Technology to Blame for Japanese Inability to Write Characters
Writing in Kanji characters is really hard to do for the uninitiated because certain strokes need to be perfected. But it’s considered something acquired “naturally” for children in Japan.
However, a lot of people seem to be losing the ability to write Kanji characters nowadays because of the increasing use of and reliance on technology. Every year, new characters are added to the dictionary, but only a few care to practice writing them since almost everyone already has access to gadgets that automatically input their thoughts in just the blink of an eye.
In a survey conducted by the Cultural Affairs Agency, 66.5% of the respondents said that they are not sure if they can still do the strokes correctly. This was, however, 25 percent higher than the statistics taken in the year 2010.
On the other hand, 42% also think that writing by hand is already a bother, a 10% increase also from 2010 statistics.
It is very unfortunate that technology causes these disadvantages in learning and using language. Not only does it devalue calligraphy to some extent, but it also gives a disadvantage to the children who want to learn Japanese the traditional way.
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Genevieve Baxa
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