Nagoya City poster titled “Pleasant Communication with Simple Japanese”. Note the play on words for “Nagoya” and “pleasant” (nagoyaka)
“Cheers, mate.” It’s a cold January night in Hokkaido, Japan, the snow is knee-high and we’re sheltering in a ramen shop. I am with friends visiting from Australia, and most had never seen snow until a few days ago.
We’re a mixed group. One of my friends is speaking clearly, slowly, pointing to the menu, adding in “arigatō” and bowing. Another talks as though he’s still in Australia, whether the other party speaks fluent English or only a few words. Just a few days prior the situation was reversed, and this same friend shook his head saying, “Why do they talk to me as though I speak Japanese?”
Obviously it goes both ways. And maybe these encounters are less a question of which language we speak, and more of how we think about those who don’t.
Over my seven years of living in Japan, almost every day has involved some type of multilingual interaction. I’ve seen people across languages either overcompensate or undercompensate for the other party’s perceived lack of understanding. In doing so, we tend to either ignore language barriers, or conversely imagine them up, yet both are problematic.
No one wants to be patronised as a competent language user, and no one wants to be ignored or even belittled as a language learner.
With occasional pride but usually chagrin, I’ve been on all sides of these assumptions at one point or another. Over recent years I’ve reflected on such encounters, including my own incorrect assumptions, and tend to hit upon a pattern of two main factors. The first is assumptions about the other person’s language ability. The second is our perceptions about how best to respond to people in light of those language abilities.
The first factor of assumptions can often be mitigated through an open-mind, by avoiding a priori judgements, and being proactive and observant enough to gauge someone’s language ability through their actual language use. By and large, this approach takes little more than practice, awareness and the willingness to stave off our assumptions.
The second issue of how best to respond, and especially how to cater for less confident language learners’ needs, is more complex. It’s also rarely discussed, at least beyond academic and pedagogical circles, and in the everyday lives of the people actually engaging in such interactions. What I will introduce today, therefore, are several practical examples of Japanese language support, in both its productive and counterproductive forms. For ease of comparison and to provide concrete examples, focus will be dominantly on written Japanese language.
Simplifying Language, Done Right
Let’s start with the concept of Yasashī Nihongo. Yasashī Nihongo (やさしい日本語) literally translates as easy or kind Japanese. It’s useful in situations where Japanese learners lack ready access to translations or interpreting services in their own languages. Other people may choose to interact with people or written texts in Japanese, but find this process easier with language support.
Sample article from NHK’s News Web and News Web Easy. News Web Easy title reads “Students Helping People in Wheelchairs in Event at Ise Shrine”
What then, does Yasashī Nihongo look like in practice? The bright yellow poster in Figure 1 from the Nagoya City website is a good example. In it, two rows of people hold up sketchbooks, each containing a difficult word or phrase. This may be a term in intermediate, formal Japanese, or a loanword requiring knowledge of English or other languages. Arrows point to everyday, simple expressions, which are more accessible for Japanese learners. Both the poster and the Nagoya City website publishing it highlight the value of such communication methods in everyday life, and during emergencies or natural disasters.
Beyond mere simplification of vocabulary, there are many ways to increase language accessibility. Another example is the NHK website News Web Easy. A quick visual comparison of one and the same article in its Yasashī Nihongo version and regular Japanese version shows differences in form and complexity, even without an understanding of Japanese.
Font and line size adjustments have been made. Spaces, absent from most Japanese writing, have been added between words, and phonetic furigana readings are visible above the kanji (the more complex Chinese-based symbols, separate from the Japanese syllabaries). The text, and noticeably the title, have been simplified and shortened, making the whole Yasashī article 23% shorter than the original. Other changes include colour coding names, a hover over function showing definitions for underlined words, a reduced speed audio version of the text, and even additional images or graphics.
Remembering the concept of meeting learners’ needs in light of their language ability, a final feature of the website is adjustment options for the level of simplification. This includes hiding the colour coding and phonetic furigana readings, and links to view the original article in standard Japanese. This allows readers to tailor or gradually increase difficulty, similar to the scaffolding process in language learning.
Simplifying Language, Done Wrong
There are other instances of Yasashī Nihongo that are less positive, and lack the multimodal accessibility of the previous example. Below is a sample from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s website, “COVID-19 Vaccine Navi”. This website also has a Yasashī Nihongo option, indeed it is one of only three language options (the other two being Japanese and English).
Created during the pandemic, this website has developed since I first came across it in mid 2022, and was like many foreign nationals looking for vaccine information. At that time, the texts for the Yasashī Nihongo version and the regular Japanese version were identical. No simplification had taken place and while phonetic readings for kanji were included, these were in full-sized parentheses beside the original words.
2023 sample from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s website. Which text looks more approachable?
The result was a text linguistically no less confusing, but visually and structurally disjointed, and dauntingly twice the length. I consulted with other speakers of Japanese as a second language, and all agreed that we would rather read the original Japanese than the “easy” version.
Since this time, the Covid Navi website has thankfully improved. However, this was done in an inconsistent manner. Some sections have been paraphrased into simpler versions of the Japanese text, while others keep the same wording as the original. Some sections keep the phonetic readings for kanji in parenthesis, while others only have the phonetic readings, having removed the kanji characters entirely. Also absent from these pages are any different formatting techniques, such as spacing between words and lines, or a larger font size. These internal inconsistencies and missed potential for increased accessibility suggest there is still room for improvement for the website.
Implications
So what do these different instances of Yasashī Nihongo tell us? Clearly there are positive and negative ways of making language accessible. It is noteworthy that organisations, particularly governmental ones, are taking steps in the right direction, but how effective these steps are, and why they have taken so long, remains in question.
If we are not meeting the needs of language learners, it is a sign that we need better education about language learning processes and challenges, and more importantly, chances to hear the voices of language learners about their own accessibility needs. The earlier version of the corona vaccine information website strongly suggested to me (and those I shared it with) that no learner of Japanese as a second language had been consulted in its construction.
Providing language support is more than just ticking a box. While it is frustrating to be overcompensated for as an adept language user, it can be distressing and even have detrimental consequences to be neglected as a language learner. This is why language accessibility support in particular deserves attention, and not only in organisations publishing written materials. We have opportunities within our everyday interactions, both to be more vocal about our needs as language learners, and to consider the effects for other language learners, positive or negative, of how we communicate.
Referenced Websites
City of Nagoya. (2017, November 30). Yasashī nihongo no pēji [Easy Japanese page]. https://mt.adaptive-techs.com/httpadaptor/servlet/HttpAdaptor?.h0.=fp&.ui.=citynagoyahp&.ro.=kh&.st.=rb&.np.=/kurashi/category/395-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. (2023). Shingata korona uirusu wakuchin o utte morau koto no oshirase [Information about receiving novel coronavirus vaccines]. Corona Vaccine Navi. https://v-sys.mhlw.go.jp/ja-pl/
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. (2023). Shingata korona uirusu wakuchin sesshu no sōgō an’nai [General information about novel coronavirus vaccine injections]. Corona Vaccine Navi. https://v-sys.mhlw.go.jp/
NHK. (2023, September 18). Isejingū kurumaisu demo kigaru ni sanpai o chūkōkōsei borantia ga kaijo [Ise Shrine: Easy access for shrine visits even in wheelchairs: Middle and high school students volunteer assistance]. NHK News Web. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20230918/k10014199131000.html
NHK. (2023, September 20). Isejingū de seito-tachi ga kurumaisu no hito o tetsudau ibento [“Students helping people in wheelchairs in event at Ise Shrine”]. NHK News Web Easy. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10014199131000/k10014199131000.html
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Thank you for this post.
I can relate to the challenges of communicating in another language we are learning which is often daunting and takes time to build confidence. I have experienced people on both spectrums, being condascending and talking down to me although my language skills were sufficient for the interaction, they switched to English despite my attempt to keep the conversation in French or Japanese. Some Japanese people would just get stressed as they didn’t realise I was speaking Japanese and kept repeating with great anxiety I don’t speak English. Additionally in other areas where I was obviously struggling, such as getting medical care, navigating banking issues or attempting to post packages internationally where I desperately needed assistance, people have spoken only in very quick French despite my repeated requests for them to repeat what they said slower. There is no apparent attempt to provide assistance or to communicate, conversely, I feel like a great annoyance and inconvenience. For myself as a teacher and when navigating intercultural relationships, including my marriage, I find it is a balancing act that takes a great deal of sensitivity to communicate respectfully and effectively. My experience traveling in Tibet, where neither I nor the Tibetans spoke a word of each other’s language, is that if both parties have a will to communicate its very possible to communicate effectively and enthusiastically . However, if there is a low desire to communicate with one or both parties, due to racism or other benign reasons, even with the highest level of language ability will not assist us. These cultural challenges can sometimes be the real issues at the heart of language communication barriers.
Thanks, Ally! Amen to that. Although I would add that if you had needed medical care in Tibet or post an international package, all the goodwill and enthusiasm might not have been enough without a common language or an interpreter …
My presentation in class was about the Japanese language being used in the military and it was quite interesting how for languages that had influence from Chinese back in the past all share a common notion of the “yasashi” concept. This applies to Korean as well in a way because back in the past, Koreans also used the Chinese writing system because the Korean alphabet was not invented. But because Korean does not have tones, to make sure that the common folk understood every word, there had to be the exact Chinese characters that were written for the words because one sound could have several characters to write it and it would not be distinguishable unless indicated with the exact Chinese characters to match. It is the opposite from Japanese kanji where it was necessary to write Chinese characters to clarify the word whereas Japanese is focused on transcribing the Chinese words into hiragana or katakana for beginners.
This article reminds me of a funny meme on Facebook. The content is about a conversation between the host and a person translating the film from Chinese to English. The translator said that sometimes, when a character’s dialogue in Chinese is very long, he only needs to use concise sentences (like “I’m sorry” or “OK”) to translate into English. Below in the comments section, some people also agree that when watching the subtitles of a Chinese movie, there is a discrepancy in the meaning of each line of dialogue when translated directly from Chinese (the original language) to Vietnamese and translating from English (Chinese into English first) and then finally into Vietnamese. Therefore, I think that simplifying the language requires investment and contribution from professional educators to be able to bring accurate and complete content to listeners/readers as well as suitable for the needs of the audience who have different language levels.
Thanks, Hao! I’m sure we are missing out on so much in relay translation! Do you have a specific example of a detail that gets lost from Chinese to Vietnamese if translated via English?
This article underscores the significance of recognizing the needs of language learners, particularly in multicultural environments. Having resided in Australia for the past four months, I have had the opportunity to witness various complexities in language. As a native of Pakistan, this journey introduced me to new linguistic challenges. I also observed instances where individuals criticized language proficiency, prompting me to share an incident that transpired at a fuel station.
On this occasion, a person approached and exhibited discourteous behavior by expressing, “If you cannot speak English like us, then you should not engage in these roles.” This encounter exemplified a regrettable societal attitude that fails to appreciate the efforts of language learners. It is imperative that individuals acknowledge one another’s learning processes and utilize language that aligns with the proficiency level of the individual in question.
Regarding the concept of Yasashī Nihongo, it serves as a compelling illustration of the importance of tailoring language support to meet the learner’s specific requirements. The approach can be categorized as either executed ‘correctly’ or ‘incorrectly’ in numerous instances. In today’s digital age, we are fortunate to have a plethora of tools and resources designed to simplify language based on individual needs. However, certain situations, such as the topics which have set patterns of writing for all languages instructed by authorities like COVID-19, can remain challenging for learners. Nevertheless, the efforts made in the mentioned example should be commended. While it is acknowledged that these efforts may at times be frustrating for new learners, scholars can offer valuable suggestions to enhance the overall process.
Subsequently, it becomes the responsibility of organizations and educational institutions to consider the needs of their students and learners. Even within university settings, there should be a focus on training educators to deliver lectures in a manner that accommodates international learners, ensuring they do not feel disadvantaged due to language barriers.
Thanks, Umair! Sorry to hear you had such an unpleasant experience.
When you say that university lecturers should accommodate international learners more, what do you have in mind? Can you expand on that point and provide some examples of changes you’d like to see?
I had a similar thought for English articles whether any website have versions of Australian, American, and British English. Sometime, with the same object or ideas, different English style has different words to express. I think EFL learners have different interest, with these options, learners can distinguish and choose the styles they want.
I read one Vietnamese book in the past and it use many English terms which are hard to translate to Vietnamese, so they keep those terms in English with the IPA and the meaning of that word in Vietnamese next to it. Instead of helping readers can understand the terms, it distracted my reading flow and made the text harder to understand. Some writers solve this problem by writing coherently one or more sentences to explain other language terms. I think this way is easier for the readers.
Hi Brownie, have you seen this recommendation of BTN – maybe that’s what you are looking for?
Re your point about lots of English technical terms in Vietnamese. So, true that this makes reading so much more difficult but seems to be a trend in many languages. I’ve noticed it in German and it really annoys me, and students in “Languages and cultures in contact” recently presented about excessive English loanwords in Bangla, Korean, and other languages …
I sympathize with you. Some old books I’ve read don’t even translate the meaning or keep the original word but write it phonetically according to Vietnamese saying, which makes me take a few seconds to think about which word they’re mentioning. Therefore, I admire the diverse vocabulary of translators of the Harry Potter series, as they have translated this series very successfully, making it easy to understand for Vietnamese readers.
Good translation is an art and a huge achievement. Sad that it’s so undervalued!
Thanks a lot for giving me further insights into Japanese language and culture! My mother struggled to learn Japanese for six years, but her language level eventually plateaued at that of a child. Therefore, the Japanese literature that fulfilled the given criteria for her language level was intended for children.
Although the situation for adult language learning improved and it became easier to find interesting beginner-level books, it remained a challenge. This lack of suitable reading material can lead to boredom, or even a halt of the language learning progress.
My sister, who shares my mother’s love for Japan, recently visited the country 25 years after my mother. Latter was worried as she remembered the high English-Japanese language barrier while she went there.
Unfortunately, my sister had to find out that this barrier still existed, even though less in Tokyo. Especially after she tried to order a coke at McDonald’s, and wasn’t understood at all as they gave her coffee instead. She felt completely lost and frustrated, as she perceived the will of understanding her as quite little. She also wondered if it would have even helped her to know some words, as she perceived an ongoing huge discrepancy in multiple ways.
Thanks, Carla! Your sister’s experience reminds me of this documentary about Latin American women in Canada. One of the greatest fears of one of them was to place food orders because she was often misunderstood and never knew what kind of food she’d get … https://www.languageonthemove.com/life-in-a-language-you-are-still-learning/
As a university student in South Korea, I used ‘Yasashi Nihongo’ on the NHK news website because one of my professors recommended, that I utilise that function to improve my Japanese reading skills. Reading Japanese news articles on a regular basis improved my competence in the Japanese language without any doubt. Its success has led to my habits of reading English articles and translating practice from English to Korean for the same purpose in the English language.
I want to share one of the resources I use for my English improvement, similar to ‘Yasashi Nihongo’ on the NHK website. Australian Broadcasting Centre (ABC) has ‘Behind the News’ (BTN), which uses graded English to target junior high school students in Australia. All the articles, audio (Podcasts) and videos are easy to understand and dynamic to attract audiences. Most videos and audio provide scripts, too. Furthermore, all the contents are related to hot potatoes dealt with in Australian News targeted to adults.
Of course, there are some differences from the NHK website such as not providing colour coding names, vocabulary summaries and so forth because it needs to target English learners as a Second Language. However, it is still worth it for English learners who would like to know up-to-date Australian news and learn the English language at the same time.
Great recommendation! Thanks for that!
Yasashī Nihongo sounds like a double-edged sword. I think highly qualified language specialists must be involved for it to be done right as it seems to cause more harm with miscommunication than good when done wrong. I do applaud the Japanese government for taking steps for accessibility in the right direction and hope that more countries follow suit.
As an English teacher for young learners, this article reminds me of how I often simplify complicated grammatical concepts and vocabulary words into terms that children understand. For vocabulary, I use dictionaries as a reference but do not directly quote the definitions as the language is too technical for typical 5 year-olds to grasp. In order to meet the needs of the learners, I find myself revising materials on-the-go while I teach and I notice some of the parents of my students listen in on my classes and take notes because they themselves are learning at the level of their child. I interviewed some parents about this and they mentioned how they prefer my “kid-friendly” approach/modules over usual language learning content curated for level 0 English for adults. They further explained that it wasn’t really about the content, but my approach that interested them.
Similarly, I agree with this article on the note that language accessibility is more than just simplifying words. It is about understanding the target audience and assessing their capacity in order to tailor-make the content to fit their (interests and) needs with the use of appropriate language at their level.
Thanks, Panda Girl! Sounds like an interesting approach – would love to listen in, too! Keep up the good work!
Thank you. You and others are welcome to listen in AND participate in my online classes if time permits. Some of my students are eager to meet other English speakers and would love to practice their conversation skills.
This is an interesting observation, the fact that the parents like the kid-friendly approach is interesting to me. When toddlers first begin to learn to speak, it is not advised to speak slow or pronounce words “slowly” but with kids that are learning a second language, perhaps the kid-friendly approach could enhance their ability on understanding more difficult concepts, rather than finding out the concept themselves. Thank you for your comment, it was very interesting to read.
Thanks, Sihoon! You might be interested to hear that the ways in which adults address young children differs widely across the world’s cultures. In some cultures “baby-talk” (including speaking slowly) is very common and in others, no one even speaks to children until they’ve learned enough to be full conversation partners …
I agree that depending on the age and level of learners, we should have different approach to teach. A few years ago, I thought that I should study as a child who was born in English speaking country. Then I watched some kid cartoon and music videos, it helped me easily learn some daily vocabularies such as fruits and animals. I believe that the parents that you mentioned had the similar feeling.
When I turned to read some kid stories without images, it was still difficult at that time because I do not have enough vocabularies to understand. So, I may assume that although the language is simple, but it can be a barrier for some adults who have low language proficiency level. For example, some migrant adults cannot use English in Australia, they cannot understand every single word on the street signs. In those cases, I think translation such as using dictionaries can be useful.
Having recently moved to Australia from Bangladesh only three months ago, this article on the complexity of language simplification really resonated with me. The challenge of multilingual interactions and the balance between being understood and feeling supported is a difficult path I find myself walking every day.
The case of Yasashī Nihongo clearly shows how important it is to adjust our language to meet the listener’s level, but without underestimating their linguistic abilities. In my own experience, the effort taken to simplify the language without reducing the depth of the content is much appreciated. Your criticism of the “COVID-19 vaccine Navi” reflects my observation of many translated resources that, while well-intentioned, sometimes could miss the mark when it comes to truly helping non-native speakers.
As someone adjusting to a new linguistic landscape in Australia, I believe organizations must strive to understand and seek feedback from real language learners. While it’s admirable to strive for language that everyone can understand, we’ve got to do so in a way that shows care and respect.
Thanks, Ashiqur, for sharing your observations! I’m curious to hear whether you have some specific examples of translations that you noticed missing the mark?