85 stories
日本語 · N1

言葉の変容

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Laments over youth slang are nothing more than the same old complaint repeated in every era.
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Language is a living thing; no unchanging language exists except dead ones.
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The spread of social media has accelerated the cycle of linguistic fashion and decay beyond anything seen before.
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Expressions that were once symbols of rebellion are now routinely absorbed by commerce in the blink of an eye.
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Some point to the decay of honorifics, but the view that only the form of politeness is transforming carries weight.
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Movements to reappraise dialects as regional identity are also spreading.
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While some deplore the flood of loanwords, others argue that Japanese power to absorb them is itself proof of vitality.
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The question of who decides linguistic correctness exposes the relationship between power and language.
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Neologisms born faster than dictionaries can track are nothing less than mirrors reflecting social change.
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What matters is surely not lamenting change, but continuing to train our thinking along with our words.

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