Page 11 - Japanese Character Writing for Dummies

IN THIS CHAPTER
» Getting to know the history of the
three writing scripts, kanji,
hiragana, and katakana

» Checking out the basic sounds of
Japanese

» Knowing when to use kanji

Chapter 1

Wrapping Your Head

around Japanese Writing

and Pronunciation

his chapter introduces basic information about Japanese sounds and the three writing
scripts: kanji, hiragana, and katakana. It is essential for you to know how the Japanese
Tsound system works to be able to learn how to pronounce kanji correctly. You will find that
kanji plays an important role in the Japanese language. Foundational information in this chapter
will provide context to begin to learn kanji.

Brief History of Three Writing Scripts: Kanji,
Hiragana, and Katakana

Three writing scripts? It may seem very strange to have three different writing scripts in one lan-
guage. Let me give a brief history illustrating why the Japanese language needed the three types
of characters.

Taking a cue from Chinese writing — Kanji

For a long time, the Japanese language did not have a writing system. It was not until the 5th cen-
tury that kanji (Chinese characters), the writing of “Han China” (pronounced “kan” in Japanese),
was introduced into the Japanese archipelago via Korea.

This does not mean, however, that Japanese people did not communicate with one another until
the 5th century. Japanese already existed in its oral form. When Chinese characters, kanji, were
CHAPTER 1 Wrapping Your Head around Japanese Writing and Pronunciation 5