Your current location:HOME >health >VOX POPULI: Use of honorifics complex at times and not always appropriate 正文
TIME:2024-06-03 18:19:56 Source: Internet compilationEdit:health
When I started out as a rookie reporter on the local police beat, I was initially addressed as “kish
When I started out as a rookie reporter on the local police beat, I was initially addressed as “kisha-san” (Mr./Ms. reporter), not by my name.
I told myself this was something I should just live with as a good sport, since I was still a virtual “nobody” in the community.
After I had covered the beat on a daily basis for some time, my appellation changed to “Asahi-san,” signaling which newspaper employed me.
And when the local law enforcement community finally got to know me by my name, I was addressed by my surname with the honorific “chan,” a term of endearment.
These memories from 35 years ago came flooding back when the Justice Ministry on Feb. 15 announced a series of prison reforms in response to the discovery of repeated inmate abuse by correctional officers at Nagoya Prison.
According to a third-party committee established after the scandal came to light, prison guards before World War II addressed inmates by their numbers, while most postwar guards switched to addressing them by their names without an honorific.
But at Nagoya Prison, the committee found, inmates were referred to contemptuously as “choeki” (cons) and “yatsura” (those losers) by guards in informal conversations.
How one calls someone depends on how one intends to relate with that person. Those Nagoya Prison officers, who completely ignored the inmates’ human rights, were said to have acted as they did “to vent their frustration.”
This gave me a glimpse of a deep darkness that exists in an organization that is supposed to help convicted criminals to rehabilitate themselves.
The reforms call for the end of the tradition of inmates addressing correctional officers respectfully as “sensei” (teacher) and switching to more egalitarian appellations such as “shokuin-san” (Mr./Ms. Officer) or “tanto-san” (Mr./Ms. Representative).
The fact that the prison guards were being addressed as “sensei” is shocking in itself. How people call one another can often determine or emphasize their “superior-inferior” relationship.
Unlike “kun” and “chan,” the honorific “san,” which derived from “sama” during the Edo Period (1603-1867), can be used universally, irrespective of the person’s gender and age.
I suggest that the political community adopt “san” uniformly and stop addressing lawmakers as “sensei” and calling anyone taking the Diet floor by their name plus “kun.”
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 17
* *
*Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Nelson Mandela's ANC party that freed South Africa from apartheid loses its 302024-06-03 18:05
Boston RHP Garrett Whitlock says his season is over with elbow surgery on horizon2024-06-03 17:58
Ballpark hijinks: Soto leaves a note on the right field grass for former Padres teammate Tatis2024-06-03 17:07
Grayson Murray, PGA Tour winner, dies at 302024-06-03 17:02
Another Michigan dairy worker has bird flu, the third US case this year2024-06-03 17:00
Netflix releases new viewing figures that reveal the biggest hits of 20232024-06-03 16:47
Xavi says Barcelona president will have to explain why he won't continue as coach2024-06-03 16:40
Nicki Minaj's concert postponed after she was reportedly arrested over pot2024-06-03 16:40
Give free passports to Britain's heroes: On the eve of D2024-06-03 16:33
Zelenskyy says Ukraine has taken back control in areas of Kharkiv region, aerial attacks continue2024-06-03 16:01
English golfer Laurie Canter holds nerve to win European Open by 2 shots2024-06-03 18:05
Cars catch fire in Boston's Ted Williams Tunnel, snarling Memorial Day weekend traffic2024-06-03 17:59
Taylor Swift is urged by Springwatch star Chris Packham to rethink her 'absurd' private jet use2024-06-03 17:38
Czech Republic downs Sweden 72024-06-03 17:30
Paris Olympics: What to know and who to watch during the boxing competition2024-06-03 17:18
Heartbroken farmer nearly quit career after ravens massacre 220 lambs2024-06-03 17:15
4 hurt, 1 arrested after clashes between Iranian government supporters and opponents in London2024-06-03 16:57
China enhances payment accessibility for int'l visitors2024-06-03 16:17
Live Nation investigating data breach at Ticketmaster subsidiary2024-06-03 16:06
Kyle Larson qualifies 10th for Sunday's Coca2024-06-03 15:58