* Japanese Honorifics
@ 1999-10-05 18:07 Stainless Steel Rat
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From: Stainless Steel Rat @ 1999-10-05 18:07 UTC (permalink / raw)
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* Kai.Grossjohann@CS.Uni-Dortmund.DE (Kai Großjohann) on Tue, 05 Oct 1999
| I don't know any Japanese at all, and I wonder: is `-san' a suffix
| used when speaking of a person informally; somewhat like the use of
| first name (rather than `Mr' or `Ms' and last name) in the Western
| culture? Or is it part of his name?
The -san honorific is, as has been pointed out, similar to the English
Mr./Ms./Mrs. honorifics. Context determines the degree of formality. It
is never used self-referentially.
The -chan (feminine) and -kun (masculine) 'honorifics' are diminutives.
Their primary use is familial, a younger sister or brother. They are
infrequently substituted for -san when the speaker is a superior (like your
boss) but is also a friend (or at least considers himself to be a friend).
The diminutives are also very infrequently used incorrectly between
otherwise very close friends.
Then there is the archaic -dono honorific. The meaning is highly dependant
on context
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