Baka (Japanese word)

as The modern Japanese writing system transcribes the insult baka as in katakana, in hiragana, or ( "horse deer") in ateji phonetic kanji transcription; earlier ateji renderings included , , , or . History The first written usages of baka were during the Nanboku-chō 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 Yoritō () refused to pay obeisance to retired Emperor Kōgon ( 1313–1364), "Yoritō, probably inebriated, loudly demands to know what kind of fool (bakamono) has the temerity to order him to dismount." According to Carr, "Shinmura [Izuru] 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 Setsuyōshū dictionary notes baka , which was also written (lit. "mother bride"), (lit. "horse bride"), or (lit. "break family"), means rōzeki "disorder; confusion". 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 from Sanskrit. Sanskrit moha () means "bewilderment, loss of consciousness, delusion, folly" and comes from the root muh meaning "bewildered, perplexed, confused". Sanskrit mahallaka means "senile, feeble minded, stupid, decrepit" and comes from mūrkha (), meaning "dull, stupid, foolish, inexperienced; fool". Other proposed etymologies for baka are less reliable. Two Edo-period dictionaries proposed that baka derived from: ōmaka "generous; unsparing" (Rigen Shūran ) or bokeru "grow senile; dote; become feeble-minded" (Matsuya Hikki ). Related words The same 馬鹿 "horse deer" characters that transcribe baka are also used for names in Chinese zoological nomenclature and Japanese mythology. In Chinese, mǎlù () refers to the red deer (Cervus elaphus), Japanese akashika . Mumashika is a rare alternate Japanese reading of that names a yōkai demon with a horse's head and deer's body. The c. 1832 Hyakki Yagyō Emaki (; "Hyakki Yagyō emakimono") depicts it with one eye, a horse's 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 word for "congenitally 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,fool,idiot", ōbaka "big fool damned idiot", and baka-yarō "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 , bakabakarashii , 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 bakashōjiki "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". ==Usages==

In Japanese in MangaLand: Learning the Basics, Marc Bernabe listed baka as "the most commonly used" and the "top swearword" in Japan. 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 chikushō "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-yarō '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-yarō, I cannot be so sure of what you mean. The expression baka-yarō 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-yarō 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. 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." English-speaking weebs have been known to use baka in its Japanese context as a loanword. == In popular culture ==

In the Tamil film Japanil Kalyanaraman (1985), the Japan-based tourist guide Munusamy (Chitra Lakshmanan) misleads Mayilsamy (Goundamani) by claiming that baka is Japanese for Greetings. The latter repeats the word to a Japanese woman who then slaps him. ==See also==