Japanese Language

Will AI Technology Ever Translate Japanese Accurately?

Machine translation has come a long way in recent years. But what use, if any, does machine translation actually have for a language like Japanese?

Japanese Writing: The 80-Year Battle for “Genbun Itchi”

How did written Japanese come into accord with the spoken language? A short history of the movement to bring Japanese writing to the masses.

Japanese Writing: The Kanji Debate of the Meiji Period

The story of how modern Japanese came to assume its current written form - and how kanji nearly got left on the cutting room floor.

What’s Up With Okinawan Names? A Language History

Why are Okinawan names difficult for even mainland Japanese speakers? How the languages of the Ryukyu kingdom survived - despite attempts to eradicate them.

The Best Book to Learn Japanese

People often ask us what the best book for learning Japanese is. While there are a lot of good ones, this one in particular stands above the rest.

Japanese Writing: Pronunciation Shifts in the Edo Period

How Japanese writing and Japanese written speech differed in the Edo period - and how pronunciation came closer to what's spoken today.

Japanese Writing: The Birth of Kana in the Heian Period

How did the hiragana and katakana writing systems come to exist in Japanese? What purpose did they serve? A history of writing in Japan's Heian period.

Japanese Writing: A History – Origins to Nara Era

How did the written Japanese language assume its current form? We look at the language's earliest written forms - Chinese kanji and manyogana.

Japanese Language Classes are Awesome. Here’s How to Start

Thanks to the Internet, Japanese language classes are within most everyone's reach. Learn how they can help improve your Japanese.

Japanese Language

Before You Go...