New words and
expressions are constantly coming into fashion and then fading away. Many
of these ephemeral words and ways of talking are those of young people.
Some are simply plays on words, while others enhance the sense of closeness
and belonging within groups. Although there are differences depending
on age and locale as to how such neologisms are used, it seems many spread
after being used by comedians, musicians, and other popular figures.
Some people frown on these expressions, dismissing them as "improper
Japanese." But we do often hear these expressions and they are an
intimate part of daily life.
Many of them are used not just by teenagers but by people in their twenties
and thirties without a second thought. The Japanese that people use in
their daily lives is deeply intertwined with the state of the world and
the way people live, and people's awareness of words and language changes
all the time. What sorts of attitudes are expressed by the young people's
words introduced in this issue?
* The expressions introduced in this article are used in informal situations
among close friends, peers, or family. To all those teaching or studying
Japanese: please be careful using these expressions, as they may not always
be appropriate.
* The rendering in parentheses is the standard expression.
toka
"Let's go eat some ramen or something."
("Let's go eat some ramen.")
Toka, like "nado"
(etcetera), suggests the additional but unspecified. Here, however,
toka is being used as a filler word without any particular
referent, imparting some ambiguity or flex-ibility
to the comment.
These sorts of expressions are also called "bokashi kotoba"
(,
words that render meaning less specific or clearly defined). Their
use is interpreted in various ways, such as: "They reflect
the mind-set of young people today, who seem to have no clear opinions
or convictions and no confidence in them-selves," "They
blur what young people say in order to protect themselves if they
turn out to be wrong and to avoid committing themselves to anything,"
and "They reflect the temperament of today's youth, who want
to preserve some distance between themselves and the people with
whom they associate."
teki, teki niwa
"It's ok by me."
("It's ok as far as I am concerned.")
Meaning: "As for____,"
"As concerns____."
tte kanji
"When it's so hot like this every day, it's like: I don't need
to go to class!"
("When it's this hot every day, I don't feel like going to
class.")
This is an expression
conveying the speaker's emotional response about something. Rather
than asserting clearly, "this is what I think," it blurs
the meaning, as in "this is the sort of feeling it gives me."
tte yuka
"I mean, isn’t it hot today?"
("It's hot today, isn't it?")
Originally, one would
use this expression when saying something different from an earlier
context, such as "Rather than (A) (previously mentioned), it's
really (B)." Here it comes at the beginning of a statement
that has no preceding context, and is thus used as a prefatory appendage.
maji
"I heard Sato-san is going to transfer to a different school."
" No way! For real?"
("Are
you serious?! Seriously?”)
The "maji" from
"majime" (
"serious") means "truly," "seriously,"
etc.
cho
"This is sooo cute, isn't it?"
("This is really cute, isn't it? ")
Originating
from the kanji ("ultimate/super"),
it means "really," "very," etc.
toka
nado"
(etcetera), suggests the additional but unspecified. Here, however,
toka is being used as a filler word without any particular
referent, imparting some ambiguity or flex-ibility
,
words that render meaning less specific or clearly defined). Their
use is interpreted in various ways, such as: "They reflect
the mind-set of young people today, who seem to have no clear opinions
or convictions and no confidence in them-selves," "They
blur what young people say in order to protect themselves if they
turn out to be wrong and to avoid committing themselves to anything,"
and "They reflect the temperament of today's youth, who want
to preserve some distance between themselves and the people with
whom they associate."
teki,
teki niwa
tte kanji
tte yuka 
maji
"serious") means "truly," "seriously,"
etc.
cho
("ultimate/super"),
it means "really," "very," etc.