National Survey on the Use of Loanwords in Japanese National Survey on the Use of Loanwords in Japanese

Details of the National Survey on the Use of Loanwords in Japanese

• Number of words examined: 405 words
  • A total of 405 words, consisting of over 300 loanwords that were not considered familiar enough, extracted mainly from white papers of the Japanese government, newspapers, and other publications, and dozens of loanwords that were considered familiar enough, added for comparison purposes, were examined.
• Number of surveyed people and survey period：
  • The three types of surveys shown below were carried out. The numbers (1) and (2) in B represent different survey periods.
    • Survey A
      • 3,000 people were divided into four groups, and 30 words were examined by each group.
      • Each word was examined by 750 people, and 120 words were examined.
      • The collection rate was 72.3%.
      • Conducted in November 2002.
    • Survey B (1)
      • Seven sessions took place to survey 2,115 people or 2,118 people each time when 30 words were examined.
      • Each word was examined by 2,115 people or 2,118 people, and 210 words were examined. The average collection rate was 70.1%.
      • Conducted from November 2002 through October 2003.
    • Survey B (2)
      • Two sessions took place to survey 2,111 people each time when 30 words were examined.
      • Each word was examined by 2,111 people, and 60 words were examined.
      • The average collection rate was 71.3%.
      • Conducted in May and August 2004.
    • Survey C
      • Each word was examined by 2,115 people, and 15 words were examined.
      • The collection rate was 72.3%.
      • Conducted in January 2004.
  • Some words were examined repeatedly in different types of surveys and in different sessions.
• Population: Male and female individuals from different parts of Japan no less than 16 years old
• Sampling method: Stratified two-stage random sampling
• Survey method: Individual interviews by researchers
  • Questions asked in the individual interviews of Surveys A, B (1) and B (2) (common to all words):
    1. Have you heard or seen the words (1)-(30) shown here? ⇒ (A) Yes / (B) No
    2. (If the person has answered "Yes" to Question a.) Do you understand what the word means? ⇒ (A) Yes / (B) Vaguely / (C) No
    3. (If the person has answered "Yes" or "Vaguely" to Question b.) Have you ever used the word yourself? ⇒ (A) Yes / (B) No
  • An example of questions asked in the individual interviews of Survey C （Different questions were used for different words. ）
    1. Have you heard or seen the computer-related word "sohuto" (software)? ⇒ (A) Yes / (B) No
    2. (If the person has answered "Yes" to Question a.) Do you understand what the word "sohuto" means in the context? ⇒ (A) Yes / (B) Vaguely / (C) No
    3. (If the person has answered "Yes" or "Vaguely" to Question b.) Have you ever used the word "sohuto" in that sense yourself? ⇒ (A) Yes / (B) No
  • "Recognition ratio" is the ratio of people who answered "Yes" to Question a. "Understanding ratio" is the ratio of people who answered "Yes" to Question b. "Usage ratio" is the ratio of people who answered "Yes" to Question c.

*The results of Survey A are also available on the website of the Agency for Cultural Affairs under the title "Opinion Survey on the Japanese Language" (FY2002).