Wednesday, December 26, 2018

word choice - へようこそ and にようこそ


I've noticed that both へ and に are use with ようこそ. The one I learned first is へ, and it seems like it's more common, but I know に is also used, as in the title NHKにようこそ.


When I search BCCWJ, I find that へ is more common, at least when it comes right before ようこそ:


 へようこそ   69 results
 にようこそ   37 results

Of course, this is a written corpus and it might be different in speech. But assuming I'm right that へ is generally more common, are there any other differences between the two? I always say へ, but every time I hear に I wonder if there's a difference in register or such that I'm not picking up on, or if they're totally the same.



Answer




I think there is no difference in politeness, register, gender, etc., between the two.


"Welcome to X" on the welcome signs for tourists is more commonly written as "ようこそX". This is a well-known idiom; if I saw "ようこそ日本" at Narita Airport, I would feel it's a bit unnatural.


However, I feel 「Xへようこそ」 and 「Xにようこそ」 are completely interchangeable, when X is 私の家, 東京, 日本, NHK, グーグル, グランドキャニオン or even 宇宙.


(By the way, this is a topic I've been concerned about, too, since I saw an OP's answer in a different question.)


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