Kirakira Name No Daikenkyu (Shincho Shinsho)

[Machine Translation] Marinaru" for "Ichigo Ichigo Ichigo", "Aiyahime" for "Aigaeha", and "Pyuah" for "Kokoro". The so-called "kirakira names," or strange and difficult to read names, are sweeping Japan. We should not just dismiss them as the work of idiot parents. A trace back to the roots reveals the true nature of the Japanese language. It was a fatal pitfall that we all faced the moment we adopted kanji, a problem that even Nobunaga Motooi was troubled by. This is a theory of the Japanese language full of surprises and discoveries, which overturns the "common sense" of assumptions with abundant examples.

苺苺苺と書いて「まりなる」、愛夜姫で「あげは」、心で「ぴゅあ」。珍奇な難読名、いわゆる「キラキラネーム」の暴走が日本を席巻しつつある。バカ親の所業と一言で片づけてはいけない。ルーツを辿っていくと、見えてきたのは日本語の本質だった。それは漢字を取り入れた瞬間に背負った宿命の落とし穴、本居宣長も頭を悩ませていた問題だったのだ。豊富な実例で思い込みの“常識”を覆す、驚きと発見に満ちた日本語論。