Bunuel wrote:
The name Japan is generally considered to be an exonym, or a name that is given to a country from outsiders but is not the name with which inhabitants identify their country. The Japanese call their nation Nippon or Nihon, both of which mean “the sun’s origin.’ The name “Japan” is believed to have come from the Portuguese word Giapan, which is a derivation of the Malay word Jepang and is thought to have originated with the Mandarin word Cipangu. The Portuguese established ongoing trade with the Far East during the sixteenth century, and the name that they adopted for the country now known in English as Japan has stuck. This particular usage exists in at least nine other languages.
Which of the following may be inferred from statements made in the passage above?
(A) As the name Japan is an incorrect usage, the name should be adjusted to reflect the way that the Japanese people refer to their country.
(B) The name Japan came into existence because of trading activity with other peoples in the Far East before there was trade with the Japanese.
(C) It would be an insult for non-Japanese to refer to Japan as Nippon or Nihon, because both names are sacred to the Japanese people and their language.
(D) The name Japan is Mandarin in origin and carries the same meaning as Nippon or Nihon.
(E) Exonyms are rare, and the name Japan is one of very few examples.
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
Overview: Question provides the student with information about the history of the name Japan, starting off by noting that the word is actually an exonym, or a name that is given to a country or people by those outside the country and is not the name by which the country identifies itself. The author of the passage points out that in Japan, the country is known as Nippon or Nihon, meaning “the sun’s origin.” The word Japan actually derives from the interaction between Portuguese sailors and the people of Malaysia, who referred to Japan as Jepang (a word that might have come from the Mandarin Cipangu). The author concludes by noting that the European name Japan has become common and that there are nine other languages that utilize it over the words Nippon or Nihon. The question then asks the student to select an answer choice that may be inferred, so as always with inference questions the student needs to take care to review each answer choice carefully and be able to link the correct answer directly back to a statement or more than one statement made in the passage.
The Correct Answer:B The passage claims that the Portuguese sailors first used the name Japan because that is what the Malay traders used. From this, it may be inferred that the Portuguese utilized the Malay word, because they did not yet have any interaction with the people of Japan. It is very possible that we would call Japan Nippon or Nihon today if the Europeans had traded first with the Japanese. Answer choice (B) is thus correct.
The Incorrect Answers:A At no point in the passage does the author make a judgment statement about the exonym Japan. The author’s purpose is primarily information and not criticism. As a result, it is inferring too much on the part of the reader to claim that the author is offering an opinion on the reality of exonyms, and there is no clear statement in the passage that could be used strongly in support of a criticism. Answer choice (A) cannot be correct.
C The author makes no statement about how the Japanese value the names Nippon or Nihon with regard to non-Japanese usage, so the reader cannot infer from the information in the passage that it would be an insult to the Japanese people for those outside of Japan to use these names. Answer choice (C) cannot be correct.
D The author comments that the ultimate origin of the Malay Jepang is possibly Mandarin, but the author makes no immediate comment about whether or not the Mandarin word Cipangu meant the same as the Japanese words Nippon or Nihon. The student might know from personal study that this is, in fact, true; but the passage provides no indication of what Cipangu means, so the student cannot infer answer choice (D) from the information in the passage. Answer choice (D) is incorrect.
E The passage makes no reference to any exonyms other than Japan, so it is impossible to assume or argue from the passage that the name Japan represents a rarity. Answer choice (E) cannot be correct.