{"id":57393,"date":"2022-12-17T09:05:22","date_gmt":"2022-12-17T14:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=57393"},"modified":"2022-12-17T09:05:22","modified_gmt":"2022-12-17T14:05:22","slug":"hurry-hurry-super-scurry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=57393","title":{"rendered":"Hurry hurry super scurry"},"content":{"rendered":"

No \"lying flat\" or \"coiling up\" for us!<\/p>\r\n

Here are Japanese words<\/b> (<\/u>not<\/u> characters<\/b>) of the year for 2022.<\/p>\r\n

No Time to Waste: \u201cTaipa\u201d Chosen as One of Japan\u2019s Words of 2022<\/a><\/p>\r\n

nippon.com\u00a0 (12\/16\/22)<\/p>\r\n

Quite a different set of attitudes from what young people in China are feeling nowadays.\u00a0 You will note that extreme abbreviation of words and phrases is a feature of the favored words in the contemporary Japanese lexicon.\u00a0 I would wager that this feature is a reflection of the tempo of Japanese life.<\/p>\r\n

Taipa<\/em>, an abbreviation of \u201ctime performance,\u201d was selected by dictionary publisher Sanseid\u014d as its word of the year for 2022, reflecting young people\u2019s desire not to waste a second.<\/p>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

The word kosupa<\/em>, an abbreviated form of \u201ccost performance\u201d meaning \u201cvalue for money,\u201d has become a standard part of the Japanese language. Dictionary publisher Sanseid\u014d chose a variation on this theme, taipa<\/em>, or \u201ctime performance,\u201d as its word of the year for 2022.<\/p>\r\n

Taipa<\/em> is used for talking about efficient use of time, and is particularly associated with the members of Generation Z, born roughly between 1995 and 2010. In search of optimum \u201ctime performance,\u201d they might watch films and drama at double speed or via recut versions that only show major plot points, and skip to the catchy parts of songs.<\/p>\r\n

For these zoomers, learning to make the best use of their time is the only way to save themselves from drowning in an ocean of online content and to keep up with friends\u2019 conversations.<\/p>\r\n

The dictionary editor judges were also impressed by the extreme abbreviation of paf\u014dmansu<\/em> (performance) to simply pa<\/em>; despite this brevity, taipa<\/em> has caught on, assisted by the familiarity that kosupa<\/em> has gained. One editor commented that there has not been such a bold shortening since baseball\u2019s Pacific League became the \u201cPa League\u201d (Pa r\u012bgu<\/em>).<\/p>\r\n

Sh\u014dgakukan, another Japanese publisher, picked K\u012bu<\/em> as its word of the year, the Japanese equivalent of the spelling Kyiv for the capital of Ukraine that follows the Ukrainian rendering more closely than the formerly standard Kiefu<\/em> (Kiev).<\/p>\r\n

Sanseid\u014d\u2019s Top 10 New Words of the Year for 2022<\/h3>\r\n
    \r\n
  1. \r\n
      \r\n
    1. \u30bf\u30a4\u30d1<\/strong> \u2014 Taipa<\/em>. An abbreviated version of taimu<\/em> paf\u014dmansu<\/em> (time performance), signifying the level of satisfaction gained compared with the time spent. It is possible to use the phrase taipa ga ii<\/em>, for example, to describe \u201cgood time performance\u201d or an effective use of time.<\/li>\r\n
    2. \u69cb\u6587<\/strong> \u2014 K\u014dbun<\/em>. A word for the structure of a sentence or grammatical construction, which by extension refers to a style of writing among a particular group. Notably, ojisan<\/em> k\u014dbun<\/em> is said to be a style employed by middle-aged men (ojisan<\/em>) when messaging, which is scattered with emoji<\/a> and overfamiliar expressions.<\/li>\r\n
    3. \u304d\u307e\u305a<\/strong> \u2014 Kimazu<\/em>. A shortened version of the adjective kimazui<\/em> (awkward) used as an exclamation. When things get extremely awkward, speakers can elevate this term to its \u201cfinal form,\u201d kimazetto<\/em> (derived from kima-Z<\/em>).<\/li>\r\n
    4. \u30e1\u30bf\u30d0\u30fc\u30b9<\/strong> \u2014 Metab\u0101su<\/em>. The Metaverse, an immersive virtual-reality version of the internet that has been making global headlines, was also the subject of much discussion in Japan in 2022.<\/li>\r\n
    5. \u3007\u3007\u304f\u306a\u3044<\/strong> \u2014 __kunai<\/em>. The suffix kunai<\/em> is typically used to make i<\/em> adjectives negative\u2014 for example samui<\/em> (cold) becomes samukunai<\/em> (not cold). However, recently kunai<\/em> is being substituted for janai<\/em>, a verbal phrase with wider application, whether as part of a sentence or in a tag question.<\/li>\r\n
    6. \u30ac\u30af\u30c1\u30ab<\/strong> \u2014 Gakuchika<\/em>. An abbreviation for the thorny question that recruiters in Japan are almost certain to ask jobhunters about where they particularly focused their efforts (chika<\/em><\/strong>ra o ireru<\/em>) during their student days (gaku<\/em><\/strong>sei jidai<\/em>).<\/li>\r\n
    7. \u4e00\u751f<\/strong> \u2014 Issh\u014d<\/em>. Literally \u201ca lifetime,\u201d this has been adapted to mean simply \u201ca long time\u201d or \u201cages,\u201d such as when describing taking a lengthy nap.<\/li>\r\n
    8. \u9177\u6691\u65e5<\/strong> \u2014 Kokushobi<\/em>. The Japan Weather Association began using this term in 2022, which could be translated as \u201csevere heat day,\u201d for days when the temperature rises above 40\u00b0 centigrade. With global warming, there was a need to add to the list of established words like m\u014dshobi<\/em> (\u731b\u6691\u65e5), an \u201cextreme heat day\u201d when the mercury climbs above 35\u00b0, and manatsubi<\/em> (\u771f\u590f\u65e5), a \u201cmidsummer day\u201d when it tops 30\u00b0. Kokushobi<\/em> is yet to be officially adopted by the Japan Meteorological Agency.<\/li>\r\n
    9. \u95c7\u843d\u3061<\/strong> \u2014 Yamiochi<\/em>. A literal \u201cfall into darkness,\u201d representing the downward moral journey of a formerly upstanding member of society who turns to the dark side.<\/li>\r\n
    10. \u30ea\u30b9\u30ad\u30ea\u30f3\u30b0<\/strong> \u2014 Risukiringu<\/em>. This loanword, taken from \u201creskilling\u201d in English, caught on in Japan in 2022, whether for people seeking a totally new job or simply adding strings to their bow. Along with several other terms on this list, it was also included in this year\u2019s candidates<\/a> for the Word of the Year.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

      Sh\u014dgakukan\u2019s Top New Words of the Year for 2022<\/h3>\r\n

      \u30ad\u30fc\u30a6<\/strong> \u2014 K\u012bu<\/em> [Winner]. A rendering of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv that represents the Ukrainian name, rather than the Russian Kiev (Kiefu<\/em> in Japanese).<\/p>\r\n

      \u56fd\u846c\u5100<\/strong> \u2014 Kokus\u014dgi<\/em> [Runner-up]. The decision to hold a state funeral for former Prime Minister Abe Shinz\u014d<\/a> after he was killed in July led to considerable debate. The government\u2019s use of the word kokus\u014dgi<\/em> rather than the more common kokus\u014d<\/em> seemed to suggest that the ceremony was somehow different from earlier occasions.<\/p>\r\n

      \u30e1\u30bf\u30d0\u30fc\u30b9<\/strong> \u2014 Metab\u0101su<\/em> [Runner-up] Sh\u014dgakukan also saw the imagined virtual space as one of the key words to become established in 2022.<\/p>\r\n

      Two things stand out for me in these lists of favored new words in Japanese:<\/p>\r\n

      1. The large proportion of them that rely on the Japanese ability to directly borrow foreign morphemes and terms via katakana, a purely phonetic syllabary.<\/p>\r\n

      2. The ready existence of grammatical devices for conveniently creating neologisms.<\/p>\r\n

      As with German, Japanese has a fondness for inventing new words.\u00a0 The difference, though, it seems to me, is that Japanese likes to keep 'em short, whereas German delights in making them long.<\/p>\r\n

       <\/p>\r\n

      Selected readings<\/b><\/p>\r\n