Borrowed Expressions

by John Middleton

The English language owes much of its richness to the countless expressions borrowed from other tongues, and Japan has made some notable contributions to the lexicon. Very few native speakers of English are aware, however, of the etymology of some of the Japanese words they use. How many people would have realised, for example, that “karaoke” is partly a corruption of English?From the eclectic series of essays, “Tokyo, From One to Infinity”, where the truth is often stranger than fiction.

7 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 29, 2014