Date:    Wed, 11 Feb 1998 13:04:37 -0500
<br>From:    Larry Horn  laurence.horn[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]YALE.EDU 
<br>Subject: Re: Japan(ese)
<br>
<br>At 7:04 PM -0600 2/10/98, Matthew Gordon wrote:
<br> Watching the coverage of the Olympics I have been struck by an
<br> adjectival use of "Japan" where "Japanese" seemed more natural to me;
<br> e.g. "The Japan Alps" "these Japan Olympics" etc.  I noticed this usage
<br> by several of the CBS folks and I heard an NPR reporter use it as well
<br> (specifically "The Japan Alps").  Any thoughts about what, if anything,
<br> is going on?  Could they be avoiding "Japanese" for some reason? Has
<br> that term acquired some connotations they wish to avoid?
<br>
<br>I think there's a semantic difference between the two cases.  "These
<br>Japanese Olympics" might be avoided because that phrase might suggest
<br>possession or ownership; the Olympics AREN'T Japanese, they are just held
<br>there.  The nominal compound is thus motivated.  On the other hand, "the
<br>Japan Alps" does strike me as odd (although it's evidently part of a
<br>language change in progress, which I take it is what that "Dictionaries"
<br>article details); the mountains in question really are Japanese in the
<br>sense that the Swiss (*Switzerland) Alps are Swiss.  Maybe someone figured
<br>if it's OK to have "Colorado Rockies", it's OK to have "Japan Alps".  But
<br>at least the former has an esthetically pleasing trochaic rhythm, while the
<br>latter just sounds (if you'll excuse the technical vocabulary) silly.
<br>
<br>
<br>Larry
<br>