This video by Kotorabo, one of the best YouTube channels about language and etymologies talks about the question we’ve all wondered at some point: why doesn’t Japanese just get rid of Kanji?
This is above my skill level, can you give a tl;dr? I’m interested in the overall message.
Basically: Japan has tried to get rid of Kanji for convenience several times since the mid-19th Century. However, the first attempts which were mainly supported by the idea that regular civilians had low kanji literacy, amounted to nothing as kanji literacy among regular Japanese civilians was higher than expected.
For a while in the 20th century the 常用漢字 was actually named 当用漢字 or “provisional kanji list” as there was yet another push for education reforms that would gradually diminish kanji use. This was especially poignant before the arrival of personal computers, as there were no convenient input methods for kanji with typewriters.
But this was halted, once again, as personal computers provided a convenient and easy way for typing Kanji. Which meant that there was no real need to stop using it.
Ultimately, Japan hasn’t abandoned Kanji because it hasn’t been necessary. Most people already know how to read it, and it provides easier access and understanding of their historical texts.
Personally, I also think Kanji provides several advantages, such as an immediate understanding of vocabulary based solely on its kanji, or the ability to transmit more information in fewer characters.
Thanks for taking the time to write that, I kind of didnt expect that answer. I also find Kanji useful; as my kanji and vocabulary grows I’m starting to be able to intuit meaning from new jukugo–and maybe half of the time even correctly guess how it’s pronounced. After getting even just a little bit of experience with kanji reading in all kana is a painful experience; like the pokemon games for example. Cant tell you how many times I looked up a word in kana only to recognize I already know that word once I see the kanji in the dictionary.
It kind of reminds me of those Japanese on the street “can you write this kanji” interviews. Even though it’s hard to remember how to write sometimes, everyone seems to recognize them easily enough.
Absolutely. Kanji is extremely convenient. Though I think for intermediate to advanced learners it can actually become a crutch and a disadvantage to rely exclusively on Kanji.
For example, the Pokemon games shouldn’t be a painful experience, because recognizing words by their pronunciation is no different from listening to someone talk, so I think struggling with them probably reflects a lower listening skill level compared to a higher reading level.
Ultimately, I don’t think Kanji is actually necessary for writing or reading Japanese. You can hear people talk, give lectures, and communicate orally just fine, which is functionally the same as writing and reading only in kana. But once you know how to read Kanji, it’s so convenient, there is very little reason to stop using it. In text, it removes any ambiguity from homophones. It also provides a clear visual structure to sentences. It helps save space and make information concise. And so much more. Kanji is awesome!
But yeah, don’t let kanji become a crutch where you wouldn’t be able to make out words just by their pronunciation, if you aim to be fluent in Japanese.
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