In Hokkaidō, there is the Ainu language, which is spoken by the Ainu people, who are the indigenous people of the island. The Ainu languages, of which Hokkaidō Ainu is the only extant variety, are isolated and do not fall under any language family. Ever since the Meiji period, Japanese has become widely used among the Ainu people and consequently Ainu languages have been classified critically endangered by UNESCO.[2]
In addition, languages such as Orok, Evenki and Nivkh spoken in formerly Japanese controlled southern Sakhalin are becoming more and more endangered. After the Soviet Union took control of the region, speakers of these languages and their descendants migrated to mainland Japan and still exist in small numbers.
Not until shortly after the turn of the second century did indications of language appear in Chinese texts. Chinese characters were adopted and records of spoken language were made in Japan. Hiragana and Katakana characters were incorporated as a relatively accurate way to represent the sounds of Chinese characters.
Ryūkyūan languagesedit
Chinese characters were first introduced to Ryūkyūan languages shortly into the 13th-century. Details concerning the language before then are not well known. 14th-century records indicate that gifts from Ryūkyū Islands to China used Hiragana, which indicates that these languages were tied to Mainland Japanese at the time.
Since the Middle Ages, owing to visits from Europeans, Japanese has adopted a number of foreign words.
Post-1543 Portuguese was the initial contact language with Europeans, but this was later replaced by Dutch after the Japanese removed Portuguese people from the country.[3] The Japanese government conducted negotiations with Western authorities in Dutch until around 1870.[4] Since then English became the primary language of interaction with Western countries.
In addition to these two indigenous language families, there is Japanese Sign Language, as well as significant minorities of ethnic Koreans and Chinese, who make up respectively about 0.5% and 0.4% of the country's population and many of whom continue to speak their ethnic language in private (see Zainichi Korean). There is also a notable history of use of Kanbun (Classical Chinese) as a language of literature and diplomacy in Japan, similar to the status of the Latin language in medieval Europe, which has left an indelible mark on the vocabulary of the Japanese language. Kanbun is a mandatory subject in the curricula of most Japanese secondary schools.
^Vos, Fritz (2014). "Dutch Influences on the Japanese Language: With an Appendix on Dutch Words in Korean". East Asian History. 39. (PDF) - Originally in Lingua 12 (1963): pp. 341–88.
Further readingedit
About the role of Dutch in Japan
Groot, Henk de (2016-10-03). "Dutch as the language of science and technology in Japan: the Bangosen lexical works". Histoire Épistémologie Langage. 38 (1): 63–82. doi:10.1051/hel/2016380104. (PDF) - Abstract available in French
Joby, Christopher (2016). "Recording the History of Dutch in Japan". Dutch Crossing. 40 (3): 219–238. doi:10.1080/03096564.2016.1139779. S2CID 147488289. - Posted online on 24 February 2016
Joby, Christopher Richard (2018). "Dutch in Seventeenth-Century Japan: A Social History". Dutch Crossing. 42 (2): 175–196. doi:10.1080/03096564.2017.1279449. S2CID 151974109. - Posted online on 26 February 2017
Joby, Christopher Richard (2017). "Dutch in Eighteenth-Century Japan". Dutch Crossing. 47 (3): 1–29. doi:10.1080/03096564.2017.1383643. - Posted online on 7 October 2017
January 01, 1970
languages, japan, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, september. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Languages of Japan news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message The most widely spoken language in Japan is Japanese which is separated into several dialects with Tokyo dialect considered Standard Japanese Languages of JapanOfficialNone 1 NationalStandard JapaneseMainStandard JapaneseIndigenousAinuRegionalJapanese dialects Amami Ōshima Kunigami Miyako Okinawan Yaeyama YonaguniMinorityBonin English Matagi Nivkh Orok Sanka Zainichi KoreanImmigrantChinese Korean Mongolian Portuguese SpanishForeignArabic Bengali Burmese Chinese Dutch English Filipino French German Hindi Indonesian Italian Khmer Korean Kurdish Lao Malay Nepali Persian Portuguese Russian Spanish Tamil Thai Turkish VietnameseSignedJapanese Sign LanguageAmami Oshima Sign LanguageMiyakubo Sign LanguageKeyboard layoutJISIn addition to the Japanese language Ryukyuan languages are spoken in Okinawa and parts of Kagoshima in the Ryukyu Islands Along with Japanese these languages are part of the Japonic language family but they are separate languages citation needed and are not mutually intelligible with Japanese or with each other All of the spoken Ryukyuan languages are classified by UNESCO as endangered In Hokkaidō there is the Ainu language which is spoken by the Ainu people who are the indigenous people of the island The Ainu languages of which Hokkaidō Ainu is the only extant variety are isolated and do not fall under any language family Ever since the Meiji period Japanese has become widely used among the Ainu people and consequently Ainu languages have been classified critically endangered by UNESCO 2 In addition languages such as Orok Evenki and Nivkh spoken in formerly Japanese controlled southern Sakhalin are becoming more and more endangered After the Soviet Union took control of the region speakers of these languages and their descendants migrated to mainland Japan and still exist in small numbers Contents 1 History 1 1 Ryukyuan languages 1 2 Ainu languages 1 3 Orok language 1 4 Nivkh language 1 5 European languages 2 Language classifications 3 See also 4 References 5 Further readingHistory editNot until shortly after the turn of the second century did indications of language appear in Chinese texts Chinese characters were adopted and records of spoken language were made in Japan Hiragana and Katakana characters were incorporated as a relatively accurate way to represent the sounds of Chinese characters Ryukyuan languages edit Chinese characters were first introduced to Ryukyuan languages shortly into the 13th century Details concerning the language before then are not well known 14th century records indicate that gifts from Ryukyu Islands to China used Hiragana which indicates that these languages were tied to Mainland Japanese at the time Ainu languages edit History records that people in Hokkaidō Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands spoke Ainu languages citation needed but there are also places in and around Tōhoku whose names derive from Ainu languages According to 16th century records Ainu languages had no written form citation needed Only from the 19th century did the Ainu languages begin to use Katakana citation needed Orok language edit Records show that the Orok language was spoken during the latter part of the Edo period in Hokkaidō dubious discuss Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands dubious discuss however there are only a few speakers still in existence citation needed Nivkh language edit Like Orok the Nivkh language was spoken in Sakhalin and later in Hokkaidō citation needed and the Kuril Islands dubious discuss It is unknown whether speakers of Nivkh still remain in Japan citation needed European languages edit Since the Middle Ages owing to visits from Europeans Japanese has adopted a number of foreign words Post 1543 Portuguese was the initial contact language with Europeans but this was later replaced by Dutch after the Japanese removed Portuguese people from the country 3 The Japanese government conducted negotiations with Western authorities in Dutch until around 1870 4 Since then English became the primary language of interaction with Western countries Language classifications editThe oral languages spoken by the native peoples of the insular country of Japan at present and during recorded history belong to either of two primary phyla of human language Japonic languages Japanese language See also Japanese dialects Hachijō Japanese Eastern Japanese Western Japanese Kyushu Japanese Ryukyuan languages Northern Ryukyuan languages Amami Kunigami Okinawa Southern Ryukyuan languages Miyako Yaeyama Yonaguni Ainu languages Hokkaidō Ainu language Sakhalin Ainu language extinct Kuril Ainu language extinct In addition to these two indigenous language families there is Japanese Sign Language as well as significant minorities of ethnic Koreans and Chinese who make up respectively about 0 5 and 0 4 of the country s population and many of whom continue to speak their ethnic language in private see Zainichi Korean There is also a notable history of use of Kanbun Classical Chinese as a language of literature and diplomacy in Japan similar to the status of the Latin language in medieval Europe which has left an indelible mark on the vocabulary of the Japanese language Kanbun is a mandatory subject in the curricula of most Japanese secondary schools See also editDemographics of Japan Japanese people Yamato people Ryukyuan people Ainu people Koreans in Japan Chinese in Japan Brazilians in Japan Classical Chinese as a literary language of Japan East Asian languages Deafness in JapanReferences edit 参議院法制局 Ertl John ed 2008 Multiculturalism in the new Japan crossing the boundaries within New York Berghahn Books p 57 ISBN 9780857450258 Dutch Japanese relations Netherlands and You Government of the Netherlands 28 April 2017 Retrieved 2019 12 11 Vos Fritz 2014 Dutch Influences on the Japanese Language With an Appendix on Dutch Words in Korean East Asian History 39 PDF Originally in Lingua 12 1963 pp 341 88 Further reading editAbout the role of Dutch in Japan Groot Henk de 2016 10 03 Dutch as the language of science and technology in Japan the Bangosen lexical works Histoire Epistemologie Langage 38 1 63 82 doi 10 1051 hel 2016380104 PDF Abstract available in French Joby Christopher 2016 Recording the History of Dutch in Japan Dutch Crossing 40 3 219 238 doi 10 1080 03096564 2016 1139779 S2CID 147488289 Posted online on 24 February 2016 Joby Christopher Richard 2018 Dutch in Seventeenth Century Japan A Social History Dutch Crossing 42 2 175 196 doi 10 1080 03096564 2017 1279449 S2CID 151974109 Posted online on 26 February 2017 Joby Christopher Richard 2017 Dutch in Eighteenth Century Japan Dutch Crossing 47 3 1 29 doi 10 1080 03096564 2017 1383643 Posted online on 7 October 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Languages of Japan amp oldid 1219043006, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
