Honorific speech in Japanese: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 18:37, 21 September 2004

Revision as of 19:40, 24 September 2004

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Honorifics are similar to [[English language|English]] titles like "sir" and "ma'am," but in many languages honorifics are much more commonly used.

[[Japanese language|Japanese]], for instance, has many honorifics, and their use is mandatory in many social situations.

The Japanese [[uchi-soto]] relationships are partially expressed through the use, or omission, of honorifics.

===Examples of Japanese honorifics= in Japanese==

Honorifics in Japanese may be used to emphasise social distance or disparity in rank, or to emphasise social intimacy or similarity in rank.

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In Japanese, honorifics are always placed after the name.

* ''-san'' (さん). ''-San'' is the most common honorific, and its use is mandatory when addressing most social outsiders (for example, non-family members). ''-San'' is used unless it is superceded by some other title (such as ''sensei'', roughly meaning "teacher"), and is often translated as Mr., Ms., Mrs., and the like, though such a translation is not always accurate. ''-San'' is the Japanese honorific most familiar to non-Japanese people. There is a marked tendency in Japanese to avoid the use of personal names when another title is available, thus oldest brothers and sisters are referred to as "onii-san" (or -chan, see below), and "onee-san.", respectively. "-San" may also be used to create other titles. ; A bookseller might be addressed as "honya-san" (roughly, "Mr. bookseller"), and so on.

** ''-han'' (はん). ''-Han'' is the equivalent to ''San-san'' in the [[Kansai]] dialect.

* ''-chankun'' (���君). ''Chan-Kun'' is thean informal, and intimate, diminutivehonorific equivalentprimarily ofused ''sanby superiors in addressing inferiors,'' usedusually primarilymale by(though childrenin tosome refercases toit friendscan andbe familyused membersfor butwomen also). applied toSchoolteachers siblings,typically toaddress closetheir male students using ''-kun''. ''-Kun'' is also used among friends andof loverssimilar social standing, and by parents and relatives to address older male children by(instead adultsof ''-chan'').

* ''-chan'' (ちゃん). ''-Chan'' is the informal, intimate, diminutive equivalent of ''-san,'' used primarily by children to refer to friends and family members but also applied to siblings, to close friends and lovers, and to children by adults.

** ''-tan'' (たん): A mispronunciation of "chan" sometimes used by very young children or by adults as "[[baby talk]]." Also used by [[otaku]], an example is [[OS-tan]].

* ''-sama'' (様). ''-Sama'' is the most formal honorific used in daily conversation in Japanese. It is used primarily in addressing persons much higher in rank than oneself (as long as some other title is unavailable), and is used in commercial and business settings to address and refer to customers. (See [[uchi-soto]] for a more in-depth analysis of this.) ''-Sama'' is also used after the addressee's name on postal packages and letters, again provided it is not superceded by some other title.

* ''-dono'' or ''-tono'' (どの). ''-Tono''/''-dono'' roughly means "lord." It is no longer used in daily conversation, though it is still usedseen on certificates and awards.

* ''-kun'' (くん，君). ''Kun'' is an informal and intimate honorific primarily used by superiors in addressing inferiors, usually male (though in some cases it can be used for women also). Schoolteachers typically address their male students using ''-kun''. ''-Kun'' is also used among friends of similar social standing, and by parents and relatives to address older male children (instead of ''chan'').

====Rarer forms====

* ''-dono'' or ''-tono'' (どの). ''Tono''/''dono'' roughly means "lord." It is no longer used in daily conversation, though it is still used on certificates and awards.

* ''-chama'' (ちゃま). ''-chamaChama'' is simply a combination of ''-chan'' and ''-sama'', sometimes translated as "young master". itIt isn't horribly common, it denotes respect, but is not as distant as ''-sama'', implies a closer bond.

* ''-ue'' (上). ''ue-Ue'' literally means "above" and denotes an extremely high level of respect. While its use is not longer very common, it is still seen in constructions like 父上 (''chichi-ue'') and 母上 (''haha-ue''), reverent terms for one's own, or someone else's, father and mother, respectively.

There are two other important honorifics in Japanese.

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Examples of this are ''go-han'' (rice, which by extension means a meal), ''go-chūmon'' (order at a restaurant), ''go-kazoku'' ([someone else's] family—when referring to your own you would not use ''go-''), ''o-sushi'' and ''o-sashimi'' ([[sushi]] and [[sashimi]], of course), ''o-cha'' ([[Tea#The_word_tea|tea]]).

''Go-'' is used only for words which have a [[Chinese language|Chinese]]-derived pronunciation, and ''o-'' is used only for words with a Japanese-derived pronunciation.

==Examples of honorifics in other languages==

The author is not familiar with any other languages that use honorifics, and would appreciate help on this topic.

[[Category: Japanese language]]