Limit this search to....

ABC Dictionary of Ancient Japanese Phonograms
Contributor(s): Bentley, John R. (Author)
ISBN: 0824856104     ISBN-13: 9780824856106
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
OUR PRICE:   $66.50  
Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats
Published: December 2015
Qty:
Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Foreign Language Study | Japanese
- Reference | Dictionaries
- Language Arts & Disciplines | Alphabets & Writing Systems
Dewey: 495.615
LCCN: 2015021660
Series: ABC Chinese Dictionary
Physical Information: 1.5" H x 7.4" W x 10.1" (2.85 lbs) 616 pages
Themes:
- Cultural Region - Japanese
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

Making one's way through the dense jungle of Old Japanese poetry and prose can be a daunting and discouraging task because of the complex writing systems used during the Asuka (550-710 CE) and Nara (710-789 CE) eras. The intricate script is a bewildering mix of Chinese characters employed for their semantic or phonetic value or as hints to other words--or even for word games.

For the first time in English, this dictionary lists all 1,215 Chinese characters used as phonograms (ongana) or vernacular characters (kungana) in Old Japanese texts. It brings together a vast amount of data in relation to Chinese phonology: Old Chinese, Later Han Chinese, Middle Chinese, Sino-Japanese (both Go-on and Kan-on), Sino-Korean, Sino-Vietnamese, and Chu Nom. The entries contain examples from more than twenty Old Japanese texts showing how each character was used and in what context. Data from excavated wooden tablets, or slips (mokkan), is included as well as a chart of all the graphs and where they appear in the cited material.

Students and scholars of Old Japanese writing and language and those more widely interested in the culture and history of pre-Heian Japan now have important linguistic and textual data at their fingertips arranged by character to help them decipher material from the ancient past.


Contributor Bio(s): Bentley, John R.: - John R. Bentley is professor of Japanese at Northern Illinois University.