![]() ![]() A standardized written language has been a feature of compulsory education, which started in 1886. Linguistic unification has been achieved by the spread of the kyōtsū-go “common language,” which is based on the Tokyo dialect. The latter are then divided into either three groups-Eastern, Western, and Kyushu dialects-or simply Eastern and Western dialects, the latter including the Kyushu group. Japanese dialectologists agree that a major dialect boundary separates Okinawan dialects of the Ryukyu Islands from the rest of the mainland dialects. Likewise, northern dialect speakers from such places as Aomori and Akita are not understood by most people in metropolitan Tokyo or anywhere in western Japan. Different dialects are often mutually unintelligible the speakers of the Kagoshima dialect of Kyushu are not understood by the majority of the people of the main island of Honshu. ![]() The country’s geography, characterized by high mountain peaks and deep valleys as well as by small isolated islands, has fostered the development of various dialects throughout the archipelago. The Altaic theory, however, is not widely accepted. Thus, that theory maintains, Japanese must be said to be genetically related to Korean (and perhaps ultimately to Altaic languages), though it contains Austronesian lexical residues. Because the migration from Korea did not take place on a large scale, the new language did not eradicate certain older lexical items, though it was able to change the grammatical structure of the existing language. As the Yayoi culture was introduced to Japan from the Asian continent about 300 bce, a language of southern Korea began to spread eastward from the southern island of Kyushu along with that culture, which also introduced to Japan iron and bronze implements and the cultivation of rice. According to one version of that hypothesis, a language of southern origin with a phonological system like those of Austronesian languages was spoken in Japan during the prehistoric Jōmon era ( c. Beginning in the second half of the 20th century, efforts were focused more on the origins of the Japanese language than on its genetic affiliation per se specifically, linguists attempted to reconcile some conflicting linguistic traits.Īn increasingly popular theory along that line posits that the mixed nature of Japanese results from its Austronesian lexical substratum and the Altaic grammatical superstratum. Some attempt to relate Japanese to the language groups of South Asia such as the Austronesian, the Austroasiatic, and the Tibeto-Burman family of the Sino-Tibetan languages. The hypothesis relating Japanese to Korean remains the strongest, but other hypotheses also have been advanced. Japanese is the only major language whose genetic affiliation is not known. General considerations Hypotheses of genetic affiliation Since the mid-20th century, no nation other than Japan has used Japanese as a first or a second language. It is primarily spoken throughout the Japanese archipelago there are also some 1.5 million Japanese immigrants and their descendants living abroad, mainly in North and South America, who have varying degrees of proficiency in Japanese. Japanese language, Click Here to see full-size table a language isolate (i.e., a language unrelated to any other language) and one of the world’s major languages, with more than 127 million speakers in the early 21st century. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!. ![]() Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! ![]() Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions. ![]()
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