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Key facts about
Origin of : Apart from the appearance of a few Japanese words in Chinese findings from the 3rd century, very little is known about the early developments of the Japanese language. It is only from the 8th century that we have substantial written records, and during this time there was a heavy Chinese influence on the vocabulary and phonology. Around the 15th and 16th century the language evolved to resemble the Japanese of today. This is also when we first see European loan words appear in the written records.
Regional differences: Japan has a long history, and this paired with the geographical isolation of the islands themselves as well as the regions divided by majestic mountain ranges has led to the development of over a dozen dialects. Some of these differ quite a bit from each other, including some consonant and vowel changes. The largest variations between these dialects are differences in pitch accent, vocabulary and pronunciation.
Language family: Japonic
Native speakers: 125 million worldwide
Major dialects: Eastern dialects (including Tokyo),
Western dialects (including Kyoto),
Kyūshū dialects.
