Differentiation principles in the manyogana writing system in the Old Japanese

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25884068
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Japanese linguistics
• Research Institution: Waseda University
• Principal Investigator: SAWAZAKI Fumi 早稲田大学, 文学学術院, 助手 (40706644)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-08-30 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 万葉仮名 / 古事記 / 漢字仮名交じり / 音仮名 / 訓仮名 / 表記

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The current study investigates the usage of manyogana - the Chinese characters appropriated to write Japanese phonographically in the Old Japanese - observed in Kojiki.
Specifically, the study examines whether any principles can be identified in the way manyogana were selected when more than two different characters can represent the same Japanese syllable. Particular attention is given to the context in which a manyogana character appears. The results reveal, for at least some of the Japanese syllables, preference for a subset of characters depending on whether the preceding character is a manyogana character or a kunji - the Chinese characters used logographically (and to be read in kun-readings): the preference also recognized for Manyoshu. This finding indicates that there are types of manyogana characters that were more likely to be used in the sequences of manyogana characters, while others were more likely to be mixed with kunji characters.

Free Research Field

日本語学