Japanese honorifics
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An honorific is a term used to convey esteem or respect. "Honorific" may refer broadly to the style of language or particular words used, or to specific words used to convey honor to one perceived as a social superior.
Japanese has many honorifics, and their use is mandatory in many social situations. Honorifics in Japanese may be used to emphasise social distance or disparity in rank, or to emphasise social intimacy or similarity in rank.
Honorofics in Japanese are broadly referred to as keigo (敬語, literally "respectful language"), and fall under three main categories: sonkeigo (尊敬語; sonkei: to respect), kenjōgo (謙譲語; kenjō: modesty, humility) and teineigo (丁寧語; teinei: polite). This is similar to, though more complex than, the formal use of plurals to convey respect in languages such as French (vous instead of tu) and Greek (eseis instead of esei).
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Use of honorifics
In general in Japanese, as in many other languages, women speak more politely than men. Women tend to use polite and honorific forms more than men, though there are some situations in which honorific speech and the use of honorific titles is mandatory, regardless of the sex of the speaker.
Among young people, however, honorific speech is frequently eschewed, and as a consequence some honorifics, particularly name suffixes, are much less frequently used. Friends frequently use no honorific with each other's names, although classmates who do not know each other well might use -san or -kun.
This is a situation that is often lamented among older Japanese, and it is frequently said that honorifics are dying out in Japan. However many young people find that when they leave school and enter the working world, or even in dealing as an adult with certain types of people, the ability to correctly use and understand honorific language is mandatory and unavoidable. An adult who cannot correctly use and understand honorifics may be seen as uneducated, inconsiderate or, in extreme cases, untrustworthy. Many companies provide specific training in honorific language, and there are hundreds of books dedicated to its correct use.
Honorific word forms
In Japanese, as in English, speaking with a superior might require adopting a more solicitous or polite air and tone of voice and the avoidance of coarse language and slang. Unlike in English, however, in Japanese speaking with a social superior also requires modifying one's choice of specific vocabulary or word forms, and each of the three main Japanese honorific categories has particular words, word endings and prefixes. A speaker's status relative to the subject and/or listener in a given situation determines the choice of speech style.
For example, the standard form of the verb to do is suru. This form is appropriate with family members and close friends. The polite (teineigo) form of to do is shimasu. This form is appropriate in most daily interactions. When referring to the actions of a superior, however, the polite form shimasu becomes the exalted (sonkeigo) form nasaimasu, and when referring to one's own actions becomes the humble (kenjōgo) itashimasu or shiteorimasu.
There are many other examples of words that undergo complete changes depending on the speaker, listener and subject. In addition, the passive form can also be used to convey respect to superiors, thus "did you eat it" (tabemashita ka) becomes "was it eaten by you?" (taberaremashita ka).
Honorific titles
In addition to specific honorific and respectful word forms, Japanese speakers also make use of a variety of respectful titles when referring to other people. Such titles are always placed after the name, and may not be used with one's own name. In certain circumstances, these respectful titles may be dropped (for example, when referring to a member of one's own in-group). For more information, see uchi-soto.
- -san (さん). -San is the most common honorific title, and its use is mandatory when addressing most social outsiders (for example, non-family members). -San is used unless when some other title is unavailable or unless the addressee's status warrants a more polite term. It is often translated as "Mr.", "Ms.", "Mrs.", and the like, though such a translation is not always accurate. -San is the Japanese honorific most familiar to non-Japanese people.
There is a marked tendency among speakers of Japanese to avoid the use of personal names, and -san may also be used in combination with other titles. Thus, a bookseller might be addressed as "honya-san" (roughly, "Mr. bookseller") and a butcher as "nikuya-san" ("Mr. Butcher").
- -han (はん). -Han is the equivalent to -san in the Kansai dialect.
- -kun (くん，君). -Kun is an informal and intimate honorific primarily used by superiors in addressing inferiors, or by males of roughly the same age and status in addressing each other. In some circumstances, young women may also be addressed as -kun, but almost exclusively in business settings by older male superiors. Schoolteachers typically address male students using -kun, while female students are addressed as -san. -Kun is also used among friends of similar social standing, and by parents and relatives to address older male children (instead of -chan).
- -chan (ちゃん). -Chan is the informal, intimate, diminutive equivalent of -san, used primarily by children to refer to friends and family members but also applied to siblings, to close friends and lovers, and to children by adults. Though animals (which are seen as inherently inferior to humans) do not require honorifics, pets are frequently referred to using this diminutive as well.
- -sama (様). -Sama is the most formal honorific used in daily conversation in Japanese. It is used primarily in addressing persons much higher in rank than oneself (as long as some other title is unavailable), and is used in commercial and business settings to address and refer to customers. (See uchi-soto for a more in-depth analysis). -Sama also follows the addressee's name on postal packages and letters, again provided it is not superseded by some other title.
The use of -sama in some situations can be perceived as cold. For example, it would be rather unusual (and might be perceived as a snub) for a young person to address an acquaintance of roughly the same age and social status using -sama.
Rare and obsolete honorific titles
- -dono/-tono (殿). -Dono and -tono roughly mean "lord". This title no longer used in daily conversation, though it is still seen on certificates and awards and in written correspondence in tea ceremony. It is less seldom seen in anime, where characters are often either members of royal or noble houses, or gain sufficient respect for the honorific.
- -ue (上). -Ue literally means "above" and, appropriately, denotes a high level of respect. While its use is no longer very common, it is still seen in constructions like 父上 (chichi-ue) and 母上 (haha-ue), reverent terms for one's own, or someone else's, father and mother, respectively.
- -shi (氏). Seldom used in speech, this is used in formal writing, but in situations where, for whatever reason, the writer feels sama is inappropriate. It is preferred in legal documents, academic journals, and certain other formal written styles. Once a person's name has been used with shi, the person can be referred to with shi alone, without the name, as long as there is only one person being referred to.
- -heika (陛下). Affixed to the end of a royal title, with a meaning roughly equivalent to "Majesty" (天皇陛下; tennō-heika: His Majesty the Emperor; 女王陛下; joō-heika: Her Majesty the Queen). Heika by itself can also be used as a direct term of address ("Your Majesty").
- -tan (ち ゃ). -Tan is an overly cute mispronunciation of, specifically a child's slurring of, -chan.
Honorific prefixes
O- and go- are honorific prefixes which are applied to nouns and sometimes to verbs. In general, go- precedes Sino-Japanese words (that is, words borrowed from Chinese or made from Sino-Japanese elements), while o- precedes native Japanese words. There are exceptions, however, such as the Sino-Japanese word for telephone (denwa), which takes the honorific prefix o-.
Although these honorific prefixes are often translated into English as "honorable" ("o-denwa," for example, would be given as "the honorable telephone") this translation is not always accurate and rarely conveys the true feeling of their use in Japanese. In essence, these prefixes are untranslatable, but their use indicates a polite respect for the item named or the person to or about whom one is speaking.
There are some words which frequently or always take these prefixes, regardless of who is speaking and to whom; these are often ordinary items which may have particular cultural significance, such as tea (o-cha) and rice (go-han). Honorific prefixes can be used for other items to comic or sarcastic effect (for example, o-kokakōra, "honorable Coca-Cola"). Overuse of honorific prefixes may be taken as pretentious or simpering.
In tea ceremony, common ingredients and equipment always take the honorific o- or go-, including water (o-mizu), hot water (o-yu), and tea bowls (o-chawan). However, these terms are often heard in daily life as well.
As with honorific word forms and titles, honorific prefixes are used when referring to or speaking with a social superior, or speaking about a superior's actions or possessions, but not usually when referring to oneself or one's own actions or possessions, or those of one's in-group.
For example, when referring to one's own order at a restaurant, one would use Chūmon, but when referring to a customer's order, the restaurant staff would use go-chūmon. Similarly, kazoku means "my family," while go-kazoku means "your family" (or, broadly speaking, someone else's family).
Foreign loanwords (except those that come from Chinese; see above) seldom take honorifics, but when they do o- seems to be preferable to go-. One example is o-biiru (biiru: beer), which can sometimes be heard at restaurants.
O- was also commonly used as an element in female names in pre-war Japan, For example O-hana (お花), O-haru (お春), and so on. Very few babies receive such names nowadays.
External links
- Keigo Examples (http://www.jlpt-kanji.com/keigo.php)ja:敬語