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Old 07-13-2013, 02:31 AM   #11
Peter Goldsbury
 
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Dojo: Hiroshima Kokusai Dojo
Location: Hiroshima, Japan
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Re: aikido in your country's language

Quote:
Rupert Atkinson wrote: View Post
It is the way of aiki in what ever language you choose to name. The target is aiki, and the techniques provide the method to find it.
Hello Rupert,

How are things?

I think Japanese is commonly thought to be fairly flexible on how the elements of a compound word can be subdivided, especially for words like 合気, which are not in common use. I have had many discussions about this with Japanese colleagues who profess Japanese language and linguistics. Morihei Ueshiba does not use the term consistently and in terms of kotodama the term 合気道 could be broken down into its three elements, with each element given its own interpretation. I think the problem for Mary E (I am sure she will come back and correct me if I am wrong) is that 合気 and 合気道 lack a commonly accepted English translation and so need to be replaced by an acceptable definite description. As I stated in my earlier post, we do not need to do this here in Japan, since 合気 and 合気道 do just fine.

Best wishes,

PAG

P A Goldsbury
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