Overview of Japanese language
Lesson Key Points
- Before starting your Japanese language studies, let’s learn about what kind of language Japanese is.
- Before starting your Japanese language studies, let’s learn about what kind of language Japanese is.
The Spread and Number of Japanese Speakers
Japanese is a language spoken by the people living in Japan, Japanese people who have emigrated abroad, and those residing in Hawaii and the Americas, including Japanese and people of Japanese descent. Additionally, it is spoken as a second language by some Chinese and Koreans who lived under Japanese occupation in the early 20th century.
As for the number of speakers, although there are no exact statistics, it is estimated to be over 130 million, making it the tenth most spoken language in the world.*1
The Legal Status and Usage
Japanese is the language universally used throughout Japan. Although there is no legal provision designating Japanese as the official language, all laws and public documents are written in Japanese. In school education, Japanese is taught as the subject “National Language,” making it, in practice, the only official language in Japan.
Standardization and Regional Dialects
There is no official institution that establishes standardized criteria for the Japanese language. However, official documents are standardized based on the recommendations of the National Language Council, under the jurisdiction of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. The writing in these official documents is largely unified. School textbooks are subject to approval by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, and many newspapers and magazines also adhere to these standards. Therefore, it can be said that modern Japanese writing is generally consistent.
In spoken language, the spread of radio and television has led to the nationwide dissemination of the standard language of Tokyo. Japan has many dialects, and the differences between regional dialects can be significant. When moving to or traveling in different regions, people may sometimes struggle to communicate due to these differences.
In terms of regional classification, Japanese dialects are broadly divided into the mainland dialects of Honshu and the Ryukyu dialects of Okinawa. On Honshu, the dialects are further divided into Eastern Japan, Western Japan, and Kyushu, with additional subdivisions within these regions. In Japan, the term “dialect” refers to the unique vocabulary, expressions, accents, or pronunciation specific to a particular region, as opposed to the standard language. Japan has not implemented a strong political initiative for language unification, so there is no strict definition of a “standard language.” However, due to the spread of the standard language through mass media like television and film, and the decreasing opportunities for passing down dialects, traditional dialects are rapidly disappearing. As a result, not only regional differences but also generational differences in dialect comprehension are becoming more pronounced.
The Difficulty Level of Learning Japanese
The Foreign Service Institute (FSI), a specialized training institution of the U.S. Department of State, provides estimates for the time typically required for U.S. government employees, whose native language is English, to achieve “General Professional Proficiency,” or a “Speaking 3/Reading 3” score on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale*2, in a foreign language. Based on this time, the FSI categorizes the difficulty of learning various languages.*3
According to FSI data, languages similar to English (Category I), such as Danish and Dutch, can be learned in 24 weeks. On the other hand, the most difficult languages, categorized as Category IV, require 88 weeks (approximately 2200 hours of instruction) to master. These languages include Arabic, Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), Korean, and Japanese. Japanese, in particular, is considered the most difficult among these.
However, the FSI’s research also suggests that even the most challenging languages can be learned to a functional level within 88 weeks, or about two years, of dedicated study. Therefore, it is suggested that with effective study methods, these languages can indeed be mastered.