Local name: 日本語 (nihongo)
Language family: Japonic
Native speakers: ~127 millions (ne.se, 2009)
Script: A mix of Han script (Kanji), Kana (Hiragana, Katakana)
Official in: Japan
Spoken mostly in: Japan, USA, Brazil

Despite being spoken natively in almost only one country, Japanese is one of the biggest languages in the world. It is the the dominant language of the Japonic language family, which also includes the Ryukyuan languages spoken on the southern islands of Japan. Researchers have connected the Japonic languages with other language families, but all claims remain controversial.

Special to written Japanese is the mix of writing systems. In addition to the Chinese characters (kanji), used for both native words and Chinese loanwords, Japanese makes use of two parallel syllabaries (hiragana and katakana). Hiragana is normally used for native Japanese words, while katakana for (historically more recent) foreign loanwords. The text of the fable below shows only kanji and hiragana being used.

Standard Japanese: “Kitakaze to Taiyō
Speaker: Junichiro (潤一郎) Age at recording: 21 (2013) Geographical reference: Tokyo, JP (Google Map) Writing system: Han script and Hiragana Transcription scheme: Modified Hepburn romanization


ある時、北風と太陽が力くらべをしました。
旅人の外套を脱がせた方が勝ちということに決めて、まず北風から始めました。
北風は、『なに、一まくりにして見せよう』と、激しく吹き立てました。
すると旅人は、北風が吹けば吹くほど外套をしっかりと体にくっつけました。
今度は太陽の番になりました。
太陽は雲のあいだから優しい顔を出して暖かな光を送りました。
旅人は段々気持ちよくなって、しまいには外套を脱ぎました。
そこで北風の負けになりました。

Arutoki Kitakaze to Taiyō ga chikara-kurabe o shimashita.
Tabibito no gaitō o nugaseta hō ga kachi to yū koto ni kimete, mazu Kitakaze kara hajimemashita.
Kitakaze wa, ‘Nani, hitomakuri ni shite miseyō’, to, hageshiku fukitatemashita.
Suruto tabibito wa, Kitakaze ga fukeba fukuhodo gaitō o shikkarito karada ni kuttsukemashita.
Kondo wa Taiyō no ban ni narimashita.
Taiyō wa kumo no aida kara yasashii kao o dashite, atatakana hikari o okurimashita.
Tabibito wa dandan kimochiyoku natte, shimai ni wa gaitō o nugimashita.
Sokode Kitakaze no make ni narimashita.