Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses Humboldt's unpublished notes on Japanese. They are limited to 18 pages. Based on his view of language as a teleological phenomenon, Humboldt notes on Japanese deal with the genesis of linguistic phenomena as an expression of the feelings and thoughts of their speakers.

Paper long abstract:

Humboldt's examination of Japanese is limited to 18 pages of unpublished notes in French. His handwritten ideas on Japanese can be seen as fragmentary considerations on the nature of language and how language relates to the mind of its speakers. Since the Japanese grammars that Humboldt studied were originally meant to serve the missionary mission of Japan, they pay due attention to spoken language. Humboldt's studies were limited to two grammars, Melchor Oyanguren's Arte de la lengua japona (1738) and Ernest Landresse's French translation of the Arte da lingua de Iapam by João Rodriguez (Eléments de la Grammaire Japonaise, 1825). He did not have access to the Arte Breue da lingoa Iapoa by Rodriguez that mentioned the language studies of the so-called Edo nativist school (kokugaku). This is unfortunate, because the Edo nativists dealt comprehensively with the question of the essence of the Japanese language and its relation to the Japanese mind, that is to say, the very phenomena that Humboldt was interested in in his quest to capture the universal and culture specific aspects nature of language. Based on his view of language as an intellectual and teleological phenomenon, Humboldt notes on Japanese deal above all with the genesis of linguistic phenomena as an expression of the feelings and thoughts of their speakers.

In this paper I discuss Humboldt's view in Japanese on the background of the time, his access to sources on Japanese and the limitations of a universalist linguistic in absence of a general theory of language. As a man of his time, Humboldt's ideas on Japanese shows deep influences of Eurocentrism and Orientalism. The revisions he made in his notes in Japanese shows that he struggled to come to terms with a language so different from Indo-European languages which stood at the center of his considerations about language. This dilemma, albeit in much a weaker form, is still a problem of contemporary linguistics.

Paper short abstract:

In 1941, Tokieda Motoki published Kokugogaku genron, a failed attempt to refocus Japanese linguistics as an ontological alternative to Western theory. This paper examines Tokieda’s legacy and proposes a recontextualisation of an otherwise overlooked chapter in the global history of linguistics.

Paper long abstract:

Tokieda Motoki’s Kokugogaku genron (国語学原論), originally published in 1941, is arguably the most significant Japanese theoretical publication on the subject of language written in the 20th century: It constitutes a rare attempt by a Japanese linguist to propose an alternative theory of linguistics in a field that has been dominated by European and American (i.e. “Western”) theorists. Although Tokieda tailored his theory around the Japanese language, he insisted that it was a general theory of language, meaning that it could – in theory – be applied to the study of other languages. Thus, seen from the perspective of the global history of linguistics, Tokieda’s theory is nothing short of a veritable rara avis: a scientific theory of language conceived by a person whose first language is not Indo-European. For this reason alone, one would imagine that Tokieda was a more well-known scholar, but the reality is that he is virtually unknown outside specialist circles.

In this paper, I explore some of the reasons behind Tokieda’s obscurity. I argue that partly due to his own hubris and partly due to historical circumstance, Kokugogaku genron ended up in a web of controversies, misunderstandings and mistranslations. Chief among these is Tokieda’s audacious attempt at repudiating the Swiss linguist, Ferdinand de Saussure, whilst relying on a lacking Japanese translation. Furthermore, Tokieda’s political leanings also tie him to a broader question that extends far beyond theoretical linguistics: How do we approach the intellectual heritage of the numerous prewar thinkers who expressed sympathy for Japanese imperialism?

Despite the contentious gossamer, I maintain that Tokieda’s magnum opus deserves our attention, if only for the fact that it remains one of the few extant opportunities to glimpse into an alternative reality in which the modern science of language has not been almost exclusively shaped by speakers of the same language family (i.e. Indo-European). I propose that by recontextualising Kokugogaku genron as a thesis rather than an antithesis, effectively ignoring the polemic about Saussure, the text gains new relevance for the global discipline that is linguistics in the 21st century.

Paper short abstract:

This presentation attempts to trace the ideas and anxieties regarding "onna-rashisa" (femininity) held by Jugaku Akiko (壽岳章子, 1924-2005), pioneering researcher on gender in Japanese language, through introducing diary excerpts from 17 years of her life.

Paper long abstract:

In Jugaku Akiko's (1924-2005) major work, "Japanese Language and Women" (Iwanami Shoten, 1979), she argued that the Japanese language has suppressed and constrained women's lives in various aspects of daily life. In "Japanese Language and Women," Jugaku argues that "onna-rashisa" (femininity or the appearance of being womanly) has oppressed and constrained women in Japan by showing the actual state of Japanese language through women's weekly magazines, songs, proverbs, and sugoroku. In the fall of 2019, I had the opportunity to access Jugaku’s diaries from 1941 to 1958, that is, from the ages of 17 to 34. In this presentation, I attempt to trace the ideas and anxieties of Jugaku’s youthful days up until publishing “Japanese Language and Woman” through her diary. In particular, I will trace Jugaku's views on women as recorded in her diary and examine the process that led to her eventual criticism of "onna-rashisa."

In a 1943 entry, Jugaku used demeaning words regarding friendships with women, such as "onna nante" (the likes of women) (1943/8/25). In her impressions of postwar American films, she praised the acting of the female leads as being "feminine and natural" (1946/5/8). There are also entries that allude to her losing self-confidence as a woman; in one case, after listening to a passionate, powerful performance by a male pianist, she wrote, “I feel the limitations of women, and I feel ashamed of myself” (1955/10/18). Jugaku's first negative reference to "onna-rashisa" appears in her diary in 1956: "At a round-table discussion on 'femininity' in Fujin Koron, I was impressed by Sawamura Sadako" (1956/1/19). In this discussion, Sawamura said that men call a domestic wife "onna-rashii," but a wife who satisfies a man in this way is left with nothing once she gets old. She stressed the necessity for women to have a job that is useful to society, not just to protect the home. In her diary, Jugaku articulated that she was "impressed" by Sawamura's comments. Looking at her diary, it can be assumed that this was the starting point of Jugaku's research on "onna-rashisa" after her earlier shifting views on women.