ArticleKey #3: Language

Country-related stereotypes are completely meaningless when it comes to describing any particular individual living in the country in question. That said, they do occasionally provide an insight into the country's collective psyche. For instance, England as a society does take pride in its traditions, and Spanish-speaking countries' daily routine does get affected by the concept of “siesta”. In that respect, one would be justified to talk about some cultures' “Devil-may-care” attitude - as opposed to others that are all about precision, punctuality and personal responsibility. That begs the obvious “why?” question, and “climate/geography” (as in “The north wind made the Vikings”) is among easy answers. However, not every answer is that straightforward. In fact, some of them are quite complex, and they have to do with how humans as a species are wired.

As Confucius succinctly put it, “You are what you think”. An “improved” version of that expression sounds like “You aren't necessarily who you think you are, but you are exactly what you think!” A witty, if somewhat less concise, pun essentially makes the same statement: our personalities are, to a great extent, shaped by our thoughts - and thoughts, by definition, can't exist without language.

Japanese language is so different that even the strongest adjectives (like “unique”) don't even begin to do justice to it. A relatively less feeble attempt to give at least some idea of that language is by providing an example. A simple dialogue like  -“Her brother is a scientist” -"I know. She told me" would sound in Japanese as “As of (name/visual characteristic) of brother, scientist is” -"Know. Told". That word order is the single most important feature of the language. In other words, each and every Japanese sentence must end with a verb! Repeated through countless generations (Japanese is an ancient language that has been around for, at least, 1,300 years), that linguistic pattern is bound to have left an indelible impression on the above-mentioned “collective psyche” of the nation. Born into it, people come to expect familiar things - and enjoy it when their expectations come true. That results in such national and, often, personal features as mental discipline and self-organization. While this is a hypothesis rather than a scientifically proven fact, there is at least one fact that fully supports this hypothesis. Namely, the only other national language that partially shares the characteristic in question is German where sentences might end with verbs (and often do), even if they don't have to - and Germany is the only country (at least, in Europe) that is famous for its organization and punctuality. So much so that there is a German motto “5 Minuten vor der Zeit - DAS ist Deutcsche Puintlichkeit” (it can be loosely translated as “coming 5 minutes earlier than agreed is what German punctuality's all about!”). The two countries share so many little things that Japan can be called “Germany of Asia”, and Germany - “Japan of Europe”.  

While Japanese verbs might be responsible for the country's uncanny precision and punctuality, Japanese pronouns are shaping the field of human interaction. To be precise, not so much pronouns as such, as a lack thereof! Pronouns do exist, they are even used…in writing. However, informal verbal communication is a totally different matter. The only situation when words like “you”, “he” and “she” are deemed fully appropriate is while speaking to/about a spouse/lover. In fact, actual words for “he” and “she” double up as “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” - and that's how they are used in speech. Applying them to someone less intimate is seen as undue familiarity - and therefore, quite rude. Hence the “name/visual characteristic” in the above example: “the man in a red shirt” is perfectly acceptable, while “he” isn't. As opposed, “I” isn't rude but still self-centred/egoistic enough to be frowned upon - so, its usage is limited to the “absolutely necessary” situations.

Banishing pronouns inevitably means having to replace them with plenty of context and a lot of visual clues. One has to really listen to the interlocutor to understand what exactly (s)he is talking about (in particular, in case of changing topics). Intense listening eventually breeds deeper and more genuine interest often resulting in enhanced visual encouragement - for instance, Japanese people often nod during even most casual conversations. In a way, communicating in Japanese means honing one's interpersonal skills on a daily basis, and for many hours a day. It's not surprising that so much practice enables, for instance, roads without sidewalks, or elevates routine service to the state-of-the-art experience that naturally turns into a particular mentality permeating every aspect of Japanese life.