(For English readers: In this section, I compare a Japanese word ”抽象” and an English word abstract. You may not be familiar with Japanese words. You can read the description for the English word first.)
The ”抽象” means “to extract only the important noteworthy part from concrete subjects.” Let’s dig into each letter. The ”象” means “elephants” originally. Its meaning extends to “shape” (*28). The letter is used in words: [対象], [具象], [印象], [象徴], 心象風景(mental scenery)
The ”抽” means to pull or to withdraw. It is used in: ”抽出“(extraction), ”抽選“(lottery), ”抽斗“(drawer).
Let’s also drill down on English word “abstract.” The ”tract” comes from the Latin word ”traho“(pull). Words “extract” and “subtract” also derived from “traho” and have “pull”-like meanings. A “tractor” is a car that pulls agricultural equipment. The prefix ”ab-” adds “away” meanings. For example, “abnormal” is away from “normal”. If I am here, I am “present,” and if I am not here, I am “absent.”
The word “abstract” also has a meaning of “summary.” The summary is what extracted only the important part of the sentence. Usually at the beginning of the paper summary is attached, which shortens the contents of the paper to about half pages. This part is called an abstract.
Footenotes:
- *28: It is because elephants are large and stand out.
- *29: I explain about “Symbolic Modelling” in Chapter 6 “Clean Language and Symbolic Modeling.” It is a method of creating mental scenery using symbols.#todo link