A Contrastive Study Of Loanwords In Chinese And Japanese

Loanwords in Japanese, as is well-acknowledged, surpass those in other languages. However, with the growing cooperation and communication between China and foreign countries propelled by the reform and opening up policy, Chinese has witnessed a swelling number of loanwords. Plenty of work has been done on Chinese and Japanese loanwords respectively. Yet, the contrastive study seems to be insufficient.Based on the definitions, Chinese and Japanese loanwords are studied and compared from both holistic and special aspects with the help of relative theories and methods in Measurement lexics, Contrast lexics. Firstly, their scales and classifications are compared from the holistic aspect with statistics of vocabulary and the ways of borrowing. Next, a thoroughly investigation is done on loanwords in computer language and some translated terms of commodity brands in both languages, followed by a count on the number and percentage in the two fields, a detailed analysis of their characteristics, and a tentative explanation of the causes of the results in the research. Finally, the trend and prospect of Chinese and Japanese loanwords are explored.