The United Nations and Japanese
The state of the United Nations in terms of staff by nationality and shares of expenses by countries:
No.....Country.....Number of Staff....Expense Distribution (%)
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1 US 240 22
2 Germany 102 8
3 France 96 6.1
4 UK 87 6.6
5 Italy 76 4.9
6 JAPAN 65 12.5
7 China 64 3.1
8 Canada 63 3.2
9 Russia 48 1.6
10 Mexico 45 2.3
TOTAL 2,049 100
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It is easily found that Japan sends less workers to the UN than expected based on its share of UN expenses which is the largest (12.5%) except the UN.
It is also said that less and less Japanese students opt to go and learn in the US than those observed decades ago. So, some Japanese are worried: Have Japanese youths become too much inward-looking?
On the other hand, the Japanese Government has introduced a new policy to allow primary schools to teach English as a regular curriculum. Previously English was taught from a grade of junior-high schools or middle schools in Japan. However, as English is such a different language from Japanese and there are almost no chances to use English in daily lives in Japan, ordinary Japanese are very poor at English. The Japanese Government and business leaders are afraid that this language gap might lead to a real decline in the Japanese economy, since globalization of economy is now the norm.
Then how different is the Japanese language?
English:
The cherry trees blossom in April.
Japanese:
(1) Sakura-wa shigatsu ni saku.
(2) Sakura-ga shigatsu ni saku.
Sakura means the cherry tree, shigatsu means April; and saku is for blossom.
But what are those "wa" and "ga?"
These two minor words decide contexts of the sentences. They usually indicate that a word preceding each of them is the subject word. But it specifies in what context a sentence with the subject is used.
For example, if you are asked what blossoms in Spring, you may answer that the cherry trees blossom in April. But in this case, the Japanese sentence of the answer must be (2) but not (1).
And if you want start you speech, taking up the cherry tree, you may say, "The cherry trees blossom in April." But in this case, the Japanese sentence for this speech must be (1) but not (2).
This is just one example of complex and subtle nature of the Japanese language. The mind of a Japanese has been programmed so that he or she can manipulate it so correctly. But its rule is so different from English. Hence, it is very difficult for Japanese people to accept English at the same depth of their own language.
Nonetheless, many foreigners learn and master the Japanese language. Compared with their efforts, a degree of an effort Japanese students are requested of in learning English might be far smaller. So, it is expected that with advancement of educational systems and supporting technology for learning English more and more Japanese youths will become fluent in English, the most popular international language, and will be engaged in international activities, including jobs in the UN.
But it might be difficult to make Japanese youths also keep the Japanese mind and higher ability of the Japanese language, since Japanese is so unique and subtle while English is a little wild.
And finally, the Chinese language does not use such wa or ga, since Chinese is akin to English when compared with Japanese. (And the religion shinto is also unique to Japan but not found in China.)
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