JapaneseLesson 3 of 4 in the course Japanese phonology and history

Old Japanese: Sources, Sound Systems, Grammar, and Regional Varieties

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Old Japanese is the oldest documented stage of Japanese. This lesson introduces when it was spoken, the texts that preserve it, and the writing system used to record it.

Old Japanese is usually defined as the language of the Nara period, from 710 to 794, when the capital was Heijō-kyō, present-day Nara. The earliest connected Japanese texts date from the eighth century. Old Japanese developed into Early Middle Japanese during the succeeding Heian period.

All flashcards

Old Japanese A/B syllable distinction
A contrast in early writing evidence between syllables traditionally labeled type A and type B; its exact phonetic realization remains disputed.
Old Japanese open syllable pattern
The typical syllable pattern was (C)V: an optional consonant followed by a vowel.
Prenasalized obstruents in Old Japanese
Reconstructed medial voiced counterparts of voiceless obstruents, such as /ᵐb/ and /ⁿd/.
Arisaka's Law
A proposed restriction against certain combinations of vowels within a single morpheme.
Old Japanese kakari-musubi
A construction in which a focus particle is associated with an attributive-form verb.

Quiz questions

  1. Which Old Japanese poetry collection, compiled around 759, contains more than 4,500 poems?Answer: The Man'yōshū.
  2. Why is the Bussokuseki-kahi especially valuable as evidence for Old Japanese?Answer: It survives as an original inscription.
  3. How many syllables are distinguished in the songs of the Kojiki according to analysis of their man'yōgana?Answer: Eighty-eight syllables.
  4. What syllable pattern was typical of Old Japanese?Answer: An optional consonant followed by a vowel.
  5. In Old Japanese kakari-musubi, what verb form typically appeared with a focus particle?Answer: The attributive form.

Based on the Wikipedia article Old Japanese, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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