Can Japanese understand each other?

Well, the answer is NO. When it comes to express their language verbally, it seems hard for them to understand each other. But it is also true that some educated Chinese and Japanese speakers can read each other’s written language. That’s why in some cases, these two languages have their influence in each other.

What language did ancient Japanese speak?

Old Japanese (上代日本語, Jōdai Nihon-go) is the oldest attested stage of the Japanese language, recorded in documents from the Nara period (8th century). It became Early Middle Japanese in the succeeding Heian period, but the precise delimitation of the stages is controversial.

Is classical Japanese still used?

It is based on Early Middle Japanese, the language as spoken during the Heian period (794–1185), but exhibits some later influences. After the end of World War II, most documents switched to the spoken style, although the classical style continues to be used in traditional genres, such as haiku and waka.

How far back does Japanese language go?

Modern Japanese is considered to begin with the Edo period (which spanned from 1603 to 1867). Since Old Japanese, the de facto standard Japanese had been the Kansai dialect, especially that of Kyoto.

What are the two oldest work in the Japanese language?

In the oldest extant works, the Kojiki (712; The Kojiki: Records of Ancient Matters) and Nihon shoki, or Nihon-gi (720; Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697), more than 120 songs, some dating back to perhaps the 5th century ce, are given in phonetic transcription, doubtless because the Japanese …

Is there a place called Bungo?

The Bungo Channel (豊後水道, Bungo-suidō) is a strait separating the Japanese islands of Kyushu and Shikoku. It connects the Pacific Ocean and the Seto Inland Sea on the western end of Shikoku….