Gendai Kanazukai
Encyclopedia
The is the present official kanazukai
(system of spelling the Japanese syllabary
). Also known as shin-kanazukai (新仮名遣い, "new kanazukai"), it is derived from the historical kana usage
.
, there had been dissatisfaction regarding the growing discrepancy between the spelling
and speech
. It was on November 16, 1946, immediately following World War II
that the modern orthography was instituted by the cabinet as part of a general orthographic reform. It was later amended in 1986.
The pronunciations of medial h-row kana does not extend to compound words; thus, にほん was pronounced nihon, not nion. Note that there are a small number of counterexamples, e.g., あひる "duck", pronounced ahiru rather than airu, or ふぢはら, pronounced Fujiwara
, despite being a compound of Fuji (Wisteria
) + hara (field). The h-row was historically pronounced as fa, fi, fu, fe, fo (and even further back, pa, pi, pu, pe, po). Japanese f (ɸ) is close to a voiceless w, and so was easily changed to w in the middle of a word. This is also why even today fu is used rather than hu.
The vowel + (f)u compounds do not apply in compound words, for example, the name てらうち was Terauchi not Terouchi, as it is Tera (temple) + uchi (inside, home). The -fu of the modern -u series of verbs (that is, those verbs using the actual kana う such as kau or omou) were not affected by the sound changes on the surface, however, some reports of Edo era Japanese indicate that verbs like tamau and harau were pronounced as tamō and harō instead. In contrast, the -ō in darō and ikō is a product of the sound change from au to ō.
Furthermore, the topic particle wa (は), the direction particle e (へ) and the direct object particle o (を) were exempted from spelling reform. In contemporary Japanese, the を-character remains only in this usage.
Regarding じぢずづ – these four morae are distinguished or merged to varying degrees in different Japanese dialects
, with some dialects (Tohoku) merging all 4 into 1, while other dialects (Tosa dialect
, Kagoshima dialect) distinguishing all 4. The standard spelling reflects standard Japanese, which merges these into 2 sounds. See yotsugana
for discussion.
Kanazukai
are the orthographic rules for spelling Japanese in kana. All phonographic systems attempt to account accurately the pronunciation in their spellings. However, pronunciation and accents change over time and phonemic distinctions are often lost...
(system of spelling the Japanese syllabary
Kana
Kana are the syllabic Japanese scripts, as opposed to the logographic Chinese characters known in Japan as kanji and the Roman alphabet known as rōmaji...
). Also known as shin-kanazukai (新仮名遣い, "new kanazukai"), it is derived from the historical kana usage
Historical kana usage
The , or , refers to the in general use until orthographic reforms after World War II; the current orthography was adopted by Cabinet order in 1946. By that point the historical orthography was no longer in accord with Japanese pronunciation...
.
History
As long ago as the Meiji RestorationMeiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
, there had been dissatisfaction regarding the growing discrepancy between the spelling
Written language
A written language is the representation of a language by means of a writing system. Written language is an invention in that it must be taught to children, who will instinctively learn or create spoken or gestural languages....
and speech
Spoken language
Spoken language is a form of human communication in which words derived from a large vocabulary together with a diverse variety of names are uttered through or with the mouth. All words are made up from a limited set of vowels and consonants. The spoken words they make are stringed into...
. It was on November 16, 1946, immediately following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
that the modern orthography was instituted by the cabinet as part of a general orthographic reform. It was later amended in 1986.
General differences
There were no small kana like in the pre-reformed system; thus, for example, きよ would be ambiguous between kiyo and kyo while かつた could be either katsuta or katta.The pronunciations of medial h-row kana does not extend to compound words; thus, にほん was pronounced nihon, not nion. Note that there are a small number of counterexamples, e.g., あひる "duck", pronounced ahiru rather than airu, or ふぢはら, pronounced Fujiwara
Fujiwara
, literally "wisteria field", is a Japanese surname.The name can refer to:-People:* The Fujiwara clan and its members** Fujiwara no Kamatari* Northern Fujiwara clan** Fujiwara no Kiyohira...
, despite being a compound of Fuji (Wisteria
Wisteria
Wisteria is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, that includes ten species of woody climbing vines native to the eastern United States and to China, Korea, and Japan. Aquarists refer to the species Hygrophila difformis, in the family Acanthaceae, as Water Wisteria...
) + hara (field). The h-row was historically pronounced as fa, fi, fu, fe, fo (and even further back, pa, pi, pu, pe, po). Japanese f (ɸ) is close to a voiceless w, and so was easily changed to w in the middle of a word. This is also why even today fu is used rather than hu.
The vowel + (f)u compounds do not apply in compound words, for example, the name てらうち was Terauchi not Terouchi, as it is Tera (temple) + uchi (inside, home). The -fu of the modern -u series of verbs (that is, those verbs using the actual kana う such as kau or omou) were not affected by the sound changes on the surface, however, some reports of Edo era Japanese indicate that verbs like tamau and harau were pronounced as tamō and harō instead. In contrast, the -ō in darō and ikō is a product of the sound change from au to ō.
Furthermore, the topic particle wa (は), the direction particle e (へ) and the direct object particle o (を) were exempted from spelling reform. In contemporary Japanese, the を-character remains only in this usage.
Examples
Here, for example, あ (a) includes all kana using the /a/ vowel, such as か (ka) or た (ta).| archaic | modern |
|---|---|
| あ＋う (a + u) あ＋ふ (a + fu) |
おう (ō) |
| い＋う (i + u) い＋ふ (i + fu) |
ゆう (yū) |
| う＋ふ (u + fu) | うう (ū) |
| え＋う (e + u) え＋ふ (e + fu) |
よう (yō) |
| お＋ふ (o + fu) | おう (ō) |
| お＋ほ (o + ho) お＋を (o + wo) |
おお (ō) |
| く＋わ (ku + wa) | か (ka) Originally kwa |
| ぐ＋わ (gu + wa) | が (ga) Originally gwa |
| medial or final は (ha) | わ (wa) |
| medial or final ひ (hi), へ (he), ほ (ho) | い (i), え (e), お (o) (via wi, we, wo, see below) |
| any ゐ (wi), ゑ (we), を (wo) | い (i), え (e), お (o) |
| ぢ (voiced chi), づ (voiced tsu) | じ (voiced shi), ず (voiced su) – see yotsugana Yotsugana refers to the four kanaジ, ヂ, ズ, ヅ of the Japanese language. Traditionally four distinct phonemes, currently they are either one, two, three, or four distinct phonemes depending on dialect... |
Regarding じぢずづ – these four morae are distinguished or merged to varying degrees in different Japanese dialects
Japanese dialects
The comprise many regional variants. The lingua franca of Japan is called hyōjungo or kyōtsūgo , and while it was based initially on the Tokyo dialect, the language of Japan's capital has since gone in its own direction to become one of Japan's many dialects...
, with some dialects (Tohoku) merging all 4 into 1, while other dialects (Tosa dialect
Tosa dialect
The is spoken in the central and eastern regions of modern day Kōchi Prefecture in Japan. This area was once known as the Tosa area and the name of the dialect still reflects this older name. The dialect itself developed from the linguistic influence of immigrants to the Tosa area from other parts...
, Kagoshima dialect) distinguishing all 4. The standard spelling reflects standard Japanese, which merges these into 2 sounds. See yotsugana
Yotsugana
refers to the four kanaジ, ヂ, ズ, ヅ of the Japanese language. Traditionally four distinct phonemes, currently they are either one, two, three, or four distinct phonemes depending on dialect...
for discussion.