[KS] Re: Hong Kiltong, etc.

[John Frankl]

Dear Professor Martin:

This is very interesting. Was boku a noun meaning slave prior to the
Meiji period, or was it the first person singular pronoun with which 
slaves (prior to the abolition of slavery which I assume came in or before
1868) referred to themselves? While it is understandable that a notion of
"I your humble servant" could evolve from a word meaning slave, the idea
does seem to run counter to conventional interpretations of the "Meiji
spirit." 

John Frankl

On Wed, 15 Mar 2000, Sam Martin wrote:

> 
> According to Nihon kokugo daijiten the Japanese use of boku "slave" as a
> first-person pronoun dates from the Meiji period.
> 
>  
> 
> 
> 



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