Ninon 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 the Altaic languages and its origins can be traced back to Central Asia. Included in this group is Korean to which Japanese is closest in structure. For example, the Japanese sentence order (subject object verb) is the same in Korean. Both languages have several layers of polite language, and both have a phonetic writing system of consonants and vowels grouped into syllables. Interestingly, Japanese also has some similarities in vocabulary with the Malayo-Polynesian group of languages which cover a wide area from Taiwan to Easter Island in the South Pacific, perhaps as a result of ancient Polynesian explorations and even migrations around the Japanese coast.

Examples of vocabulary include words for coastal plants and sealife which would not have been part of Central Asian languages. Chinese and Japanese languages do not share common origins but the Japanese writing system originated in China, a country which has had a very important influence on Japanese culture.

Related posts:

1. Is Japanese Difficult?

2. Learn about the Origins of the Japanese People

3. Who Speaks Japanese?

4. How to Create a Language-Rich Home Life for Your Children

5. Business Basics – Japanese Methodologies

6. The Basics of Coping with the Language Barrier while Traveling around Europe

7. The Extraordinary World of Babies and Language

8. Japanese Incense (Senko)

9. Vocalizations and Language Development of a 6 Month Old Baby

10. The Basics of Children Language Learning