Globalisation - the Japanese Version

Engrish

It is difficult to spend any amount of time in Japan and not find the Japanese use of English funny. 'Engrish' has been defined as the incorrect use of English, either grammatically incorrect sentences or phrases that have been taken out of context - for a further definition this website explores more characteristics of Engrish. Since English has been introduced to Japan through trade and exchange, it seems as if the Japanese have adopted it to suit their own ends - it is no longer used in a way that native English speakers would see as 'correct', but to the Japanese is has symbolic meaning. When asking the Japanese themselves about why engrish is so widely used, I have had mixed answers. The general consensus is that it is seen as 'cool' but people could rarely expand on why it might be seen as so. It is becoming more common to use Engrish to replace words that the Japanese already have, in order to sound more international; this leads to worries that the Japanese language  will be lost as Engrish becomes more ingrained. Given that the main Japanese alphabet is based on Chinese characters, the Japanese might have a right to worry. However the traditionalist Japanese are on the case, with attempts to bring in systems that will cut back the use of Engrish in official spheres, in an attempt to make it less popular at the grass roots level - if only this theory would influence company advertising! Although there is the idea of engrish giving a product an exotic cachet (in much the same way Japanese characters are used in Western countries as fashion symbols or in tattoos), if this was the only reason then you would expect the English used to be correctly, especially by the larger companies (such as Toyota). Although Engrish may differentiate the product slightly from its Japanese-only counterparts, it is used far too widely to give any particular advantage. Instead I believe it says more about Japan's take on globalisation, and the way that they incorporate and adapt foreign customs, products and language in a way that suits the Japanese psyche. Engrish isn't written for the native English speakers, but for the enjoyment of the Japanese, with sentence structures similar to the Japanese language, and key words such as "enjoy", "love" and "kiss" used to convey a feeling without necessarily making sense in context. The two pictures I have included are examples of the use of key words - "bird friendly coffee" doesn't have a particular meaning to any of the Japanese I have asked about it, yet they recognise the word "friendly" in  particular, and it's associated sentiment, and the same goes for "kiss". The linguist Haru Yamada claimed that the Japanese media use Engrish to emphasise the uniqueness of Japanese language, as it forces readers back to the kanji reading, which often gives the meaning of the word in the characters themselves unlike English, where the meaning of each new word has to be learnt. So I would have to disagree with those that say that English is just used because it is thought to be 'cool' and exotic, because the Japanese rarely appropriate something without first changing it in a unique Japanese way.

If anyone has further interest in the amusing ways that the Japanese adapt foreign customs, I can recommend the film "The Japanese Version" which is basically an outdated  documentary on globalisation in Japan, which still retains it's comedy edge. This youtube clip of the film shows the Japanese adoption of Christian sentiments and their ability to ignore or adapt the original meaning, in a way similar to their treatment of English.