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Re: plurals in japanese
I think Mr Hamilton's mail sums it up concisely. Japanese nouns do not have a plural form, so in Japan it is a matter of finding the correct count-form, or using hitotsu, futatsu etc.
The issue becomes one of the degree of anglicization and the mileage might well vary with the language community involved. Perhaps among the foreigners living in Iwama, 'uchideshis' might be frowned upon because it jarrs on ears that are becoming attuned to Japanese.
On the other hand in Texas or Florida, a dojo might have one or more senseis, a few sempais and many more kohais, who all wear gis, and hakamas where appropriate. With no problem. If there was a "Japan Week" and a Japanese-style festival, the women might well appear in kimonos and the men in fundoshis and haoris.
Perhaps Jun is the best person to judge how far he would accept the anglicization of words that are native to him.
Best regards,
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