tlug: Re: Japanese input

[Kei Furuuchi <kfur@example.com>]

Karl-Max Wagner writes:
 > When I consider the fact that kids need to be taught reading and
 > writing more than eight years in japanese schools, the very
 > considerable complexities in handling kanji using machines etc.
 > etc. I wonder whether it wouldn't be better to do away with the
 > kanji altogether and to stick to the tried and proven kana
 > system. I am aware that there will be considerable political
 > resistance against doing so and I might also have broken some
 > cultural taboos in discussing the option. Well, I don't mind. I
 > even don't know whether this has a chance of ever happening.
 > However, this outdated kanji system is costing the japanese
 > public a high price in terms of added complexity and extra time
 > needed to handle it and this appears as a real waste to me -
 > just consider the time programmers spend to design an implement
 > input methods, the size of the font files etc.

Remember there is a difference using between $B6P$a$k(B and $BEX$a$k(B.But,
they sound same so people have to understand the meaning from the
context when spoken. This means that as long as using $BBgOB8@example.com(B, the
kanji usage is redundancy in the meaning. Also the kanji complex is
hard to decipher when spoken. So I guess they are only useful because
of habit. When using a computer, kanji usage is limited because of
coding kanji so you can't appreciate  Tale of Genji or even work of
Mishima Yukio on a computer. And input method is intraceable.
This is the reason I said I wanted input method that does not rely on
coding or Japanese description language which describes Japaese
without using other than readable ascii. 
It seems some of people do not like using Japanese writing system  out 
of habit either so I like to propose Japanese Description Language
which does not use Kanji simply replacing Kanji with sematically same
English word. It goes like this:

Whey I say this in Japanese writing system, it is written as follows:

$B>]$5$s$NI!$OD9$$!#(B

In JDL:

Elephant sann no nose ha long i.

Then Make them sound same because the words are kanji replacements.

So now elephant is pronunced as zou and elephant.
Long is pronunced as chou, naga, and long. I should add chou because
it is needed in kanji complex replacement like in long-short which
should be pronunced chou-tann.

So I think the solution is this easy if you can break a habit.

Even I think core word of Japanese can be replaced.

When you started learning English in the school in Japan, you might
learn that "I like you" is translated into $B7/$,9%$-(B.
But, this is wrong sematically. I think "I am fond of you" is
translated because of corresponds to $B$,(B.
So in JDL $B7/$,9%$-(B is "you of fond ki" or "you of like ki", but the
resemblance favors the former.

And $B%R%H%i!<$N2f$,F.Ah(B is Hitler of I of Kampf-fight.
So I think of really resembles $B$,(B sematically.

This replacement does not threat Japanese because the grammer of
Japanese is much different from Chinese or English so it does not
matter.

"Cela m'est egal" in French is "Das ist mir zu gleich" is "mhe pabho"
in Russian. The words are different but the grammer is almost same. I
think this is the reason French government values their own language
and feels threat using English. This is not case with
Japanese. Because the grammer is so different, importing words does
not threat Japanese. So why not make English replacement of kanji for
a change.

If you allow me a political crap of mine, Japan is losing population
fast and is going to force burden on younger generation. Sooner or
lator Japan has to admit immigration more easily or there will be the
deflation spiral of the population. Younger genelation don't like to
live in Japan so they fled. And Japanese writing system is going to be 
non-tarif barrior when Japan starts importing people.

So in my conclusion, even changing education to abolish is not goint to
happen in my option, the alternative writing system is possible and
needed by market demand somehow in future. You can see that in
internet.

Regards,
Kei.
 
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