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The Vocabulary of the Japanese Ports Lingo

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 December 2009

Extract

The ‘makeshift’ or ‘pidgin’ language here discussed has been usuallycalled in English ‘the Yokohama dialect’ or ‘Yokohama Japanese’. In Japanese the corresponding ‘Yokohama-hotoba’ is sometimes heard, but it is hardly a recognized name, and examples of the language are apt to be dismissed as foreigners′ mistakes.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © School of Oriental and African Studies 1948

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References

page 805 note 1 For items of information about certain words I am indebted to the following present or past colleagues: Mrs. K. Whitaker, Mr. B. Matsukawa, Mr. K. Takaira, and my wife. I thank them for the trouble they took to answer what must have seemed rather pointless and trivial questions.

page 809 note 1 Diósy: ‘ Betto are grooms and ostlers. Americans call them “ Brown Betties ” in remembrance of toothsome New England cakes.’

page 810 note 1 I am told that dara-dan, apparently from this word, was used by Kansai geisya some thirty years ago for ‘ rich man ’

page 815 note 1 ‘ Kanagaki-Robun ’ has konsyuru (showing palatalization of the s) and puts into the mouth of an uneducated J. girl the distortion konsiroo —ONBZ. i, p. 28, bottom, 1. 8

page 816 note 1 Despite the near oertainty that both words are ultimately of‘ nursery ’ origin (as is ‘ nun ’, JL., VIII, § 8). The ‘ (woman) diver’ word is apparently of other provenance, from an old word ama ‘ sea ’. The main steps seem to have been: (1) formation of compound, amabito‘ sea person ’, i.e. ‘ fisherman ’; (2) desuetude of ama ‘ sea ’, though the compound remained and (3) came to be apprehended as corresponding to, and not only signifying as a whole,‘ fisher-man ’ (without sex implication); (4) dropping of -bito ‘ person, man ’ and use of ama as ‘ fisher’. The transition route to the specialization ‘ (woman) diver ’ is not quite clear, but ‘ sea persons ’, ‘ fishermen ’, ‘ fishers ’, probably always included divers for shell-fish. The word is now chiefly used of pearl divers (almost all women), and confusion with ama ‘ nun ’ may quite likely have played some part in producing the specialization.

page 818 note 1 GNBZ. i, p. 4, middle, 1. 7: Hotolce no gokai() saranpaa; and p. 29, middle, 11.18–19: (of a half-told tale) Atowa saranpaa ni site

page 821 note 1 That ‘ punishment’, even when corporal, was not limited to fist-work is evidenced by Griffis's statements: ‘ These men [“ a grievously large number ” of Englishmen] help to form the army of hard-heads and civilized boors in Japan, to which our own country [America] furnishes recruits… Fearful of spoiling cook, boy, or “ betto ” (hostler), they spare neither fist, boot, nor cane. In this species of brutality we believe the vulgar John Bulls to be sinners above all the foreigners in the East’ (Mikado's Empire, p. 342). To which I add, in the interests of Anglo-American solidarity, that a common J. slang term for a blow with the fist is meriken

page 823 note 1 Studies are much needed of the means of linguistic communication used in J.occupied territories. It can hardly be doubted that makeshift languages grew up, or that there has been, as between Ch. and J. in particular, considerable mutual influence at a popular level, besides the enormous literary give-and-take. The linguistic adventures of the troops occupying Japan (American particularly, since British troops are forbidden to ‘ fraternize ’) should also be worth investigation. Later. An ex-student of the School lately returned from Army service at Singapore, 1947–48, tells me that a pidgin J. is current there as a lingua franca between Malays and Westerners, and that in this language sinzyoo, or an approximation to it, is used for ‘ give ’ (imp.).

page 823 note 2 It occurs in Agura-nabe in the speech of a tya-ya-onna telling how at 14 or 15 she had been offered as mistress to a British consul, who clinched the bargain with: Anata izin peke arimasu ha. Watakusi anata taisan yorosii (GNBZ. i, p. 29, middle, 11. 9–10). The consul was said to know J. well, and there are concessions here to J. usage, viz. use of anata as ‘ you ’, dropping of san after izin, use of interrog. particle ha. Otherwise this is pure lingo as described by Atkinson and Diósy–in their spellings: ANATTER EEJTN PIGGY AEIMAS (lea = ?). WATAKKSHEE ANATTER TAISAN YOTJE A SHEE.