Expressing Love in Anime: Linguacultural Aspect

Abstract

There are a lot of different words meaning ‘love’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese language, including 愛する ‘ai-suru’, 恋する ‘koi-suru’, 好き ‘suki’, 憧れる ‘akogareru’, etc. However, in order to use each of these words correctly and in a proper way, it is necessary to understand the nuances that determine the usage of words in a context given. One of the main problems of the interpreter from Japanese to any other language is one of the basic features of Japanese communication which is the so-called ‘non-speaking’. This characteristic can be described as a constant manner of not talking directly on a matter which the speaker is most concerned about. Speaker’s counterpart is expected to either understand him without talking at all, basing solely on the context of communication, or by guessing his true feelings and intentions by ‘reading between the lines’. So, the different lexical shades of the words used to signify ‘love’ combined with the Japanese traditional way of indirect expression of thoughts and feelings both make the task of a translator really challenging. Firstly, he has to correctly interpret anime characters’ speech, being guided also by one’s own knowledge of Japanese cultural characteristics. Only after that can he properly convey the main meaning of the expression used into Russian or any other language. The aim of this article is to identify and formulate the most common ways of expressing love in anime and also to analyze, what do they actually mean and in what situations they can (or cannot) be used.