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What is the potential of やさしい日本語？
What is the potential of やさしい日本語？
My starting story: Encountering ”やさしい日本語”
My starting story: Encountering ”やさしい日本語”
In cycle 1, I learnt about LGBTQ+ from education and government approach. I found that gender education system such as teachers and curriculums did not be enough. In addition, the understanding of them does not spread in japan. That is why, it is need to improve the system.
As for cycle 2, I understood some problems of foreign residents in Japan. Especially, I focused on the wall of Japanese. According to the survey that Javanese and foreign residents worry about life in Japan by Taito-ku, the higher lank problems were connected with the language problem. That is why, I learnt how to support about language problem: やさしい日本語.
Through these learnings, I want to know how to promote local diversity. In Cycle1 and Cycle2, these things in common are the multicultural society. I am interested in making multicultural coexistence to overcome the barriers and stereotypes. Therefore, I will research how to communicate to advance local diversity.
My Research Focus
My Research Focus
I focused on やさしい日本語 as a way of improving communication between Japanese and foreign residents. Firstly, I learnt the difficult situation to communicate with Japanese for foreign residents and found out the medical situations was most difficult to understand Japanese. That is why, I researched the policy in medical situation by the government.
Also, I participated in the volunteer work of Kokohana, a NGO in Hacjioji city and realized that やさしい日本語 has various potential for communication. I found that it is an important role for not only foreigners but also other minoritized groups in Japanese society such as disabled people.
Therefore, I researched the potential of やさしい日本語 and finally would like to consider how we can make aware of やさしい日本語.
My Research Questions
My Research Questions
・Why is やさしい日本語 needed ? /Who is やさしい日本語 for ?
・How can やさしい日本語 be used in the Medical situation ?
・Are there similar types in other language?
・How do we make aware of やさしい日本語 ?
Improving communication between Japanese people and foreigners in Japan -From Cycle 2
Improving communication between Japanese people and foreigners in Japan -From Cycle 2
Do you know the population of foreign residents in Japan？
Do you know the population of foreign residents in Japan？
According to Minamino (2020), Many foreigners (2,823,565 people) live in Japan, and Tokyo(541,807 people) is the city with the most foreigners living in the country. Compare the number of foreigners living in Japan to 100 people, they are tend to live in metropolis such as Tokyo, Aichi, Osaka and so on. The region which foreigners live in is vary.
Voice and Story (A foreign student and a worker)
Voice and Story (A foreign student and a worker)
・Alexixa Misutu (16-year-old, from Brazil)
She moved to Japan from Brazil five years ago when her parents were hired by a factory in Izumo. She could not make any friends because she did not understand Japanese, which cause her to became a school refuser, and she abandoned the hope of further education. She spent more than a year hopping around around part-time jobs, unable to settle any of them. Eventually, Izumo city office and a non-profit organization helped her to find a job.
→ The supports for her was not enough and was not when she wanted to be.
From NHK WORLD-JAPAN.(2020). Japan failing to support young Brazilians.
Retrieved 06, Augusto, 2022 from Japan failing to support young Brazilians | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
Using やさしい日本語 to improve communication with foreigners
Using やさしい日本語 to improve communication with foreigners
What is やさしい日本語？ -From Cycle 2
What is やさしい日本語？ -From Cycle 2
"やさしい日本語 " to make short sentences and paraphrase in easy Japanese for foreigners. The start was Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake in January 17, 1995. Many foreigners died because they could not understand important information written Japanese, that is why the action was begun so as to prevent the situation from happening.
The potential of やさしい日本語in the medical field
The potential of やさしい日本語in the medical field
Voices(my interview)
Voices(my interview)
I was infected with COVID-19. When I went to hospital, I did not understand Japanese correctly because doctors spoke to me fast.
(Choi Jain-international student)
It is difficult to understand medical terminology which doctors use, and the documents of city offices.
(Rama Jamal Aldin-refugee)
Survey: Situations where it is difficult to understand Japanese spoken by Japanese people.
Survey: Situations where it is difficult to understand Japanese spoken by Japanese people.
According to the bar graph by 一般社団法人 東京都つながり創成財団 , three situations were more than 50%: talking to doctors(65.9%), making telephone calls(58.5%) and workers in office(53.7%). Especially, medical care is important, that is why improving this situation needs.
Through voices and survey, the system of やさしい日本語 in the medical field is insufficiency.
Through voices and survey, the system of やさしい日本語 in the medical field is insufficiency.
Governments; Project for the introduction and spread of やさしい日本語 in the medical field.
Governments; Project for the introduction and spread of やさしい日本語 in the medical field.
This project has been stated since April, 2022, by Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health in Tokyo. Its expenses are approximately 90 million yen (for 2 years). For the environment where everyone receive comfortable medical care, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government made the project, mainly there are five plans:
・The training that doctors and foreign residents study together.
・The support for participants of training to spread やさしい日本語 to their co-workers.
・Making YouTube for doctors.
・The introduction of classes for the medical and nurse department.
・The scenario contest (The useful phrase and grate experience by using やさしい日本語 in medical service, are collected. If your episode are selected, it became a short movie) .
The way of project is various such as SNS, education and a contest. There are many idea for spreading やさしい日本語 in medical field by the local government, however, the project should be advanced in not only Tokyo but also other areas. I supposed that the reason for not introducing it to other areas is the budget problem. Therefore, the system need to be shared in other areas.
COVID-19 (The comparison of government websites)
COVID-19 (The comparison of government websites)
A, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare
B, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
A's website is easier to understand than B's website. Although the government is same, the expression of language is different at each ministry. They should decide the standard of language expression for everyone. The cause may be a vertical administrative system in Japan. Also, the need of やさしい日本語 do not be understood in Japan.
The potential of やさしい日本語 for communicating with other minoritized groups including people with disabilities
The potential of やさしい日本語 for communicating with other minoritized groups including people with disabilities
There is an organization for disabled people : 一般社団法人スローコミュニケーション. It provides communication support for people with intellectual disabilities by delivering necessary information in an easy-to-understand manner to people with intellectual disabilities and those who have difficulty understanding information, as well as providing information in an easy-to-understand manner to those who provide it.
In addition to やさしい日本語, they are working to convey expressions that are easier to understand for people with intellectual disabilities.
Similar approaches in other languages: Easy English and Plain English
Similar approaches in other languages: Easy English and Plain English
Easy English & Plain English
Easy English & Plain English
There are similar types in English; Easy English and Plain English. They are language that is clear, short and easy to understand. The difference between plain and easy English is the target level and the number of words in a sentence, but there are no clear difference.
The U.S government; Plain English History
The U.S government; Plain English History
The plain Language movement had started in the 1970s when the federal government encouraged regulation writers to be less bureaucratic.
In the 2010s, president Obama signed the Plain Writing Act of 2010 into law and also he issued Executive Order 13563-Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review in 2011. The order means that our regularly system must ensure that regulations are accessible, consistent, written in plain language, and easy to understand.
The movements are connected with some good effects. For intense, inquiries from nations to governments and the cost of lawsuit caused by miscommunication reduced. Also, Plain English are used in a president's speech.
Therefore, the U. S government take active steps about plain English. According to an official website of the United States government, there are examples that each departments use plain English.
Raising awareness of やさしい日本語
Raising awareness of やさしい日本語
Do you know “やさしい日本語”？-From Cycle2
Do you know “やさしい日本語”？-From Cycle2
According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the proportion of knowing "やさしい日本語" is 29.6% and not knowing is 68.1 %. A lot of Japanese do not understand it and, especially some youngers do not know it(more than 73%). 60s have the highest rate and, the graph tends to be lower in youngers.
Volunteer works: Kokohana
Volunteer works: Kokohana
Kokohana is an organization to inform やさしい日本語, and their members are local residents; mostly mothers who live in Minamiosawa. They hold events to let you know about やさしい日本語. For example, In cooperation with the Hachioji City Hall, they gave a course on easy Japanese at a disaster event. The goal of them is to make more people aware of やさしい日本語.
What I've learned and my new interests
What I've learned and my new interests
Through the volunteer work and research, I learnt that the role of やさしい日本語 is various; for foreigners and the disabled. In medical service, doctor‘s understanding of やさしい日本語 needs to be developed. Also, I believe that やさしい日本語 have an important role to create a more pleasant Japanese society for everyone whether they are a minority or not.
On the other hands, government and volunteer activities as I mentioned above, are important to deepen understanding of やさしい日本語. As a different approach, we would like to examine the actual activities of the media, which are so influential that they are often referred to as the fourth power; Judicial, Executive , Legislative and mass media.
Sources of information
Sources of information
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