The Phonetics of Japanese Language

With Reference to Japanese Script

P Suski

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9780415594134
• eBook ISBN: 9781136901287
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Asian Literary Collections
• Index: Literature

This book gives true characters of Japanese speech sounds in reference to European speech sounds. When it was first published in 1931, it was the first book of its kind. There are only 5 Japanese vowel elements as opposed to 18 in English, 13 in French and 8 in German. There are 15 Japanese consonants, 26 in English, 22 in French & 23 in German. Because of the lesser number of elements, it follows that the wider range in vowels and consonants is heard by Japanese ears, so this volume gives average sounds uttered by Japanese in the twentieth century in relation to the English sounds.

CHAPTER I

HOW JAPAN ACQUIRED THE WRITING

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Whether Japan possessed the art of writing before the introducion of Chinese characters or ideographic script is a matter of conjecture. Letters said to have been found in certain old copies are much like, if not identical, to modern Chosenese alphabet. But the fact that no scripture text had ever been found leads many to doubt the authenticity of such copies.

According to Japanese records, a Korean savant named Wang-in come to Japan during the 16th year of reign of the Emperor Ohjin (285 A.D.) with books of Chinese language and taught the Japanese how to read and write Chinese ideographs. Now this date is believed to be in error by 120 years, which makes it 405 A. D. instead of 285.

At first there seems to have been only a few in the Imperial court that took up learning of Chinese language, but as years go by the study of sounds and meaning of Chinese characters gradually gained ground among the populace. Japanese learners attached to the Chinese characters the meaning in Japanese language, so that each Chinese character has been regarded to have, in addition to the proper Chinese sounds, new Japanese sounds corresponding to the meaning in Japanese.

To illustrate: If England would introduce into the country a Greek word grapho and read it in various ways as grapho, to write, writing, to inscribe, script, inscription, etc., she would be doing exactly what Japan has been and is now doing to the Chinese ideographic script.

The Chinese characters or ideographic writing which were brought to Japan were from the work during the Han dynasty in China. Hence Japanese called them “Kanji” (literally Han characters). They were also known as “Honji” (literally real characters) in contrast to Kana (literally Provisional name).

Some Kanji has two or three different sounds as it had been pronounced in one way during one Chinese dynasty and in another way during another. Most Kanji again were used in two or more different senses in China. Japanese had to learn all these, translated into Japanese. Quite a number of characters, as a result, had to have two or three Chinese sounds and a dozen or more Japanese ways of reading.

The Chinese sounds are known as “on” or “in” (literally: sound) and the Japanese sounds are known “kun”, “wakun” or “yomi” (meaning or reading). Among the former are “kan-on” (sounds of Han dynasty) which are by far the most prevalent, “go-on” (sounds of Wu dynasty), and later on “Toh-on” (sounds of T‘ang dynasty), “soh-on” (sounds of Sung dynasty), “min-on” (sounds of Ming dynasty) and “shin-on” (sounds of Ts‘ing dynasty). The latter four are acquired by Japanese in later period during the intercourse with China, and are limited to only a few characters.

The present day Chinese sounds of characters are widely different from what the Japanese are attaching to the same characters. Moreover, the Chinese sounds vary according to localities in China. The reason why such discrepancies occur are not difficult to understand when we learn that China has undergone a great many changes in dynasties often revolutionary, since Han period when Japanese had been first taught their sounds.

The Han dynasties lasted from 206 B. C. to 220 A.D., then came three kingdoms when Minor Han, Wei and Wu divided the country till 280 A. D., Western Tsin 265–316 A. D., Eastern Tsin 317–420 A. D., the division of the north and south dynasties, each division having four or five courts 386–589 A. D., the reunification of the empire by Sui dynasty 589–618 A. D., T‘ang dynasty 618–907 A. D. Five short dynasties 907–959 A. D., Sung dynasties including north and south 960–1279 A. D., Yüan or Mongol dynasty 1280–1368 A. D., Ming dynasty 1368–1644 A.D., and Ts‘ing dynasty 1644–1911 A. D. followed in succession.

As a result of such frequent changes in dominating powers, the vast Chinese dominion contains people of widely various origins, different in customs, idioms and sounds of characters. For example, a character meaning man is pronounced in China today as jan, lan, niang, in, jin or yan by the people of Peking, Hankow, Shanghai, Fuhchau, Amoy or Canton respectively.

The sounds of Chinese characters as taught in Japan at the present time and those learned by Japanese 1500 years ago from the continental teachers are supposed to be the same, although we have reasons to suspect that the original Chinese sounds of Han period are largely lost and are substituted by highly Japanized sounds, which would be entirely unintelligible to the Chinese ears, should the people of Han period be given opportunities to hear them.

When a language of one people is learned by another in a large scale, the latter is apt to modify and adapt it to suit his tongue. This fact is exemplified by Japanized English produced through the toil of Japanese students under Japanese teachers during the last half a century.

Shing or tones of Chinese characters never seem to have been acquired by Japanese, although Japanese poets and a few scholars study a great deal about them.

So the characters or ideographs of the original Chinese language, clad with Japan-modified sounds, some with Japan-created sounds, Japan-invented meanings together with a number of Japan-made characters, became now to be known as Japanese characters, the name of “Kanji” (or Han characters) alone remaining to tell the tale.

CHAPTER II

THE SOUNDS OF KANJI

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The method of giving pronunciation to a character in Chinese dictionaries, notably the “K’anghi Tsz’tien”, the product during the reign of the Emperor Shêng Tsu Jên...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter I How Japan Acquired the Writing
• Chapter II Sounds of Kanji
• Chapter III Japanese Sounds of Kanji
• Chapter IV Japan-made Characters & Japan-created Sounds
• Chapter V Calligraphy
• Chapter VI Japanese Compositions
• Chapter VII Japanese Compounds
• Chapter VIII Phonetic Use of Kanji
• Chapter IX Kana
• Chapter X ounds of Japanese Speech
• Chapter XI Japanese Consonants
• Chapter XII Romaji
• Chapter XIII Accents and tresses
• Chapter XIV Japanese Orthography
• Chapter XV Early Japanese Sounds
• Errata
• Glossary