On the state of multilingualism and polyglottery in Japan

Abstract

In the research done for this article, the matter of multilingualism and polyglottery in modern Japan was addressed and the relationship between these phenomena and how they affect one another is discussed. Before discussing the matter of polyglots in Japan, it was felt to be useful to first examine what or what not a polyglot might be and how that term might differ from the word “multilingual” in the context of Japan, as we can assume that, even if the two terms cover much of the same semantic territory for a Japanese, they are not, as now generally understood, completely alike nor should the terms be considered interchangeable with one another. This matter is addressed in the section on vocabulary definitions. The second section, on factors of language relation, typology and culture, in which Japanese views on language and polyglottery are addressed, deals with the obstacles to becoming a polyglot that Japanese are often facing. It is proposed that the most important obstacle to achieving polyglottery by Japanese is imposed by time; and, for this reason, an overview of the approximate necessary timeframe to learn different languages for an elite cohort of American State Department educated individuals is provided. From this, guesstimates of what would be expected of a similar Japanese cohort in a Japanese context are given. The language policy and language education of Japan are also addressed. In connection with this, a short discussion is made as to why this might also contribute to the scarcity of polyglots in Japan, though it is also maintained that a scarcity of polyglots among people of Japanese ethnicity living in Japan does not necessarily mean that there is an equal level of scarcity of multilinguals, who, if they had learned their languages in different circumstances with more self-awareness, would be considered as polyglots.