#WhyDoesJapaneseSoundDifferent
Hey there, have you ever wondered why Japanese language sounds very different from other Asian languages? 🤔 Let’s dive into this fascinating linguistic topic and uncover the reasons behind the unique sound of Japanese compared to other Asian languages like Korean and Chinese.
##Influence of Chinese on Korean and Vietnamese
When we listen to languages like Korean and Vietnamese, we can clearly hear the influence of Chinese. This is due to centuries of cultural and historical interactions between these countries. Chinese characters, vocabulary, and even intonation patterns have made their way into Korean and Vietnamese languages, creating similarities in sound.
##Japanese: A Unique Linguistic Path
On the other hand, Japanese has taken a different linguistic path. Despite historical connections with China, Japanese has developed its own distinct sound system and grammar structure over time. This is why when you listen to Japanese, you may not hear as many similarities to Chinese sounds as you do with other Asian languages.
##Nuances in Pronunciation
One key aspect that sets Japanese apart is its pronunciation. Japanese words often end with “airy” sounds, giving them a unique cadence. For example, words like “watashi” and “shindeiru” have a distinct flow that sets them apart from other languages in the region.
##Cultural Influence in Media
Your exposure to Asian media through subtitled movies, anime, and video games like Tekken can also shape your perception of language similarities. Actors tend to exaggerate their speech for dramatic effect, which can sometimes distort the natural sound of the language.
##Regional Linguistic Diversity
Just like in Europe where Latin-based languages share similarities, Asian languages also have regional diversity. While Korean may sound closer to Chinese due to historical ties, Japanese has maintained its unique linguistic identity.
##Final Thoughts
So, next time you watch a Japanese movie or play a video game, pay attention to the nuances in language and how they reflect the cultural and historical influences on each language. It’s these subtleties that make each language in Asia’s linguistic landscape so fascinatingly diverse and rich.
Hope this sheds some light on why Japanese sounds different from other Asian languages! 🇯🇵✨
Japan was isolated for 100’s of years.
I don’t have a good linguistic answer for you about why they’re different… but as a (barely skilled, non-native) Japanese speaker, Japanese and Korean sound surprisingly similar to me at times. The sentence structure and grammar patterns feel close, and there are quite a few cognates. I can’t detect the same degree of proximity when I compare Japanese to Mandarin, although I know they share roots.
Both Japanese and Korean sound very different from Chinese languages because they’re not tonal, unlike most Southeast Asian languages.
Both Korean and Japanese are pretty different sounding from Chinese (or I guess technically Mandarin since that’s generally the spoken dialect that comes to mind when thinking of China)… Korea is historically closer to China and has a lot of shared history and culture back in the old days before the modern nation states existed so it makes sense that they’re closer to China in many respects than Japan which is an isolated island nation.
Their society was just not as integrated with others (for various reasons, one of which being geography). Also, though, kung fu movies specifically use sound-offs, annunciated/drawn out syllables/etc as part of the genre. It’s for drama/intimidation (and irl for breath regulation when fighting).
Japanese and Korean are more closer linguistically than both countries are willing to admit. Japan because of xenophobia. Korea because of Japanese War crimes before world War two.
To me, Japanese has a similar melody as Russian. I live in Japan, so I hear it daily. I also hear Russian tourists pretty often. To me, Japanese sounds like a Russian trying to imitate an Asian language. After living hear though, all the Asian languages sound distinct to me.
I’m sure Japan being an island/archipelago, has something to do with it
Japanese is almost a language isolate. The only languages it can be linked to are the Ryukyuan languages (spoken on the island chain that includes Okinawa, which is now part of Japan but wasn’t always) and a few languages spoken on nearly Japanese islands that are pretty similar to Japanese and that are also part of Japan.
They have tried to link it to some other languages, like Korean, but have been unable to. Unlike Mandarin and Cantonese and a Vietnamese and a number of other coastal Asian languages, it is not a tonal language. They can’t even link it to Ainu, the language of the indigenous people of Japan who now live only in Hokkaido but who used to occupy all the main islands.
Japan is relatively far from mainland Asia—about 124 miles at its closest point. In contrast Great Britain is only 20 miles from mainland Europe and you can even see it on a clear day. So it’s not an easy passage. So there wasn’t a lot of travel between Japan and the rest of Asia historically. Too long and risky a journey to little purpose. So that meant the population and language was pretty isolated.
However: Japanese took its writing system from China and also added a whole bunch of loan words from Chinese, somewhat akin to how English added many French and Latin words. The most used words are of Japanese origin but many technical, scientific, and religious words are of Chinese origin, kind of like how in English scientific and specialized technical terms often have Latin origins.
I think this might be your familiarity with/exposure to Japanese over other Asian languages. I used to think many of them sounded the same/similar but since working in a field with a hugely diverse mix of people I can easily hear the difference now, despite not understanding more than the odd word.
If you hear Japanese spoken more often (maybe in movies or people around you), you get used to the pattern and it’s more recognisable.
I get what you mean about regions having similar patterns to their languages though, and you’re right. It’s interesting. Maybe Japanese is genuinely a little more distinctive because of their geographical isolation and a more preserved monoculture/ethnicity?
How has no one pointed out that these languages ARE similar to each other?
Many Japanese characters are adopted from Chinese. To the point that they have two pronunciations: one is basically a Japanese reading (kun) and the other is a Chinese reading (on).
E.g. 天氣 is weather in Mandarin, pronounced Tiānqì (Tea-en-chee).
天気 is also weather in Japanese, pronounced Tenki (ten-key)
They mean the same thing and sound very similar.
You can also find these similarities across all 3 languages
E.g. 准备 is prepare in Mandarin, pronounced Zhǔnbèi (jew-one-bay)
準備する is prepare in Japanese (using an older character set), pronounced junbi suru (june-bee-sue-rue)
준비하다 is prepare in Korean, pronounced junbihada (choon-bi-ha-da)
That word sounds very similar across languages, clearly having the same root with variations on pronunciation
So there are similarities, you probably just can’t hear them because you’re unfamiliar with the languages
Edit: I tried my best on how to guide someone in pronouncing this stuff, but honestly you can also just paste it into Google translate
China never invaded Japan btw
Another person who thinks east asia is the only asia.
Lol I don’t know what you’re on about. None of those E.Asian languages sound anywhere alike from one another. You’re reaching quite a bit there bud.
How long they’ve been isolated as a culture probably has a lot to do with it
Probably do better asking this question in some kind of linguistics sub. Less chance of getting replies by laymen on the subject.
because chinese didnt invent the japanese and korean language. historically chinese teachings/philosophy such as confucius etc were exported/ imported/ studied by the “educated” / establishment in jpn and korea, thats why some chinese writing (kanji/hanja) and vocabulary are incorporated into their writing/language system. both north and south korea now use their own set of hangul and got rid of hanja except in legal literature while japanese retained kanji for everyday use.
pronounication wise, japanese is easiest, chinese/korean on par, imho
As others said, Japanese is almost language isolated (there are some similar minority languages such as Okinawan) plus Japan is an archipelago relatively far away from the rest of the Asia. Therefore, the cultural exchange between it and its neighbors is a bit different. Instead of influences easily crossing borders through either trade, war or other means and cultures mixing together, Japan could usually pick and choose what they adopt from others and what not. This also includes language. For example when Japanese took Chinese writing, instead of conforming their language to it, they, over time, made it fit Japanese.
Also, China never invaded Japan. You might be thinking of 2 failed Mongol invasions.
Japanese formal vocabulary can be up to 70% borrowed from Middle Chinese. We don’t notice because Middle Chinese was not tonal. It’s a similar case with English borrowing from Norman and Middle French ( compare informal English like Geordie and Scouse and formal scientific English. Same story with Persian and Arabic.
I am fluent in Mandarin and know a bit of Japanese and Taiwanese and I definitely feel like Japanese is closer to Mandarin than Korean is, could be due to me learning and being exposed to Japanese words more but there are a few words were Japanese and Taiwanese share the same pronunciation.
Japanese also has Kanji which are basically Chinese characters, whereas I cannot understand or read anything korean related.
>as does English actors (Nicholas Cage)
This bit made me laugh out loud 😂
Proabably only because you don’t know any of the languages. I would not say Korean and Mandarin sound more similar to each other than to Japanese. Vocab wise, China has influenced both Japanese and Korean, but due to the changes in Mandarin, often times the Japanese and Korean are actually more similar to each other (palatalization of velars and deletion of stops). What you mention with the “ong” sound might be the few similarites of Chinese and Korean. Japanese syllables have a very simple structure, it is basically consonant vowel(s), and the only coda (ending) is “n”. Chinese allows both alveolar and velar nasals (n and ng) in its endings, while Korean additionally allows bilabials (m, n and ng) and also stops and laterals. However, Japanese technically also allows the velar nasal (ng) as an allophone.
I would assume that being an island made invasion and occupation more difficult.
That’s a weird ducking question
Korean is a totally different language family. It’s Tungusic, closer to Turkey, cause some guys rode horses through Russia and set themselves up on the Korean Peninsula. And the writing system is custom built by King Sejong (Korean ruler). Korea used a Chinese writing system before they built their own, so maybe some crossover exists, but that spoken language is totally unrelated to the Sion-Tibetan family.
The comparison of Asian languages to the “Latin-based” languages of Europe makes zero sense. They all descended from the same proto-language, Latin, and are part of the same family, while Chinese, Japanese and Korean come from completely different sources and don’t share a reconstructible common ancestor.
Ocean