Tagged Questions
5
votes
1answer
229 views
Why do Japanese people read Classical Japanese with a set of weird sound shifts?
I'm learning a bit of Classical Japanese recently, and of course the spelling of words is pretty different, due to sound changes over the centuries. For example, きょう was spelled けふ. That I can ...
4
votes
2answers
152 views
不被下候: When was it common, and what were the rules?
In a shrine graffito written in 1559, two carpenters complain:
其時座主ハ大キナコスデオチヤリテ一度モ焼酎ヲ不被下候
'At that time, the high priest (stingy bugger!) gave us not even a drop of shochu to drink.'
The form ...
11
votes
1answer
241 views
Use of kana iteration marks (ゝ, ゞ, ヽ, ヾ)
Kana iteration marks are are rarely used today, and hence there is not much online information on it besides this Wikipedia article, which leaves me with a couple questions.
Is there any kana that ...