Examples of hiragana, katakana, and kanji in Japanese
This conversation in the previous chapter was a precursor to the next point I'd like to make about Genji: the way the book was written.
The Japanese language currently uses four "alphabets" known as hiragana, katakana, kanji and roomaji. While this might seem strange to someone who comes from a language like English, think about this: G, g, g and g are all the same letter with the same sound, right? Perhaps the function of the letters change depending on the context, but the basic significance remains the same, despite the multiple ways we have to write them.
For centuries, people in Japan used Chinese characters (kanji) to write Japanese. Genji, however, is one of the first major documents to be produced in hiragana, the simple Japanese letters that flow together like cursive writing in English.
Hiragana was developing in Japan around the same time Genji was being written, the Heian era (794 - 1185). During this time, Japan attempted to create its own identity by moving away from the things it had borrowed from China. (Kanji are the Chinese characters that are still used in Japanese today; hiragana symbols find their origins in kanji, but they are similar and only refer to sounds in Japanese.)
The biggest problem with writting everything in kanji was that when finished, it looked too formal to be enjoyable to read. Since Murasaki Shikibu used kana to write Genji, her novel appeared more relaxed. She used venacular language that felt like everyday thoughts and speech. This way of writing also helped Murasaki communicate intangible thoughts, ideas, and feelings of her characters. Because of this, it's considered the world's first "introspective novel."
YOUR TASK:
1) Find evidence of three different ways of writing that either you or others use every day. To do this, you might want to check things such as email, text messages, essays from school, on-line or hardcopy newspapers.
2) How does the writing change according to where the document comes from? It is possible for language to change its effect on the reader depending on how it is written? For example, how does it make you feel when I SUDDENLY START WRITING EVERYTHING IN CAPITAL LETTERS?
The Japanese language currently uses four "alphabets" known as hiragana, katakana, kanji and roomaji. While this might seem strange to someone who comes from a language like English, think about this: G, g, g and g are all the same letter with the same sound, right? Perhaps the function of the letters change depending on the context, but the basic significance remains the same, despite the multiple ways we have to write them.
For centuries, people in Japan used Chinese characters (kanji) to write Japanese. Genji, however, is one of the first major documents to be produced in hiragana, the simple Japanese letters that flow together like cursive writing in English.
Hiragana was developing in Japan around the same time Genji was being written, the Heian era (794 - 1185). During this time, Japan attempted to create its own identity by moving away from the things it had borrowed from China. (Kanji are the Chinese characters that are still used in Japanese today; hiragana symbols find their origins in kanji, but they are similar and only refer to sounds in Japanese.)
The biggest problem with writting everything in kanji was that when finished, it looked too formal to be enjoyable to read. Since Murasaki Shikibu used kana to write Genji, her novel appeared more relaxed. She used venacular language that felt like everyday thoughts and speech. This way of writing also helped Murasaki communicate intangible thoughts, ideas, and feelings of her characters. Because of this, it's considered the world's first "introspective novel."
YOUR TASK:
1) Find evidence of three different ways of writing that either you or others use every day. To do this, you might want to check things such as email, text messages, essays from school, on-line or hardcopy newspapers.
2) How does the writing change according to where the document comes from? It is possible for language to change its effect on the reader depending on how it is written? For example, how does it make you feel when I SUDDENLY START WRITING EVERYTHING IN CAPITAL LETTERS?
