The monolingual borrowers: reconciling the success and failure of English in Japan

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article discusses Japan’s idealization and adoration of English language while at the same time being an insular monolingual nation. English has been an imperative foreign language in Japan from the mid-1800s; today, English is regarded as one of the most important school subjects . However, most Japanese people hold anxiety about their English learning experiences. The average person lives with a dilemma of not being able to use English despite having learned it for many years. One noticeable by-product of the dilemma is rampant use of English loanwords in everyday Japanese language. Paradoxically, such loanwords tend to undergo lexical shifts in Japanese contexts beyond original meanings until native English speaers are unable to comprehend their meanings. This paper discusses the hypothetical reasons why English education stays unsuccessful, and (2) Japanese people love to rely on use of English loanwords (Japanese Anglicism) instead of speaking English.