That Chinese/Japanese thing again
07/08/05 12:39 Filed in: Japanese
This from Michael Cook's 'A Brief History of the Human
Race', (p. 192 - Chinese Culture beyond the
Imperial Frontiers):-
"There is no denying that Chinese influence went very deep - so deep that the basic Japanese number system today is made up of Chinese loan words."
For 'is made up of', substitute 'includes'. Which rather dilutes the point, doesn't it?
いち、に、さん etc. are borrowed from Chinese, but ひとつ、ふたつ、みっつ etc. are Japanese and are very much alive and kicking today. If I were Japanese, I'd resent the implication that we wouldn't even have numbers if it weren't for Chinese words.
"There is no denying that Chinese influence went very deep - so deep that the basic Japanese number system today is made up of Chinese loan words."
For 'is made up of', substitute 'includes'. Which rather dilutes the point, doesn't it?
いち、に、さん etc. are borrowed from Chinese, but ひとつ、ふたつ、みっつ etc. are Japanese and are very much alive and kicking today. If I were Japanese, I'd resent the implication that we wouldn't even have numbers if it weren't for Chinese words.
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