The Japanese language is written with a combination of three different types of glyphs: Chinese characters, kanji, and two syllabic scripts, hiragana and katakana. The Latin alphabet, romaji, is also often used in modern Japanese, especially for company names and logos, advertising, and when inputting Japanese into a computer. The Japanese language is thought to be related to the Polynesian and Altaic language families. What this all boils down to is that the "Japanese" are in fact quite a mixed group. Their language is multi-notational or, if I may say so, multi-lingual (e.g., Buddhist, Chinese, Japanese poem, military chronicles), which puts it at a different dimension to the English language, which has been integrated into one notation.
The Japanese language is also agglutinative; which means it forms words by putting together basic elements, called morphemes. Morphemes retain their original forms and meanings with little change during the combination process. This particular language is one of syllables. Inherent in the spoken language is the degree of politeness used to address others of different social status.
It is spoken all over the mainland of Japan, in some parts of Korea, Taiwan and China. The language of Japan is very similar to the other oriental languages like Chinese and many words are even borrowed from the Chinese dictionary.
The Japanese language is what's known as an amalgam of original Japanese, ancient Chinese, and Western words pronounced in a Japanese manner. It is no wonder that Japanese is a very difficult language to learn. It is a language of words and characters. It is spoken very much as it is written with each word standing alone with its own meaning. The Japanese language is the sixth most spoken language in the world. It is a unique language since no definitive link with any other language can be established with Japanese.
The Japanese language is indispensable for foreigners living in Japan. Many language schools offer Japanese classes to foreign nationals living in the Prefecture as well as in the Hokuriku area who wish to improve their Japanese language abilities.
The language is relatively easy to learn, as well as its grammar rules, which are quite straightforward. Learning to speak the language is not very difficult and you can get the hang of it quite quickly and easily. Although some believe the Japanese language is indeed challenging, it is truly worthwhile to learn. More and more people are taking an interest in Japanese culture, such as anime, Japanese pop music, Japanese dramas, manga, kanji tattoos and so on.
The most popular Japanese language learning programs treat their courses as cumulative, so that later lessons will expect you to understand previously introduced material. It's difficult to remember everything at once, so it is very important that you continually go back and review past lessons and past vocabulary lists.
Introduction To Japanese Society
It is thought that the Japanese game of Shogi, or "Japanese Chess" as is it called in English, evolved from the ancient Indian game of Chaturanga, just as classical western Chess did. Certainly, Shogi and Chess share some common characteristics suggestive of a single origin, despite some notable differences.
The first couple of things Chess players are likely to notice about Shogi are the size of the board and the number of pieces. Chess players who are used to playing with sixteen pieces each on an 8 x 8 board may be surprised to find that Shogi is played on a 9x9 board and that each player starts with twenty pieces.
Also, whereas in Chess the pieces stand upright like soldiers, in Shogi they lie flat on the board and are wedge shaped, with the sharp end of the wedge pointing forwards so that the players can tell at a glance whose side each piece is on!
The rank of a piece is indicated by its size and by one or two Japanese characters painted on its upper face.
Depending on which piece is being played, when it advances to one of the back three rows it may be promoted. This is done by turning the piece over to reveal a different character that indicates its new status.
Chess players will be surprised to learn that in Shogi captured pieces may be "dropped" back on the board and used by the player who captured them! This is a unique feature of the Japanese game. After capturing a piece the player sets it aside (or place it on a tray especially designed for captured pieces). A player who has one or more captured pieces in hand may choose on his turn to move a piece that is on the board, or to bring a captured piece into play by "dropping" it onto one of the empty spaces on the board. Because of this innovation the pieces are not distinguished by colour as they are in Chess, Igo, or other games.
A game of Shogi tends to take longer to get going than a game of Chess as some of the pieces have limited movement ranges and also because players commonly prefer to build a defensive organization around the King before attacking.
Even so, Shogi, like Chess, can be divided into three developmental stages: the opening, middle game and end game.
The drop rule allows for the truth that captured soldiers may be turned against their former masters. A Shogi piece dropped deep inside enemy territory can cause major disruption. It is rather like having a hostile Ninja fighter suddenly appear armed to the teeth in the Daimyo's bedchamber!
Shogi offers an early example of how a foreign invention is introduced into Japan and modified and refined to become something unique to the Japanese.
In recent years Shogi has begun to attract a following outside of Japan, in China, Europe and America. If you enjoy playing Chess, I recommend that you try playing Shogi and experience something of the unique spirit the Japanese have imparted to this ancient family of games.
Both Julie Landry & David Hurley are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Julie Landry has sinced written about articles on various topics from Language, Bankruptcy Law and Computers and The Internet. Julie Landry is a fluent Japanese speaker that has written a popular on her site.. Julie Landry's top article generates over 49500 views. to your Favourites.
David Hurley has sinced written about articles on various topics from Business Loans, Email Advertising and Internet Marketing. David Hurley lives in Japan and runs a supplying Japanese games and goods including Shogi sets, exclusive hand crafted Shogi pieces, Shogi boards and koma tra. David Hurley's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.
Bank With Highest Interest Rate There are extra costs associated with loans from many lenders, such as arrangement fees or early payment charges. So remember - a variable rate loan might be less expensive, but be vigilant!