Kanji
[some very astute additional observations on this document in this edit. Nice!]
Kanji is the character-based writing system imported to Japan from China. Often
erroneously referred to as pictographs, kanji incorporate not just pictographic but
also ideographic, phonetic, and semantic concepts. Because the readings
(pronunciations) of the kanji were adopted along with their meanings, they have
introduced countless Chinese-based terms into Japanese. [AU: The scope and
purpose of the article should be addressed in the introduction. What does this article aim
to inform the reader? The Chinese origin is discussed in the article, but the pronunciation
and categorization of kanji are a large part of the article and should be foreshadowed in
the introduction too. A more descriptive title would help as well.]
Origin and Evolution
Until the 5th century, the Japanese language was purely oral, with no written
equivalent. It is commonly accepted that kanji (the word itself being the Japanese
pronunciation of hanzi, or "Han letters," a reference to the Han Dynasty) were
brought to Japan by Buddhist monks in the form of Chinese texts. [AU: Consider
making the information in parentheses a separate sentence. Also, some readers may not
automatically connect the Han Dynasty with China.]These texts were initially read asis [AU: Does as-is mean that they were read with Chinese pronunciation?], but over
time, a system called kanbun was introduced developed wherein key concepts
were notated by a series of marks, allowing them to be read according to
Japanese grammar. Eventually, simplification of the kanji led to the independent
creation of the hiragana and katakana syllabries, which were used in conjunction
with the kanji to represent the multiple inflections possible in Japanese grammar.
[AU: It is unclear to me how something in Chinese can be read with Japanese grammar.
An example would be helpful here. Also, “multiple inflections” seems to be a reference
to phonetics or pronunciation rather than grammar. Finally, a more in-depth explanation
of the hiragana and katakana syllabries, including a definition of exactly what syllabries
are, would clarify this paragraph.]
As the writing system stabilized, the pronunciations afforded any given kanji fell
into four basic categories:
Kun-yomi. The native Japanese word that existed prior to the introduction of the
kanji is preserved in the kun-yomi, or "native reading." The kun-yomi of is shita,
meaning "down." Kanji are not limited to a single kun-yomi: an alternate kun-yomi
of is shimo, as in
(kawashimo, "downriver").
On-yomi. The pronunciation imported along with the kanji itself is called the onyomi, or "Chinese reading." The on-yomi of is KA, as in
(karyō,
"subordinates"). Because kanji were often reintroduced over multiple time periods
and from different dialects of Chinese, kanji tend to have several different onyomi. For example, can also be read GE, as in
(gezai, "laxative").
(When rendering kun- and on-yomi into Roman letters, the linguistic standard is
to have kun-yomi in lowercase and on-yomi in uppercase.) [ AU: Are there any
linguistic standards for representing Jinmei-yo or Ateji characters? Explain the naming
system that you use in parentheses (kun-yomi then English translation?), and use it
consistently throughout the article.]
Jinmei-yō. Those characters specifically set aside for use in names are called
jinmei-yō kanji, or "name characters." The jinmei-yō reading is often an older or
obsolete pronunciation of the kanji. For example,
has the kun-yomi of atsui
("thick") but a jinmei-yo pronunciation of Atsushi, a variant reading that is now a
common male name.
Ateji. Kanji that are used for their meaning, regardless of pronunciation-- or vice
versa-- are referred to as ateji, or "substitute characters." While ateji continue to
be used in Chinese, their usage in Japanese has declined following the
introduction of the kana syllabries that allow for the ready introduction of foreign
or linguistically incompatible concepts. [AU: What are the kana syllabries?]
Figure 1. "America" in ateji chosen for sound rather than meaning, and
ichijiku ("fig") in ateji chosen for meaning ("no flower fruit") rather than
sound. [AU: Please expand on this explanation in the text, and then use a shorter
caption. Are ameirika and mukaka the ateji pronunciations? Is ichijiku the kun-yomi?
How is the meaning “no flower fruit” conveyed?]
Kanji Lookup
Kanji can be found in dictionaries by one of four lookup methods: on-yomi and
kun-yomi, which have already been discussed, and bushu and kaku.
Bushu. Referred to as “radicals” in linguistic terminology, bushu are considered
the core element of the kanji in terms of categorization. When looking up the
character
(numa, “swamp”), for example, one would look under its bushu ,
called sanzui. Traditionally, there are 214 bushu, though some modern kanji
scholars have attempted to reorder the kanji to significantly reduce this number.
Kaku. The total number of strokes it takes to write a kanji is called its kaku.
Looking for a kanji by its kaku requires a thorough knowledge of how strokes are
counted, as well as the order in which they are drawn. The character
soto, "outside") contains 5 strokes, each written in a specific order.
(on-yomi
Figure 2. Stroke order for kanji soto.
Historical Categories
Around the second century A.D. (2nd century), the Chinese scholar Xu Shen
classified the hanzi into six categories that remain in use to this day for both hanzi
and kanji. [ AU: The hanzi were briefly mentioned in the introduction, but a reminder
would help the reader. Also, a lead-in sentence to introduce the list would help finish this
paragraph.]
Shōkei-moji. A stylized picture of a physical object. Yama, meaning "mountain,"
is written and is modeled after the shape of a mountain.
Shiji-moji. A representation of an abstract concept. Ue, meaning "up," is
written and represents is one line above another with a third line connecting.
[AU: The symbol IS one line above another, but you could mention that this represents
the concept “up.”]
Kai'i-moji. The ideograph, often made by combining two or more shōkei- or shijimoji. Tōge, meaning "mountain pass," is written
and is a composition of the
characters , , and . [ AU: I’m guessing that the characters mean mountain, up,
and down and thus convey the idea of a mountain pass, but you might want to mention
this in the passage.]
Keisei-moji. The largest of all groups, kaisei-moji are the deliberate pairing of a
phonetic and ideographic element to create a new kanji. For example,
(unaji,
"nape") combines the ideographic , which originally meant "head" but in
modern Japanese means "page," with the phonetic element
("craft") chosen
as a simplification of
("behind" or "rear") based on similarities in appearance
and pronunciation (both have the on-yomi of KŌ) -- thus,
means "rear of the
head," or “nape,” and takes its on-yomi KŌ from its phonetic element, . [ AU:
That is an incredibly long sentence! Shorter sentences would make it easier to
comprehend.]
Tenchū-moji. When characters, whether mistakenly or by association, take on
extended meanings and readings, they are referred to as tenchū-moji. An
example would be , which originally meant "nail" but was so often borrowed to
represent the concepts of "(city) block" and "exact" that it has taken on those
meanings exclusively. ("Nail" is now represented by , which adds the
component , meaning "metal"). [ AU: Is there a reason that it was borrowed to
mean “block” or “exact”? Just curious.]
Kasha-moji. Technically a method of usage rather than a class of characters,
kasha-moji are those characters used to create ateji readings. [ AU: This sentence
seems contradictory. You say it’s a method, but then you refer to kasha-moji as
characters.] In modern Japanese, a truncated form of kasha-moji is often used in
newspapers to refer to foreign countries:
(do(ku)itsu) and
(furansu)
were once the accepted renderings of Germany and France, respectively, but the
modern Japanese press prefers the shortened forms of
and . [ AU: Are the
first two kanji kasha-moji, or are just the shortened forms kasha-moji? Why do they
mean Germany and France?]