University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1913-04-16
A JAPANESE VIEW OF ENGLISH
Magazine Writer Discusses Words, the Leaves
ofthe Trunk Called Idea-His Notion
of Lovers Talk.
of Lovers Talk.

Emotions and Etymology" is th'
title which Yoshino Markino, a Japan
ese artist now living in England. give!
to an article in the April number o
the Atlantic Monthly on the English
language and its adaptability to the
expression of his ideas and feelings
Markino's style is. in the serious parts
as he himself explains later, very goot
English. but it is evident that where
his own original way of writing Eng
lish is not only expressive of the
writer's emotions but also interests
and amuses the reader. the prOOf-read.
er has wisely let it alone.
I'm Japan We call words Katoba OF
Kato-nO-Ha," he says. Its literal
meaning is the leaves of idea Indeed
our idea is like the trunk of a tree
while the words are like the leaves
AS the bOtanist judges what the tree
is by seeing its leaves. so We judge
what ideas one has by hearing the
words"
Mr.. Markino illustrates the fact that
the Japanese language is richer in
words than the English by naming the
nine words in that language for I. For
instance. the emperor calls himself an
Il" that is altogether different from
that by which anyone else may indl-
cate himself. If Japanese is speak
ing to his parents. he Identifies himself
by a different word, from the one he
would use if he were speaking to his
sister, or to the emperor. or to his
friends. When he was just learning
the English language, Mr.. MarkinU
says he exclaimed to his teacher, How
simple, but how rude is the English
language" Now, he says, he has
trouble. because his vocabulary is a
little larger. and he also finds that he
can put feeling into his words and ex-
press different emotions by the way he
says Il"
Not Dependent on Words Alone.
The resource of conveying our
emotion to each other" he says. docs
not depend upon the wealth of words
only. 1t is our imagination and our
sympathy which communicates our
emotion. The more sympathy We have
to each other the less important are
our words"
As an illustration, Mr.. Markino says
that lovers talk nonsense. or so it
seems to a third person, but that in
reality they are conveying their emo
tiOns to each other in the best sort of
way. no matter what they say. Emo
tion is sometimes expressed in the
wrong words. but sympathetic people
get the right idea. just as the wireless
receiving instrument that is in tune
with the sender gets the message while
others do not.
when people become slaves of emo
ton, they often commit accidental
comedy" says Mr. MarkinO. and illus
trates with an incident of two go"
players who so far forgot themselves
in their games as to call the wife of
one a nickname that caused the liz
suited lady to jilt the husband. He
points out that there is a necessity or
right words and good rhetoric or enc
mics will be quick to take advantage
A Japanese who had been freed from
exile by his emperor was so everjOyed
that he sent poetry" to his ruler
But the attendants of the emperor mis-
understood the emotion expressed by
the mans words and he was ordered
executed for saying mean things about
the emperor.
Some Who Are "Deadly" Dull.
However Mr. Markino points out
that many are over cautious in their
use of words and are very sparing for
fear they will say something wrong
They make the world deadly dull" he
says. Il simply get sick of them"
On the other hand there are those who
use too many words, who play on them
without fact OF course there are
awful liars and it NAV be necessary
to talk this way to find out the truth,
but the real resource to find out truth