Japan. Japanese language - origin and distinctive features
Japanese loanwords, Japanese notation and pronunciation in Wikipedia articles are given in a special format, for example:
Tokyo (Japanese: 東京 To:kyo: ? ) ((nihongo|"""Tokyo"""|東京|To:kyo:))“Tokyo” is a Russian word, 「東京」 is a Japanese word, “To:kyo:” is a transcription reflecting the pronunciation of the word in Japanese. Please note that although the transcription is written in Russian letters, it is read differently (see).
Names are usually written like this:
First Name Last Name(Japanese characters Last name First name ? , date of birth or other information) ((nihongo-no-namae|"""Name Last Name"""|hieroglyphs|Last Name First Name|date of birth or other information))If we are talking about a historical figure (born before 1868 - the first year of the Meiji era), then the article itself uses the order Last Name First Name and therefore the transcription is written like this:
Last name First name(Japanese characters ? , date of birth or other information) ((nihongo-no-namae|"""Last name First name"""|hieroglyphs||date of birth or other information))Separately, I would like to remind you that in Wikipedia, the titles of articles about personalities are almost always written according to the “Last Name, First Name” standard.
Japanese writing
Japanese texts are written using kanji characters and two syllabary alphabet - hiragana and katakana. Most kanji were borrowed from China, in most cases with the same meaning. For example, in the recording of the word 日本語 ( nihongo“Japanese language”), literal Chinese meanings and readings of all its constituent hieroglyphs borrowed from old Chinese dialects are preserved: 日本 ( nihon"Japan" = 日 neither"sun" + 本 hon."root") + 語 ( th"language"). Moreover, one Kanji character often has several reading options, both borrowed Chinese and native Japanese. For example, in the word 物語 ( monogatari, “story”) the character 語 is read as gatari, but not th.
Hiragana is intended to convey grammatical indicators that are not included in the root of the word expressed by the hieroglyph. So in 高い ( so"high") い ( And) indicates the type of adjective and can change, for example, when forming an adverb - 高く ( takaku"high"). Katakana is used to write words borrowed from other languages.
Japanese pronunciation
In Russian Wikipedia, it is customary to use the Polivanov system for transmitting Japanese pronunciation Cyrillic alphabet. Below are a few simple rules use of this system.
Vowels
Moranic N
Consonants
Most Japanese consonants correspond to Russian, with some exceptions described below.
Tonic stress
The Japanese language does not have the stress characteristic of Russian; instead, tonication (or tonic stress) is used. Words are pronounced evenly and most syllables are of the same length (with the exception of long vowels), and stress is indicated by changes in tone of voice. In Russian transcription, tonization is not reflected in any way.
Reduction
Vowel reduction (loss) is common in the Japanese language. at And And between voiceless consonants. For example, the word hito(人 "person") is often pronounced almost like [who], the word kutsu(靴, "shoes") is pronounced [ktsu]. Reduction also often occurs at the end of words if the words end with a syllable -su す: desu(です linking verb) is pronounced [des]; verbs in polite form -masuます, for example, Arimasu(あります, from the verb aruある “to be, to exist”) is read as [arimas], yomimas(読みます, from the verb to him読む “to read”) as [yomimas]. Reduction usually does not depend on the speed of pronunciation and is the norm in the Japanese language, however, pronunciation without reduction is found in some regions of Japan; in most cases, a word pronounced without reduction is understandable to native speakers. In songs, as a rule, vowels are pronounced without reduction.
IN foreign words To make it more similar to the original pronunciation, syllables that are not reduced in Japanese words are sometimes reduced. For example, posuto(ポスト “mailbox”, English. post box) can be read as [post]; soup: tonic(スプートニク “satellite”, Russian. satellite) is sometimes read as [satellite]. However, it is worth saying that in most cases, the Japanese read foreign borrowings with regular and inconsistent reduction, and the deeper a word penetrates into the Japanese language, the less often the reduction appears. For example, words me:ru (メール « Email, email (often on mobile phones, analogue of sms)") and aisukuri:mu(アイスクリーム “ice cream”, from English. icecream) are usually read either without reduction ([me:ru]) or only with Japanese reduction ([ai sk uri:mu]).
It is worth saying that Japanese reduction is not just the omission of vowel sounds, but the so-called voiceless vowels, that is, the dropped vowel sound is still pronounced, but without straining the vocal cords. By ear, this differs little from the complete failure to pronounce a vowel, however, if you “read lips,” then the difference in facial expressions when pronouncing a reduced and unreduced vowel, although not noticeable, is still present. This is largely why the reduction is not reflected in any way in the Cyrillic transcription system.
Japanese language support on computer
Windows XP
- To see Japanese:
- To type in Japanese:
Ubuntu Linux
- Displaying Japanese characters is present by default in modern versions of Ubuntu.
- Printing in Japanese:
- To print, you must first install IBus -Anthy, to do this you need to enter the following command in the terminal:
| sudo apt-get install ibus ibus-anthy im-switch |
- After installation, you will be prompted for the input method for the current account. For GNOME IBus is used, for KDE - IBus-KDE. To check the operation of IBus, turn on the English layout, press Ctrl+Space and try typing some Japanese word in any text field, for example, in the address bar of an Internet browser. If the Latin alphabet does not change to Hiragana, end the session and start again. In case this does not help, try typing text in another field, since Some programs do not support the IBus input method.
- It is also possible to select the Japanese layout without using IBus. To do this (in GNOME), left-click on the designation of the current layout at the top of the screen, in the list that appears, select "Keyboard Settings", in the window that opens, select the "Layouts" tab, click on the "Add" button. Select Japanese, then browse the suggested layouts and select the one you want.
Where is Japan?
Japan is an island nation that is located on four large islands. These include: Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu. There are also many smaller islands near these four islands. Japan is separated from the mainland by the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. The Russian island of Sakhalin is located north of Japan, in the northeast are the Kuril Islands (Russian islands). The total area of Japan is 377.8 thousand square kilometers. The population of Japan is 126.7 million people
Who discovered Japan?
Japan has long been a closed country: for many millennia the Japanese did not want to contact other peoples, especially European ones. It was the Europeans who first discovered Japan in the 16th century and told the Japanese about Christianity and scientific achievements. After which the Japanese banned them from visiting the country. The second time Europeans began to “discover” Japan was in the 19th century. At this time she began to support trade and political relations with different European countries. Most often, Europeans became acquainted with Japanese culture during meetings of Japanese and European ships at sea, but this knowledge was very scarce. But the Japanese themselves learned a lot of important and useful things from these meetings. Since the 20th century, Japan has been involved in global community. Now there is no trace left of the former isolation of this country.
Which historical facts known about Japan?
The history of Japan began several centuries BC. At this time, tribes lived in Japan who hunted and collected plants. From the beginning of the 1st millennium to the 17th century there were several changes in Japan. royal dynasties. During this time, Japan fought numerous wars with neighboring countries: China and Korea. In 1603, a ban was introduced on Europeans visiting Japan, which is why the country's culture developed separately from Europe. In the 19th century, Japanese authorities allowed Europeans to sail to Japan. In 1860, Japan began to form an army and navy, and by the end of the century Japanese army was one of the best in the world, which allowed her to win the war with Russian Empire in 1905. In 1930, Japan occupied northeastern China, on whose territory it created the state of Manchukuo. In World War II, Japan captured large amounts of Asian territory. When Japan lost the war in 1945, the captured countries became independent again. After World War II, Japan began to develop rapidly. By the 70s of the 20th century, it took second place in the world after the United States in terms of economic development. In the 90s of the last century, Japan was gripped by an economic crisis. Only at the beginning of the 21st century did this country manage to restore the economy to the level it was before the crisis.
Which city is the capital of Japan?
The capital of Japan is the city of Tokyo. It is located in the southeastern part of the island of Honshu. The entire area around the city is built up as densely as possible. Its total area is 2 thousand 187 square kilometers. Near Tokyo there are several rivers - Arakawa, Edogawa, Sumida and Tamma, which flow into Tokyo Bay. Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama are adjacent to Tokyo. Together they constitute the Tokyo metropolitan area, which is also called the “metropolitan area”. Tokyo is sometimes also combined with another Japanese city, Yokohama. Then you get the world's largest metropolis, Tokyo-Yokohama. 
What attractions are there in Japan?
Japan is a country with an ancient, rich culture and many attractions. Of course, Japan's most famous natural attraction is Mount Fuji, 3 kilometers 776 meters high. The Seto-Ohashi Bridge is another Japanese landmark that connects the two islands of Shikoku and Honshu. There are several thousand sacred gates scattered throughout Japan. The Japanese call them torii. The city of Tokyo also contains a lot of interesting things. Here you can see the Koke Imperial Palace, which was built back in the 15th century. Also in this city there is Toshogu Shrine, Tokyo National Museum, National Science Museum, National Theater Japan - Kabuki and many other attractions. Tokyo has Tokyo Disneyland, built in 1983. Since then, it has been visited daily by a large number of children and adults.
What animals live in Japan?
Due to the fact that Japan is an island, it is surrounded by a large amount of water, in which many different animals live. There are raccoon dogs, sea lions and seals, brown bears, walruses, Japanese macaques and sika deer. Among the birds that live in Japan are the bronze pheasant, the white-backed albatross, the Far Eastern stork and others. rare birds. The Japanese spider crab is known throughout the world. This gigantic creature reaches 3 meters 30 centimeters in length. Japan is also home to Japanese dormouse (a type of rodent), horseshoe crabs, frilled sharks and giant salamanders. Many animal species in Japan are endangered. 
Who are the indigenous people of Japan?
The indigenous people of Japan were the Yamato tribe. People of this tribe began to populate the country in the 2nd century BC. Based tribal union Yamato and the Japanese people gradually began to take shape.
What language is spoken in Japan?
The majority of the Japanese population speaks Japanese. In Japan there are different dialects (the dialects of any settlement, slightly different from the standard language). If representatives of different dialects in Japan get together and each start speaking in their own dialect, then no one will understand anything. The Japanese have 4 major dialects. People from different parts of Japan speak standard Japanese when they meet. literary language, that is, in the language officially approved by the state. The literary language is used for instruction at school. It is spoken by all officials and by television announcers.
What is the highest mountain in Japan?
The highest mountain in Japan is Fuji. It is not only a mountain, but also a sacred place for many Japanese. Fujiyama is very beautiful. For many years she inspired artists and poets to write paintings and poems. The Japanese say that Fuji is the most beautiful mountain in the world. On this mountain there is a Shinto shrine, which is 2 thousand years old. Legend has it that when a volcano began to erupt at the site of Fuji, japanese emperor ordered the construction of a temple so that the gods would stop the volcanic eruption. Another legend names the exact date of the volcanic eruption - 286 BC. But it is implausible, since scientists have proven that Fuji is already 10 thousand years old.
One of the features historical development Japan - long-term isolation that lasted until the mid-19th century. This has had a noticeable effect on the Japanese language: linguists are still not sure where it originates from. The theory of its relationship with the Altai group of languages is more popular; another version leans towards Austronesian languages, represented in particular in South-East Asia and Oceania.
1. Japan is a small country, but very densely populated. Thanks to this, the Japanese language (“Nihongo”), according to data for 2009, is in 9th place in the world in terms of the number of people who consider it native - 125 million. Its immediate neighbors are: in 8th place - with 167 million original media, in 10th place - just over 100 million.
2. The mountainous landscape and island location of Japan in the past made communication between different regions countries. Because of this, more than two dozen dialects arose in the Japanese language. And adverbs southern islands Ryukyu is generally distinguished as a separate Ryukyu language. Dialects are so different from each other that their speakers often would not understand each other - if not compulsory study literary Japanese in all schools in the country.
3. The sound of the Japanese language can be very unusual for the Slavic ear. One of the reasons for this is that in Nihongo there are practically no separate consonant sounds; syllables are used instead. For example, one of the jokes in the style of “You are too keen on Japanese if...” reads: “... if you think for a long time about how many syllables are in the word “tractor”.” In fact, a Japanese who has no special training, will read this word as “torakutoru”. The only “pure” consonant is “n”.
At the same time, the Japanese in many cases “swallow” the vowel sounds “u”, “i”. For example, the word "moon" - 月 ("tsuki") - is usually pronounced "ts'ki".
4. In addition, there is no “l” sound in Japanese. In foreign words it is replaced with “r” - for example, “teresukopu” (telescope). This "r" is one of the most striking features Japanese accent. Which, by the way, is the second world war successfully used by the American Marines in the Pacific: a word like “lollapalooza” could not be pronounced correctly by any enemy spy, which made such words very convenient for use as passwords.
5. However, there are also difficulties in transmitting some Japanese sounds in other languages. For example, the sound of the syllable し is something between “si” and “shi”, じ - between “ji” and “ji”. As a result, linguists different countries use different rules for expressing Japanese words in writing. For example, the word 地震 (earthquake), according to the Polivanov system adopted in Russian, will be written as “jisin”, and according to English system Hepburn - "jishin". The situation is aggravated by the abundance of dialects mentioned above: in different regions the pronunciation can be either very loud (“ji”) or muffled (“ji”).
6. Many are sure that the Japanese, like the Chinese, use hieroglyphs to write. This is only partly true: along with hieroglyphic writing, there are two alphabets in the Japanese language - hiragana and katakana. However, characters (kanji) are still the main way of writing today. They came from China, and many retained their original meaning. Thanks to this, a Japanese and a Chinese, without knowing each other’s languages, are quite able to communicate with each other in writing - not without misunderstandings, of course, but still.
7. In the very big dictionary There are 50 thousand characters in the Japanese language. At the same time, the standard for a Japanese high school graduate is knowledge of about 2 thousand hieroglyphs; and in order to read a book or a daily socio-political newspaper without any difficulties, you need to remember about 2.5 - 3 thousand characters.
8. The syllabaries hiragana and katakana (united under the general term “kana”) play a supporting role. Hiragana is used in particular to write suffixes and Japanese words for which there is no character. It can also be used instead of hieroglyphs by those who do not know the language well - for example, children or foreigners. Katakana is used mainly for borrowed words. For example, the above-mentioned “tractor” came into Japanese from English and is written as トラクター (“torakuta”, from the English pronunciation).
9. By the way, about borrowing. In Japanese they are called “gairaigo”, and there are many such words, mostly from (although this is not limited to). For example, classmates may be called “kurasumeto”, from the English “classmate”, and one of the simplest types of housing is a specific studio apartment- denoted by the word “apato”, from “apartment”. From German language the word “baito” (from Arbeit, “work”) came, meaning part-time work (by the way, as in); There are many borrowings from the Germans in medical vocabulary. The word “tabaco” (tobacco) was given to the Japanese by the Portuguese, and “ikura”... yes, yes, it’s Russian “caviar”.
Many borrowed ones were so modified that it is very difficult to recognize them. For example, the Japanese call a personal computer “pasokon” (distorted “perso-com”), and local truckers drive around in decorated trucks called “dekotora” (from “decorated truck”).
Decorators in natural environment a habitat.
Interestingly, gairaigo is often used in cases where the word has a native analogue: for example, a wife can be called “waifu”, in the same English manner.
10. Characteristic feature The Japanese national character is considered to be restraint. This is also noticeable in the language. For example, the traditional address of a husband and wife to each other is “anata”. This is the same word that means "you/you" when addressing to a stranger; the fact that the address here is personal and means “dear/darling” is clear only from the context. The word “s’ki” can mean both love between a man and a woman, and the feeling from the series “I like kittens.” However, there are several more terms for love: “ai”, “aijo” means burning passion, “koi” is used only if the feeling is mutual, and even the tracing paper from English love - “slave” - is also found in speech.
11. Another feature of Japanese society reflected in the language is strict social hierarchy. In Nihongo, there is a whole range of suffixes added to names depending on who the person is to the speaker; some of these suffixes are related to personal relationships, others to professions.
An example for clarity. A young Japanese man named Yamazaki Ryuji (the first word is a surname, the second is a given name) works as a teacher at a high school:
- Homeowner, bank clerk, etc. they will call him "Yamazaki-san".
- Students and colleagues - "Yamazaki-sensei" (sensei literally means "teacher", and in this case the word is used as a suffix).
- Friends and buddies - "Yamazaki-kun".
- A fellow student at the institute who entered a year later is “Yamazaki-senpai” (“senpai” means “senior”, is also used as a separate word).
- Close friend - by first name or last name, without a suffix.
- Favorite girl - "Ryuji-chan" (or even "Ryu-chan").
And these are just the most simple examples, there are a great many nuances.
12. It’s not easy to speak in Japanese not only about other people, but also about yourself and your loved one. Our “I” in Japanese corresponds to many different words, which also depend on the context of the situation and the personal characteristics of the speaker. The most neutral form - the literary "watashi" - is acceptable for any person, but if you lengthen it to "watakushi" ("watak'shi") - and we get a purely female version, and a very mannered, aristocratic one. Purely masculine forms are “boku” and “ore”, with the first being only slightly familiar, and the second being considered boastful and used to emphasize one’s own “coolness”. There are other, rarer and more specific options.
13. Negation in Japanese is usually placed at the end of a sentence (in this way, by the way, it is similar to German). In fact, the speaker only needs to add the negation “nai” at the end of the tirade - and the whole meaning of what was said changes to the opposite.
14. The Japanese consider 4 to be the unluckiest number. Moreover, in Japan they fear it even more than in the West they fear the number 13. For example, in numbering floors, hospital wards, etc. they try to avoid not only the number 4 itself, but also combinations ending in four - 14, 24, etc. And on the 4th of every month, the number of deaths from cardiovascular diseases increases noticeably (however, there is no mysticism here - people are nervous about the “unlucky” day). A similar superstition appeared due to the peculiarities of the language: the original reading of the Chinese character 四, denoting the number “4”, is very similar to the sound of the word “death”.
However, in fairness it must be said that the fear of the four is characteristic not only of Japan, but also of other countries that use Chinese writing - in particular, China itself, as well as Korea. For example, the photo above was taken in Hong Kong.
15. There is no future tense for verbs in Japanese. At all. There is only the past and the non-past (present). That is, for example, the phrases “I'm going to the store” and “I'll go to the store” will sound the same in Japanese. The specific meaning is inferred from context or specifications (“I’ll go to the store at three o’clock”).
By the way, they like to cite this fact as proof of the conservatism and traditionalism of Japanese society: they say, even in the language they did not provide for the future tense.
P.S. Not exactly a fact, more like a historical anecdote. After the end of World War II, the Americans decided to analyze all the factors of victory over the Japanese in the Pacific. And, among other things, they allegedly discovered that average length words in English language is 5 sounds, and in Japanese - 13. That is, roughly speaking, while the Japanese are still in command, the Americans are already shooting. This may, of course, be fiction. However, today's pilots Japanese fighters English is used in radio communications.
It all started, as usual, with the calling of the Varangians. In the 7th century, there lived on the island of Honshu Prince Umayado, who after his death began to be called Setoku-Taishi. And he was puzzled by the eternal Russian Japanese a question in the spirit of “our land is great and abundant, but there is no order in it.”
And Umayyado sent a delegation overseas to neighboring China, which by that time was celebrating almost the three thousandth anniversary of its civilization. They say, guys, the young nation is growing, we need to help.
And the good Chinese helped. Moreover, in the Eastern way, generously, from the heart and conscience, sending a mighty propaganda team to the islands, which brought with it a calendar, writing, and state laws, and Buddhism, and a bag of all other useful things. Therefore, with all due respect to the cultural and other identity Japanese, one should remember the historical Japanese-Chinese connections. In particular, Sinisms V Japanese language - about 30%. And disputes on the topic: “How to: Japanese or Chinese calendar?" not smart, because we are talking about the same thing.
Japanese language. Hieroglyphs.
Anyway, Japanese learned to read and write from the Chinese. And now for more than a thousand years Japanese and Chinese, initially completely unrelated to each other, use a similar system hieroglyphic writing. So let's start studying Japanese, rejoice. Because at the same time you will teach a little Chinese. And vice versa. Hieroglyphs can be read completely differently. But they will mean the same thing. For example, the signin Japanese can be read as "iri" or "ju" in Chinese- “ru”, but means the concept of “entrance”. So if we see this hieroglyph what's on the door Japan, what in China- Feel free to go inside.
Sign
in Japanese will be - “shutsu”, in Chinese- “chu”, and the meaning is “exit”. Both in the Tokyo subway and in Beijing.
Japanese language. Chicken and egg.
Notice how it’s the other way around with us here and with them there!For us, the spoken word comes first, and then the written word. Therefore, if you write “karova dayot malako” or “preved bear” or “afftar drink yada,” a native Russian speaker will easily guess what we are talking about. In the east, everything is different. What comes first is what is written, but pronunciation can be very different.
However, in the east it is often the other way around. Japanese Even with a plane they plan not for themselves, like us, but for themselves. They don’t sleep in beds, they don’t eat with a spoon and fork, and all that. But at the same time - the smartest people who can do excellent things, my synthesizer alone is worth it!
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Japanese language. Kindergarten.
Let's continue about hieroglyphs. The main thing here is to realize that everyone hieroglyph There is essentially a picture, a concept, a frame from a comic book. Look carefully:Nothing is clear, right? Now imagine that this is depicted by your dear child three years from birth: “Dad, I drew a hundred pasmatli!”
We're guessing. On the left is a fluffy tail like a pipe. Head, ears, mustache. Pot-bellied belly and paws...
- Cat?
- Melting!!!
But, in fact, it’s correct! In Japanese"neko" in Chinese“mao”, but in our opinion just “cat”, “cat”.
Let's continue the game kindergarten. Let's draw a man: 
In Japanese- “hito”. In Chinese- “ren”. Meaning: "person". Guys, I'm telling you: it's simple!
Let's draw a wide open mouth:
In Japanese- “heaps”, in Chinese- “kou”, meaning “mouth”.
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Japanese language. Puzzles.
Of course, from the time when the ancient Chinese began exciting game“come up with an icon”, many thousands of years have passed. And sometimes at first glance not everything is so obvious. For example, like this hieroglyph:symbolizes flowing streams of water, and means “river” ( in Japanese"kava")
If you take a river in your fist (can you imagine that, right?) and “crumple” it, “squeeze” it out, then “mizu”, that is, water, will flow:
Did you need the word “big”? Let's take our little man and draw how he shows that he caught such a big fish while fishing yesterday:
This hieroglyph and will denote the adjective “big”. And if you draw “big” and “man” side by side... 
Yeah. " Big man" That is, “adult”. IN Japan And China these two hieroglyphs can be seen where in Russia there is the formidable “children under 16”.
We continue to play puzzles. Look at these signs: 
They mean “woman” (“onna”) and “child” (“ko”) respectively. What if you draw them together?
The result is a hieroglyph with the meaning “to love, to like.” After all, women love children, right? At least the ancient Chinese (not to mention the Japanese) were convinced of this. They were also convinced that when many women are brought together, nothing good comes out of it (I remember the accounting department at my previous job). Hieroglyph "three women"
means “squabble”, “quarrel”, “noise” and so on. It's funny, isn't it?
Let’s draw a “roof” over the “woman” and “child”... 
If a woman is under the roof, that is, in the house, then everything is good and calm - we got the hieroglyph “peaceful”. And the child living in the house learns letters and gradually acquires his own character. It's funny that this sign simultaneously means both “character” and “letter”, exactly coinciding with the English “character”.
If you draw a child under the roof, and one who is putting something incomprehensible into his head:
then before us is a hieroglyph with the meaning “science, teaching” - “gaku”. Let’s add the hieroglyph “big” and we get “daigaku”, that is, “university”: 
If we add the hieroglyph “small” (the same little man, only not with his arms spread wide, but on the contrary, with his arms pressed to his body), we get “shogaku”, “small science”, that is, “primary school”: 
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Japanese language. Painting in development...
"Tree" ("ki") ancient Chinese-Japanese depicted like this:How can we depict, say, a “grove” (“hiyashi”)? We free our consciousness, think like a five-year-old child, and here is the result:
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Has it come to the dense “mori”, that is, “forest”? Check your guess:
Finally, let's learn two more drawings. The first one means “sun, day” and was once upon a time drawn as a circle with a dot in the center. However, over time, the outlines of the pictogram became angular:
The picture depicting “a tree with branched roots” means the word “root, beginning”, as well as the word “book”, because for Japanese-Chinese it was the book (and not TV, I’m telling you, everything is different with them than with the “light elves” of the West) that symbolized “the beginning of any knowledge”:
Putting these two hieroglyphs side by side, we get the phrase "nichihon" or simply "nihon": “beginning of the Sun”, "land of the rising sun", in short - "Japan":
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Let me emphasize again: Japanese and Chinese- different, and relate to different language families (Chinese- to Sino-Tibetan, and Japanese, presumably - to Altai, although not a fact). But the use of the same written language, in which signs designate whole words and concepts at once, allows us to understand both those and those. For example, Japanese phrase"Kodomova Shogakuni Iku" is completely different from Chinese“hai zi chu shang xiao shue”, and what these phrases mean - the devil can figure it out. However, let’s write them in hieroglyphs, highlighting in red the signs that we already know: 
- Any guesses, dear Watson?
- “Child”... mmm... probably “coming”? "...to elementary school."
- Elementary, my friend!
As you can see, the difference from Western languages- colossal. For we can guess (or even know exactly!) what this or that inscription means, without having absolutely no idea what it sounds like.
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Japanese language. Grammar. Gojuon.
Does all of the above mean that looking at the text there is no way to determine: in Chinese is it written or in Japanese? Not at all. And that's why. Chinese as if “stringing” words one after another, and the words themselves do not change, but their order is critical for the meaning of the sentence. See for yourself (you already know the hieroglyph “cat”, and the rest is a matter of technique):
mao chi nyao
cats eat birds
Nyao chi mao
birds eat cats
As you can see, “by changing the places of the terms, the sum changes to the opposite.” IN Japanese The language has a developed system of cases, which are denoted by service particles (similar to endings in the Russian language), and it is these particles that form the grammatical structure of the sentence:
nekova torio taberu
cats eat birds
torio nekova taberu
cats eat birds
Here, “switching the places of the terms” does not give anything, because in Japanese in a sentence, the particle “va” rigidly marks the subject, and the particle “o” - the direct object. Of course, initially in Chinese special words-hieroglyphs for Japanese no one invented particles (why would they?). Therefore the Japanese this problem I had to decide on my own. Besides, Japanese is very loyal to borrowings from other languages, and to write them use Chinese characters uncomfortable. As a result Japanese created their own syllabary table, gojuon, based on simplified hieroglyphs, which became the source of two alphabets: hiragana and katakana.
By the way, "kana" in Japanese stands for "syllabic alphabet". That is, both “hiragana” and “katakana” are “kana”.
Japanese language. Hiragana and katakana.
Unlike the Cyrillic or Latin alphabet, where one character corresponds (roughly) to one consonant or vowel sound, in Kan one character corresponds to one syllable (consonant + vowel). The hiragana alphabet comes from Chinese italic "caoshu" and is distinguished by somewhat "curly" rounded outlines. Hiragana is written in many native languages. Japanese words, as well as all service grammatical particles without exception.su-mi-ma-se-n, mori-ga-do-ko-de-su-ka
I'm sorry, where is the forest?
Here the word “sumimasen” (sorry) is written only in hiragana, the word “forest” is written in the hieroglyph already known to us, the particle “ga” (indicator of the subject), the word “doko” (where), the verb “desu” (to appear) and the particle “ka” ” (interrogative sentence indicator) are again written in hiragana.
Katakana originated from the cursive cursive used by Buddhist monks. Katakana characters are simpler, they differ in somewhat angular contours. All words borrowed from Western languages (gairaigo), as well as the vast majority of names, are written in katakana. foreign countries, cities, names and so on:
a-re-ku-sa-n-da:-wa mo-su-ku-va ho-te-ru-ni su-mi-ma-su
Alexander lives in the Moscow Hotel
Here the words “Alexander”, “Moscow” and “hotel” (“hoteru”, from the English “hotel”) are written in katakana. The particles "wa" (subject marker), "ni" (local case marker), and the inflected part of the verb "sumimasu" (to live) are written in hiragana. The only hieroglyph in this sentence is the root of the verb “to live”:
By the way, it is easily “decomposed” into the hieroglyphs “man” and “most important” (and what is more important for a person?):
Thanks to the presence of cana, it is possible to distinguish Japanese text from Chinese- a couple of trifles. Chinese text is always written only in hieroglyphs, this is what our phrase about Alexander and the Moscow Hotel will look like:
At the expense of kana Japanese text with the same meaning it looks significantly longer and “airier”:
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Japanese language. The country has a future.
From our vantage point, such a writing system looks horribly complex and devoid of any logic. The Japanese didn't have enough hieroglyphs - so they also came up with the alphabet. And if there is an alphabet, then, by and large, why are hieroglyphs needed? Is it really impossible to write down all the words in kanai and not have to worry about memorizing pictograms? But they are such a people, these mysterious ones Japanese. They say that this is our historical heritage, and it’s not up to you to decide how we should write correctly and how not.After the war, the occupying American authorities, having carried out Japanese a couple of nuclear experiments, they tried to “put the finishing touches” on the islanders by converting their writing to Latin script or at least removing hieroglyphs, leaving only kana. The goal, in principle, was transparent - with the transition to the Latin alphabet, within a couple of generations the percentage of young Japanese, capable of reading classic “pre-reform” works of national literature, would fall to 2-5%. However Japanese“they missed the mark” and abruptly rejected such a wonderful prospect. The only thing that the overseas aliens managed to achieve was to compile a list of 1850 hieroglyphs that are mandatory to memorize, and declare the rest “optional”. And then, with the easing of pressure from the occupiers, Japanese This list is gradually being expanded. For for them hieroglyphs are part national culture. And what more people knows hieroglyphs, the more educated and cultured he is considered. And one line in Japan Only children 5-6 years old write. Or very, very village housewives.
On the other hand, in terms of language, the islanders cannot be called fixated conservatives. Rather, it’s the other way around. Japanese has a very favorable attitude towards foreign borrowings and quickly absorbs them (of course, adapting someone else’s phonetics to his own). 30% of vocabulary has Chinese origin. 10% of words are borrowed from English. The latter are always written in katakana (unlike the original Japanese words And Sinisms), and they are always easy to recognize in the text. If, starting to study Japanese language, you already speak English - you will be very surprised, because a huge number Japanese words you have already known for a long time, for example:
Japan is one of the most developed countries peace. Japan's population is about 125 million. About 2.5 million Japanese citizens live in Brazil, North and South America, London, Paris and New York. That is why Japanese is considered one of the most important languages in the world.
1. Learning Japanese is more difficult than other foreign languages.
The Japanese language can be a little difficult to learn, but if you are planning to visit Japan or even want to get a job at one of the large Japanese companies, then it is definitely worth the effort. In Japanese, the verb always comes at the end of the sentence. This is why it is important to listen carefully to Japanese speech in order to correctly establish the subject of discussion.
Some aspects make spoken Japanese easier than others: no noun gender, no definite article, and only 48 sounds, consisting of 5 vowels and 11 consonants. Written Japanese can be more challenging because there are 4 ways of writing, such as Kanji and Katakana. Some of these methods use Chinese characters.
2. The Japanese love tongue twisters.
The Japanese love tongue twisters. Here is one of them: "Nama mugi, nama gome, nama tamago" . It means: "Raw wheat, raw rice, raw egg" .
3. The Japanese language has its quirks.
The Japanese are famous for their politeness and are often hesitant to express their opinions. There are very few words of endearment in Japanese. This is why the Japanese take twice as long to say something.
4. Japanese is spoken in various countries.
In addition to the Japanese population, Japanese is spoken all over the world: in Brazil, the United States, South America and some Asian countries. Canada and Australia also have significant numbers of Japanese citizens, immigrants, students or temporary workers. In 2001, there were 44 Japanese in Ukraine.
5. The Japanese language has a rich history.
The history of the Japanese language goes back to the 3rd century AD. Japanese is similar to Korean, but grammatically different from Chinese language. Japanese writing developed in the 18th century AD.
6. Some words in Japanese are best avoided.
Many people sometimes say "chin-chin" when raising their glass for a toast. It's better not to say this in a Japanese bar, because Japanese children use this word to describe their manhood.
7. Japanese poetry is one of the most famous uses of the Japanese language.
The most known form Japanese poetry - haiku. It is characterized by a rigid construction: the first line consists of 5 syllables, the second - of 7, the third - again of 5. One of the most famous haiku poems was written by Matsuo Basho:
Furu ike ya
Kavazu Tobikomu
Mizu no oto.
This poem has hundreds of translation versions. Here is the literal translation:
Ancient pond
Frog jumps in
Sound of water
8. There are several Japanese dialects.
There are many different dialects of Japanese depending on factors, the main one being territorial location. The two main dialects are Tokyo-shiki (Tokyo type) and Keihan-shiki (Kyoto type). The third, less common spoken dialect is the Kyushu type. With the development of the Internet and other media, in the process of standardization of education, a standardized dialect of the Japanese language is now in common use.