Baka (??, ??, or ??) means "fool; idiot", or (as an adjectival noun) "foolish" and is the most frequently used pejorative term in the Japanese language. This word baka has a long history, an uncertain etymology (possibly from Sanskrit or Classical Chinese), and linguistic complexities.
Video Baka (Japanese word)
Word
The modern Japanese writing system transcribes the insult baka as ?? in katakana, ?? in hiragana, or ?? (lit. "horse deer") in ateji phonetic kanji transcription; earlier ateji renderings included ??, ??, ??, or ??.
History
The first written usages of baka were during the Nanboku-ch? period (1336-1392), when the "Northern and Southern Courts" battled.
In the earliest example, the Taiheiki historical epic records bakamono ??? being used as an insult in 1342. The Ashikaga commander Toki Yorit? ???? refuses to pay obeisance to retired Emperor K?gon (r. 1313-1364), "Yorit?, probably inebriated, loudly demands to know what kind of fool (bakamono) has the temerity to order him to dismount." According to Carr, "Shinmura found that the original editions (fourteenth century) of the Taiheiki had baka written ??; [while] later movable-type editions (c. 1600) had the characters ??."
A Bunmei-era (1469-1487) edition of the Setsuy?sh? dictionary notes baka ??, which was also written ?? (lit. "mother bride"), ?? (lit. "horse bride"), or ?? (lit. "break family"), means r?zeki ?? "disorder; confusion".
Many classical Japanese texts used baka. For instance, the (c. 1616) K?y? Gunkan military chronicle transcribed baka as ??. Ihara Saikaku's (1682) K?shoku Ichidai Otoko ????? "The Life of an Amorous Man", which was a classic of the Ukiyoz?shi genre, wrote baka with the modern kanji ??.
Etymologies
Although the origins of baka are uncertain, Japanese scholars have proposed various etymologies and folk etymologies. The two most widely cited are a Classical Chinese idiom and a loanword from Sanskrit.
First, the oldest hypothesis suggests that baka originated as a Chinese literary "allusion to a historical fool", the Qin Dynasty traitor Zhao Gao (d. 207 BCE) from the Records of the Grand Historian. This etymology first appears in the (c. 1548) Unbo irohashu ????? dictionary, which glosses baka ?? as meaning "????" "point at a deer and say horse". Namely, the Chinese idiom zh?lù-wéim? ???? (lit. "point at a deer and call it a horse", Japanese ????????? shika o sashite uma to nasu) meaning "deliberate misrepresentation for ulterior purposes". Zhao was an infamous minister who served the first emperor Qin Shi Huang (r. 246-221 BCE) and forced the second Qin Er Shi (r. 210-207 BCE) to commit suicide.
Zhao Gao was contemplating treason but was afraid the other officials would not heed his commands, so he decided to test them first. He brought a deer and presented it to the Second Emperor but called it a horse. The Second Emperor laughed and said, "Is the chancellor perhaps mistaken, calling a deer a horse?" Then the emperor questioned those around him. Some remained silent, while some, hoping to ingratiate themselves with Zhao Gao, said it was a horse, and others said it was a deer. Zhao Gao secretly arranged for all those who said it was a deer to be brought before the law. Thereafter the officials were all terrified of Zhao Gao.
The Japanese idiom first appears in the 11th-century novel The Tale of Genji.
Kokiden flew into a rage. "A man out of favor with His Majesty is expected to have trouble feeding himself. And here he is living in a fine stylish house and saying awful things about all of us. No doubt the grovelers around him are assuring him that a deer is a horse.
Second, the most linguistically sound etymology is that baka derives from a Sanskrit word meaning "fool". According to the Japanese linguist and lexicographer Shinmura Izuru, the Edo-period scholar Amano Sadakage ???? (1663-1733) originally suggested that Japanese Buddhist priests coined the word baka "fool" from Sanskrit. Modern reference works give two possible Sanskrit sources for the word, moha (transcribed ??) "foolish" and mahallaka (???) "stupid". Sanskrit moha ??? means "bewilderment, loss of consciousness, delusion, folly" and comes from the root muh "bewildered, perplexed, confused". Sanskrit mahallaka means "senile, feeble minded, stupid, decrepit" and comes from m?rkha ??? "dull, stupid, foolish, inexperienced; fool".
Other proposed etymologies for baka are less reliable. Two Edo-period dictionaries proposed that baka derived from: ?maka ??? "generous; unsparing" (Rigen sh?ran ????) or bokeru ??? "grow senile; dote; become feeble-minded" (Matsuya hiki ????).
Related words
The same ?? "horse deer" characters that transcribe baka are also used for names in Chinese zoological nomenclature and Japanese mythology.
In the Chinese language, malu ?? refers to the common "Red Deer; Cervus elaphus", which has a Japanese name of akashika (??, "red deer").
Mumashika is a rare alternate Japanese reading of ?? that names "a y?kai demon with a horse's head and deer's body". The c. 1832 Hyakki Yak? Emaki ?????? "100 Demons' Night Parade Picture Scroll" depicts it with one eye, horse mouth and ears, and deer horn and hooves.
Meanings
Based on semantic analyses of baka ?? entries in Japanese dictionaries and thesauruses, the lexicographer Michael Carr differentiates eight interrelated meanings.
Three basic "fool; foolish" meanings distinguish baka1 "ass; jerk; fool", baka2 "ament; idiot; imbecile; fool" (ament is a rare but politically correct word for "mentally deficient"), and baka3 "blockhead; dullard; dimwit; simpleton; dolt; fool". These are found in many frequently-used Japanese expressions. Some more insulting lexemes are bakamono ??? "stupid/born fool", ?baka ??? "big fool damned idiot", and baka-yar? ???? "stupid jerk, ass, asshole, dumbass". Some compounds are baka yoke ???? "foolproof; idiot-proof", baka warai ???? "foolish/horse laugh" and baka zura ??? "foolish face; stupid look"; and some verb phrases are baka ni suru ????? "make a fool of (someone); treat with contempt", baka yobawarisuru ???????? "call (someone) a fool", and baka o miru ????? "make a fool/ass of (oneself)".
Two extended meanings of baka4 "worthless" and baka5 "excess" expand upon "folly; foolishness". Baka4 "worthless; foolish; valueless; trifling; insignificant" is used in expressions such as bakageta ???? "foolish; absurd; ridiculous"; bakana ??? "foolish; silly; stupid"; and bakarashii ?????, bakabakabarashii ???????, or bakakusai ???? all meaning "foolish; absurd; ridiculous". It is further used in phrases like baka ie ???? "Nonsense!; Go on!", and bakana mane o suru ???????? "do a foolish thing; act foolishly". Baka5 "excess; foolish; absurd; extreme; extravagant" is found in a number of expressions: bakani ??? or bakabakashiku ?????? "awfully; terribly; extremely"; bakayasui ???? "ridiculously/dirt cheap"; bakane ??? or bakadakai ???? "ridiculously expensive"; bakateinei ???? "excessive politeness"; and bakash?jiki ???? "honest to a fault".
Three special meanings are unrelated semantic connections. Baka6 "trough shell" is a truncation of bakagai ??? "trough shell; Mactra chinensis". Baka7 "numbness (of limbs)" is used in the expression baka ni naru ?????, and baka8 means "(an antique kind of) coin counter".
Maps Baka (Japanese word)
Usages
Baka, which originated as a 14th-century literary insult, has become "the most commonly used" swearword in contemporary Japanese. Usages of this term can be discussed in terms of pragmatic depth, dialectal variation, and proper names.
Pragmatics
The linguistic pragmatics of using insults like baka can be language specific. For instance, Japanese has fewer words for calling someone a "fool" than English. Jack Seward recounts asking his language teacher "to prepare a list of the most stunning and forcible insults, pejoratives, and curses in Japanese", but was surprised that the "short, unimaginative, and seeming ineffectual" list had only two words: baka "fool" and chikush? ?? "beast".
Carr proposes that intentional vagueness explains the comparatively small lexical field of Japanese insults.
One likely reason for the relatively few Japanese words for 'fool' is vagueness. In both English and Japanese, the words for 'fool' have meanings that vary along scales of friendly-hostile, or joking-serious. In English, at one end of a scale are words like silly goose and at the other end are words like stupid asshole. And in Japanese, at one end are words like kamaboko baka ???? 'silly chump' and at the other end are words like baka-yar? ???? 'damn fool'. The difference is in the degree of lexical diversification along the scales of meaning. English seems to have more 'fool' words with more specificity - Japanese seems to have fewer 'fool' words with more vagueness. There are decided pragmatic and communicative advantages to such lexical vagueness. If you call me a stupid son-of-a-bitch, I know exactly what you mean. But if you call me a baka-yar?, I cannot be so sure of what you mean. The expression baka-yar? ???? is one of the most insulting terms in the Japanese lexicon, but it is vague and can range in meaning from an affectionate 'silly-willy' to an abusive 'jerk-off fool'. Baka-yar? is so widely used that it has become semantically weak and vague. Such vagueness can serve to conceal hostility and thus to maintain social harmony.
Dialectal
Japanese dialects show regional variations between using baka in Kant? dialect and ah? ?? or ?? "fool; idiot; jackass" in Kansai dialect. In addition, the insult ah? has more of a slang connotation than baka. Many Japanese dictionaries treat the words baka and ah? as synonyms. "However, in Osaka and its surroundings, aho is a rather non-offensive word, whereas baka is an explosive word." Nevertheless, "In Tokyo and its surroundings, we find exactly the opposite, so you must be careful with the usage of these words."
Proper names
Baka frequently occurs in proper nouns. Examples from Japanese pop music include albums (Pretty Little Baka Guy, Ai no Baka "Love Fool") and songs (Suki Sugite Baka Mitai "To Like [him] Too Much and Look Like a Fool"). Some titles from modern Japanese literature are Tsuribaka Nisshi ("Fishing Fool's Diary"), Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs ("Dog Fool"), Karate Baka Ichidai("A Karate-Crazy Life") , and Baka to Test to Sh?kanj? ("Idiots, Tests, and Summoned Creatures").
English
During World War II, baka was American military slang for the Japanese Ohka ?? (lit. "Cherry Blossom") kamikaze flying bomb. The earliest recorded usage was in Newsweek on May 7, 1945, "American forces have officially designated this bomb as 'baka', baka being Japanese for foolish, silly, or stupid."
References
External links
- ?????, ??, ???, jeKai
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