Please note: In order to keep Hive up to date and provide users with the best features, we are no longer able to fully support Internet Explorer. The site is still available to you, however some sections of the site may appear broken. We would encourage you to move to a more modern browser like Firefox, Edge or Chrome in order to experience the site fully.

Supporting your high street Find out how »
Japanese Alphabet: the 48 Essential Characters, Hardback Book

Japanese Alphabet: the 48 Essential Characters Hardback

Hardback

Item not Available

Description

In the fourth century A.D., through contact with Korea, Japan adopted the Chinese writing system which had been sweeping through Asia along with the newBuddhist religion.

Modern Japanese writing uses three main scripts: kanji (Chineseideograms), which are used for proper names, for nouns, and for verb roots; hiragana(deriving from the terms hira, common, and kana borrowed character), used for adding to and distinguishing from sequences of Japanese grammar; and katakana (from kata, part, and kana, borrowed character or rather, partially borrowed character), which is used to denote foreign pronunciations or to write terms borrowed from foreign languages.

With large depictions and clear step-by-step instructions, Mandel illustrates all 48 sounds in Japanese, presented in the traditional iroha order, in hiragana, katakana, and kanji forms, and each entry is accompanied with its roma-ji, orRoman phonetic spelling.

The author clearly indicates the correct sequence for writing the individual strokes, and provides each kana, or character, with theChinese kanji from which it was derived. He relates a concise history of Japanese writing, and provides the reader with charts of the Japanese and Chinese numbers,the hiragana and katakana contractions, and the keys or radicals that make up the Japanese kanji.

A comprehensive guide to all of the characters of the Japanese alphabet, this is an ideal primer for the beginner, as well as a convenient reference for a more advanced student.

Joining Abbeville's Chinese Calligraphy, Maya Script,and Arabic Script, Japanese Alphabet is an exhaustive compendium of the Japanese writing system and indispensable addition to any Japanese linguist's library.

Information

Save 21%

£21.99

£17.19

Item not Available
Item not Available
Sign in to add to wishlist
 
Free Home Delivery

on all orders

 
Pick up orders

from local bookshops

Information