JapanNewbie

Constitution Haiku

Posted on 10. May, 2007 @ 8:45 pm by harvey in Language, Society

Article 23 of the Japanese Constitution says…

「学問の自由はこれを保障する」

Which translates to (technically, is translated from, as the constitution of Japan was initially written in English) “Academic freedom is guaranteed.”

Technically, the Japanese could have been written 「学問の自由は保障する」and saved a few characters without changing the meaning at all.

So why has the 「これを」been included? Is it style points? Is it someone looking for an extra few yen from the translation fee?

One of the teachers at my school thinks it’s because adding the 「これを」makes the phrase into the 5-7-5 syllable form of a Haiku, and gives the phrase a beautiful flow.

がくもんの – 5

じゆうはこれを – 7

ほしょうする – 5

A mere coincidence? Beats me.

- Harvey