Languages & Dialects of Japan

The expression of Japanese language and culture is actually a concentrated embodiment of the Japanese thinking model and a fundamental reflection of their personality habits. Japanese learners can really learn and use Japanese only if they have a good understanding of Japanese language and Japanese culture. Analyzing the current situation, the most significant expression of Japanese language and culture is its ambiguity, which is determined by the Japanese's restraint of subtle attitudes toward life and behavior. Next, we will analyze in detail which of the following aspects the Japanese language culture's ambiguous characteristics are expressed.

Strong internal and external awareness

The Japanese nation has a strong sense of inside and outside. Therefore, vocabulary such as you and I are rarely used in their language because they believe that such pronouns are somewhat rusty and rigid. In other words, the Japanese language often uses some internal and external language or words of honor to express your points. In some cases, Japanese and Japanese will share the distinction between you and I through the relationship between the recipient and the recipient. However, there is a large gap between this and the Chinese language because we do not have a corresponding expression in Chinese, and of course there is no corresponding vocabulary. This is mainly due to the difference in language expression caused by the huge cultural differences between China and Japan. Of course, there are many rituals in the Japanese language, such as the weather, which are also not found in the Chinese language.

Euphemistic language expressions

One of the most distinctive features of Japanese is that there is often a sense of politeness in language expression. It is mainly due to the Japanese people being influenced by the "harmony" mentality model and the "heart-to-heart" consciousness. Therefore, when Japanese people get along with others, they often hope to maintain a positive interaction with others in their hearts, and establish a harmonious and pleasant atmosphere among people as far as possible so as to maintain a relative Pleasant state of mind. This causes the Japanese to fully consider the feelings of the other party in the language exchange and to use the language expressions that allow the other party to feel good, even if they know that they do not meet the wishes of the other party, but they must still use it. Languages that may not cause dissatisfaction with the other party. In view of this, in Japanese, there are many euphemistic refusals and clever answers that make the other party feel emotionally less exclusive and angry. This is because the Japanese lack a sense or concept of opposition, and they do not like to make a certain choice between yes and no. When they are dealing with people, they often try not to hurt their feelings. Therefore, they do not directly use such stimulating language expressions in favor of or against direct language communication. They will closely observe each other's behavior changes when communicating with others, and express their wishes in a euphemistic way. Sometimes they are words and expressions. This is the ideological and cultural embodiment of Japanese people's consideration for others. When we associate with Japanese people, we must pay attention to their euphemistic features in language and cultural expression so that we can truly understand their true intentions and thus promote the smooth progress of exchanges.

Expression of multiple meanings

First of all, there is a word and two expressions in Japanese. This means that there is the same word in Japanese, but it can have different meanings and even express an opposite meaning. This requires Japanese learners to make correct judgments based on specific contexts. Otherwise, they will cause mistakes and even misunderstandings in language exchanges. We can analyze the true vocabulary meaning of a speaker through his behavior and facial expressions. Although Japanese people want to give each other room for exchange, they actually increase the difficulty of communication. We must thoroughly understand its euphemistically indirect language expressions and accurately grasp its linguistic latitude and truly try to figure out the true intentions of the speaker. Second, there are still some ambiguities in Japanese that need to be grasped. When Japanese people communicate, they often attach importance to emotional communication. Therefore, even if they disagree with each other's opinions, they will express it euphemistically. This requires the other party to be able to accurately understand the speaker's implication. This is one of the expressions that the Japanese are polite and educated, and is a concentrated expression of their position of empathy.

The Main Languages in Japan

• ###### *Ainu*

• Japanese
• Kikako
• North Amami
• Minami Amami
• Tokunoshima
• Okinoerabu
• Theorientation
• Kokugiku
• Chubu Okinawa
• Miyako
• Yaayama
• Yonaguni
• Japanese Sign Language
• Korean

• ###### *Japanese*

Japanese will not have to explain in detail in particular. It can also be considered as Japanese including the words such as the Nansei Islands and Hachijojima as described below, and it is possible to regard only the dialects of the mainland, apart from the words of these islands, as Japanese. Conversely, West Japan and East Japan have considerable dialect differences, so you can think independently of West Japan and East Japan. However, as mentioned earlier, whether it is an independent language or a dialect is a matter of degree.

Ainu language

Ainu is a language spoken by Ainu which is an indigenous tribe of Hokkaido. Probably the number of native speakers is seen as several, and it is in danger of extinction. In the past, it was spoken in a wide range such as Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands, but the Ainu speaker of the Sakhalin-Chishima archipelago has already gone. What is left now is the speaker of Hokkaido. Animal names "reindeer" and "sea otter" are borrowed from Ainu into Japanese. Also, there are not a few names in Hokkaido derived from the Ainu language. For example, Wakkanai (Wakana) comes from the Ainu word "Yum · Wacker · Nai" (cold drinking water swamp). Ainu is one of the languages whose lineage is unknown. There is also the theory that it is the same as Japanese, but few people support this theory.

Languages on the Nansei Islands

According to the classification of Ethnologue earlier , according to the classification of the North, from the North, Amami, South Amami, Tokunoshima, Okinoerabu, Okinagari, Okinawa, Kokubo, Chubu Okinawa, Miyako, Yaeyama, Yonaguni southwest It is a language spoken in the archipelago. The same language is not spoken throughout the Nansei Islands, there are unique languages for each island. In addition, the mainland Japanese and the Nansei islands languages are not completely irrelevant. Languages of the Nansei Islands are languages of the same lineage as Japanese. What is meant by the same lineage is that as you follow the ancestors, you reach a language. From the other hand, it is considered that what was once a language was divided into multiple languages over time. In other words, it was thought that it took a long time to be divided into Japanese, Kiku, Tokunoshima, Yonaguni, etc. though it was once together. From the standpoint of viewing the languages of the Nansei Islands as dialects of Japanese, they are called the Ryukyu dialect. To emphasize that it is an independent language, it is sometimes called Ryukyuan Languages.

Hachijō

Hachijojima is the manned island in the south of the Izu Islands. The indigenous language here is quite different from the mainland Japanese and it is said that it retains the characteristics of the language of eastern countries of the Nara period now. For example, in the article of the Asahi Newspaper (Tokyo head office version, 1 evening) on February 20, 2009, it says that "Hachijo language? World 2500 languages, disappearance crisis Japan is subject to 8 words" in the headline. Compared to the dialects of other regions, the difference with the mainland is intense, so it may have been made separately.

Language of Ogasawara Islands

The Ogasawara Islands have not been Japanese territory since long ago. It was 1876 since I entered the Meiji period that I became the official Japanese territory. Prior to that, in 1830, European and American residents led by Raciniel Sevoray were settled in the Ogasawara Islands. The group of Racheniel Sevroy and others was a group of British Americans and indigenous peoples of Hawaii. Initially at the time of settlement, it can be assumed that languages such as Hawaiian words or the like were probably used in English. After that, immigrants from Hachijojima will also come to the island, and elements of Hachijoh language will also be mixed. By doing this, the languages unique to the Ogasawara archipelago will arise by mixing the languages of various languages.