なぜが大切ですか?

Why is Gairaigo Important?

Not only is gairaigo a large part of the Japanese culture, but it's also a very linguistically unique part of the language. While being considered part of the Japanese language, gairaigo undeniably have roots in other languages.These loanwords, despite having foreign origins, give us a unique view into Japanese language, while serving an important role in exposing Japanese speakers to the English language early on.

Is Gairaigo Japanese?

While gairaigo seems to simply be words on loan from different language, Japan considers gairaigo to be Japanese. Often times, these words are unrecognizeable to speakers of the source language. Despite words like apaato clearly being derivitave of the English language, it's not a word many English people would be able to decipher. These loanwords are uniquely Japanese.

Gairaigo and Japanese

Gairaigo give us a unique insight into the Japanese language by showing us how truly unique it's linguistic structure is. Japanese lends itself to adopting loanwords extremely well, going so far as having a dedicated writing system for these loan words. The growing phenomena of gairaigo allows us to better study the linguistic nature of Japanese, all while giving us a peek into Japanese culture.

Early Exposure

With gairaigo being so prevalent in Japan, natives are given quite a bit of exposure to English very early on. This early exposure can have considerable benefits when learning English later on in life! Having already been exposed to English words and phrases, Japanese natives are given a leg up when it comes to learning English in the classroom.

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