English-Japanese Dictionaries in Modern Japan: Social Change and the Translation of Concepts through Multiple Languages

Masayuki Shioya, The University of Tokyo

This study examines media interactions in dictionaries. The Japanese language incorporated kanji from Chinese and frequently borrowed Chinese words to expand its vocabulary. In early modern Japan, under the restrictions on seaborne trade imposed by the Edo government, language exchange continued mainly with China and the Netherlands. In modern Japan, with the changes in the political system under the Meiji Restoration, intellectuals actively introduced European thought and concepts into Japan, using new concepts to educate and enlighten the state and introducing these ideas into everyday life. Translations and dictionaries played a crucial role in this process. For English translation, early dictionaries in Japan referred to the English and Chinese Dictionary published by Wilhelm Lobscheid (Morioka 1991). Dictionary editors translated new English concepts using Dutch and Chinese words that they localised in Japanese. They also made innovations such as coining new words, rediscovering old Chinese words, and exporting some of the new words to Chinese. This interaction expanded the meanings of these words, which have been carried over into today’s dictionaries. In recent years, the growth of text archives has made it easier to collect examples of word usage. It is important for the study of modern conceptual history and media studies to understand the global background before performing text mining and content analysis. This paper refers to significant dictionaries and focuses on certain social words to observe the interactions between multiple languages, such as Japanese, Chinese, Dutch, and English.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 129. The Politics of Language