早稲田大学　国際教養学部　AO入試　志望理由書　提出例(楊 立明 教授参考)

早稲田大学　国際教養学部　AO入試　志望理由書　提出例(楊 立明 教授参考)

Dear Reader, 

First and foremost, I would like to thank for the opportunity given, and in this letter I will do my best to explain my motivation in applying for School of International Liberal Studies at Waseda University, hoping to pursue a major in International Culture, Japanese History and Language studies later in my academic years. I would be more than grateful if you could kindly give it a read and grant me an admission. During the in-person interview, I would also be delighted to expand more on my area of studies, previously participated activities and what I wish to achieve with liberal studies curriculum including study abroad program.

More than 130 million people speak Japanese across continents, making it the ninth most widely spoken language in the world. Outside of Japan, there are another 5 million people who speak Japanese with some degree of proficiency – predominantly Japanese descendants in Hawaii and Brazil, in addition, some population in Taiwan and South East Asian countries. Because of that, Japanese language services have become extremely important in social and business settings. The fact that unlike most western languages, Japanese has an extensive grammatical system to express politeness and formality, and it is somewhat known. However, the root of the language is not very widely known and also hugged by some mysteries. The origin of Japanese is in considerable dispute amongst linguists. Evidence has been offered for a number of sources: Ural-Altaic, Polynesian, and Chinese among others. Of these, Japanese is most widely believed to be connected to the Ural-Altaic family, which includes Turkish, Mongolian, Manchu, and Korean within its domain. Later, the adaptation of Chinese characters during the sixth to ninth centuries A.D. was the most important event in the development of the language, and by the 12th century, the syllabic writing systems, “hiragana” and “katakana”, were created out of “kanji”, providing the Japanese new freedom in writing their native language. Today, Japanese is written with a mixture of the three: “kanji”, “hiragana”, and “katakana” characters.

It is very intriguing that Japanese language is the only major language whose genetic affiliation is still not known. Yet, it is one of the most complex, rich and expressive language system with its  vocabulary consisting of four lexical strata: native vocabulary, Sino-Japanese words, foreign loans, and onomatopoeic expressions. Having such language as mother tongue is definitely a blessing as it allows us to appreciate all life phenomenons and trains our brain affecting our intelligence in some ways.

Re-thinking the history of Japanese language and its association as well as similarities with other languages could help us understand our heritage and relationship with other cultures. I feel passionate about studying the language history on top of comparative culture and international relations to continue my research on this topic and further gain my own perspectives to unlock different pockets of opportunities in today’s competitive global workplace. And in order for me to attain high-level education and equip myself with what is needed to survive the next decades of globalization and competition, it is extremely important for me to study various international studies among like-minded students at Waseda where liberal studies is offered. Studying abroad in relevant school that excel in the field of studies would be an enriching experience. Thank you very much for taking the time to read and I am already excited to join such a great school next year.