Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2018 April 25

= April 25 =

“Rape” in Japanese
Unless I’m mistaken, the most common word for rape in Japanese seems to be “reipu” which obviously sounds borrowed from the English word.

Does this mean that *concept* of rape in Japan does not predate their interaction with European peoples, or did they have an older word for rape that is no longer commonly used?—69.121.235.11 (talk) 06:55, 25 April 2018 (UTC)


 * According to Kittredge Cherry, the basic older word for "rape" was 強姦 (see Wiktionary), which was disliked by many, for containing the semi-infamous "three women" character 姦 (which traditionally had overwhelmingly negative meanings), and possibly for other reasons... AnonMoos (talk) 07:18, 25 April 2018 (UTC)

Affection / Affectation
In this edit an IP editor changed affection -> affectation except it is from a direct quote, and confirmed the source says affection (in multiple published versions). Is there a grammatical error in the original source or is it correct? -- Green  C  14:24, 25 April 2018 (UTC)
 * The use of "affection" seems peculiar, but if it's what the guy said, then this looks like a good time to insert a "[sic]". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 14:51, 25 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Affection means "you care about others." Affectation means "pretense".  The word affection works just fine, if the author is indicating that the person is aloof or stand-off-ish or self-centered.  I don't see it as a [sic] situation, they may very well have meant affection.  -- Jayron 32 14:55, 25 April 2018 (UTC)
 * In any case, it should be quoted verbatim. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 15:23, 25 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Actually, those "direct quotes" are nothing of the kind - they are all fragments of text.  To find the "verbatim" quotes you need to use "affectation" rather than "affection" in the search parameters. This gives you, , , , ,  and .   To clinch it there's a preview of the original book at , where the word appears on page 2. 2A00:23C0:4E82:F801:ACFF:AF35:189:C1F0 (talk) 18:31, 25 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Accordingly, I've restored "affectation". Deor (talk) 18:37, 25 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Interesting. Multiple authors in published books/papers quote Ward with affection yet the original source is "affectation". Perhaps one influential source misquoted Ward and this lead to others copying the mistake (including Wikipedia). Fortunately we can stop the train of error unlike the other static sources which remain uncorrected forever. -- Green  C  20:29, 25 April 2018 (UTC)
 * ..confirmed it is affectation in the first edition 1958 and in an edition from 1985, no changes across editions unless it occurred later than 1985 which seems unlikely. -- Green  C  20:38, 25 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Very. "Affectation" fits the context, "affection" does not.  --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  22:30, 25 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Affection fits the archetype of a bloke quite well actually. Probably another reason the error propagated. -- Green  C  01:42, 26 April 2018 (UTC)
 * I interpret "affection" to mean caring, as per what Jayron said. Is it true that the stereotypical bloke cares about no one? Like, not even his own mother? Whereas, "affectation" essentially means "phony", and it certainly makes sense that a bloke wouldn't like phonies. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 01:52, 26 April 2018 (UTC)

Well reading Ward's quote it's not at all flattering and give the picture of a self-centered individual not known for being 'caring' about others. He "feels no impulse to work" (layabout). He "swears hard and constantly" (inconsiderate). He "gambles heavily" and "drinks deeply" (drunken gambler). He is the "world's best confidence man" (liar and cheater). He has no interest in intellectual or religious pursuits (uneducated to a fault). He is a "great 'knocker' of smitten people" (cruel). He is "a 'scab'". He is a "rolling stone" (drifter). -- Green  C  15:10, 26 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Or "lowlife". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 18:27, 26 April 2018 (UTC)