Japanese language

Not to be confused with Javanese language.

Japanese (⽇本語 Nihongo, [nihõŋɡo], [nihõŋŋo] ()) is an East Asian language spoken by about 125 mil-lion speakers, primarily in Japan, where it is the nationallanguage. It is a member of the Japonic (or Japanese-Ryukyuan) language family, whose relation to other lan-guage groups, particularly to Korean and the suggestedAltaic language family, is debated.Little is known of the language's prehistory, or when itfirst appeared in Japan. Chinese documents from the 3rdcentury recorded a few Japanese words, but substantialtexts did not appear until the 8th century. During theHeian period (794–1185), Chinese had a considerable in-fluence on the vocabulary and phonology ofOld Japanese.Late Middle Japanese (1185–1600) saw changes in fea-tures that brought it closer to the modern language, aswell as the first appearance of European loanwords. Thestandard dialect moved from the Kansai region to the Edo(modern Tokyo) region in the Early Modern Japanese pe-riod (early 17th century–mid-19th century). Followingthe end in 1853 of Japan's self-imposed isolation, the flowof loanwords from European languages increased signifi-cantly. English loanwords in particular have become fre-quent, and Japanese words from English roots have pro-liferated.Japanese is an agglutinative, mora-timed language withsimple phonotactics, a pure vowel system, phonemicvowel and consonant length, and a lexically significantpitch-accent. Word order is normally subject–object–verb with particles marking the grammatical functionof words, and sentence structure is topic–comment.Sentence-final particles are used to add emotional or em-phatic impact, or make questions. Nouns have no gram-matical number or gender, and there are no articles.Verbs are conjugated, primarily for tense and voice, butnot person. Japanese equivalents of adjectives are alsoconjugated. Japanese has a complex system of honorificswith verb forms and vocabulary to indicate the relativestatus of the speaker, the listener, and persons mentioned.Japanese has no known genetic relationship with Chinese,but it makes extensive use of Chinese characters, or kanji(漢字), in its writing system, and a large portion of itsvocabulary is borrowed from Chinese. Along with kanji,the Japanese writing system primarily uses two syllabic(or moraic) scripts, hiragana (ひらがな or平仮名) andkatakana (カタカナ or⽚仮名). Latin script is used ina limited fashion, such as for imported acronyms, and the

numeral system uses mostly Arabic numerals alongsidetraditional Chinese numerals.

1 History

1.1 Prehistory

A common ancestor of Japanese and Ryukyuan lan-guages or dialects is thought to have been brought toJapan by settlers coming from either continental Asia ornearby Pacific islands (or both) sometime in the early-to mid-2nd century BC (the Yayoi period), replacing thelanguage(s) of the original Jōmon inhabitants,*[3] includ-ing the ancestor of the modern Ainu language. Very littleis known about the Japanese of this period – because writ-ing had yet to be introduced fromChina, there is no directevidence; so anything that can be discerned about this pe-riod of Japanese must be based on the reconstructions ofOld Japanese.

1.2 Old Japanese

A page fromNihon Shoki (The Chronicles of Japan), the secondoldest book of classical Japanese history.

Main article: Old Japanese

Old Japanese is the oldest attested stage of the Japaneselanguage. Through the spread of Buddhism, the Chi-nese writing system was imported to Japan. The earli-est texts found in Japan are written in Classical Chinese,but they may have been meant to be read as Japanese bythe kanbun method. Some of these Chinese texts showthe influences of Japanese grammar, such as the word or-der (for example, placing the verb after the object). Inthese“hybrid”texts, Chinese characters are also occa-sionally used phonetically to represent Japanese particles.The earliest text, the Kojiki, dates to the early 8th century,and was written entirely in Chinese characters. The end

1

2 1 HISTORY

of Old Japanese coincides with the end of the Nara pe-riod in 794. Old Japanese uses the Man'yōgana systemof writing, which uses kanji for their phonetic as well assemantic values. Based on the Man'yōgana system, OldJapanese can be reconstructed as having 88 distinct syl-lables. Texts written with Man'yōgana use two differentkanji for each of the syllables now pronouncedき ki,ひhi, み mi, け ke, へ he, め me, こ ko, そ so, と to, のno,も mo,よ yo andろ ro.*[4] (The Kojiki has 88, butall later texts have 87. The distinction between mo1 andmo2 apparently was lost immediately following its com-position.) This set of syllables shrank to 67 in Early Mid-dle Japanese, though some were added through Chineseinfluence.Due to these extra syllables, it has been hypothesized thatOld Japanese's vowel system was larger than that of Mod-ern Japanese – it perhaps contained up to eight vowels.According to Shinkichi Hashimoto, the extra syllables inMan'yōgana derive from differences between the vowelsof the syllables in question.*[5] These differences wouldindicate that Old Japanese had an eight-vowel system,*[6]in contrast to the five vowels of later Japanese. The vowelsystem would have to have shrunk some time betweenthese texts and the invention of the kana (hiragana andkatakana) in the early 9th century. According to thisview, the eight-vowel system of ancient Japanese wouldresemble that of the Uralic and Altaic language fami-lies.*[7] However, it is not fully certain that the alterna-tion between syllables necessarily reflects a difference inthe vowels rather than the consonants – at the moment,the only undisputed fact is that they are different sylla-bles.Old Japanese does not have /h/, but rather /ɸ/ (preservedin modern fu, /ɸɯ/), which has been reconstructed to anearlier */p/. Man'yōgana also has a symbol for /je/, whichmerges with /e/ before the end of the period.Several fossilizations of Old Japanese grammatical ele-ments remain in the modern language – the genitive par-ticle tsu (superseded by modern no) is preserved in wordssuch asmatsuge (“eyelash”, lit.“hair of the eye”); mod-ernmieru (“to be visible”) and kikoeru (“to be audible”)retain what may have been a mediopassive suffix -yu(ru)(kikoyu → kikoyuru (the attributive form, which slowlyreplaced the plain form starting in the late Heian period)> kikoeru (as all shimo-nidan verbs in modern Japanesedid)); and the genitive particle ga remains in intentionallyarchaic speech.

1.3 Early Middle Japanese

Main article: Early Middle Japanese

Early Middle Japanese is the Japanese of the Heian pe-riod, from 794 to 1185. Early Middle Japanese seesa significant amount of Chinese influence on the lan-guage's phonology – length distinctions become phone-

Two pages from a 12th-century emaki scroll ofThe Tale ofGenjifrom the 11th century.

mic for both consonants and vowels, and series of bothlabialised (e.g. kwa) and palatalised (kya) consonantsare added. Intervocalic /ɸ/ merges with /w/ by the 11thcentury. The end of Early Middle Japanese sees the be-ginning of a shift where the attributive form (Japaneserentaikei) slowly replaces the uninflected form (shūshikei)for those verb classes where the two were distinct.

1.4 Late Middle Japanese

Main article: Late Middle Japanese

Late Middle Japanese covers the years from 1185 to1600, and is normally divided into two sections, roughlyequivalent to the Kamakura period and the Muromachiperiod, respectively. The later forms of Late Mid-dle Japanese are the first to be described by non-nativesources, in this case the Jesuit and Franciscan missionar-ies; and thus there is better documentation of Late Mid-dle Japanese phonology than for previous forms (for in-stance, the Arte da Lingoa de Iapam). Among othersound changes, the sequence /au/ merges to /ɔː/, in con-trast with /oː/; /p/ is reintroduced from Chinese; and /we/merges with /je/. Some forms rather more familiar toModern Japanese speakers begin to appear – the con-tinuative ending -te begins to reduce onto the verb (e.g.yonde for earlier yomite), the -k- in the final syllable ofadjectives drops out (shiroi for earlier shiroki); and someforms exist where modern standard Japanese has retainedthe earlier form (e.g. hayaku > hayau > hayɔɔ, wheremodern Japanese just has hayaku, though the alternativeform is preserved in the standard greeting o-hayō goza-imasu “good morning"; this ending is also seen in o-medetō“congratulations”, from medetaku).Late Middle Japanese has the first loanwords from Eu-ropean languages – now-common words borrowed intoJapanese in this period include pan (“bread”) and tabako(“tobacco”, now“cigarette”), both from Portuguese.

1.5 Modern Japanese

See also: Early Modern Japanese

2.2 Dialects 3

Modern Japanese is considered to begin with the Edoperiod in 1600. Since Old Japanese, the de facto stan-dard Japanese had been the Kansai dialect, especially thatof Kyoto. However, during the Edo period, Edo (nowTokyo) developed into the largest city in Japan, and theEdo-area dialect became standard Japanese. Since theend of Japan's self-imposed isolation in 1853, the flow ofloanwords from European languages has increased signif-icantly. The period since 1945 has seen a large numberof words borrowed from English,*[8] especially relatingto technology̶for example, pasokon (short for “per-sonal computer”); intānetto (“internet”), and kamera(“camera”). Due to the large quantity of English loan-words, modern Japanese has developed a distinction be-tween /tɕi/ and /ti/, and /dʑi/ and /di/, with the latter ineach pair only found in loanwords.

2 Geographic distribution

Although Japanese is spoken almost exclusively in Japan,it has been spoken outside. Before and duringWorldWarII, through Japanese annexation of Taiwan and Korea,as well as partial occupation of China, the Philippines,and various Pacific islands,*[9] locals in those countrieslearned Japanese as the language of the empire. As a re-sult, many elderly people in these countries can still speakJapanese.Japanese emigrant communities (the largest of which areto be found in Brazil,*[10] with 1.4 million to 1.5 mil-lion Japanese immigrants and descendants, according toBrazilian IBGE data, more than the 1.2 million of theUnited States*[11]) sometimes employ Japanese as theirprimary language. Approximately 12% of Hawaii resi-dents speak Japanese,*[12] with an estimated 12.6% ofthe population of Japanese ancestry in 2008. Japaneseemigrants can also be found in Peru, Argentina, Australia(especially in the eastern states), Canada (especially inVancouver where 1.4% of the population has Japaneseancestry*[13]), the United States (notably California,where 1.2% of the population has Japanese ancestry, andHawaii), and the Philippines (particularly in Davao andLaguna).*[14]*[15]*[16]

2.1 Official status

Japanese has no official status,*[17] but is the de factonational language. There is a form of the language con-sidered standard: hyōjungo (標準語), meaning “stan-dard Japanese”, or kyōtsūgo (共通語),“common lan-guage”. The meaning of the two terms are almost thesame. Hyōjungo or kyōtsūgo is a conception that formsthe counterpart of dialect. This normative language wasborn after the Meiji Restoration (明治維新 meiji ishin,1868) from the language spoken in the higher-class ar-eas of Tokyo (see Yamanote) for communicating neces-

sity. Hyōjungo is taught in schools and used on televisionand even in official communications. It is the version ofJapanese discussed in this article.Formerly, standard Japanese in writing (⽂語 bungo,“lit-erary language”) was different from colloquial language(⼝語 kōgo). The two systems have different rules ofgrammar and some variance in vocabulary. Bungo wasthe main method of writing Japanese until about 1900;since then kōgo gradually extended its influence and thetwo methods were both used in writing until the 1940s.Bungo still has some relevance for historians, literaryscholars, and lawyers (many Japanese laws that survivedWorldWar II are still written in bungo, although there areongoing efforts to modernize their language). Kōgo is thedominant method of both speaking and writing Japanesetoday, although bungo grammar and vocabulary are oc-casionally used in modern Japanese for effect.

2.2 Dialects

Main article: Japanese dialectsSee also: Japanese ArchipelagoDozens of dialects are spoken in Japan. The profusion

Map of Japanese dialects and Japonic languages

is due to many factors, including the length of time thearchipelago has been inhabited, its mountainous islandterrain, and Japan's long history of both external and in-ternal isolation. Dialects typically differ in terms of pitchaccent, inflectional morphology, vocabulary, and particleusage. Some even differ in vowel and consonant invento-ries, although this is uncommon.The main distinction in Japanese accents is betweenTokyo-type (東京式 Tōkyō-shiki) and Kyoto-Osaka-type(京阪式 Keihan-shiki). Within each type are several sub-divisions. Kyoto-Osaka-type dialects are in the centralregion, roughly formed by Kansai, Shikoku, and westernHokuriku regions.

4 3 CLASSIFICATION

Dialects from peripheral regions, such as Tōhoku orKagoshima, may be unintelligible to speakers from theother parts of the country. There are some languageislands in mountain villages or isolated islands such asHachijō-jima island whose dialect are descended fromthe Eastern dialect of Old Japanese. Dialects of theKansai region are spoken or known by many Japanese,and Osaka dialect in particular is associated with com-edy (see Kansai dialect). Dialects of Tōhoku and NorthKantō are associated with typical farmers.The Ryūkyūan languages, spoken in Okinawa and theAmami Islands (politically part of Kagoshima), are dis-tinct enough to be considered a separate branch of theJaponic family; not only is each language unintelligi-ble to Japanese speakers, but most are unintelligible tothose who speak other Ryūkyūan languages. However,in contrast to linguists, many ordinary Japanese peo-ple tend to consider the Ryūkyūan languages as dialectsof Japanese. This is the result of the official languagepolicy of the Japanese government, which has declaredthose languages to be dialects and prohibited their use inschools.Standard Japanese has become prevalent nationwide (in-cluding the Ryūkyū islands) due to education, mass me-dia, and an increase of mobility within Japan, as well aseconomic integration.

3 Classification

See also: Classification of Japonic

Japanese is a member of the Japonic languages fam-ily, which also includes the languages spoken throughoutthe Ryūkyū Islands. As these closely related languagesare commonly treated as dialects of the same language,Japanese is often called a language isolate.According to Martine Irma Robbeets, Japanese has beensubject to more attempts to show its relation to other lan-guages than any other language in the world.*[18] SinceJapanese first gained the consideration of linguists in thelate 19th century, attempts have beenmade to show its ge-nealogical relation to languages or language families suchas Ainu, Korean, Chinese, Tibeto-Burman, Ural-Altaic,Altaic, Uralian, Mon–Khmer, Malayo-Polynesian andRyukyuan. At the fringe, some linguists have suggested alink to Indo-European languages, including Greek, and toLepcha. As it stands, only the link to Ryukyuan has widesupport, though linguist Kurakichi Shiratori maintainedthat Japanese was a language isolate.*[19]

3.1 Korean hypothesis

Similarities between Korean and Japanese were noted byArai Hakuseki in 1717,*[20] and the idea that the two

might be related was first proposed in 1781 by Japanesescholar Teikan Fujii.*[21] The idea received little at-tention until William George Aston proposed it againin 1879. Japanese scholar Shōsaburō Kanazawa took itup in 1910, as did Shinpei Ogura in 1934. Shirō Hat-tori was nearly alone when he criticised these theoriesin 1959.*[22] Samuel Martin furthered the idea in 1966with his“Lexical evidence relating Korean to Japanese”,as did John Whitman with his dissertation on the subjectin 1985.*[21] Despite this, definitive proof of the rela-tion has yet to be provided. Historical linguists study-ing Japanese and Korean tend to accept the genealog-ical relation, while general linguists and historical lin-guists in Japan and Korea have remained skeptical.*[22]Alexander Vovin suggests that, while typologically mod-ern Korean and Japanese share similarities that some-times allow word-to-word translations, studies of the pre-modern languages show greater differences. Accordingto Vovin, this suggests linguistic convergence rather thandivergence, which he believes is amongst the evidence ofthe languages not having a genealogical connection.*[23]

3.2 Altaic hypothesis

Distribution of the proposed Altaic languages across Eurasia, ten-tatively including Japanese and Korean.

The proposedAltaic family of languages, whichwould in-clude languages from far eastern Europe to northeasternAsia, has had its supporters and detractors over its history.The most controversial aspect of the hypothesis is theproposed inclusion of Korean and Japanese, which evensome proponents of Altaic have rejected.*[24] PhilippFranz von Siebold suggested the connection in 1832,*[18]but the inclusion first attracted significant attention in theearly 1970s.*[25] Roy AndrewMiller published Japaneseand the Other Altaic Languages, and dedicated much ofhis later career to the subject. Sergei Starostin pub-lished a 1991 monograph which was another significantstepping stone in Japanese̶Altaic research. A team ofscholars made a database of Altaic etymologies availableover the internet, from which the three-volume Etymo-logical Dictionary of the Altaic Languages was publishedin 2003.*[26] Scholars such as Yevgeny Polivanov andYoshizo Itabashi, on the other hand, have proposed a hy-brid origin of Japanese, in which Austronesian and Altaicelements became mixed.*[27]

5

Skepticism over the Japanese relation to Altaic iswidespread amongst both amateurs and professionals, inpart because of the large number of unsuccessful attemptsto genealogical relationships with Japanese and other lan-guages.*[18] Opinions are polarized, with many stronglyconvinced of the Altaic relation, and others strongly con-vinced of the lack of one. While some sources are un-decided, often strong proponents of either view will noteven acknowledge the claims of the other side.*[28]

4 Phonology

Main article: Japanese phonology

All Japanese vowels are pure̶that is, there are nodiphthongs, only monophthongs. The only unusual vowelis the high back vowel /ɯ/ listen , which is like /u/, butcompressed instead of rounded. Japanese has five vow-els, and vowel length is phonemic, with each having botha short and a long version. Elongated vowels are usuallydenoted with a line over the vowel (a macron) in rōmaji,a repeated vowel character in hiragana, or a chōonpu suc-ceeding the vowel in katakana.Some Japanese consonants have several allophones,which may give the impression of a larger inventory ofsounds. However, some of these allophones have sincebecome phonemic. For example, in the Japanese lan-guage up to and including the first half of the 20th cen-tury, the phonemic sequence /ti/ was palatalized and re-alized phonetically as [tɕi], approximately chi listen ;however, now /ti/ and /tɕi/ are distinct, as evidenced bywords like tī [tiː]“Western style tea”and chii [tɕii]“so-cial status”.The“r”of the Japanese language (technically a lateralapical postalveolar flap), is of particular interest, soundingto most English speakers to be something between an“l”and a retroflex“r”depending on its position in a word.The “g”is also notable; unless it starts a sentence, itis pronounced /ŋ/, like the ng in “sing,”in the Kantoprestige dialect and in other eastern dialects.The syllabic structure and the phonotactics are very sim-ple: the only consonant clusters allowed within a syllableconsist of one of a subset of the consonants plus /j/. Thistype of cluster only occurs in onsets. However, conso-nant clusters across syllables are allowed as long as thetwo consonants are a nasal followed by a homorganic con-sonant. Consonant length (gemination) is also phonemic.The phonology of Japanese also includes a pitch accentsystem.

5 Grammar

Main article: Japanese grammar

5.1 Sentence structure

Japanese word order is classified as subject–object–verb.Unlike many Indo-European languages, the only strictrule of word order is that the verb must be placed atthe end of a sentence (possibly followed by sentence-endparticles). This is because Japanese sentence elementsare marked with particles that identify their grammaticalfunctions.The basic sentence structure is topic–comment. For ex-ample, Kochira wa Tanaka-san desu (こちらは⽥中さんです). kochira (“this”) is the topic of the sen-tence, indicated by the particle wa. The verb de aru(desu is a contraction of its polite form de arimasu) is acopula, commonly translated as“to be”or“it is”(thoughthere are other verbs that can be translated as“to be”),though technically it holds no meaning and is used to givea sentence 'politeness'. As a phrase, Tanaka-san desu isthe comment. This sentence literally translates to “Asfor this person, (it) is Mr./Ms. Tanaka.”Thus Japanese,like many other Asian languages, is often called a topic-prominent language, whichmeans it has a strong tendencyto indicate the topic separately from the subject, and thatthe two do not always coincide. The sentence Zō wa hanaga nagai (象は⿐が⻑い) literally means,“As for ele-phant(s), (the) nose(s) (is/are) long”. The topic is zō“elephant”, and the subject is hana“nose”.In Japanese, the subject or object of a sentence need notbe stated if it is obvious from context. As a result ofthis grammatical permissiveness, there is a tendency togravitate towards brevity; Japanese speakers tend to omitpronouns on the theory they are inferred from the previ-ous sentence, and are therefore understood. In the con-text of the above example, hana-ga nagai would mean"[their] noses are long,”while nagai by itself would mean"[they] are long.”A single verb can be a complete sen-tence: Yatta! (やった!)"[I / we / they / etc] did [it]!".In addition, since adjectives can form the predicate ina Japanese sentence (below), a single adjective can bea complete sentence: Urayamashii! (羨ましい!)"[I'm]jealous [of it]!".While the language has some words that are typicallytranslated as pronouns, these are not used as frequentlyas pronouns in some Indo-European languages, and func-tion differently. In some cases Japanese relies on specialverb forms and auxiliary verbs to indicate the direction ofbenefit of an action: “down”to indicate the out-groupgives a benefit to the in-group; and“up”to indicate thein-group gives a benefit to the out-group. Here, the in-group includes the speaker and the out-group does not,and their boundary depends on context. For example, os-

6 5 GRAMMAR

hiete moratta (教えてもらった) (literally,“explained”with a benefit from the out-group to the in-group) means"[he/she/they] explained [it] to [me/us]". Similarly, oshi-ete ageta (教えてあげた) (literally,“explained”with abenefit from the in-group to the out-group) means "[I/we]explained [it] to [him/her/them]". Such beneficiary aux-iliary verbs thus serve a function comparable to that ofpronouns and prepositions in Indo-European languages toindicate the actor and the recipient of an action.Japanese“pronouns”also function differently frommostmodern Indo-European pronouns (and more like nouns)in that they can takemodifiers as any other nounmay. Forinstance, one does not say in English:

*The amazed he ran down the street. (gram-matically incorrect insertion of a pronoun)

But one can grammatically say essentially the same thingin Japanese:

驚いた彼は道を⾛っていった。

Odoroita kare wa michi o hashitte itta. (gram-matically correct)

This is partly because these words evolved from regularnouns, such as kimi“you”(君“lord”), anata“you”(あなた“that side, yonder”), and boku“I”(僕“servant”). This is why some linguists do not classify Japanese“pronouns”as pronouns, but rather as referential nouns,much like Spanish usted (contracted from vuestra merced,“your [(flattering majestic) plural] grace”) or Portugueseo senhor. Japanese personal pronouns are generally usedonly in situations requiring special emphasis as to who isdoing what to whom.The choice of words used as pronouns is correlated withthe sex of the speaker and the social situation in whichthey are spoken: men and women alike in a formal situa-tion generally refer to themselves aswatashi (私“private”) orwatakushi (also私), while men in rougher or intimateconversation are muchmore likely to use the word ore (俺“oneself”,“myself”) or boku. Similarly, different wordssuch as anata, kimi, and omae (お前, more formally御前“the one before me”) may be used to refer to a lis-tener depending on the listener's relative social positionand the degree of familiarity between the speaker and thelistener. When used in different social relationships, thesame word may have positive (intimate or respectful) ornegative (distant or disrespectful) connotations.Japanese often use titles of the person referred to wherepronouns would be used in English. For example, whenspeaking to one's teacher, it is appropriate to use sensei(先⽣, teacher), but inappropriate to use anata. This isbecause anata is used to refer to people of equal or lowerstatus, and one's teacher has higher status.

5.2 Inflection and conjugation

Japanese nouns have no grammatical number, gender orarticle aspect. The noun hon (本) may refer to a singlebook or several books; hito (⼈) can mean“person”or“people"; and ki (⽊) can be“tree”or“trees”. Wherenumber is important, it can be indicated by providing aquantity (often with a counter word) or (rarely) by addinga suffix, or sometimes by duplication (e.g. ⼈⼈, hitobito,usually written with an iterationmark as⼈ )々. Words forpeople are usually understood as singular. Thus Tanaka-san usually means Mr./Ms. Tanaka. Words that referto people and animals can be made to indicate a groupof individuals through the addition of a collective suf-fix (a noun suffix that indicates a group), such as -tachi,but this is not a true plural: the meaning is closer to theEnglish phrase“and company”. A group described asTanaka-san-tachimay include people not named Tanaka.Some Japanese nouns are effectively plural, such as hito-bito“people”and wareware“we/us”, while the wordtomodachi“friend”is considered singular, although plu-ral in form.Verbs are conjugated to show tenses, of which there aretwo: past and present (or non-past) which is used for thepresent and the future. For verbs that represent an on-going process, the -te iru form indicates a continuous (orprogressive) aspect, similar to the suffix ing in English.For others that represent a change of state, the -te iru formindicates a perfect aspect. For example, kite iru means“He has come (and is still here)", but tabete iru means“He is eating”.Questions (both with an interrogative pronoun and yes/noquestions) have the same structure as affirmative sen-tences, but with intonation rising at the end. In the formalregister, the question particle -ka is added. For exam-ple, ii desu (いいです) “It is OK”becomes ii desu-ka (いいですか。) “Is it OK?". In a more informaltone sometimes the particle -no (の) is added instead toshow a personal interest of the speaker: Dōshite konai-no? “Why aren't (you) coming?". Some simple queriesare formed simply by mentioning the topic with an inter-rogative intonation to call for the hearer's attention: Korewa? "(What about) this?"; O-namae wa? (お名前は？)"(What's your) name?".Negatives are formed by inflecting the verb. For example,Pan o taberu (パンを⾷べる。)“I will eat bread”or“I eat bread”becomes Pan o tabenai (パンを⾷べない。)“I will not eat bread”or“I do not eat bread”. Plainnegative forms are actually i-adjectives (see below) andinflect as such, e.g. Pan o tabenakatta (パンを⾷べなかった。)“I did not eat bread”.The so-called -te verb form is used for a variety of pur-poses: either progressive or perfect aspect (see above);combining verbs in a temporal sequence (Asagohan otabete sugu dekakeru“I'll eat breakfast and leave at once”), simple commands, conditional statements and permis-

5.2 Inflection and conjugation 7

sions (Dekakete-mo ii? “May I go out?"), etc.The word da (plain), desu (polite) is the copula verb. Itcorresponds approximately to the English be, but oftentakes on other roles, including a marker for tense, whenthe verb is conjugated into its past form datta (plain),deshita (polite). This comes into use because only i-adjectives and verbs can carry tense in Japanese. Twoadditional common verbs are used to indicate existence (“there is”) or, in some contexts, property: aru (negativenai) and iru (negative inai), for inanimate and animatethings, respectively. For example, Neko ga iru“There'sa cat”, Ii kangae-ga nai "[I] haven't got a good idea”.The verb “to do”(suru, polite form shimasu) is oftenused to make verbs from nouns (ryōri suru“to cook”,benkyō suru“to study”, etc.) and has been productivein creating modern slang words. Japanese also has a hugenumber of compound verbs to express concepts that aredescribed in English using a verb and an adverbial particle(e.g. tobidasu“to fly out, to flee,”from tobu“to fly, tojump”+ dasu“to put out, to emit”).There are three types of adjective (see Japanese adjec-tives):

1. 形容詞 keiyōshi, or i adjectives, which have aconjugating ending i (い) (such as暑い atsui“to behot”) which can become past (暑かった atsukatta“it was hot”), or negative (暑くない atsuku nai“it is not hot”). Note that nai is also an i adjec-tive, which can become past (暑くなかった atsukunakatta“it was not hot”).

暑い⽇ atsui hi“a hot day”.

2. 形容動詞 keiyōdōshi, or na adjectives, which arefollowed by a form of the copula, usually na. Forexample hen (strange)

変なひと hen na hito“a strange person”.

3. 連体詞 rentaishi, also called true adjectives, such asano“that”

あの⼭ ano yama“that mountain”.

Both keiyōshi and keiyōdōshi may predicate sentences.For example,

ご飯が熱い。 Gohan ga atsui. “The rice ishot.”彼は変だ。Kare wa hen da.“He's strange.”

Both inflect, though they do not show the full range ofconjugation found in true verbs. The rentaishi in ModernJapanese are few in number, and unlike the other words,are limited to directly modifying nouns. They never pred-icate sentences. Examples include ookina“big”, kono“this”, iwayuru“so-called”and taishita“amazing”.

Both keiyōdōshi and keiyōshi form adverbs, by followingwith ni in the case of keiyōdōshi:

変になる hen ni naru“become strange”,

and by changing i to ku in the case of keiyōshi:

熱くなる atsuku naru“become hot”.

The grammatical function of nouns is indicated bypostpositions, also called particles. These include for ex-ample:

• が ga for the nominative case. Not necessarily asubject.

彼がやった。Kare ga yatta. "He did it.”

• に ni for the dative case.

田中さんにあげて下さい。 Tanaka-san niagete kudasai“Please give it toMr. Tanaka.”

It is also used for the lative case, indicating a motion to alocation.

日本に⾏きたい。Nihon ni ikitai“I want togo to Japan.”

• However, へ e is more commonly used for the lativecase.

パーティーへ⾏かないか。pātī e ikanai ka?“Won't you go to the party?"

• の no for the genitive case, or nominalizing phrases.

私のカメラ。 watashi no kamera "my cam-era”

スキーに⾏くのが好きです。Sukī-ni iku noga suki desu "(I) like going skiing.”

• を o for the accusative case. Not necessarily an ob-ject.

何 を⾷べますか。 Nani o tabemasu ka?"What will (you) eat?"

• は wa for the topic. It can co-exist with the casemarkers listed above, and it overrides ga and (inmost cases) o.

私は寿司がいいです。Watashi wa sushi ga iidesu. (literally) "As forme, sushi is good.”Thenominative marker ga after watashi is hiddenunder wa.

8 6 VOCABULARY

Note: The subtle difference between wa and ga inJapanese cannot be derived from the English language assuch, because the distinction between sentence topic andsubject is not made there. While wa indicates the topic,which the rest of the sentence describes or acts upon, itcarries the implication that the subject indicated by wa isnot unique, or may be part of a larger group.

Ikeda-san wa yonjū-ni sai da. “As for Mr.Ikeda, he is forty-two years old.”Others in thegroup may also be of that age.

Absence of wa often means the subject is the focus of thesentence.

Ikeda-san ga yonjū-ni sai da.“It is Mr. Ikedawho is forty-two years old.”This is a reply toan implicit or explicit question, such as“whoin this group is forty-two years old?"

5.3 Politeness

Main article: Honorific speech in Japanese

Japanese has an extensive grammatical system to expresspoliteness and formality.The Japanese language can express differing levels in so-cial status. The differences in social position are deter-mined by a variety of factors including job, age, expe-rience, or even psychological state (e.g., a person ask-ing a favour tends to do so politely). The person inthe lower position is expected to use a polite form ofspeech, whereas the other person might use a plainerform. Strangers will also speak to each other politely.Japanese children rarely use polite speech until they areteens, at which point they are expected to begin speakingin a more adult manner. See uchi-soto.Whereas teineigo (丁寧語) (polite language) is com-monly an inflectional system, sonkeigo (尊敬語) (respect-ful language) and kenjōgo (謙譲語) (humble language)often employ many special honorific and humble alter-nate verbs: iku “go”becomes ikimasu in polite form,but is replaced by irassharu in honorific speech and uka-gau or mairu in humble speech.The difference between honorific and humble speech isparticularly pronounced in the Japanese language. Hum-ble language is used to talk about oneself or one's owngroup (company, family) whilst honorific language ismostly used when describing the interlocutor and theirgroup. For example, the -san suffix (“Mr”“Mrs.”or“Miss”) is an example of honorific language. It is notused to talk about oneself or when talking about someonefrom one's company to an external person, since the com-pany is the speaker's“group”. When speaking directlyto one's superior in one's company or when speaking with

other employees within one's company about a superior,a Japanese person will use vocabulary and inflections ofthe honorific register to refer to the in-group superior andtheir speech and actions. When speaking to a person fromanother company (i.e., a member of an out-group), how-ever, a Japanese person will use the plain or the humbleregister to refer to the speech and actions of their own in-group superiors. In short, the register used in Japaneseto refer to the person, speech, or actions of any particu-lar individual varies depending on the relationship (eitherin-group or out-group) between the speaker and listener,as well as depending on the relative status of the speaker,listener, and third-person referents.Most nouns in the Japanese language may be made politeby the addition of o- or go- as a prefix. o- is generally usedfor words of native Japanese origin, whereas go- is affixedto words of Chinese derivation. In some cases, the pre-fix has become a fixed part of the word, and is includedeven in regular speech, such as gohan 'cooked rice; meal.'Such a construction often indicates deference to eitherthe item's owner or to the object itself. For example,the word tomodachi 'friend,' would become o-tomodachiwhen referring to the friend of someone of higher status(though mothers often use this form to refer to their chil-dren's friends). On the other hand, a polite speaker maysometimes refer tomizu 'water' as o-mizu in order to showpoliteness.Most Japanese people employ politeness to indicate alack of familiarity. That is, they use polite forms for newacquaintances, but if a relationship becomes more inti-mate, they no longer use them. This occurs regardless ofage, social class, or gender.

6 Vocabulary

Further information: Yamato kotoba and Gairaigo

The original language of Japan, or at least the originallanguage of a certain population that was ancestral to asignificant portion of the historical and present Japanesenation, was the so-called yamato kotoba (⼤和⾔葉 orinfrequently ⼤和詞, i.e. "Yamato words”), which inscholarly contexts is sometimes referred to as wago (和語 or rarely倭語, i.e. the "Wa words”). In addition towords from this original language, present-day Japaneseincludes a number of words that were either borrowedfrom Chinese or constructed from Chinese roots follow-ing Chinese patterns. These words, known as kango (漢語), entered the language from the 5th century onwardsvia contact with Chinese culture. According to the Shin-sen Kokugo Jiten (新選国語辞典) Japanese dictionary,kango comprise 49.1% of the total vocabulary, wagomake up 33.8%, other foreign words or gairaigo (外来語) account for 8.8%, and the remaining 8.3% constitutehybridized words or konshugo (混種語) that draw ele-

9

ments from more than one language.*[29]There are also a great number of words of mimeticorigin in Japanese, with Japanese having a rich collec-tion of sound symbolism, both onomatopoeia for phys-ical sounds, and more abstract words. A small num-ber of words have come into Japanese from the Ainulanguage. Tonakai (reindeer), rakko (sea otter) andshishamo (smelt, a type of fish) are well-known examplesof words of Ainu origin.Words of different origins occupy different registers inJapanese. Like Latin-derived words in English, kangowords are typically perceived as somewhat formal or aca-demic compared to equivalent Yamato words. Indeed,it is generally fair to say that an English word derivedfrom Latin/French roots typically corresponds to a Sino-Japanese word in Japanese, whereas a simpler Anglo-Saxon word would best be translated by a Yamato equiv-alent.Incorporating vocabulary from European languages be-gan with borrowings from Portuguese in the 16th century,followed by words from Dutch during Japan's long isola-tion of the Edo period. With the Meiji Restoration andthe reopening of Japan in the 19th century, borrowing oc-curred from German, French, and English. Today mostborrowings are from English.In the Meiji era, the Japanese also coined many neol-ogisms using Chinese roots and morphology to trans-late European concepts; these are known as wasei kango(Japanese-made Chinese words). Many of these werethen imported into Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese viatheir kanji in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Forexample, seiji 政治 (“politics”), and kagaku 化学 (“chemistry”) are words derived from Chinese roots thatwere first created and used by the Japanese, and only laterborrowed into Chinese and other East Asian languages.As a result, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnameseshare a large common corpus of vocabulary in the sameway a large number of Greek- and Latin-derived words –both inherited or borrowed into European languages, ormodern coinages from Greek or Latin roots – are sharedamong modern European languages – see classical com-pound.In the past few decades, wasei-eigo (“made-in-Japan En-glish”) has become a prominent phenomenon. Wordssuch as wanpatānワンパターン (< one + pattern,“tobe in a rut”,“to have a one-trackmind”) and sukinshippuスキンシップ (< skin + -ship, “physical contact”),although coined by compounding English roots, are non-sensical in most non-Japanese contexts; exceptions existin nearby languages such as Korean however, which oftenuse words such as skinship and rimokon (remote control)in the same way as in Japanese.The popularity of many Japanese cultural exports hasmade some native Japanese words familiar in English,including futon, haiku, judo, kamikaze, karaoke, karate,ninja, origami, rickshaw (from ⼈⼒⾞ jinrikisha),

samurai, sayonara, sudoku, sumo, sushi, tsunami, tycoon.See list of English words of Japanese origin for more.

7 Writing system

Main articles: Japanese writing system and Japanesebraille

Literacy was introduced to Japan in the form of theChinese writing system, by way of Baekje before the 5thcentury.*[30] Using this language, the Japanese king Bupresented a petition to Emperor Shun of Liu Song inAD 478.*[lower-alpha 1] After the ruin of Baekje, Japaninvited scholars from China to learn more of the Chi-nese writing system. Japanese emperors gave an officialrank to Chinese scholars (続守⾔/薩弘格/*[lower-alpha2]*[lower-alpha 3] 袁晋卿*[lower-alpha 4]) and spreadthe use of Chinese characters from the 7th century to the8th century.

Table of Kana: Hiragana top, Katakana in the center and Ro-manized equivalents at the bottom

At first, the Japanese wrote in Classical Chinese, withJapanese names represented by characters used for theirmeanings and not their sounds. Later, during the 7th cen-tury AD, the Chinese-sounding phoneme principle wasused to write pure Japanese poetry and prose, but someJapanese words were still written with characters for theirmeaning and not the original Chinese sound. This is whenthe history of Japanese as a written language begins in itsown right. By this time, the Japanese language was al-ready very distinct from the Ryukyuan languages.*[31]An example of this mixed style is the Kojiki, whichwas written in AD 712. They then started to use Chi-

10 8 STUDY BY NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS

nese characters to write Japanese in a style known asman'yōgana, a syllabic script which used Chinese char-acters for their sounds in order to transcribe the words ofJapanese speech syllable by syllable.Over time, a writing system evolved. Chinese charac-ters (kanji) were used to write either words borrowedfrom Chinese, or Japanese words with the same or simi-lar meanings. Chinese characters were also used to writegrammatical elements, were simplified, and eventuallybecame two syllabic scripts: hiragana and katakana whichwere developed based on Manyogana from Baekje.*[32]However this hypothesis“Manyogana from Baekje”isdenied by other scholars.*[33]*[34]Modern Japanese is written in a mixture of three mainsystems: kanji, characters of Chinese origin used to rep-resent both Chinese loanwords into Japanese and a num-ber of native Japanese morphemes; and two syllabaries:hiragana and katakana. The Latin script (or romaji inJapanese) is used to a certain extent, such as for importedacronyms and to transcribe Japanese names and in otherinstances where non-Japanese speakers need to know howto pronounce a word (such as“ramen”at a restaurant).Arabic numerals are much more common than the kanjiwhen used in counting, but kanji numerals are still usedin compounds, such as統⼀ tōitsu (“unification”).Hiragana are used for words without kanji representation,for words no longer written in kanji, and also followingkanji to show conjugational endings. Because of the wayverbs (and adjectives) in Japanese are conjugated, kanjialone cannot fully convey Japanese tense and mood, askanji cannot be subject to variation when written withoutlosing its meaning. For this reason, hiragana are suffixedto the ends of kanji to show verb and adjective conjuga-tions. Hiragana used in this way are called okurigana. Hi-ragana can also be written in a superscript called furiganaabove or beside a kanji to show the proper reading. Thisis done to facilitate learning, as well as to clarify particu-larly old or obscure (or sometimes invented) readings.Katakana, like hiragana, are a syllabary; katakana areprimarily used to write foreign words, plant and animalnames, and for emphasis. For example“Australia”hasbeen adapted asŌsutoraria (オーストラリア), and“su-permarket”has been adapted and shortened into sūpā(スーパー).Historically, attempts to limit the number of kanji in usecommenced in the mid-19th century, but did not becomea matter of government intervention until after Japan'sdefeat in the Second World War. During the period ofpost-war occupation (and influenced by the views of someU.S. officials), various schemes including the completeabolition of kanji and exclusive use of rōmaji were con-sidered. The jōyō kanji (“common use kanji”, originallycalled tōyō kanji [kanji for general use]) scheme arose asa compromise solution.Japanese students begin to learn kanji from their first yearat elementary school. A guideline created by the Japanese

Ministry of Education, the list of kyōiku kanji (“educationkanji”, a subset of jōyō kanji), specifies the 1,006 simplecharacters a child is to learn by the end of sixth grade.Children continue to study another 1,130 characters injunior high school, covering in total 2,136 jōyō kanji. Theofficial list of jōyō kanji was revised several times, but thetotal number of officially sanctioned characters remainedlargely unchanged.As for kanji for personal names, the circumstances aresomewhat complicated. Jōyō kanji and jinmeiyō kanji(an appendix of additional characters for names) are ap-proved for registering personal names. Names contain-ing unapproved characters are denied registration. How-ever, as with the list of jōyō kanji, criteria for inclusionwere often arbitrary and led to many common and popu-lar characters being disapproved for use. Under popularpressure and following a court decision holding the exclu-sion of common characters unlawful, the list of jinmeiyōkanjiwas substantially extended from 92 in 1951 (the yearit was first decreed) to 983 in 2004. Furthermore, fami-lies whose names are not on these lists were permitted tocontinue using the older forms.

8 Study by non-native speakers

Many major universities throughout the world provideJapanese language courses, and a number of secondaryand even primary schools worldwide offer courses inthe language. This is much changed from before WorldWar II; in 1940, only 65 Americans not of Japanese de-scent were able to read, write and understand the lan-guage.*[35]International interest in the Japanese language dates fromthe 19th century but has become more prevalent follow-ing Japan's economic bubble of the 1980s and the globalpopularity of Japanese popular culture (such as animeand video games) since the 1990s. Near of 4 millionpeople studied the language worldwide in 2012: morethan 1 million Chinese, 872,000 Indonesian, 840,000South Koreans studied Japanese in lower and higher ed-ucational institutions. In the last three years the numberof students studying Japanese in China increased by 26.5percent/three years, and by 21.8 percent Indonesia, butdropped 12.8 percent in South Korea.*[36]In Japan, more than 90,000 foreign students studied atJapanese universities and Japanese language schools, in-cluding 77,000 Chinese and 15,000 South Koreans in2003. In addition, local governments and some NPOgroups provide free Japanese language classes for foreignresidents, including Japanese Brazilians and foreignersmarried to Japanese nationals. In the United Kingdom,study of the Japanese language is supported by the BritishAssociation for Japanese Studies. In Ireland, Japanese isoffered as a language in the Leaving Certificate in someschools.

11

The Japanese government provides standardized tests tomeasure spoken and written comprehension of Japanesefor second language learners; the most prominent is theJapanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), which fea-tures five levels of exams (changed from four levels in2010), ranging from elementary (N5) to advanced (N1).The JLPT is offered twice a year. The Japanese Ex-ternal Trade Organization JETRO organizes the BusinessJapanese Proficiency Test which tests the learner's abilityto understand Japanese in a business setting. The JapanKanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, which took over theBJT from JETRO in 2009, announced in August 2010that the test would be discontinued in 2011 due to finan-cial pressures on the Foundation. However, it has sinceissued a statement to the effect that the test will continueto be available as a result of support from the Japanesegovernment.*[37]*[38]

9 See also• Aizuchi

• Culture of Japan

• Henohenomoheji

• Japanese dictionaries

• Japanese language and computers

• Japanese literature

• Japanese name

• Japanese orthography issues

• Japanese Sign Language family

• Japanese words and words derived from Japanese inother languages at Wiktionary, Wikipedia's siblingproject

• Rendaku

• Romanization of Japanese

• Hepburn romanization

• Shogakukan Progressive Japanese–English Dictio-nary (book)

• Yojijukugo

10 Notes[1] Book of Song順帝昇明⼆年，倭王武遣使上表⽈：封國偏遠，作藩于外，⾃昔祖禰，躬擐甲冑，跋渉⼭川，不遑寧處。東征⽑⼈五⼗國，⻄服衆夷六⼗六國，渡平海北九⼗五國，王道融泰，廓⼟遐畿，累葉朝宗，不愆于歳。⾂雖下愚，忝胤先緒，驅率所統，歸崇天極，道逕百濟，裝治船舫，⽽句驪無道，圖欲

⾒吞，掠抄邊隸，虔劉不已，毎致稽滯，以失良⾵。雖⽈進路，或通或不。⾂亡考濟實忿寇讎，壅塞天路，控弦百萬，義聲感激，⽅欲⼤舉，奄喪⽗兄，使垂成之功，不獲⼀簣。居在諒闇，不動兵甲，是以偃息未捷。⾄今欲練甲治兵，申⽗兄之志，義⼠⻁賁，⽂武效功，⽩刃交前，亦所不顧。若以帝德覆載，摧此強敵，克靖⽅難，無替前功。竊⾃假開府儀同三司，其餘咸各假授，以勸忠節。詔除武使持節督倭、新羅、任那、加羅、秦韓六國諸軍事、安東⼤將軍、倭國王。⾄⿑建元中，及梁武帝時，并來朝貢。

[2] Nihon shoki Chapter 30:持統五年九⽉⼰⺒朔壬申。賜⾳博⼠⼤唐続守⾔。薩弘恪。書博⼠百済末⼠善信、銀⼈⼆⼗両。

[3] Nihon shoki Chapter 30:持統六年⼗⼆⽉⾟⾣朔甲戌。賜⾳博⼠続守⾔。薩弘恪⽔⽥⼈四町

[4] Shoku Nihongi宝⻲九年⼗⼆⽉庚寅。⽞蕃頭従五位上袁晋卿賜姓清村宿禰。晋卿唐⼈也。天平七年随我朝使帰朝。時年⼗⼋九。学得⽂選爾雅⾳。為⼤学⾳博⼠。於後。歴⼤学頭安房守。

11 References[1] (Swedish)“Världens 100 största språk 2010”[The world's

100 largest languages in 2010]. Nationalencyklopedin.2010. Retrieved 12 February 2014.

[2] Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel,Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). “NuclearJapanese”. Glottolog 2.2. Leipzig: Max Planck Institutefor Evolutionary Anthropology.

[3] Wade, Nicholas (May 4, 2011). “Finding on DialectsCasts New Light on the Origins of the Japanese People”.The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2011.

[4] Shinkichi Hashimoto (February 3, 1918)「国語仮名遣研究史上の⼀発⾒―⽯塚⿓麿の仮名遣奥⼭路について」『帝国⽂学』26–11(1949)『⽂字及び仮名遣の研究 (橋本進吉博⼠著作集第 3冊)』(岩波書店)。

[5] ⼤野晋 (1953)『上代仮名遣の研究』(岩波書店)p.126

[6] ⼤野晋 (1982)『仮名遣いと上代語』(岩波書店) p.65

[7] 有坂秀世 (1931)「国語にあらはれる⼀種の⺟⾳交替について」『⾳声の研究』第 4輯 (1957年の『国語⾳韻史の研究増補新版』(三省堂)

[8] Miura, Akira, English in Japanese, Weatherhill, 1998.

[9] Japanese is listed as one of the official languages ofAngaur state, Palau (Ethnologe, CIA World Factbook).However, very few Japanese speakers were recorded inthe 2005 census.

[10] “IBGE traça perfil dos imigrantes – Imigração – Madein Japan”. Madeinjapan.uol.com.br. 2008-06-21. Re-trieved 2012-11-20.

[11] “American FactFinder”. Factfinder.census.gov. Re-trieved 2013-02-01.

12 12 WORKS CITED

[12] “Japanese – Source Census 2000, Summary File 3, STP258”. Mla.org. Retrieved 2012-11-20.

[13] “Ethnocultural Portrait of Canada – Data table”. 2.stat-can.ca. 2010-06-10. Retrieved 2012-11-20.

[14] The Japanese in Colonial Southeast Asia - Google Books.Books.google.com. Retrieved on 2014-06-07.

[15]

[16]

[17] " 法制執務コラム集「法律と国語・⽇本語」" (inJapanese). Legislative Bureau of the House of Council-lors. Retrieved 9 November 2012.

[18] Robbeets 2005, p. 20.

[19] Kindaichi & Hirano 1978, pp. 30–31.

[20] Robbeets 2005, p. 25.

[21] Robbeets 2005, p. 25; Vovin 2010, p. 3.

[22] Vovin 2010, p. 3.

[23] Vovin 2010, p. 6.

[24] Robbeets 2005, p. 18.

[25] Robbeets 2005, p. 19.

[26] Robbeets 2005, p. 22.

[27] Robbeets 2005, pp. 21, 23.

[28] Robbeets 2005, pp. 26–27.

[29] 新選国語辞典, ⾦⽥⼀京助, ⼩学館, 2001, ISBN 4-09-501407-5

[30] "Buddhist Art of Korea & Japan,”Asia Society Mu-seum; "Kanji,”JapanGuide.com; "Pottery,”MSN En-carta; "History of Japan,”JapanVisitor.com. Archived2009-10-31.

[31] Heinrich, Patrick. “What leaves a mark should nolonger stain: Progressive erasure and reversing languageshift activities in the Ryukyu Islands,”First InternationalSmall Island Cultures Conference at Kagoshima Univer-sity, Centre for the Pacific Islands, February 7–10, 2005;citing Shiro Hattori. (1954)Gengo nendaigaku sunawachigoi tokeigaku no hoho ni tsuite (“Concerning the Methodof Glottochronology and Lexicostatistics”),Gengo kenkyu(Journal of the Linguistic Society of Japan), Vols. 26/27.

[32] John R. Bentley. ""The origin of Manyogana”, Bulletinof the School of Oriental and African Studies (2001), 64:59–73”. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 2012-11-20.

[33] Shunpei Mizuno, ed. (2002). 韓国⼈の⽇本 史―⽇本⼈は ッ リ! (in Japanese). Shogakukan. ISBN4-09-402716-5.

[34] Shunpei Mizuno, ed. (2007). 韓 vs⽇「 史ワー 」(in Japanese). Shogakukan. ISBN 4-09-387703-3.

[35] Beate Sirota Gordon commencement address atMills Col-lege, May 14, 2011. “Sotomayor, Denzel Washington,GE CEO Speak to Graduates,” C-SPAN (US). May 30,2011; retrieved 2011-05-30

[36] “RI ranks No. 2 in learning Japanese language”. July15, 2013.

[37]“BJT Business Japanese Proficiency Test”. Kanken.or.jp.Retrieved 2012-11-20.

[38] “Relaunching of the Business Japanese Proficiency Testin FY 2012 and Temporary Measures in FY 2011”.Kanken.or.jp. November 25, 20120. Retrieved 2012-11-20. Check date values in: |date= (help)

12 Works cited• Bloch, Bernard (1946). Studies in colloquialJapanese I: Inflection. Journal of the American Ori-ental Society, 66, pp. 97–130.

• Bloch, Bernard (1946). Studies in colloquialJapanese II: Syntax. Language, 22, pp. 200–248.

• Chafe, William L. (1976). Giveness, contrastive-ness, definiteness, subjects, topics, and point ofview. In C. Li (Ed.), Subject and topic (pp. 25–56).New York: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-447350-4.

• Dalby, Andrew. (2004). “Japanese,” in Dic-tionary of Languages: the Definitive Reference toMore than 400 Languages. New York: ColumbiaUniversity Press. 10-ISBN 0231115687/13-ISBN9780231115681; 10-ISBN 0231115695/13-ISBN9780231115698; OCLC 474656178

• Frellesvig, Bjarke (2010). A history of the Japaneselanguage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0-521-65320-6.

• Kindaichi, Haruhiko; Hirano, Umeyo (1978). TheJapanese Language. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8048-1579-6.

• Kuno, Susumu (1973). The structure of the Japaneselanguage. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-11049-0.

• Kuno, Susumu. (1976). “Subject, theme, and thespeaker's empathy: A re-examination of relativiza-tion phenomena,”in Charles N. Li (Ed.), Subject andtopic (pp. 417–444). New York: Academic Press.ISBN 0-12-447350-4.

• Martin, Samuel E. (1975). A reference grammar ofJapanese. NewHaven: Yale University Press. ISBN0-300-01813-4.

• McClain, Yoko Matsuoka. (1981). Handbook ofmodern Japanese grammar: ⼝語⽇本⽂法便覧[Kōgo Nihon bumpō]. Tokyo: Hokuseido Press.ISBN 4-590-00570-0; ISBN 0-89346-149-0.

13

• Miller, Roy (1967). The Japanese language.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

• Miller, Roy (1980). Origins of the Japanese lan-guage: Lectures in Japan during the academic year,1977–78. Seattle: University of Washington Press.ISBN 0-295-95766-2.

• Mizutani, Osamu; & Mizutani, Nobuko (1987).How to be polite in Japanese: ⽇本語の敬語 [Ni-hongo no keigo]. Tokyo: The Japan Times. ISBN4-7890-0338-8.

• Robbeets, Martine Irma (2005). Is Japanese Relatedto Korean, Tungusic, Mongolic and Turkic?. OttoHarrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-05247-4.

• Shibatani, Masayoshi (1990). Japanese. In B. Com-rie (Ed.), The major languages of east and south-eastAsia. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-04739-0.

• Shibatani, Masayoshi (1990). The languages ofJapan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 0-521-36070-6 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-36918-5(pbk).

• Shibamoto, Janet S. (1985). Japanese women's lan-guage. New York: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-640030-X. Graduate Level

• Tsujimura, Natsuko (1996). An introduction toJapanese linguistics. Cambridge, MA: BlackwellPublishers. ISBN 0-631-19855-5 (hbk); ISBN 0-631-19856-3 (pbk). Upper Level Textbooks

• Tsujimura, Natsuko (Ed.) (1999). The hand-book of Japanese linguistics. Malden, MA: Black-well Publishers. ISBN 0-631-20504-7. Read-ings/Anthologies

• Vovin, Alexander (2010). Korea-Japonica: A Re-Evaluation of a Common Genetic Origin. Universityof Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3278-0.

13 Further reading

• Rudolf Lange (1907). Christopher Noss, ed. A text-book of colloquial Japanese (revised English ed.).TOKYO: Methodist publishing house. p. 588. Re-trieved 1March 2012.(All rights reserved, copyright1903 by Christopher Noss; reprinted April 1907by the Methodist Publishing House, Tokyo, Japan)(Original from the New York Public Library) (Dig-itized Apr 2, 2008)

• Rudolf Lange (1907). Christopher Noss, ed. A text-book of colloquial Japanese (revised English ed.).TOKYO: Methodist publishing house. p. 588. Re-trieved 1March 2012.(All rights reserved; copyright1903 by Christopher Noss; reprinted April 1907

by the Methodist Publishing House, Tokyo, Japan)(Original from Harvard University) (Digitized Oct10, 2008)

• Rudolf Lange, Christopher Noss (1903). AText-book of Colloquial Japanese (English ed.).The Kaneko Press, North Japan College, Sendai:Methodist Publishing House. p. 573. Retrieved1 March 2012.(Tokyo Methodist Publishing House1903)

• Rudolf Lange (1903). Christopher Noss, ed. Atext-book of colloquial Japanese: based on theLehrbuch der japanischen umgangssprache by Dr.Rudolf Lange (revised English ed.). TOKYO:Methodist publishing house. p. 588. Retrieved1 March 2012.(All rights reserved; copyright 1903by Christopher Noss; reprinted April 1907 by theMethodist Publishing House, Tokyo, Japan) (Origi-nal from the University of California) (Digitized Oct10, 2007)

• Shibatani, Masayoshi. (1990). The languages ofJapan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

• “Japanese Language”. MIT. Retrieved 2009-05-13.

14 External links• National Institute for Japanese Language and Lin-guistics

• Foreign Service Institute Japanese course, audio, as-signments, G+ hangouts and media sources

• Japanese Language Student's Handbook

14 15 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

15 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

15.1 Text• Japanese language Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese%20language?oldid=646679761 Contributors: Brion VIBBER,

Archibald Fitzchesterfield, Taw, Ed Poor, Aidan Elliott-McCrea, Eob, Kowloonese, Danny, Hannes Hirzel, Zoe, Fredb, Gogaku, Heron,Vassili Nikolaev, Zimriel, Erwan, Olivier, Stevertigo, Dhilvert, Steverapaport, Frecklefoot, Lorenzarius, Patrick, AdSR, Tillwe, Paul Bar-low, Wshun, Kwertii, Euske, Laszlo, Gabbe, Chuck SMITH, Menchi, Tannin, Ixfd64, Sannse, TakuyaMurata, Davejenk1ns, Stw, Looxix,Ihcoyc, Ellywa, Cyp, Synthetik, Kricxjo, Mac, Jpatokal, Marumari, Angela, Den fjättrade ankan, Bueller 007, Bogdangiusca, Junesun,Jiang, Grin, Rawr, David Stewart, Jordi Burguet Castell, Mib, Atob, EdH, Ruhrjung, Eirik (usurped), Samuel, Tobias Conradi, Mxn,MakiAEA, Emperorbma, Adam Bishop, Timwi, Nohat, Random832, MattH, Jogloran, WhisperToMe, Invisible Friend, Rvalles, Japman,Furrykef, Morwen, Chariot, Sabbut, Mdchachi, Christopher Sundita, Topbanana, Joy, HarryHenryGebel, Jusjih, AdoNama, Nb, BenRG,Denelson83, Robbot, Araisyohei, Zandperl, Korath, Chris 73, R3m0t, Jotomicron, RedWolf, Moncrief, Romanm, Modulatum, Low-ellian, Ianb, Babbage, SchmuckyTheCat, Texture, Sekicho, Hippietrail, Jondel, Caknuck, Ghaz, Mulukhiyya, Hadal, Delpino, Wikibot,Wereon, Kzhr, Mushroom, Vikingstad, Diberri, Superm401, Lenny-au, Pablo-flores, Jsan, Jimpaz, Exploding Boy, Gwalla, DocWatson42,Paul Richter, KevinJr42, Nat Krause, Haeleth, Seabhcan, Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason, Netoholic, Tom harrison, Meursault2004, Lupin,Binadot, Hokanomono, Everyking, Sik0fewl, SpiceMan, Revth, Gilgamesh, Guanaco, Zhen Lin, Takatoriyama, Node ue, Eequor, Pythoneggs, AndyE, Chameleon, 47b, Golbez, Wmahan, Rheun, Neilc, James Crippen, Auximines, Andycjp, Shibboleth, Toytoy, Gdr, Van-ished user svinet8j3ogifm98wjfgoi3tjosfg, Zeimusu, Ran, Antandrus, Beland, Fredcondo, JoJan, Kusunose, Bigpeteb, Adamrice, Jossi,AlexanderWinston, Billposer, Untifler, Mzajac, Mikko Paananen, Vbs, Supadawg, RISHARTHA, Phil1988, Sam Hocevar, Histrion, Ryu-sei, NoPetrol, Neutrality, Burschik, Ropers, Trek011, Fg2, Nekokaze, Paradoxian, Picapica, Eliazar, Aponar Kestrel, Canterbury Tail,Simcop2387, Everlong, Mike Rosoft, Brianjd, Perey, CES, Poccil, Lehi, A-giau, Discospinster, Rich Farmbrough, Guanabot, Gadget,Akita, Deh, Wikiacc, HeikoEvermann, EliasAlucard, Aris Katsaris, Suiside, Gedeon, Gronky, Blade Hirato, ESkog, Kjoonlee, Mashford,Fenice, Evice, Brian0918, Marco255, Zscout370, Ben Webber, NTiOzymandias, Ascorbic, Lankiveil, Kwamikagami, Kross, Mark RJohnson, Bendono, Femto, Causa sui, Prsephone1674, Bobo192, Directorstratton, Circeus, Ypacaraí, Smalljim, Che fox, Cohesion, Arca-dian, Kappa, Tachitsuteto, Doozer, Apostrophe, Thefay, Jason One, Jumbuck, Zachlipton, Alansohn, RJCraig, Marnen, Tek022, Bathrobe,Riana, Bz2, Yamla, Ciceronl, Hoary, Tchalvak, Cjnm, Hu, Ksnow, Wtmitchell, KingTT, Ish ishwar, Stephan Leeds, Suruena, Garzo,Carioca, RainbowOfLight, Sciurinæ, Vuo, Bsadowski1, Scott Gall, BlastOButter42, Chrajohn, LordAmeth, N0thingness, Killing Vec-tor, TShilo12, Brookie, Hijiri88, JALockhart, Carrot, Angr, Velho, Imaginatorium, Ormy, Camw, MK2, Squidley, Uncle G, EnSamulili,Kelisi, Wikiklrsc, Karmosin, Shikai shaw, Male1979, Zzyzx11, Junes, とある⽩い猫, Tyrian, Tokek, Wisq, Eirikr, Palica, Gerbrant,Stevey7788, Dysepsion, Graham87, Taivo, KyuuA4, Magister Mathematicae, TAKASUGI Shinji, MC MasterChef, Island, Dpr, Can-derson7, Sjakkalle, Astronaut, Tangotango, Colin Hill, Feydey, Kajmal, Himasaram, LjL, Dar-Ape, Matt Deres, Remurmur, Sango123,Yamamoto Ichiro, Titoxd, FlaBot, LeeWilson, DannyWilde, GnuDoyng, Vsion, Nivix, Hottentot, RexNL, Gurch, ApprenticeFan, Maus-trauser, Pianoface, Alphachimp, Atitarev, Malhonen, Le Anh-Huy, Chobot, DTOx, Benlisquare, Mordicai, Justinitalia, Daduzi, YurikBot,Wavelength, Yao, Angus Lepper, Sceptre, Ste1n, Jimp, Alethiareg, Chavash, Wikky Horse, RussBot, Hede2000, Ilai, Splash, Hsugawar,Cwlq, Casey J. Morris, IanManka, Akamad, Mithridates, Hyperbole, Gaius Cornelius, Yyy, Eleassar, Kyorosuke, Heavens To Betsy,Alynna Kasmira, NawlinWiki, Wiki alf, Aeusoes1, Gangerli, RazorICE, Wonglokking, Tokyoahead, DAJF, Yzb, CaliforniaAliBaba, CarlDaniels, Denihilonihil, Fr, Tony1, Sir Edgar, Syrthiss, S. Neuman, BOT-Superzerocool, Hakeem.gadi, Rob117, Maunus, JSLR, Tonym88,Tigershrike, 21655, Zzuuzz, Lt-wiki-bot, Ninly, Bhumiya, Closedmouth, Ketsuekigata, Spacebirdy, Jecowa, Alasdair, SorryGuy, Nixer,Efigueroa, Ryoske, Katieh5584, Paul Erik, Philip Stevens, GrinBot, Asterion, DVD R W, CIreland, Tom Morris, Nodoubt9203, Yvwv,Sardanaphalus, Neier, SmackBot, Nihonjoe, Reedy, Hydrogen Iodide, Cavenba, Deiaemeth, Vald, Bomac, KocjoBot, Jagged 85, Lds, Fry-master, JJay, Kintetsubuffalo, Kargoneth, Srnec, The great kawa, Peter Isotalo, Gilliam, Finduilas 09, Ohnoitsjamie, Hmains, ERcheck,Andy M. Wang, Chris the speller, Endroit, Ciacchi, Stimpy9337, MalafayaBot, WikiFlier, Kamosuke, SchfiftyThree, Hibernian, Utsutsu,Akanemoto, Nbarth, Delta Tango, DHN-bot, Tzu7, Da Vynci, The Moose, Croquant, Seifip, Zsinj, VikSol, Can't sleep, clown will eatme, Tamfang, Mitsuhirato, TheGerm, Viperphantom, Pedroshin, Clarinetplayer, Sephiroth BCR, Glengordon01, JonHarder, Morton de-vonshire, Zvar, Addshore, RedHillian, SundarBot, Dali, Arab Hafez, Crboyer, Khoikhoi, Jmlk17, Saitentaisei, Hakozen, Cybercobra,Dream out loud, Daniel bg, Derek R Bullamore, Esb, Latebird, Vina-iwbot, Curly Turkey, Nobu Sho, Ck lostsword, Kukini, LC.Lau,Cast, SashatoBot, LtPowers, Rory096, Harryboyles, BrownHairedGirl, J. Finkelstein, Dwpaul, Marco polo, Robotichivemind, Askorahn,Chodorkovskiy, JorisvS, ExcitingBore, Sotaru, Mahoroba, IronGargoyle, Deviathan, Ckatz, A. Parrot, Bwabes, Hvn0413, Stwalkerster,Beetstra, Mr Stephen, Godfrey Daniel, Kyoko, Vaniba12, Flamerule, Michael Friedrich, Wladimir, Ryulong, Jose77, Hu12, Mackan,Norm mit, Ginkgo100, Cat's Tuxedo, Iridescent, S5100e1300, Jjok, Laurens-af, Joseph Solis in Australia, Fitzwilliam, JoeBot, Koulten,Igoldste, Exander, Sam Li, Mononohazumi, Unitedtowardgod, Roehl Sybing, Az1568, Courcelles, Bruinfan12, Scarlet Lioness, JayHenry,Tawkerbot2, Inkybutton, Momochi, Fvasconcellos, Rikker04, JForget, Camandco, Sakurambo, Phillip J, 850 C, Aceman2000, Bridesmill,FunPika, Fieldmarshal Miyagi, JDDunn9, Aherunar, Leiko, Anacon, Sungyuk, KyraVixen, Chunho, That one mexican kid, Neoyamaneko,Kylu, Dgw, Rock lee isMINE,WeggeBot, Racooper, Senorelroboto, Funnyfarmofdoom, Cydebot, Ganryuu, Jerse, Cricketgirl, Gogo Dodo,HumbleGod, Sempai, Christian75, Imperator Honorius, Daven200520, Jlpspinto, ChristineStoddard, Bulmabriefs144, BetacommandBot,Thijs!bot, Epbr123, Jpark3909, Paragon12321, BoBoTheBum, Bobabobabo, Azimuth1, Kablammo, 23prootie, -Edwin-, Memty Bot,N5iln, Andyjsmith, Kx p, Douggers, Tirkfl, Tellyaddict, Mpark001, Yettie0711, Skassis, E. Ripley, Pinoyamerican, Zeigfreid, Escarbot,Mentifisto, Baville, AntiVandalBot, Yupik, Gioto, Luna Santin, Seaphoto, Miracleezz, Gamefreak00001, Keneke45, CobraWiki, Jiji-gren, Moretti80, Spencer, Kzaral, Spacecat2, Gökhan, Canadian-Bacon, Nosbig, Parande, JAnDbot, GSTQ, Kitsune17717, Roman àclef, MER-C, Jctheo, Retroviseur, HSL, McMonster, Joshua, .anacondabot, Lester Long, Fuzzybyte, Penubag, Io Katai, Magioladitis,Jaysweet, Puellanivis, Bongwarrior, VoABot II, Ishikawa Minoru, Dekimasu, JamesBWatson, Lucyin, Korenyuk, Avicennasis, Zanibas,Catgut, Nestamay, Chabadam, TyrocP, Just H, Adrian J. Hunter, 28421u2232nfenfcenc, BilCat, Tokino, JaGa, Edward321, Ekotkie,Exhuy, Khr0n0s, MartinBot, Vigyani, Ebizur, BetBot, Himatsu Bushi, Bradford44, Jay Litman, R'n'B, Tgeairn, J.delanoy, Trusilver, Sil-iconDioxide, Bogey97, Lizrael, Fxparlant, Rhinestone K, Uncle Dick, Dwcarless, Eskimospy, Sssuuuzzzaaannn, It Is Me Here, Dreko,Amake, LordAnubisBOT, Balthazarduju, Gurchzilla, Laila yafe, NewEnglandYankee, SJP, Master shepherd, Akukagemaru7, Haxxploits,Cometstyles, Moofinluvr, Tiggerjay, Tweisbach, Micro01, Isida1028, Sneeka2, Inter16, Andy Marchbanks, TheNewPhobia, Gamestar300,Xiahou, Arael2, Laguna117, James.d.hash, Idioma-bot, Spellcast, Plonk2, ACSE, Inetpup, Ezln23, Caspian blue, VolkovBot, Thomas.W,Masaruemoto, Magnetic767, Jeff G., Am Fiosaigear, Rikyu, Philip Trueman, TXiKiBoT, Technopat, A4bot, Miranda, Rei-bot, Sean DMartin, BLACK Z7, Qxz, Grace E. Dougle, Anna Lincoln, Tantal-ja, Amagase, Vendrov, Martin451, JhsBot, Leafyplant, LeaveSleaves,PDFbot, Tillnothingleft, Slobonmyknob, 88wolfmaster, Billinghurst, Lerdthenerd, Haseo9999, Soulja nyn3, Synthebot, Falcon8765, Pa-pichulo07, Anna512, TravelingCat, Cnilep, Master of the Oríchalcos, Linteater7, Glob.au, Sue Rangell, Teddy.Coughlin, AlleborgoBot,Praefectorian, PGWG, Munci, PaTo1991, D. Recorder, Yngvarr, Enkyo2, Kutaragi, SieBot, Zoey473, MuzikJunky, Moonriddengirl,

15.2 Images 15

Gerakibot, Viskonsas, Caltas, AmericanIdolFreak13, Michiyo x, DrHacky, S711, Khomaniak, Toddst1, Flyer22, Oda Mari, Momosan, Bananastalktome, Monkeymox, Ayudante, Rai Toriko, Oxymoron83, Faradayplank, Nuttycoconut, MiNombreDeGuerra, Hello71,Steven Zhang, Theholymonk1231, Ricmoo, Alex.muller, CutieNakky, Zylox, BoldTsogt, Choukung, Nimbusania, Timeastor, PerryTa-chett, Nn123645, Jma2120, Commonalien, Vonones, Asbartle, Amazonien, Loren.wilton, ElixirofLife, Sfan00 IMG, ClueBot, Hofbauer,Kyoww, Mod.torrentrealm, WinedAndDined, The Thing That Should Not Be, CKBrown1000, Sean1ro, Ndenison, Gregcaletta, Ukabia,Meekywiki, Der Golem, Kuronokoneko, Joao Xavier, SuperHamster, Lewishirst, CounterVandalismBot, Ms 2007 Cn, Blanchardb, Mas-ter737373, ArlenCuss, Mariposa111, Neverquick, Negaho, Mtgig, Namazu-tron, PMDrive1061, DragonBot, Excirial, Greenpeaceyoko51,Universityuser, Nymf, Canis Lupus, Izumidebito, Shuriwa, Kanguole, Garbix3452, SpikeToronto, Estirabot, Lartoven, Jotterbot, Pmt7ar,Cescoby, Shokohamano, Razorflame, OrangeWinghead, Dearth of Rats, Wismon, Thingg, Aitias, Wen124, Tezero, Lestina, Apparition11,Goodvac, The AirBox, Alchemist Jack, Bridies, XLinkBot, Staticshakedown, Maikos, Stickee, Jovianeye, Estemi, Jackoflack, Skarebo,WikHead, SilvonenBot, Mm40, Washington Academy of Languages, Princesunta, HexaChord, Jhendin, Radh, Wiki Power Editor Dude,Addbot, Willking1979, Tano worldwide, Eichikiyama, Ronhjones, Mellamoandres, Fieldday-sunday, Ocean3684, Larry Yuma, Canadian-LinuxUser, Hs21731, BabelStone, Cst17, Download, Pds0101, CarsracBot, Rambalac, Glane23, Glass Sword, AnnaFrance, Sassymiku123,Favonian, LinkFA-Bot, Freeeedom, Makair45, Numbo3-bot, ItaliaIrredenta, Tide rolls, Lightbot, Teles, Vrrad, AlexJFox, Moocowsrule,Jarble, Rcb5, CountryBot, Mps, Fryed-peach, Odder, Amateur55, The Bushranger, Legobot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Legobot II, Melvale-vis, THEN WHO WAS PHONE?, Victorfri, Lusantian, KamikazeBot, Jferdous, Whatthechuck91, AnomieBOT, Cantanchorus, Rjanag,Tokumas, Killiondude, Jim1138, IRP, Galoubet, Royote, JackieBot, AdjustShift, EvilPuggy, Carolina wren, Securing, Crystal whacker,Zxabot, Flewis, Materialscientist, Zane1337, Foodisgood123, Zpgni, Citation bot, HistoryGirl08, Daven3t, Bob3694, Nhantdn, Arthur-Bot, Obersachsebot, MauritsBot, Xqbot, S h i v a (Visnu), Rabbirock, The sock that should not be, Capricorn42, Coolmukund, Owl-hun, Cyu408, Colon1030304, AbigailAbernathy, Ken12ken1, Chk123, Fti74, Incredibleriot, BulldogBeing, PrincessMari01389, Dngnta,GhalyBot, Shadowjams, Sosehe2, G.Tenzing, Therius, A. di M., Thejadefalcon, FreeKnowledgeCreator, Red ocotillo, FrescoBot, Madrig,AlexanderKaras, Kiku b, Lothar von Richthofen, Lilchu, Altaicmania, Vadim Smolensky, HJ Mitchell, A little insignificant, Deutschpro,Centoro, Cannolis, Citation bot 1, TMg, Javert, AstaBOTh15, HRoestBot, Jonesey95, Loyalist Cannons, Calmer Waters, Hamtechperson,Hoo man, Jschnur, TEH ARBITUR, Phoenix7777, Jackheyhi, FoxBot, Barnb0y1824, Grzegorz.bober, TobeBot, DixonDBot, 0000ZERO,Cbartho, Otis Criblecoblis, Bg1fpx, SmartyBoots, Banhtrung1, Nickyus, Ph4wks, Clarkcj12, Dsmraz, Reaper Eternal, Matsuzaki-Koudou,Humperguy, Suffusion of Yellow, IRISZOOM, Trikemike, Tbhotch, Scouts1998, TjBot, Ripchip Bot, Eggerttalon, Aagusuab, Salvio giu-liano, Slon02, Alison22, Nippon X, DoRD, Bullet train, Contre-boutant-ex, EmausBot, John of Reading, WikitanvirBot, Aliceinwire, Rac-erx11, IncognitoErgoSum, Britannic124, Krittycat10, GoingBatty, Minimac's Clone, Tkolpas, Huca, Gaulsman, Ltiler, Mo ainm, Seven-Year Child, Rkm1324, DotKuro, Pebbles12345, Tommy2010, Wikipelli, AsceticRose, Kmoksy, Rjonmi, Heeycandiice, Imessuppageslol,AlexPemberton, Eurasiatic, AvicBot, HiW-Bot, John Cline, Fæ, Traxs7, PotatoBot, Anon J, Rabbitfang, H3llBot, Bernnybc, SporkBot,Sjiveru, Wayne Slam, HammerFilmFan, OnePt618, Neddy1234, Wylie250, Bubblegumski, Mr.Right.Perfect, Shrikanthv, L Kensington,Budiman suzukarema, Gsarwa, Autoerrant, MarkClarkeLondon, ChuispastonBot, Jcaraballo, Iketsi, DASHBotAV, Mjbmrbot, Tty29a,Assassin15, Will Beback Auto, ClueBot NG, Caitiiiiiiieee, Subinclt, MelbourneStar, Vloody, IAmBobFromChina, Hazhk, Braincricket,Rezabot, Shosetsuka, Sc00d629cc.jpg, Inbal 125, Widr, Youtube2011, Jorgenev, Xactionjapx, Helpful Pixie Bot, Ismet11, Titodutta,DBigXray, TennTwister, Hiuby, MichealMc, Alifung, Manishuvits, Heinbeger333, Rund Van, Imabi1, Felipedim5, HIDECCHI001, Lop-noj22, Sumisu24, D7eamer, Compfreak7, Akihironihongo, Wicketkeeper.woods, Altcon, Heavenly Dragon, Rocketrick217, Vanischenu,Jaqeli, Thefolmaster, ThatRandomPerson123, BattyBot, Jaynese, Pendrix, M'encarta, Kennytrim, Kingboy5y5y5y, JoshuSasori, Huntng-Wolfx, Jahnwiki, Khazar2, EuroCarGT, Ekren, Linguistik, Dexbot, Doncot, Webclient101, Mogism, Lotjeisback, CaSJer, SFK2, Poka-janje, Zyma, Miunouta, Pufferfluffy, Batman12364, Kevin12xd, Kandr123, Dave Braunschweig, Epicgenius, DarkToonLink, Bombby,Jamesmcmahon0, Leonor Hopscotch, Tomohiro HIRAO, Melonkelon, Lfdder, Saurabh Alwadkar, Serpinium, Gimochu, Languageinven-tion, Ginsuloft, Quenhitran, W. P. Uzer, AZrentHameredes069, JTST4RS, Excelede, WPGA2345, Himanshukun33, JaconaFrere, Alitan-shir, BlissfulOblivion, JerryPanda14, Marchjuly, AlexTeddy888, Jonnycash11, Repad, Monkbot, Buggiehuggie, Lucyloo10, Erickspedian,Yeoldelinguist, Smolgirl96, Cool55boyy, Secretkeeper12, D.G K.Ashinka, Muhammad Reagan, Steve100898, Roylee1, Austindavo andAnonymous: 1538

15.2 Images• File:1798_წ._გიორგი_XII-ის_აზნაურისშვილობის_წყალობის_სიგელი.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/

commons/f/f8/1798_%E1%83%AC._%E1%83%92%E1%83%98%E1%83%9D%E1%83%A0%E1%83%92%E1%83%98_XII-%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1_%E1%83%90%E1%83%96%E1%83%9C%E1%83%90%E1%83%A3%E1%83%A0%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1%E1%83%A8%E1%83%95%E1%83%98%E1%83%9A%E1%83%9D%E1%83%91%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1_%E1%83%AC%E1%83%A7%E1%83%90%E1%83%9A%E1%83%9D%E1%83%91%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1_%E1%83%A1%E1%83%98%E1%83%92%E1%83%94%E1%83%9A%E1%83%98.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: საქართველოს ეროვნული არქივი(archives.gov.ge) Original artist: საქართველოს ეროვნული არქივი (archives.gov.ge)

• File:Altaic_family2.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Altaic_family2.svg License: CC BY 3.0 Con-tributors: Transfered from en.wikipedia Transfer was stated to be made by User:Blast. Original artist: Original uploader was Mais2 aten.wikipedia

• File:Commons-logo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Originalartist: ?

• File:Flag_of_Japan.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Originalartist: ?

• File:Flag_of_Palau.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Flag_of_Palau.svg License: Public domain Con-tributors: ? Original artist: ?

• File:Genji_emaki_01003_001.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Genji_emaki_01003_001.jpg Li-cense: Public domain Contributors: http://www.gotoh-museum.or.jp/collection/index.html Original artist: Imperial Palace Kyoto

• File:Globelang.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Globelang.png License: Public domain Con-tributors: <a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Globe_of_letters.svg' class='image'><img alt='Globe of letters.svg'src='//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Globe_of_letters.svg/128px-Globe_of_letters.svg.png' width='128'height='128' srcset='//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Globe_of_letters.svg/192px-Globe_of_letters.svg.png1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Globe_of_letters.svg/256px-Globe_of_letters.svg.png 2x' data-file-width='128' data-file-height='128' /></a> Original artist: User:Ikiroid

16 15 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

• File:Japanese_dialects-en.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Japanese_dialects-en.png License: CCBY-SA 3.0 Contributors: See Image:Japanese dialects-ja.png for an exhaustive list of sources. Original artist: Original by Enirac Sum,translated by Zakuragi.

• File:Loudspeaker.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Loudspeaker.svg License: Public domain Contrib-utors: ? Original artist: ?

• File:Nihongo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Nihongo.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Ownwork Original artist: Convert to SVG by OsamaK from Image:Nihongo.png. based on w:Image:Nihongo Bunpou b.200x200.png.

• File:Nihongo_ichiran_01-converted.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Nihongo_ichiran_01-converted.svg License: Public domain Contributors: File:Nihongo_ichiran_01.png Original artist: Tokino's file

• File:Nihonshoki_tanaka_version.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Nihonshoki_tanaka_version.jpgLicense: Public domain Contributors: http://www.emuseum.jp/cgi/pkihon.cgi?SyoID=4&ID=w012&SubID=s000 Original artist: Un-known

• File:Parentesi_Quadre.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Parentesi_Quadre.svg License: Public do-main Contributors: Own work Original artist: GJo

• File:Speaker_Icon.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Speaker_Icon.svg License: Public domain Con-tributors: ? Original artist: ?

• File:Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Created by bdesham with Inkscape; based upon Text-x-generic.svgfrom the Tango project. Original artist: Benjamin D. Esham (bdesham)

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