Abstract
A previous study categorized uncommon names in present-day Japan. However, it was presented in Japanese mainly for native Japanese speakers and thus failed to explain shared knowledge about naming practices, making it difficult for non-native Japanese speakers to understand the study. It is important to share cultural practices not only within but also beyond the culture. Moreover, considering that Japanese names are difficult to read, reducing the risk of failing to read names correctly is helpful especially for non-native Japanese speakers. Therefore, by adding supplementary explanations, this paper systematically describes the characteristics and patterns of uncommon names in present-day Japan. Uncommon names largely take two forms: names with an uncommon reading of Chinese characters and names with uncommon Chinese characters. Regarding the reading, there are three types: 1-1) names that abbreviate the common reading of Chinese characters, 1-2) names that are pronounced as a foreign word, and 1-3) names that are pronounced based on the meaning/image of Chinese characters. Regarding the writing, there are two types: 2-1) names with Chinese characters used infrequently and 2-2) names with silent Chinese characters adding to the semantic meaning without contributing to the pronunciation. Further, a combination of these methods makes names more unique.
Highlights
Prior studies have demonstrated that unique names increased over time in several countries, such as Germany (Gerhards and Hackenbroch, 2000), the U.S (Twenge et al, 2010; Twenge et al, 2016), Japan (Ogihara et al, 2015; Ogihara and Ito, 2020; for reviews, see Ogihara, 2017, 2018) and China (Cai et al, 2018; and see Ogihara, 2020b)
Among names with uncommon readings, there are three types: 1-1) names that abbreviate the common reading of Chinese characters, 1-2) names that appear as Chinese characters but are pronounced as a foreign word that corresponds to the semantic meaning, and 1-3) names that are pronounced based on the semantic meaning or image of Chinese characters
Names with Silent Chinese Characters that Add to the Semantic Meaning Without Contributing to the Pronunciation Each Chinese character used in baby names is usually pronounced
Summary
Prior studies have demonstrated that unique names increased over time in several countries, such as Germany (Gerhards and Hackenbroch, 2000), the U.S (Twenge et al, 2010; Twenge et al, 2016), Japan (Ogihara et al, 2015; Ogihara and Ito, 2020; for reviews, see Ogihara, 2017, 2018) and China (Cai et al, 2018; and see Ogihara, 2020b). People can assume the most likely reading of a Chinese character (the most frequently used reading in most cases), but it is not always the case that the assumed reading is consistent with the reading intended by parents/guardians This practice makes reading Japanese names complicated. Describing patterns of uncommon names and their characteristics is important for researchers in various fields (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, medicine, and engineering), and for people in general This is because such descriptions enable understanding and interpretation of uncommon names, which can decrease the risk of being unable to read a name or of reading it incorrectly. To help non-native Japanese speakers fully understand uncommon names in Japan and to increase their probability of reading such names correctly, I summarize patterns of uncommon names in present-day Japan and systematically describe their characteristics. I add sufficient explanations of Japanese names and naming practices, which were lacking in the previous paper (Ogihara, 2015)
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