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Japanese sararīman was built from the English words "salary" and "man" and became a familiar name for a male salaried office worker, especially a corporate white-collar employee. English later borrowed "salaryman" from Japanese with that new meaning, and dictionaries now use it specifically for Japanese office workers.

Japanese workplace vocabulary / American Heritage Dictionary / Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology

LanguageHistory

The story behind the card

Sararīman is an example of wasei-eigo, 'English made in Japan': words assembled in Japan from English parts, with meanings English never gave them. The salaryman became a symbol of Japan's post-war economic boom, when large companies offered men lifetime employment and promotion largely by seniority in return for long hours and loyalty. The figure drew both respect and criticism; the word karōshi, 'death from overwork', came into use in the late 1970s. Women in similar offices were called 'OL', short for 'office lady', and were usually given clerical work with little route into management.

Türkçe oku
Japonca sararīman sözcüğü İngilizce “salary” (maaş) ve “man” (adam) sözcüklerinden türetildi ve maaşlı erkek büro çalışanının, özellikle de büyük şirketlerde çalışan beyaz yakalının yaygın adı oldu. İngilizce sözcüğü bu yeni anlamıyla Japoncadan geri aldı; bugün sözlükler onu özellikle Japon büro çalışanları için kullanır.

Sararīman, Japonların wasei-eigo, yani “Japonya'da üretilmiş İngilizce” dediği sözcüklerdendir: İngilizce parçalarla Japonya'da kurulan ve İngilizcede hiç taşımadıkları anlamlar kazanan sözcükler. Savaş sonrası ekonomik patlamada “salaryman” bir simgeye dönüştü. Büyük şirketler erkek çalışanlara ömür boyu iş güvencesi ve büyük ölçüde kıdeme dayalı terfi sunuyor, karşılığında uzun mesai ve sadakat bekliyordu. Bu figür hem saygı hem eleştiri topladı; “aşırı çalışmaktan ölüm” anlamına gelen karōshi sözcüğü 1970'lerin sonunda kullanılmaya başlandı. Aynı bürolarda çalışan kadınlara ise “office lady”nin kısaltması “OL” denirdi; bu kadınlara genellikle yöneticiliğe pek yol açmayan sekreterlik işleri verilirdi.

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