One of the more popular (by counting number of comments) posts on this blog asking “Is fluency in a language required for regional expertise?” My answer was a resounding “yes,” concluding “Language expertise does not automatically make a person’s analysis valid. And a person without language expertise can offer insight and valuable opinion. But knowing the language is generally a prerequisite to being taken seriously as a regional studies expert.” And this generally originates in my experiences in Japan:
Many (even most) academics and “experts” on Japan who write for a Western audience are not fluent in the language. The result is pretty dismal analysis that is often useless and wrong. Lack of language expertise means these so-called experts are generally confined to English texts, and must rely on translators for real original research. In the academic world, this results in intellectual incest ad absurdum—unoriginal, even incorrect research is quoted and rehashed in the ivory tower until it becomes accepted doctrine.
Having said that, as I noted at the time, mere language ability does not result in regional expertise. And that’s the topic of a current post at Ampotan here. In brief:
It’s puzzling: one reason for visiting a foreign country is finding out about how those people live. Once there, the best way to find out is to pay attention to what happens every day between people at the most basic levels of society.But some folks seem not to have noticed that one of the key points in Japanese social interaction, whether it’s in a classroom or a bar, is the effort put into getting everyone on the same page by seeking the least common denominator. Talking about the weather or chopsticks may be trivial, but that is the easiest way to create and maintain a pleasant relationship for the next ten minutes (or the next ten years) without ruffling any feathers. Getting involved in a discussion about politics or any other subject that generates strong opinions could easily become unpleasant for both parties and destroy the potential for a harmonious encounter.
Too true.
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Comments to this entry
Richardson
October 18, 2007
4:15 pm
Like about 99.99 percent of intel analysts in their field of analysis. Yet they are called, "experts," right?
Matt Schiavenza - It’s The Language, Stupid
October 19, 2007
7:18 am
Tuor
October 20, 2007
6:17 am
Wonder if you would combine this with the need to live in country for an extended period of time and perhaps the need to live in a part of the country not dominated by expats? In DC I noticed that even the China hands who could speak Chinese often had an appalling lack of understanding of the patterns of thinking of ordinary Chinese. I'm not sure what country you are a citizen of, but extended time overseas in the recommended conditions often seems to make you less employable back home. At least this has been my experience as a US citizen and China Hand.
Incidentally, I am now in Tokyo and hoping to add Japan and Japanese to my broader regional expertise. Any recommendations on how to do so would be greatly appreciated.
Tuor
October 20, 2007
6:18 am
Joe
October 24, 2007
12:23 pm
Or put another way, when you have made a great investment of time and effort in learning a language, you naturally look down on everyone who hasn't made the same investment, as if they could never be a regional "expert" because they haven't gone through the same rite of passage.
But there is really such an amazing flow of information these days that one can develop expertise in a regional field without ever learning the language.
For instance, I am regularly in contact with financial analysts working out of boiler rooms in Europe and the US, who have almost never been to Japan, couldn't even order sushi here, and yet have a better grasp on Japanese economic trends than many of the Japanese people I work with. Bloomberg and Nikkei provide all the information in English and these folks can process it just as well as if they were reading it in Japanese.
I know Curzon personally and I know that he has learned a million minutiae about Japan (as have I) from books and websites that would be inaccessible to those guys working out of the boiler room in London. But they don't care about how to execute a Japanese will, or why the Musashino Line runs every 15 minutes. Their source data is perfectly fine in English. And frankly, if someone really needs to know how to execute a will or the historical background of a train line, they can ask around and get the answer just as well as we can. It will just take them longer and involve more middlemen.
(I know this relates more to the old post than to this post. Sorry--but this comment is just on my mind now and I would attach it to the old post if I could)
As far as this post goes, I completely agree that small-talk is the only way to win in Japanese society. That's probably why I mostly go drinking with other foreigners, who are actually interested in talking about important things... e.g. how annoying their Japanese colleagues are.
OK, I have to go rest my eyes now--this new stylesheet is making me go blind.
Aceface
October 24, 2007
4:08 pm
I mean afterall the expats you're referring are here to make money and not to get Japan.
I've been always felt that China hands and Francophones are a lot more serious about learning the local knowledge and ideas than Tokyo expat.
Drinking and chatting is one idea.But I always prefer the locals than my own countryman or other foreigner when I'm in Mongolia.Talking with an expat there usually ends up with simply learning about other expat.
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