BRUSSELS–Twenty-three Japanese words were added to the Oxford English Dictionary for the March 2024 update, and some entry definitions are bound to strike Japanese readers as downright odd.
On its homepage, the OED states that the work is the definitive record of the English language, featuring 600,000 words, 3 million quotations and over 1,000 years of English. It runs to more than 20,000 pages and covers 20 volumes.
Among the more puzzling new entries is “fan service,” which the OED defines as the inclusion of nudity and sexual images into anime and manga even though that inclusion does not necessarily push the story forward, but is meant simply to please readers.
Shout “katsu” in Japan, and most people will think of the popular tonkatsu pork dish. But the OED definition is “a piece of meat (usually chicken), seafood, or vegetable, coated with flour, egg, and panko breadcrumbs, deep-fried, and cut into strips.”
Danica Salazar, executive editor for World Englishes at the OED, explained that the definitions were based on usage in English newspapers, scholarly journals and social media.
In English, Salazar said “katsu” often refers to chicken coated with breadcrumbs and deep-fried.
Other Japanese words that were recognized as part of popular usage included “kintsugi,” referring to the traditional craft of using lacquer and gold dust to repair cracked pottery. Many foreign visitors to Japan have a hands-on cultural experience with kintsugi, leading to its inclusion.
Another entry, “isekai,” is now a major genre in science fiction and manga in which characters are transported to a magical world.
“Santoku,” defined as “a lightweight, multi-purpose kitchen knife,” is a popular gift purchased by foreign tourists.
The OED now has more than 500 entries with origins in Japanese, according to Oxford University Press, which publishes the massive work that was started in 1877.
The number of Japanese words increased dramatically after Japan opened up to the West in the late 19th century. Many of those entries took the Japanese pronunciation and meaning without change, such “futon” and “matcha.”
The OED adds new entries and makes revisions four times a year.
Among the new entries in recent years are “boke,” meaning a photo out of focus, and “amigurumi,” a form of knitting.
AloJapan.com