Japanese

Japanese is an East Asian language spoken predominantly in Japan. The origins of Japanese and its relation to other languages are highly debated, though some scholars believe the Japonic languages were brought to Japan from the Korean peninsula around 500 BC.

Old Japanese dates to at least the seventh century, as there are records of the language written using Chinese characters. Some Japanese are also recoded on even older Chinese documents from the third century.

The Japanese language has gone through five distinct stages, Old Japanese, Early Middle Japanese, Late Middle, Early Modern and Modern. During the Old Japanese and Early Middle Japanese periods, Chinese had a notable influence on the language.

The Early Modern Japanese period represents the languages translation into its modern form, with one of the most significant events of this period being the shift in popularity from the Kansai dialect to the Edo dialect. This occurred when the government moved to the Edo region, where modern day Tokyo is located changing the language forever.

Modern Japanese has included the introduction of European loanwords, including words form Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and English.

Most Japanese speakers live in Japan, however there are some Japanese speakers abroad. In Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines and parts of China, Japanese speakers can be found particularly among the older generations.

In addition to this, Japanese emigrant communities can be found in Peru, Argentina, Canada, Australia, and the Philippines. The largest Japanese community abroad can be found in Brazil, with 1.5 million people. The United States also has an estimated 1.2 million Japanese speakers, with a significant Japanese community in Hawaii, where approximately 12% of the state’s population speaks Japanese.

In the United Kingdom there are very few Japanese speakers, though study of it as a foreign language is increasing. There are currently an estimated 27,764 people in England and Wales who speak Japanese as their primary language. We can provide Japanese translations and Japanese interpreters for almost any location across the United Kingdom, contact us today to learn more.