Honorific speech in Japanese word "meshi", the Japanese equivalent of Sino-Japanese "go-han", is considered rough and masculine (男性語). The honorific "o-" is also sometimes attached to of native verbs (hence native "o-") to refer to a specific item associated with the verb, as in oshibori (お絞り、絞る) "hot towel", and onigiri/omusubi (お握り、握る and お結び、結ぶ) "rice ball". In rare cases, both a base form and honorific are in use with different readings. A notable example is 利益 "ri-eki" "benefit, profit (e.g., business)" and 御利益 "go-ri-yaku" "divine favor, grace"; plain "ri-yaku" is sometimes used, but "go-ri-eki" is generally not. The former, an everyday term, uses the usual
A language is a dialect with an army and navy A language is a dialect with an army and navy "A language is a dialect with an army and navy" is a quip or humorous adage about the arbitrariness of the distinction between a dialect and a language. It points out the influence that social and political conditions can have over a community's perception of the status of a language or dialect. The adage was popularized by the sociolinguist and Yiddish scholar Max Weinreich, who heard it from a member of the audience at one of his lectures. This statement is usually attributed to Max Weinreich, a specialist in Yiddish