The Japanese attitude towards the Romanization of their own language is somewhat confused by a divergence of objectives and by some misconceptions. Some of the most enthusiastic proponents of each of the Romanization systems have been motivated by a desire to substitute the Latin alphabet for the present means of writing Japanese in Japan itself. For this purpose they naturally need a phonemic orthography like Nipponsiki. But this group comprises only a very small number of extremists. The Japanese people and the Japanese government do not in the least contemplate such a change, and at present there is not the slightest possibility that the Latin alphabet will displace Chinese ideographs and kana in Japan. The Japanese unquestionably want a Romanization system primarily for the transcription of individual names and words in connection with foreign relations and propaganda work among foreigners. With the exception of bilingual dictionaries, Rōmaji is used for no necessary purpose for the Japanese people. Therefore, from their point of view, as well as from that of foreigners, Rōmaji is essentially for foreign use.
Although most Japanese probably realize this fact, many have allowed themselves to be misled by Nipponsiki enthusiasts. It has been argued that the Old Romanization is not scientific, while Nipponsiki and Kokutei are. It is true that, as phonemic orthographies, they are scientific, but, as broad phonetic transcriptions suitable for use by foreigners, they are neither accurate nor scientific, and for purely phonetic purposes all three systems are completely unsatisfactory.
To the Japanese, Nipponsiki and Kokutei naturally seem both simple and practical,[1] and, forgetting that their own phonetic background is very different from that of foreigners, they believe these systems are equally simple and practical for others. Unfortunately,
- ↑ An often overlooked but important practical drawback to these systems from the strictly Japanese point of view is that their use undoubtedly encourages the Japanese student in his favorite mispronunciations of foreign words, which render so much of the English and other foreign languages spoken in Japan quite unintelligible to those not accustomed to Japanese mispronunciations.
| Nancy Lee Swann | Gest Library |
| R. Tsunoda | Columbia University |
| James R. Ware | Harvard University |
| Joseph K. Yamagiwa | University of Michigan |
