每日跟讀#674: About Japan -Govt wants surname 1st in Roman letters

日政府有意進行「正名」運動，將羅馬拼音的日文名字順序，改回符合日本傳統的先寫姓氏後寫名字。

The government is coordinating over issuing recommendations to use the Japanese “surname-first” order when names are written in Roman letters.

這項提議由文部科學大臣柴山昌彥及外相河野太郎在五月二十一日於記者會上共同提出。

The idea was proposed by Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Masahiko Shibayama and Foreign Minister Taro Kono at a press conference on May 21.

早在2000年十二月，日本官方語言單位便向政府提議改回姓氏在前。

The ministers have in mind a report submitted in December 2000 by the then Council on National Language, an advisory panel to the education minister.

當時的報告中提到：「人類語言和文化的多樣性應當被認可與使用，若能將姓氏寫在前面會是極好的。」

The report stated that “the diversity of human language and culture should be recognized and put to use by the entire human race,” concluding that “it would be desirable to adopt the surname-first order.”

日本文化部在2000年收到報告後就將中學生的英文教科書改為符合日本傳統的寫法，可惜並未成為主流。

After the Cultural Affairs Agency issued its notice in 2000, all English textbooks used at junior high schools adopted the surname-first order, but the practice did not take root.

不過，在許多官方部門和機構單位中規範要求將名字寫在前面，若要改變這個風俗，就必須從整個體制中的法律開始改起。

On the other hand, at some ministries and agencies, laws and regulations require that documents use the given-name-first order. Changing this would require regulations to be revised or systems to be modified.

和歌山大學(Wakayama University)一名教授Haruo Erikawa指出，日本自明治時代以來採取的西化政策及英文教育對日本文化的影響根深柢固，先寫名字後寫姓氏就是最好的例子。

The order of given name first began to permeate society as a result of the Westernization policies of the mid-Meiji era (1868-1912) and took root through English education, according to Haruo Erikawa, a professor at Wakayama University and chairman of the Society for Historical Studies of English Learning and Teaching in Japan.

自1900年後英文教科書便一直採用西式的名字寫法，早已成為主流習慣。

He said that around the year 1900, English textbooks adopted the given-name-first order, which then became mainstream.

Erikawa指出：「即使文化部重視此事，日本社會長期以來對西方文化的崇拜也非一天兩就能導正的。」

“The Cultural Affairs Agency notice has not permeated because of a long cultural history of ‘admiration of the West,’” Erikawa said.

根據日媒The Japan News報導，日本政府週五公布的調查指出，超過六成的日本高二生在假日時使用手機三小時以上。

A Japan government survey, published on Friday, showed that more than 60 percent of second-year high schooler use mobile phones for three hours or more on holiday.

這份日本教育及健康署的長期研究對象是2001年一月及七月出生的日本小孩。週五公布的這份報告是第17次針對這批在去年已經長成十七歲青少年的孩子進行調查，從逾三萬個學生中取得將近兩萬五千份回復。

This is a long-term survey conducted by the education and health ministries investigating children born in January or July 2001. The latest research was the 17th checking the situations of 2018 when they were 17 years old. The research had collected answers from 24,866 of the three thousand students participating in the survey.

調查顯示，逾六成半的學生表示在假日時使用手機三小時或以上，其中將近兩成表示使用手機三至四小時，而百分之19則表示使用超過六小時。

The survey showed that 65.4 percent of student using mobile phones for three hours or more on holiday. Among these students, 19.9 percent said they use the devices for three to four hours while 19 percent said they use them for more than six hours.

另外，調查亦顯示使用手機時間越多的學生，也越不喜歡待在家裡或補習班念書。那些使用超過六小時手機的青少年有一半以上表示不會在學校以外的時間念書。

Moreover, students who spent longer time on mobile phones were less likely to study at home or cram schools. For instance, more than half of those who use devices for six hours or more said they would not spend time study after school.

官員指出，使用手機的時間長不一定是壞事，因為手機的功能不只是看影片及社交網站，也可以用來學習或蒐集資訊。

However, an official said children can use phones not only for leisure activities such as watching videos or surfing social media but also study and to collect information.

Source article: https://chinapost.nownews.com/20190903-724873 ; https://chinapost.nownews.com/20190905-728659