Phase of the Japanese Translation in "Dictionarium Latino Lusitanicum, ac Iaponicum"(1595)

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24720209
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Japanese linguistics
• Research Institution: Kyoto Prefectural University
• Principal Investigator: KISHIMOTO Emi 京都府立大学, 文学部, 准教授 (50324877)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: キリシタン / 辞書 / 語彙

Outline of Final Research Achievements

A number of differences are noted when the “Dictionarium Latino Lusnitanicum, ac Iaponicum”(1595) is compared to the “Vocabulario da lingoa de Iapam”(1603-04), both of which were compiled by the Jesuits in Japan. Specifically, certain words are defined differently, such as those related to the internal organs, and several dialect-specific words that the Vocabulario advises against using are used in the Dictionarium. When the Chinese character dictionary “Racuyoxu”(1598) is also considered, there are discrepancies among the three in the readings of several Japanese words. This provides evidence, not only of variation within Japanese, but also that the dictionaries were compiled separately.
Another Japanese-Portuguese dictionary, the “Nanshi-shukai”, includes colloquial and dialectal Japanese and pidgin-Portuguese. Although this was apparently compiled in the same period and location as the above Jesuit dictionaries, it reflects a different phase of Japanese and Portuguese.

Free Research Field

日本語史