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Language

Japanese

nee-HOHN-goh
Also Known As 日本語 (Nihongo)
Other Language Families of Asia

Japanese is the primary language of Japan and the sole well-established member of the Japonic family alongside the Ryukyuan languages. It is written with a mixture of three scripts used together in ordinary text: kanji, Chinese-derived logographic characters, and two native syllabaries, hiragana and katakana, developed in the ninth century from cursive and abbreviated forms of kanji respectively.

Facts
ISO 639-3 Code
ja 3
Speaker Count
123,000,000 3
Status
Living 3
Attested From (Year)
from 700 2
Early 8th century; the Kojiki, the earliest substantial Old Japanese text, dates to this period.
Region
Japan, the only country where it is the national language; Japanese diaspora communities including Brazil, Hawaii, and the United States 2
Classification
Language Kind
Safe 1
Official Status
National Language (Symbolic, Not Sole Official) 2
Connections

Ancestor Of

Kansai Dialect, Dialects and Varieties
Source Wikipedia: Kansai Dialect
Kyushu Dialect, Dialects and Varieties
Source Wikipedia: Kyushu Dialect
Tohoku Dialect, Dialects and Varieties
Source Wikipedia: Tohoku Dialect

In Family

Japonic, Language Families
Source The Cambridge Encyclopedia of LanguageDavid Crystal (editor)

Written In

Han Script, Scripts

Japanese is written with kanji (Han-derived characters) alongside two native syllabaries, hiragana and katakana, neither of which is yet modeled as its own script entity in this atlas.

Source Omniglot: The Online Encyclopedia of Writing Systems and Languages
Hiragana, Scripts
Source Omniglot: The Online Encyclopedia of Writing Systems and Languages
Katakana, Scripts
Source Omniglot: The Online Encyclopedia of Writing Systems and Languages
In the Other Atlases

Cases Where Used

Japan

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Ryukyu Islands

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

The Nikujiku Saitai Decree of 1872

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Anglo-Japanese Alliance

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Anti-Comintern Pact

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Source Anti-Comintern Pact - WikipediaArticle text
Quote, Article text
The full text was considered in its original form in both the German and Japanese versions, and the date was specified in both countries' versions as 25 November 1936 as well as 25 November in the 11th year of the Shōwa period.
Convention of Kanagawa

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Treaty of Shimoda

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Treaty of Shimonoseki

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Samurai

Also in Society and Culture Atlas: used in this subject.

Original Language Of

A City of Sadness

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Akira

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Bâan: The Boundary of Adulthood

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Barefoot Gen

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Bushido, Samurai Saga

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Castle in the Sky

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Departures (2008 film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Drive My Car (2021 film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Gate of Hell

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Ghost in the Shell

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Godzilla 1985

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Grave of the Fireflies

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Hana-bi

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

High and Low

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Howl's Moving Castle

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Ikiru

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

In the Realm of the Senses

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Isle of Dogs

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Kagemusha

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Kiki's Delivery Service

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Late Spring

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

My Neighbor Totoro

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Paprika (2006 film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Perfect Blue

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Princess Mononoke

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Ran

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Ran (film) (Wikipedia)Infobox: language
Quote, Infobox: language
Japanese
Rashomon

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Sansho the Bailiff

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Second Life

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Senna (film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Seven Samurai

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Shoplifters (2018 film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Silent Hill (1999 video game)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Spirited Away

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Tetris

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

The Ballad of Narayama (1983 film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

The Boy and the Heron

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

The Cove

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

The Hidden Fortress

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

The Last Emperor

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

The Wind Rises

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

The Yellow Kid

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Throne of Blood

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Tokyo Story

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Ugetsu

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Ultraman

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Wolf Children

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Showing 1 to 50 of 94 in Original Language Of, page 1 of 2.

Found In

Asia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

North America

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

South America

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Glottolog: Japanese (Glottolog languoid nucl1643)
GlottologEndangerment, AES status
Quote, Endangerment, AES status
AES status: not endangered
View the Source
2. Wikipedia: Japanese Language
Wikipedia
  • infobox
    Native to Japan
  • Earliest text, Kojiki dating
    The earliest text, the Kojiki, dates to the early eighth century
  • Official status, Japanese entity page
    It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese diaspora worldwide.
View the Source
3. Ethnologue: Languages of the World
SIL International, 2024View the Source
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
David Crystal (editor), Cambridge University Press, 2010
Omniglot: The Online Encyclopedia of Writing Systems and Languages
  • Written In: Han Script
  • Written In: Hiragana
  • Written In: Katakana
View the Source
Wikipedia: Kansai Dialect
Wikimedia FoundationAncestor Of: Kansai Dialect, Background section
Quote, Ancestor Of: Kansai Dialect, Background section
The Kansai dialect is typified by the speech of Osaka, the major city of Kansai, referred to as Osaka-ben.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Tohoku Dialect
Wikimedia FoundationAncestor Of: Tohoku Dialect, Lead sentence
Quote, Ancestor Of: Tohoku Dialect, Lead sentence
hōgen), commonly called Tōhoku-ben (東北弁), is a group of the Japanese dialects spoken in the Tōhoku regi
View the Source
Wikipedia: Kyushu Dialect
Wikimedia FoundationAncestor Of: Kyushu Dialect, Lead
Quote, Ancestor Of: Kyushu Dialect, Lead
of the Japanese language fall into two primary clades
View the Source
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