The Role and Adaptation of Loanwords in Japanese

Abstract

The article is devoted to the origin, causes and degree of development of loanwords into the Japanese language from other languages throughout the history of the formation of the cultural identity of the Japanese nation. The first and most ancient loanwords are words and phrases from the ancient language of the Ainu peoples. The original Japanese language wago, a significant cultural layer of words of Chinese origin kango, foreign loanwords gairaigo and wasei gairaigo are described. Direct and indirect loanwords came from the Dutch, German, Swedish, Russian languages. The lexical layer of the most significant proportion of modern loanwords from English and American languages, which have a significant impact on the development and variability of the modern Japanese language, is considered. Examples of synonyms in the style of wago, kango and gairaigo are given. An assessment is given of the transformation of anglicisms in the means of telecommunications and Japanese mass culture in the era of globalization.