Katakana loanwords: is there data about their creation/evolution and acceptance as "new Japanese words"?


## **Disclaimer** :

This is a topic that I hold particularly dear. This question is related to
data so that it is acceptable for this community. However, as a languages
enthusiast, what deeply concerns me is that this explosion in katakana
loanwords is (and will be more and more) "re-shaping" a beautiful language
like Japanese in a sort of hybrid language (this is of course a very
pessimistic view).

## Intro: (on purpose a little provocative)

I have just read an answer from Naruto to [this
question](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/47862/what-are-the-
origins-of-the-chinese-derived-words). In particular these last two sentences
made me decide to finally start scraping the surface of this topic which I
have been concerned with for a long time.

> Today, Japanese people no longer frequently coin totally new kanji compounds
> nor borrow new kanji words from Chinese. Instead, people introduce new
> katakana loanwords almost every day.

I totally agree, and want to build up on this.

Anyway, I **will not** ask whether you think or not that _"katakana is just
ugly, so isn't the less the better_ "? (Want to have a headache? Look
[here](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B5%E3%83%83%E3%82%AB%E3%83%BC%E7%94%A8%E8%AA%9E%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%A7)
for example). Would be an opinion.

Although I am extremely curious to know about it, I **will not** ask " _why do
you think that Japanese people like so much to just adopt a katakana loanword
rather than make up a "traditional" Japanese word for something new_? (For
example Chinese would (almost) never do that I believe). You would be
surprised at the reaction many Japanese people when I ask: so, why has it been
called エスかレター and not, say, 自動階段? (I came up with this example myself but
people seem to agree that could make perfect sense). Would be probably be an
opinion again.

## Actual question:

I have the feeling that especially in the last decades the use of katakana
loanwords has increased dramatically (and this seemed to agree with the quote
above).

When exactly did it start? Do you know of any data/references where one could
track the evolution of creation and use of such loanwords? I would be very
interested to know what is the growth rate. Also, they seem not only related
to technology or "new inventions" but my feeling is that more and more nouns,
adjectives, etc are becoming popular (リーズナブル、インストラクター、 ディスカッション， and I could
go on forever). So at what pace and why katakana loanwords are growing so
much?

Related to this I would also like to clear the following. Again, my feeling
and personal experience tells me that _Japanese is probably one of the
languages with the highest rate of loanwords in the world_. Is this true? Is
there data to back this theory up?

## Bonus question (might be slightly an opinion):

Do you think that using katakana instead of the English alphabet also for
words that are normally not considered Japanese words would in the long run
(tens of years) contribute to the creation of a new loanword that will be
adopted and integrated as a "Japanese word"?

Example: a building is called ビュータワー。 No Japanese today (I hope!) would use
ビュー for "view" (they would use 景色，眺め、眺望， or whatever appropriate).

However, wouldn't using English alphabet make a much clearer distinction
between what is a Japanese word and what is not? Doesn't using constantly a
Japanese alphabet also for English words risk to lead, in the future, to
people saying something like "綺麗なビューですね"?

## Final Note:

Although it might be difficult to feel this difference from "original" and
"loan" words from a native speaker point of view (they probably both would
sound natural at the same level), IMHO Japanese is a beautiful language and
this extreme growth in loanwords is doing some serious harm. Of course one
could argue that every language evolves and will eventually change. But is it
wrong to want to protect it's roots structure? I actually met Japanese people
that seems to feel the same way I do and would be interesting to continue this
discussion.




By summing up your actual questions, they become as follows:

>   1. When exactly did the drastic increase of the use of katakana loanwords
> start?
>   2. Do you know of any data/references where one could track the evolution
> of creation and use of such loanwords?
>   3. What is the growth rate of loanwords?
>   4. At what pace and why are katakana loanwords growing so much in nouns
> and adjectives, besides those relating to technology or "new inventions"?
>   5. Japanese is probably one of the languages with the highest rate of
> loanwords in the world. Is this true? Is there data to back this theory up?
>

The questions could be summarised into two as:

> A: Does anyone have the statistics on this theme?  
>  B: Why is the loanwords based on English increasing drastically besides
> those relating to technology or new inventions?

I don't have the answer for A. As for B, I think the combination of the
following prominent factors have induced the status quo:

(1) 英語の国際語化  
The spread of English as the international language

(2) 日本経済の急成長とそれに伴う国際貿易および様々な国際交流の急増  
The Rapid growth of the Japanese economy after World War II, and the rapid
increase of its International trade and the international various exchanges
based on the growth

(3) 日本の産業構造の変化（第三次産業の相対的急増）  
Change of the industry structure of Japan - relative rapid increase of the
tertiary sector of industry

(4) 戦後（第二次世界大戦終了後）急増した欧米白人文化、特に米国文化に対する日本人の劣等感の裏返しとしての同文化移入の加速化  
Acceleration of the culture introduction as the reaction of the Japanese
inferiority complex for the Western (European and particularly American)
culture that increased rapidly after World War II

(5) 漢語を工夫しての造語能力の低下  
Drop of the ability for coining words made by devising Chinese characters

