Japanese Philosophy, Logic and Linguistics Translated into English

Translations of excerpts from interesting scholarly texts I find about language or logic

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Introductory Comments to “The Linguistics of Incantations”

I love the concept of Jumon no Gengogaku (『呪文の言語学』）[The Linguistics of Incantations] written by Dr. Yusuke Sumi.  While you might expect a book about magic to be categorized under fantasy, this book is a work of linguistics and anthropology.  Dr. Sumi is a linguist who lives in Romania and studies the language of the Romani.  The “witches” living in Romania practice “magic” with words, and those words fall under the purview of linguistic research.  I’ve translated two short sections from the book which are about the witches who use magic.  These sections contrast the conception of witches and magic from fantasy with the everyday reality of magic that is practiced in the modern day.  I owe my thanks to the publisher, Sakuhinsha, for permitting me to post this translation.

Click here to read it.

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One response to “Introductory Comments to “The Linguistics of Incantations””

  1. luminouswombat0b1383bbd9 Avatar
    luminouswombat0b1383bbd9

    Mark, I am so impressed with this excerpt on how linguisitcs determines how we view the world and how the traditions of a culture become part of who we are. It calls to mind my maternal grandmother, who was always quoting proverbs in response to everyday events – “if you can’t say something good about someone, don’t say anything” – or “if at first you don’t succeed try try again” or “cleanliness is next to Godliness” or the motto on the wall as I entered school each day “do your best, God will do the rest” — or the way that is still common today for many of us elderly people that automatic (learned) responses to a someone sneezing is “Gesundheit” or God bless you”. And for the Guarino family that immigrated to upstate New York (Rochester) the evil eye was also a prevalent reality with “incantations” — something unfamiliar to me who came from a German/Scandinavian/Slavic culture.

    Thank you for giving me a new appreciation for linguisics in everyday life.

    Reply

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