Japanese language

High school (ages 12+)
People & Society

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/japanese-language

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the estimated native speakers?Approximately 128 million individuals
2. What is the primary geographic concentration?Japan, with significant diaspora communities worldwide
3. What are the three scripts used in Japanese writing?The Japanese writing system uses three scripts: Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana. Kanji are characters borrowed from Chinese, while Hiragana and Katakana are phonetic scripts created from parts of Kanji.
4. How did Hiragana and Katakana come from Chinese characters?Hiragana developed from cursive forms of Kanji used by women in the Heian court. Katakana came from angular parts of Kanji used by Buddhist monks for annotation.

Agglutinative Language: A language where words are formed by adding multiple affixes to a root, each with a specific grammatical meaning.
Pitch Accent: A phonological feature where the relative pitch of syllables distinguishes word meaning.
Keigo (Honorifics): A complex system of polite language used to show respect and indicate social status.