The Japanese Language – Hiragana
By · CommentsThe word hiragana means cursivelrounded/easy to use and indicates both the shape and relative simplicity of the script. The hiragana symbols were developed by simplifying the man’yogana kanji which represented the sounds of the Japanese language. Hiragana was necessary in order to adapt the Chinese writing system to the Japanese language. It was during the [...]
The Japanese Language – Kanji (Chinese Characters)
By · CommentsThe ancient Chinese developed a writing system in the 14th century bc which spread to the Korean peninsula and from there to Japan in the 4th and 5th centuries ad. Before this time, there had been no form of written Japanese and kataribe (messengers) travelled around to convey important information to people orally. Both Korea [...]
Main Features of the Japanese Language
By · CommentsJapanese is relatively easy to learn to speak at beginner’s level and the language has some interesting features. Regular grammar rules – There is no masculine and feminine in Japanese, no specific plural (although there are a few exceptions such as the addition of tachi when talking about people in the plural, for example, watashi [...]
Are There Other Languages in Japan?
By · CommentsThe only other indigenous language is Ainu, spoken by the Ainu people. The origins of this language are unclear and up to now it has been grouped with some north-eastern Asian languages. There is no evidence of ethnic links between the Ainu and the Japanese people and although there are many similarities with Japanese (for [...]
What are the Origins of Japanese Language?
By · CommentsNinon meaning Japan and go meaning language are combined into the word nihongo – Japanese language. And when i he Japanese themselves learn their language at school they call it kokugo meaning mother tongue. This unit will outline some of the main features of nihongo. Japanese is part of a family of languages known as [...]
Who Speaks Japanese?
By · CommentsApproximately 127 million people in Japan as well as Japanese emigrants around the world, in particular in North and South America. During the Meiji period (1868-1912) when there was a shortage of work in Japan and overpopulation problems, about 850,000 Japanese emigrated to the USA (in particular, California and Hawaii), about 12,000 to Canada (mainly [...]
Is Japanese Difficult?
By · CommentsThis is a question often asked either by people considering taking up Japanese or by people impressed that someone is learning Japanese. Sixteenth-century European missionaries to Japan described Japanese as the Devil’s tongue’. Actually, answering the question depends on how you view language learning in general. You could argue that every language has its difficult [...]
The modern world which Japan entered was one where exploration, colonialism and imperialism had featured very prominently over a long period of time. When Commodore Perry arrived in Edo Bay in 1854, the treaty which the Japanese subsequently signed was widely held to be unequal and weighted in the favour of the Americans. Other such [...]
The Meiji period is known as the beginning of Japan’s modernization. Pressure began to be exerted on Japan from the 1850s to open up to foreign trade and in 1853 Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Edo bay with a letter from the American president requesting the opening up of diplomatic and trade relations between America [...]
Foreigners in Japan – The History of Japan
By · CommentsForeigners had visited and influenced Japan from the very earliest times, the earliest visitors being the Chinese and Koreans. The first Western visitors to Japan were shipwrecked Portuguese sailors in 1543. After this many missionaries, merchants and travellers began to arrive in Japan from Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and England. Christianity was first introduced by [...]