Editing Japanese language (section)

{{short description|Language spoken in Japan}}
{{Distinguish|Javanese language|text=[[Javanese language]]}}
{{Redirect-distinguish|Nihongo|Nihonga}}
{{Pp-vandalism|small = yes}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Japanese
| nativename       = {{big|{{Nihongo2|日本語}}}} ({{lang|ja-latn|Nihongo}})
| pronunciation    = {{nowrap|{{IPA|ja|ɲihoŋɡo||Ja-nihongo.ogg}}}}
| states           = [[Japan]]
| ethnicity        = [[Japanese people|Japanese]] ([[Yamato people|Yamato]])
| speakers         = {{sigfig|123.427320|3}} million
| date             = 2020
| ref              = e27
| familycolor      = Altaic
| fam1             = [[Japonic languages|Japonic]]
| ancestor         = [[Proto-Japonic]]
| ancestor2        = [[Old Japanese]]
| ancestor3        = [[Early Middle Japanese]]
| ancestor4        = [[Late Middle Japanese]]
| ancestor5        = [[Early Modern Japanese]]
| dia1             = [[Yilan Creole Japanese|Yilan]] (Creole)
See [[Japanese dialects]]
| script           = {{ublist |[[Japanese writing system|Mixed scripts]] of [[Kanji]] ([[Chinese characters]]) and [[Kana]] ([[Hiragana]], [[Katakana]]) |[[Japanese Braille]]}}
| nation           = {{ubl|Japan (''[[de facto]]'')|[[Palau]]<br>(on [[Angaur Island]])}}
| iso1             = ja
| iso2             = jpn
| iso3             = jpn
| lingua           = 45-CAA-a
| image            = Nihongo.svg
| imagescale       = 0.35
| imagecaption     = {{longitem|The [[kanji]] for Japanese (read {{Transliteration|ja|nihongo}})}}
| imageheader      = 
| notice           = IPA
| sign             = [[Signed Japanese]]
| glotto           = nucl1643
| glottoname       = excluding [[Hachijo language|Hachijo]], [[Tsugaru dialect|Tsugaru]], and [[Kagoshima dialect|Kagoshima]]
| glotto2          = japa1256
| glottorefname    = Japanese
}}

{{nihongo|'''Japanese'''|日本語|''Nihongo''|{{IPA|ja|ɲihoŋɡo||Ja-nihongo.ogg}}}} is the principal language of the [[Japonic languages|Japonic language family]] spoken by the [[Japanese people]]. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in [[Japan]], the only country where it is the [[national language]], and within the [[Japanese diaspora]] worldwide.

The Japonic family also includes the [[Ryukyuan languages]] and the variously classified [[Hachijō language]]. There have been many [[Classification of the Japonic languages|attempts to group the Japonic languages]] with other families such as [[Ainu languages|Ainu]], [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]], [[Koreanic languages|Koreanic]], and the now discredited [[Altaic languages|Altaic]], but none of these proposals have gained any widespread acceptance.

Little is known of the language's prehistory, or when it first appeared in Japan. Chinese documents from the 3rd century AD recorded a few Japanese words, but substantial [[Old Japanese]] texts did not appear until the 8th century. From the [[Heian period]] (794–1185), extensive waves of [[Sino-Japanese vocabulary]] entered the language, affecting the [[phonology]] of [[Early Middle Japanese]]. [[Late Middle Japanese]] (1185–1600) saw extensive grammatical changes and the first appearance of [[Gairaigo|European loanwords]]. The basis of the [[Standard Japanese|standard dialect]] moved from the [[Kansai]] region to the [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]] region (modern [[Tokyo]]) in the [[Early Modern Japanese]] period (early 17th century–mid 19th century). Following the end of [[Sakoku|Japan's self-imposed isolation]] in 1853, the flow of [[loanword]]s from European languages increased significantly, and [[Wasei-eigo|words from English roots]] have proliferated.

Japanese is an [[Agglutinative language|agglutinative]], [[Mora (linguistics)#Japanese|mora]]-timed language with relatively simple [[phonotactics]], a [[monophthong|pure vowel]] system, [[Vowel length#Phonemic vowel length|phonemic vowel]] and [[Gemination|consonant]] length, and a lexically significant [[Japanese pitch accent|pitch-accent]]. Word order is normally [[subject–object–verb]] with [[Japanese particles|particles]] marking the [[grammatical function]] of words, and sentence structure is [[topic–comment]]. [[Sentence-final particle]]s are used to add emotional or emphatic impact, or form questions. Nouns have no [[grammatical number]] or [[Grammatical gender|gender]], and there are no [[Article (grammar)|articles]]. Verbs are [[Japanese verb conjugation|conjugated]], primarily for [[Grammatical tense|tense]] and [[Voice (grammar)|voice]], but not [[Grammatical person|person]]. [[Japanese adjectives]] are also conjugated. Japanese has [[Honorific speech in Japanese|a complex system of honorifics]], with verb forms and vocabulary to indicate the relative status of the speaker, the listener, and persons mentioned.

The [[Japanese writing system]] combines [[Chinese characters]], known as {{Nihongo3|'[[Han dynasty|Han]] characters'|漢字|[[kanji]]}}, with two unique [[syllabary|syllabaries]] (or [[mora (linguistics)|moraic]] scripts) derived by the Japanese from the more complex Chinese characters: {{Transliteration|ja|[[hiragana]]}} ({{lang|ja|ひらがな}} or {{lang|ja|平仮名}}, 'simple characters') and {{Transliteration|ja|[[katakana]]}} ({{lang|ja|カタカナ}} or {{lang|ja|片仮名}}, 'partial characters'). [[Romanization of Japanese|Latin script]] ({{Transliteration|ja|rōmaji}} {{lang|ja|ローマ字}}) is also used in a limited fashion (such as for imported acronyms) in Japanese writing. The [[Japanese numerals|numeral system]] uses mostly [[Arabic numerals]], but also traditional [[Chinese numerals]].