Historical kana orthography
Template:More citations needed
Template:Use American English Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Japanese writing The Template:Nihongo, or Template:Nihongo, refers to the Template:Nihongo in general use until orthographic reforms after World War II; the current orthography was adopted by Cabinet order in 1946.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> By that point the historical orthography was no longer in accord with Japanese pronunciation. It differs from modern usage (Gendai kana-zukai) in the number of characters and the way those characters are used. There was considerable opposition to the official adoption of the current orthography, on the grounds that the historical orthography conveys meanings better, and some writers continued to use it for many years after.
The historical orthography is found in almost all Japanese dictionaries, such as Kōjien. In the current edition of the Kōjien, if the historical orthography is different from the modern spelling, the old spelling is printed in tiny katakana between the modern kana and kanji transcriptions of the word. Ellipses are used to save space when the historical and modern spellings are identical. Older editions of the Kōjien gave priority to the historical orthography.
The historical orthography should not be confused with hentaigana, alternate kana that were declared obsolete with the orthographic reforms of 1900.
General differences
In historical kana usage:
- Two kana are used that are obsolete today: Template:Lang wi and Template:Lang we. These are today read as i and e. Words that formerly contained those characters are now written using Template:Lang i and Template:Lang e respectively.
- Outside of its use as a particle, the Template:Lang wo kana is used to represent the o sound in some, but not all, words.
- Yōon sounds, such as Template:Lang shō or Template:Lang kyō, are not written with a small kana Template:Lang; depending on the word, they are written with either two or three full-sized kana. If written with two kana and the last one is Template:Lang ya, Template:Lang yu, or Template:Lang yo, then it represents a short syllable of one mora, such as Template:Lang kyo. If written with two or three kana and the last one is Template:Lang u or Template:Lang fu, then it represents a long syllable of two morae. The first kana is not always the same as one used in the modern spelling, as in Template:Lang kyō "today", written Template:Lang kefu. If written with three kana, the middle one will always be Template:Lang ya, Template:Lang yu, or Template:Lang yo, and the last kana will always be Template:Lang u or Template:Lang fu, as in Template:Lang chō, the counter for tools, guns, etc., written Template:Lang chiyau.
- The series of kana ha hi fu he ho are used to represent, in some words, the sounds wa, i, u, e, o, respectively.
- Precedence is given to grammar over pronunciation. For example, the verb warau (to laugh) is written Template:Lang warafu, and in accordance with Japanese grammar rules, waraō, the volitional form of warau, is written Template:Lang warahau.
- The kana Template:Lang du and Template:Lang di, which are mostly only used in rendaku in modern kana usage, are more common. Modern kana usage replaces them with the identically pronounced Template:Lang zu and Template:Lang ji in most cases. For example, ajisai (hortensia) is written Template:Lang adisawi.
Most of the historical kana usage has been found to accurately represent certain aspects of the way words sounded during the Heian period. As the spoken language has continued to develop, some orthography looks odd to the modern eye. As these peculiarities follow fairly regular patterns, they are not difficult to learn. However, some of the historical kana usages are etymologically mistakes. For example,
- Template:Lang aruiwa (or) might be found written incorrectly as Template:Lang *aruhiwa or Template:Lang *aruwiwa
- Template:Lang mochiwiru (use) might be found written incorrectly as Template:Lang *mochihiru
- Template:Lang tsukue (desk, table) might be found written incorrectly as: Template:Lang *tsukuwe
Those familiar with Japanese writing may notice that most of the differences apply to words which are usually written in Kanji anyway, and so would require no changes to switch from one Kana system to another (unless furigana are employed). In particular, yōon sounds occur almost exclusively in the Chinese-derived readings that are usually only seen in Kanji compounds (although not entirely; Template:Lang kyō "today," written Template:Lang kefu in the old system, is a native Japanese word), and therefore do not look any different (without furigana). The relative lack of difference in appearance in practice between the two systems was a major reason the spelling reform succeeded, and also why the three grammatical particles o, e, wa continue to be written as Template:Lang wo, Template:Lang he, and Template:Lang ha instead of Template:Lang o, Template:Lang e, and Template:Lang wa; many felt that changing these exceedingly common spellings would unnecessarily confuse readers. It is also for this reason that many character dictionaries continue to include the historical spellings, since they are relevant there.
Some forms of unusual kana usage are not, in fact, historical kana usage. For example, writing Template:Lang dojō (loach, a sardine-like fish) in the form Template:Lang dozeu is not historical kana usage (which was Template:Lang dodiyau), but a kind of slang writing originating in the Edo period.
Examples
Here are some representative examples showing the historical and modern spellings and the kanji representation.
The table at the bottom gives a more complete list of the changes in spelling patterns.
Current usage
Historical kana usage can be used to look up words in larger dictionaries and dictionaries specializing in old vocabulary, which are in print in Japan. Because of the great discrepancy between the pronunciation and spelling and the widespread adoption of modern kana usage, historical kana usage is almost never seen, except in a few special cases. Companies, shrines and people occasionally use historical kana conventions such as Template:Lang (Ebisu), notably in Yebisu beer, which is written Template:Lang webisu but pronounced ebisu. Also, some long-standing company names retain yōon in full-sized kana, like Template:Lang (Canon) or stamp manufacturer Template:Lang (Shachihata).
The Jinja Shinpō uses historical kana orthography in the name of protecting tradition, the only newspaper in Japan to do so according to the publisher.<ref name=Jinja>Template:Cite web</ref>
In addition, alternate kana letterforms, known as hentaigana Template:Lang, have nearly disappeared. A few uses remain, such as kisoba, often written using obsolete kana on the signs of soba shops.
The use of Template:Lang wo, Template:Lang he, and Template:Lang ha instead of Template:Lang o, Template:Lang e, and Template:Lang wa for the grammatical particles o, e, wa is a remnant of historical kana usage.
Table of differences
The following tables summarize every possible historical spelling for the syllables which were spelled differently under the historical system. When more than one historical spelling is given for a particular modern spelling, the various historical spellings were etymologically (and at one point phonetically) distinct and occurred in different words (i.e. in most cases, they are not merely different ways to spell the same word). The tables are sorted using the gojūon ordering system.
Note that the dakuten (voicing mark) was frequently omitted as well, as in the station sign at right.
| Modern spelling | Historical spellings |
|---|---|
| わ wa | わ wa, は ha |
| い i | い i, ひ hi |
| う u | う u, ふ hu |
| え e | え e, へ he |
| お o | お o, ほ ho |
| Modern spelling | Historical spellings |
|---|---|
| い i | い i, ゐ wi |
| え e | え e, ゑ we |
| お o | お o, を wo |
| Modern spelling | Historical spellings |
|---|---|
| か ka | か ka, くわ kuwa |
| が ga | が ga, ぐわ guwa |
| Modern spelling | Historical spellings |
|---|---|
| じ ji | じ zi, ぢ di |
| ず zu | ず zu, づ du |
| Modern spelling | Historical spelling |
|---|---|
| っ | き ki, く ku, ち ti, つ tu |
| Modern spelling | Historical spelling |
|---|---|
| ん n | む mu |
| Modern spelling | Historical spellings |
|---|---|
| おう ō | あう au, あふ ahu, おう ou, おふ ohu, わう wau, わふ wahu, をう wou, をふ wohu |
| こう kō | かう kau, かふ kahu, くわう kuwau, こう kou, こふ kohu |
| ごう gō | がう gau, がふ gahu, ぐわう guwau, ごう gou, ごふ gohu |
| そう sō | さう sau, さふ sahu, そう sou, そふ sohu |
| ぞう zō | ざう zau, ざふ zahu, ぞう zou, ぞふ zohu |
| とう tō | たう tau, たふ tahu, とう tou, とふ tohu |
| どう dō | だう dau, だふ dahu, どう dou, どふ dohu |
| ほう hō | はう hau, はふ hahu, ほう hou, ほふ hohu |
| ぼう bō | ばう bau, ばふ bahu, ぼう bou, ぼふ bohu |
| ぽう pō | ぱう pau, ぱふ pahu, ぽう pou, ぽふ pohu |
| のう nō | なう nau, なふ nahu, のう nou, のふ nohu |
| もう mō | まう mau, まふ mahu, もう mou, もふ mohu |
| ろう rō | らう rau, らふ rahu, ろう rou, ろふ rohu |
| Modern spelling | Historical spelling(s) |
|---|---|
| きゃ kya | きや kiya |
| ぎゃ gya | ぎや giya |
| しゃ sha | しや siya |
| じゃ ja | じや ziya, ぢや diya |
| ちゃ cha | ちや tiya |
| ぢゃ ja | ぢや diya |
| にゃ nya | にや niya |
| ひゃ hya | ひや hiya |
| びゃ bya | びや biya |
| ぴゃ pya | ぴや piya |
| みゃ mya | みや miya |
| りゃ rya | りや riya |
| Modern spelling | Historical spelling(s) |
|---|---|
| きゅ kyu | きゆ kiyu |
| ぎゅ gyu | ぎゆ giyu |
| しゅ shu | しゆ siyu |
| じゅ ju | じゆ ziyu, ぢゆ diyu |
| ちゅ chu | ちゆ tiyu |
| ぢゅ ju | ぢゆ diyu |
| にゅ nyu | にゆ niyu |
| ひゅ hyu | ひゆ hiyu |
| びゅ byu | びゆ biyu |
| ぴゅ pyu | ぴゆ piyu |
| みゅ myu | みゆ miyu |
| りゅ ryu | りゆ riyu |
| Modern spelling | Historical spelling(s) |
|---|---|
| きょ kyo | きよ kiyo |
| ぎょ gyo | ぎよ giyo |
| しょ sho | しよ siyo |
| じょ jo | じよ ziyo, ぢよ diyo |
| ちょ cho | ちよ tiyo |
| ぢょ jo | ぢよ diyo |
| にょ nyo | によ niyo |
| ひょ hyo | ひよ hiyo |
| びょ byo | びよ biyo |
| ぴょ pyo | ぴよ piyo |
| みょ myo | みよ miyo |
| りょ ryo | りよ riyo |
| Modern spelling | Historical spellings |
|---|---|
| きゅう kyū | きう kiu, きふ kihu, きゆう kiyuu |
| ぎゅう gyū | ぎう giu, ぎふ gihu, ぎゆう giyuu |
| しゅう shū | しう siu, しふ sihu, しゆう siyuu |
| じゅう jū | じう ziu, じふ zihu, じゆう ziyuu ぢう diu, ぢふ dihu, ぢゆう diyuu |
| ちゅう chū | ちう tiu, ちふ tihu, ちゆう tiyuu |
| ぢゅう jū | ぢう diu, ぢふ dihu, ぢゆう diyuu |
| にゅう nyū | にう niu, にふ nihu, にゆう niyuu |
| ひゅう hyū | ひう hiu, ひふ hihu, ひゆう hiyuu |
| びゅう byū | びう biu, びふ bihu, びゆう biyuu |
| ぴゅう pyū | ぴう piu, ぴふ pihu, ぴゆう piyuu |
| みゅう myū | みう miu, みふ mihu, みゆう miyuu |
| ゆう yū | いう iu, いふ ihu, ゆう yuu, ゆふ yuhu |
| りゅう ryū | りう riu, りふ rihu, りゆう riyuu |
| Modern spelling | Historical spellings |
|---|---|
| きょう kyō | けう keu, けふ kehu, きやう kiyau, きよう kiyou |
| ぎょう gyō | げう geu, げふ gehu, ぎやう giyau, ぎよう giyou |
| しょう shō | せう seu, せふ sehu, しやう siyau, しよう siyou |
| じょう jō | ぜう zeu, ぜふ zehu, じやう ziyau, じよう ziyou でう deu, でふ dehu, ぢやう diyau, ぢよう diyou |
| ちょう chō | てう teu, てふ tehu, ちやう tiyau, ちよう tiyou |
| ぢょう jō | でう deu, でふ dehu, ぢやう diyau, ぢよう diyou |
| にょう nyō | ねう neu, ねふ nehu, にやう niyau, によう niyou |
| ひょう hyō | へう heu, へふ hehu, ひやう hiyau, ひよう hiyou |
| びょう byō | べう beu, べふ behu, びやう biyau, びよう biyou |
| ぴょう pyō | ぺう peu, ぺふ pehu, ぴやう piyau, ぴよう piyou |
| みょう myō | めう meu, めふ mehu, みやう miyau, みよう miyou |
| よう yō | えう eu, えふ ehu, やう yau, よう you |
| りょう ryō | れう reu, れふ rehu, りやう riyau, りよう riyou |
Table references
<ref name=sokuon>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Notes
- The spellings in the first table only apply to word-medial kana: word-initial occurrences of Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, and Template:Lang were never written as Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, or Template:Lang, respectively.
- In modern Japanese orthography, Template:Lang (di) is only used in compound words where rendaku causes Template:Lang (chi) to become voiced, as in Template:Lang (Template:Lang hanaji "nosebleed"), and where it immediately follows a Template:Lang, as in Template:Lang (Template:Lang chijimu "shrink"). Its use in rendaku is retained in order to avoid confusion about the origin of the compound. The usage of Template:Lang (du) in modern orthography is the same, used in rendaku and after a Template:Lang (tsu). In historical kana, however, Template:Lang and Template:Lang were sometimes used where Template:Lang and Template:Lang are used in modern kana. This originally represented a different phoneme (and still does in some dialects), but no longer does in Standard Japanese. The historical-kana-only spellings using Template:Lang and Template:Lang are listed under modern spellings starting with Template:Lang and Template:Lang respectively.
- The different spellings for the sokuon depend on what mora (if any) was elided into the following consonant to form the geminate consonant. For example, Template:Lang (gakki "semester") is spelled Template:Lang (gakuki) in historical kana because the on'yomi of 学 used in this compound is Template:Lang (gaku). Geminate consonants in native Japanese words were formed either by the elision of a long vowel, as in Template:Lang (makka-na "bright red"; once Template:Lang, maaka-na), or by some random process, as in Template:Lang (kitto "surely"; once Template:Lang, kito); such words are written with the full-size Template:Lang (tu) in historical kana.<ref name=sokuon/> In general, a Japanese on'yomi can end in either a vowel, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, or Template:Lang, (Template:Lang and Template:Lang corresponding to Middle Chinese final -t, and Template:Lang and Template:Lang corresponding to Middle Chinese final -k), so these are the only four kana (Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang) which can replace the sokuon in historical kana. Historically, on'yomi could also end with pu (for the Middle Chinese final -p), which was written as Template:Lang (pu, later fu) but eventually came to be pronounced u (as part of a diphthong).
- The last table in the first row applies only to the terminal (Template:Lang shūshikei) and attributive (Template:Lang rentaikei) forms of the classical auxiliary verb ～Template:Lang (-mu), which are pronounced Template:Lang (n). While many other native Japanese words (for example, Template:Lang nanji archaic word for "you") with Template:Lang were once pronounced and/or written with Template:Lang (mu), proper historical kana only uses Template:Lang for Template:Lang in the case of the auxiliary verb, which is only used in classical Japanese, and has morphed into the volitional Template:Lang (-u) form in modern Japanese.
- The historical spellings in the second row of tables represent every theoretical representation of their modern counterpart. It is possible, however, that some may not have occurred, or that they were so rare that they applied to only one or two words. It is also possible that some spellings listed in the modern spellings column may not occur in any Japanese word, but they are theoretically possible and may occur in onomatopoeia or in katakana transcriptions of foreign languages.
Romanization
Readers of English occasionally encounter words romanized according to historical kana usage. Here are some examples, with modern romanizations in parentheses:
- Kwannon (Kannon): A Bodhisattva
- Kwaidan (Kaidan), meaning ghost story, the title of a collection of Japanese ghost stories compiled by Lafcadio Hearn
- Kwansei Gakuin University (Kansai): A university in Kobe and Nishinomiya
- Iwo Jima (Iō-jima; now officially Iō-tō): An island known as the site of a battle during World War II
References
External links
- Old Japanese Kana Usage
- Historical kana usage: How to read
- Imabi Lesson 378: Historical kana Orthography Template:Webarchive
- Template:In lang goo Jisho Online Japanese Kanji, compound, and phrase dictionary that gives historical kana spellings alongside modern spellings (although is only searchable by modern spellings)