Kanbun Kundoku and English Kaeriyomi

Meiji Era (late 19th century)
As Japan pushed forward with modernization, there was a need to read Western academic and technical books.
The goal at the time was not

• to converse in English

• to interact with English speakers

but rather

• to read English texts accurately

• to translate Western knowledge into Japanese

.
Therefore, a learning method of English text → grammatical analysis → Japanese translation was developed.
This was compatible with the Edo period tradition of Kanbun Kundoku and was accepted by the Japanese people.

What is Kanbun Kundoku?
It is a method of reading classical Chinese not as Chinese, but by rearranging it into Japanese word order, such as reading
子曰、学而時習之、不亦説乎
as
The Master said, to learn and at times to practice it, is this not also a pleasure?, etc.
For that purpose,

• Kaeriten (reversion marks like 一, 二, レ)

• Okurigana (kana suffixes)

are used.

Influence on English Education
In the early Meiji period, when Japanese people began learning English, many intellectuals were accustomed to Kanbun Kundoku. Therefore, a method of understanding English by rearranging it into Japanese word order, rather than understanding it in English word order, was naturally adopted.

For example,
I know the man who lives next door.
is broken down into

1. I know the man

2. who lives next door

and translated as
I know, that man, and that man lives next door
↓
I know the man who lives next door
. In a sense, this is an English version of Kundoku.

The term 'Kaeriyomi' (reading backwards)
In English learning, reading from back to front has long been called 'Kaeriyomi'.
For example, it is a method of reading
This is the book that I bought yesterday.
as
This is the book / that I bought yesterday /
↓
This is the book that I bought yesterday
. This is very similar to the reading method using Kanbun reversion marks.

Achievements

Thanks to this method, the Japanese were able to absorb a vast amount of Western knowledge in a short period. During the Meiji era, books on science, law, medicine, philosophy, etc., had to be translated, and the Kundoku-style reading method played a major role.

Problems
However, in modern times, it is pointed out that it has the drawback of easily creating a habit of understanding English only after converting it into Japanese.
For example, the reality is that even if one can translate
I have lived in Tokyo for ten years.
the moment they see it as
'It's present perfect, so... I have lived in Tokyo for ten years'
, it is difficult to develop the ability to process meaning in English as it is.

When reading English, it is important to distinguish between 'translating' and 'understanding'. In Japanese schools, the focus has long been on 'translating,' but originally, one should first understand the meaning of the English sentence and then translate it into Japanese if necessary.

1. First, grasp the skeleton of the English sentence
For example,
The boy who was sitting by the window suddenly stood up.
First, look for the subject and the verb.

• Subject: The boy

• Verb: stood up

Then, you can see that
The boy suddenly stood up. is the skeleton. After that, consider that who was sitting by the window explains the 'boy'.
In other words, it becomes, 'The boy who was sitting by the window suddenly stood up.'

2. Read from the front
English basically builds meaning from the front.
For example,
I met a girl from Canada at the station yesterday.
The reading order is

• I met
  → I met

• a girl
  → a girl

• from Canada
  → from Canada

• at the station
  → at the station

• yesterday
  → yesterday

In your mind, you can understand it as
I met → a girl → from Canada → at the station → yesterday
. When reading English, you can understand it without rearranging it into Japanese word order.

3. Read in chunks for long sentences

For example

When Winston opened the door, he found Julia waiting for him.

If you read by chunks

• When Winston opened the door

→ When Winston opened the door

• he found

→ He noticed

• Julia waiting for him

→ that Julia was waiting for him

In other words,

"When Winston opened the door, he noticed that Julia was waiting for him."

is how it translates.

When reading English, you will not be able to read quickly unless you practice "word-order reading," where you understand and proceed through the text in the original English word order.