で有たらう)”, or the conjectural form of “de-atta”.

Both are used two times respectively.

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Other translations

• In addition to Futabatei’s, there are many other translations using the word.

• In most of those translations, “de-atta（で有つた）”, or the past form of “de-aru” is commonly seen.

• Even “de-aru” is found several times in Mori Ogai’s translation of E.T.A.Hoffmann’s Fraulein Scudery in 1889.

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(6) Summary

• All things considered, we can say that it was the translators of European literature who first introduced the word into literary works.

• And it was almost at the same timethat the “Genbun-itchi” movementstarted.

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(7) From translations to original works

• How, then, did these translations influence original works?

• To confirm this, it would be best to take up Futabatei’s original work Ukigumo.▼Ukigumo Part 1 Jun,1887

(Written one year before the translations cited above.)

We can find neither “de-atta” nor any other forms of “de-aru” in Part 1.

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Ukigumo Part 2 Feb.,1888(Written five months before the translations.)

• In Part 2 we find some strange forms of “de-aru” such as “de-arade(であらで)” and “de-arano(であらの)” as well as “de-arou(であらう)”.

• The total number of these words is less than 10.

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Ukigumo Part 3 July & Aug.,1889(Written one year after the translations.)

• In Part 3, the frequency of “de-atta” and the other forms of “de-aru” sharply increased.

• The number in the use of each form is as follows.

• “de-aru” (the present form) 5 times“de-atta” (the past form of “de-aru”) 6 times“de-arou” (the future form of “de-aru”) 6 times“de-attarou” (the conjectural form of “de-atta”) 2 times

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Points of interest

• After the two translations, the frequency in the use of the words “de-atta”, “de-arou” and “de-attarou” significantly increased.

• In addition to this, “de-aru” which was never used in the two translations is used as many as five times.

• Futabatei apparently needed the word because Ukigumo was narrated in the present tense unlike the two translations that were written in the past tense.

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(7) Summary

• We can find clear differences in thefrequency and the usage of the word afterthe translations.

• It is obvious that the two translations hadeffects in some way or other on the styleof Ukigumo Part 3.

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(8) The stagnant period of the “Genbun-itchi” movement

• After 1890, the “Genbun-itchi” movement rapidly lost its momentum.

• Futabatei who took a leading role in the movement quit his literary career and became a government official.

• Why did the movement lose its momentum?

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The reasons

1) Without models to follow, those who tried a new style wrote in their own style and as a result, lots of vulgar and unsophisticated works appeared.

2) In those days most literary readers preferred the old style and showed an explicit dislike for the new style.

3) As a reaction to the rapid Europeanization, the movements for the preservation of national characteristics occurred in the literary world.

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Shyoyo’s appeal• Under these circumstances, Tsubouchi

Syoyo, an advocate of realistic novels, appealed to the literary circles to translatethe finest of European literature.

坪内逍遥

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The effects of translation

• According to Syoyo’s idea, we can expect three effectsfrom translating European literature.

• 1) It sets a good example for Japanese writers to produce their own works.

• 2) It cultivates new readers showing interests in their new literature.

• 3) It contributes to the development of anew written style.

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(8) Summary

• In short, translating European literaturewas essential to create the new style

• as well as to cultivate the new readerswho show interests in the new style.

• In other words, it was indispensable for the “Genbun-itchi” movement to take rootamong the public.

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(9) Crime and Punishmenttranslated by Uchida Roan

• Responding to Shoyo’s appeal, UchidaRoan published the translation of Crime and Punishment in 1892, based on the English translation of the Russian original.

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• In this translation, Roan extended the usage of the word “de-aru” to the words other than the verb “be”.

• The following are some examples of the word extracted from the opening chapter of the translation.

内田魯庵

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The examples of the usage▼“de-atta” (the equivalent for the original “was”)

the chain was of steel. 鎖は鋼鉄（はがね）製であつた。

▼ “de-aru” (the equivalent for the original “were”)

his nerves were very weak. 彼の神経は頗るせん弱である。

▼ “de-aru” and “de-atta” (for the words other than the verb “be”)

He, too, seemed considerably agitated.是も仝じく痛く苦悶する体である。

and with an air of dissatisfaction. しかも苦々しい情態（やうす）であツた。

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Roan sometimes used “da” and “da-rou” insteadof “de-aru” and “de-arou”.

▼ “da” and “da-rou” His dress was so miserable that anyone else might have scrupled to go out in such rags. 身に纏ふた衣服は破（や）れちぎれて、恐らく誰でも此襤褸（ぼろ）を下げて白昼中（ひるなか）出歩く事は厭うだろうと思われる程だ。

▼ “no-da” He owed some money and felt afraid of encountering her. といふは宿料の停滞があるから、それで顔を合はせるのがおそろしいのだ。

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The characteristics of Roan’s style

• In this translation “de-aru” is used as a vital word covering such important words as “seem”, “might”, “so” and “and” as well as the verb “be”.

• As a result, the frequency in the use of the word increased.

• And the status of the word was enhanced so as to be regarded as an essential expression in the translation.

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Roan varied the tense.

• Unlike Futabatei, Roan varied the tense of the word so as to suit the circumstances.

• He used “de-aru” as an equivalent for “were”.

• He apparently tried to break the monotonyby mixing the present form with the past form regardless of the original text’s tense.

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An inevitable step

• This was an inevitable step toward the development of the new style because most Japanese sentences end with verbs. For example,

▼He was a sailor. 彼は船乗りであった。

• If you stick to the past tense, you cannot escape the monotony of repeating “ta” like Futabatei’s “A Secret Meeting(あひゞき)”.

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(9) Summary

• After all, Roan expanded the usage of “de-aru” and tried to merge it with the new style based on the vernacular.

• As a result, a style appeared that is very similar to the modern written style.

• We can see this as a big step forward toward the formation of the new written style.

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(10) The influence of Koyo• The time when Roan translated Crime and

Punishment coincides with the time when Ozaki Koyo started to write his novels using the “de-aru” style.

尾崎紅葉

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Koyo’s style(A Next-door Woman, August, 1893 )

▼《何が其ほど恐ろしいことが有るのであらう？…焦れぬいてゐる女の顔を、…思ふ存分見ておけば可（いゝ）に…奔竈（にげかく）れるとは何事であらう。…今更羞（はづ）かしい年齢でもあるまいに。／然（しかり）、誰しも然う思ふ。然う思ふのが常情（じやうじやう）である。》

▼“What does he fear so much? He could have seen the lover’s face as much as he liked. Why did he run out of her sight? He is not of an age to blush and run away from his beloved woman. Yes, every one would think so. It is quite natural to think so.” (Translation for reference)

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The traits of Koyo’s style

Koyo’s style is; • proceeding with the story in the present

tense, resulting in a lot of “de-aru” .• adding the narrator’s personal views to

explain the situations in which the characters were placed.

• This style can be adopted to various writings such as light essays, critical articles, academic dissertations and so on.

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Koyo’s motive

• His motive for adopting the style was to depict things as they really are as European novelists do.

• Therefore Koyo wrote lots of the adaptations of European novels like A Next-door Woman cited above that is based on a novel by Emile Zola.

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(10) Summary

• As Koyo was at the head of an influential literary circle called “Kenyu-shya”, lots of writers followed his example in adoptingthe new style using “de-aru”.

• Thanks to Koyo, the “de-aru” style became very popular and around 1900, it came to account for 90 percent of the novels witten in the “Genbun-itchi” style.

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(11)The spread of the “de-aru” style

• After Koyo’s novels, the new written style using “de-aru” became so popular as to be recognized in various forms of writing such as literary works, newspapers, magazines, elementary school textbooks and so on.

• Here we can cite some examples of how the “de-aru” style spread into the various forms of written communication.

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１）Literary translations

• In 1896 Futabatei Shimei made some alterations to “A Secret Meeting(あひゞき)”written in 1889. The differences between 1889 and 1896 version are;▼1889 version 1896 version

空ら合ひ。 空合である。

蒼空がのぞかれた。 蒼空が…見える。

私語の声で有つた。 私語（ささやぐ）やう

な音である。

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Futabatei’s new style

• A number of the verbs at the end of sentences were changed from the past to the present form. (From “ta” to “ru”)

• As a result, “de-aru” was used seven times in contrast to none in 1889 version.

• After these alterations, Futabateicontinued with the same policy and published more than 20 literary translations using the “de-aru” style.

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２）Newspapers and magazines

• The “de-aru” style went out of literary works and spread into newspapers and magazines.

• On December 1899, Nakai Kinjyo, a chief editor of Yomiuri Shinbun, wrote his editorial column using the “de-aru” style. This seems to be the first example of editorial columns written in the style.

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• By 1900, Taiyo (The Sun ), one of the leading general magazines of those days carried lots of articles written in the “de-aru” style in various sections from editorialto homemakers column.

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３）“Kokugo-tokuhon (国語読本)”• In 1900, Tsubouchi Syoyo compiled the

Japanese reading textbooks for the use of the elementary schools (尋常小学校) and those for the use of the higher elementary school (高等尋常小学校).

• The former carries three readings written in the “de-aru” style and the latter carries 12.

• The ratio of those written in the new style is more than 50 percent and the rest is written in the old style.

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The “de-aru” style in the textbooks

• Among those written in the new style, the ratio of the “de-aru” style to the “desu-masu” style is oneto five.

• As for the readings written in the “de-aru” style, more than 60 percent are translations of the stories extracted from foreign textbooks such as “Cinderella” or “The Emperor’s New Cloth”.

• This shows a close relation between the “de-aru”style and the literary translations.

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School textbooks thereafter• In 1902, the Japanese-language Surveillance

Commission, an advisory body to the education ministry, worked out the basic policy to adopt the “Genbun-itchi” style.

• This increased further the “de-aru” style in elementary school textbooks.

• For example, in the textbooks compiled in 1923, the “de-aru” style accounted for more than 50 percent in the readings in the books 10 to 12.

• This clearly shows that the “de-aru” style came to occupy a vital position in the elementary school reading textbooks.

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3. Conclusion

Futabatei’s views about the style • Futabatei Shimei, a leading advocate of

the “Genbun-itchi” movement, gave the following views about the “de-aru” style.

▼What is detestable about the “Genbun-itchi” style is the rude expressions such as “de-aru” “de-atta” and “da-rou” used at the end of sentences.

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▼However, in the traditional “colloquo-literary” style (雅俗折衷体), there are alsounnatural expressions such as “keri(けり)” “koso(こそ)” and “ramu(らむ)”.

▼Still, they do not sound so unnaturalbecause they have been used for a long time and sound familiar to our ears.

▼Similarly if we use “de-aru” “de-atta” and “da-rou” for 100 or 200 years, they might also sound familiar and pleasant to our ears.

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Points of interest• According to Futabatei’s views, the words

such as “de-aru” and “de-atta” are indispensable to the “Genbun-itchi” style.

• He felt these words did not sound too polite like “desu” or “masu” and could be widely used in various writings.

• In other words, they were essential to depict things objectively without honorific expressions.

• That is why he suggested that they continue to be used for 100 or 200 years.

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“de-aru,” as an essential word in the language reform

• This shows that the success or failure of the “Genbun-itchi” style largely dependedon whether the words like “de-aru” and “de-atta” were accepted by the public.

• In other words, the history of the new written style can be typically traced in the process of the introduction and acceptance of the words.

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Summary of this report

• Thus thinking, in this report, I focused on the words and traced the process of how they were adopted by the advocates of the “Genbun-itchi” movement and spread into various forms of written communicationand finally came to be regarded as essential to the modern style.

71お わ り （E.O.F）

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The history of auxiliary verbs to indicate something

from Yamamoto Masahide’s “History of “de-aru”

• After the Muromachi period（室町時代1336-1573), there were auxiliary verbs to indicate something, such as “gyaぢゃ” “daだ” “gozaruござる” and “gozarimasuござります”.

• Among them, the process of how “da” came into existence is as follows.

• にてあり(niteari)➝にてある(nitearu)➝である(dearu)➝であ(dea)➝ぢゃ(gya)

だ(da)

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(1) At the end of the Muromachi period

• “Deaであ” changed to “gyaぢゃ” in the Kansai Region,

• and to “daだ” in the Kanto Region.

“Gyaぢゃ” is a contracted sound of “deaであ”.

“Daだ” is a straight syllable of “deaであ”.

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(2) In the Edo period

• “Gya” and “da” were so popular and “dea” and “de-aru” became obsolete.

• Instead, “da” was commonly used in literary works, such as 東海道中膝栗毛 by Jippensya Ikku.

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(3) In the Meiji period

• “Da” was not so much used in written communication as in the Edo period.

• This is mainly because “da” sounds rather vulgar.

• People preferred “gozaimasu” and dearimasu” which are more polite.

• Throughout the Meiji period, “da” was hardly used in elementary school textbooks.

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No other choice but to use である

• However, “Gozaimasu” and “dearimasu” are usually used when we express politeness or when we show respect for the person we are speaking to.

• They are not suitable for describing things directly, or objectively.

• People had no other choice but to find new expressions.

• Thus the word “de-aru” was introduced to literary works.

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Went back to the beginning

• Interestingly enough, this took things back to the beginning.

• Historically, “da” took the place of “de-aru”.• However, this time, “de-aru” revived and

took place of “da”.• Actually “da” did not disappear. • It was used in the “de-aru” style• partly because it was useful to break the

monotony of repeating “de-aru”.

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“Desu” style• The “desu” style came to be used more widely

after the “Genbun-itch” movement.• Before then, people showed a tendency to avoid

it.• Because it was mainly used by professional

entertainers such as Rakugo story tellers or Geisya girls.

• However, after the “Genbun-itch” movement, it came to be used more widely.

• Because it was shorter and easier than “de-gozaimasu” or “de-arimasu”.

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“desu” after 1900• In 1903, it was adopted in national elementary

school textbooks which made the word furtherspread among the public.

• After World War II, with the country being more and more democratized, the “desu” style has been increasingly popular among the public.

• Now it can be widely seen in the various forms of written communication, such as juvenile literature, advertisements of new products, public information issued by municipalities, etc.