paper for japanese class (nihongo no kurasu)
The Japanese Writing System
The Japanese writing system is certainly an atypical institution. Made up of four separate writing systems, it can seem quite confusing to a foreigner. However, the Japanese have adapted this ever-evolving system to fit into their everyday lives and, being resourceful as they are, have essentially mixed archaic and modern elements of their culture. This has created a distinct national identity for the Japanese people, of which most are quite proud.
Before the fourth century AD, there was no writing system in Japan, but eventually the Chinese culture shadow stretched across the Sea of Japan. At first, the symbols used were of Chinese origin for the Chinese language itself, as being fluent in Chinese speaking and writing was an indication of a highly intellectual individual in this time period (“Writing”). However, Japanese scholars eventually began to use Chinese symbols to represent Japanese words. This caused problems, as the two languages are extremely dissimilar and many scholars actually called for script simplification even before the influx of Western influence in the mid-nineteenth century. This failed, however, because conservative advocacy of kanji - the characters of Chinese origin - was very high. For a long time, the Japanese use of kanji was unlimited, but in the twentieth century - specifically, the post-WWII period - the government restricted public use of kanji, i.e. in education and media, to the Tooyoo Kanji (TK) list. This list of 1850 characters was replaced in 1981 by the Jooyoo Kanji (JK) list, which has 1,945 characters (Seeley). Individually, a person may use any kanji they like; the JK list is simply used as a guideline for publication. Generally, Japanese usage on kanji in the modern system is usually for nouns, stems and adjectives of verbs, and Japanese names (“Writing”).
The other three systems for writing in Japanese are hiragana and katakana, which are syllabaries, and ro-maji, an alphabet consisting of roman letters. Hiragana and katakana are both derived from Chinese characters, but have different uses. Hiragana, the more “curvy” alphabet, is used for words of Japanese origin, such as grammatical particles, words that are considered easier to read in hiragana than in kanji, and as an indication of how to pronounce Japanese names or confusing kanji. It is also used for inflectional endings on adjectives and verbs (“Writing”). Katakana, however, is more angular in appearance and has a much different use (Seeley). Japanese “borrowed words” or “loan words” - words of European origin - are written in katakana, as well as onomatopoeia, emphasized words (like italics in English), and words to be pronounced in a robot-like manner (“Writing”). Japanese schoolchildren are taught these two syllabaries, as well as the JK list of Kanji (Seeley).
The use of Romanization in Japan - or ro-maji - is a result of many factors. Usually, it is used on street signs for the sake of foreigners, but its uses in Japanese are expanding. It is traditionally used for international units of measurement, initialisms and acronyms (e.g. DVD, TV, etc). However, since all Japanese students are taught English, there has been a considerable rise of ro-maji in advertisements and English in song lyrics (“Writing”).
The mix of all of these systems creates an interesting, though sometimes confusing, system. This writing scheme has greatly contributed to the Japanese nationality, producing a unique aspect of their culture.
The Japanese writing system is certainly an atypical institution. Made up of four separate writing systems, it can seem quite confusing to a foreigner. However, the Japanese have adapted this ever-evolving system to fit into their everyday lives and, being resourceful as they are, have essentially mixed archaic and modern elements of their culture. This has created a distinct national identity for the Japanese people, of which most are quite proud.
Before the fourth century AD, there was no writing system in Japan, but eventually the Chinese culture shadow stretched across the Sea of Japan. At first, the symbols used were of Chinese origin for the Chinese language itself, as being fluent in Chinese speaking and writing was an indication of a highly intellectual individual in this time period (“Writing”). However, Japanese scholars eventually began to use Chinese symbols to represent Japanese words. This caused problems, as the two languages are extremely dissimilar and many scholars actually called for script simplification even before the influx of Western influence in the mid-nineteenth century. This failed, however, because conservative advocacy of kanji - the characters of Chinese origin - was very high. For a long time, the Japanese use of kanji was unlimited, but in the twentieth century - specifically, the post-WWII period - the government restricted public use of kanji, i.e. in education and media, to the Tooyoo Kanji (TK) list. This list of 1850 characters was replaced in 1981 by the Jooyoo Kanji (JK) list, which has 1,945 characters (Seeley). Individually, a person may use any kanji they like; the JK list is simply used as a guideline for publication. Generally, Japanese usage on kanji in the modern system is usually for nouns, stems and adjectives of verbs, and Japanese names (“Writing”).
The other three systems for writing in Japanese are hiragana and katakana, which are syllabaries, and ro-maji, an alphabet consisting of roman letters. Hiragana and katakana are both derived from Chinese characters, but have different uses. Hiragana, the more “curvy” alphabet, is used for words of Japanese origin, such as grammatical particles, words that are considered easier to read in hiragana than in kanji, and as an indication of how to pronounce Japanese names or confusing kanji. It is also used for inflectional endings on adjectives and verbs (“Writing”). Katakana, however, is more angular in appearance and has a much different use (Seeley). Japanese “borrowed words” or “loan words” - words of European origin - are written in katakana, as well as onomatopoeia, emphasized words (like italics in English), and words to be pronounced in a robot-like manner (“Writing”). Japanese schoolchildren are taught these two syllabaries, as well as the JK list of Kanji (Seeley).
The use of Romanization in Japan - or ro-maji - is a result of many factors. Usually, it is used on street signs for the sake of foreigners, but its uses in Japanese are expanding. It is traditionally used for international units of measurement, initialisms and acronyms (e.g. DVD, TV, etc). However, since all Japanese students are taught English, there has been a considerable rise of ro-maji in advertisements and English in song lyrics (“Writing”).
The mix of all of these systems creates an interesting, though sometimes confusing, system. This writing scheme has greatly contributed to the Japanese nationality, producing a unique aspect of their culture.