Konnichi What? Japanese Are Forgetting How to Be Polite

The Japanese have become so poor at speaking their own language that they may soon have to refer to a government manual for advice on how to be polite.

A damning report issued by a cultural affairs agency panel says that although most Japanese believe keigo - honorific or self-effacing speech - would remain an important part of their language, many are using it incorrectly.

The misuse of keigo, a series of complicated conjunctions of nouns and verbs used when addressing superiors, clients or formal gatherings, prompted the panel to call for the publication of a manual on how to speak properly.

Mangled Japanese is more than a pet hate for pedants. The ability to humble oneself and elevate the listener is essential to the smooth operation of Japan's hierarchical society. Mistakes can cause considerable embarrassment.

"Not just young people, but adults are not using honorific Japanese properly," an education ministry official told Agence-France Presse. "With the language guidelines we hope to spread the correct use of the Japanese language."

Traditionalists blame irreverent TV variety shows, manga comics and a general decline in educational standards.

But it is not just the spoken word that is causing concern. A survey by the National Institute of Multimedia Education said many young people had a poor command of Japanese, with a fifth of students at private universities unable to meet the standards formally required of high school students.

The government panel also called for a study into the public's mastery of kanji characters - one of Japanese's three alphabets - amid fears that the widespread use of word-processing software has lead to a deterioration in reading and writing skills.

In addition, the proliferation of foreign words, and the slang beloved of teenage girls, has left many older Japanese wondering whether they speak the same language as their children and grandchildren.