The modern system of the letter accepted in Japan came to this country from China approximately in the 4th age of a new era. Direct certificates that till this time in Japan there was the developed writing do not exist. In modern Japanese several modifications of the letter which basis is formed by the special signs called hieroglyphs are widely used.
Formation of the Japanese writing
Setting standards of writing in Japanese happened long enough. After gradual introduction of the Chinese system of the letter in Japan there were new terms for which there was no compliance in Japanese. Such words were tried to be pronounced in the Chinese sounding, and for their writing used the corresponding hieroglyphs.
In modern Japanese many synonyms which were formed from primordially Japanese words and also from those forms which were borrowed Chinese are known. Linguists agree in opinion that at adaptation of the Chinese words to the Japanese writing there were same processes, as when forming English under the influence of Norman gain. Writing of the words borrowed from Chinese demanded reorganization of some structures of the Japanese speech.
What signs are used in the Japanese writing
Modern Japanese is characterized by existence of several main systems of the letter. The so-called system of kanji which the hieroglyphs having the Chinese roots enter is most widespread. There are two syllabic alphabets which are also created in Japan: katakana and hiragana. The system of kanji is applied generally to record of verbs, adjectives and nouns. Record of the terminations of adjectives and verbs is carried out, as a rule, by means of hiragana. Katakana scope – the designs borrowed from other languages. This system of the letter became widespread rather recently, only before World War II. Except hieroglyphs in the Japanese writing also letters of the Latin alphabet are used. They serve for writing of the abbreviations, the most widespread in languages of all countries of the world, for example, to CD or DVD. And here the direct transliteration of the Japanese words Latin almost does not occur in texts and is not popular. Numerals write in Japanese, as a rule, with the Arab figures, in particular, if the text has not the vertical, but horizontal direction of the letter. Written signs in the Japanese text traditionally are located vertically. Hieroglyphs go from top to down, and columns of signs are located from right to left. Such way of the letter is widespread in the printing periodical press and fiction. The arrangement of hieroglyphs is more often applied to technical and scientific texts across that reminds the European way of the letter.