Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-01
EASY TO TALK JAP
BUT LEARNING TO READ IT A
HARDER JOB.
Points in Which the Natives Say Their
Tongue Resembles Ours-Takes
Five Syllables to Say Is.

From the New York Sun
The Japanese in New Yor. are amused by
The difficulty presented to English-speaking
persons in the geographical and other
names of Japan. The Russian names that
bristle in the dispatches from the seat of
war the Japs admit, may very properly
present difficulties and may be hard for
English speaking persons without a cold in
the head to pronounce. But japanese, they
think. ought to present no serious difficulty
TO Americans.
Barring the fact that the spoken and the
written forms of the Japanese tongue are
very different. the Japs profess to discover
good many resemblances between their
own language and English The forty-seven
sound elements of the japanese tongue are
about the same as the number recognized in
English. The genders of japanese nouns
are three, and the numbers two. as in Eng
lish There are also three cases of nouns
ard three degrees of adjectves. Verbs are
active, passive and neuter. and they have
five moods, as in English.
Polysyllables.
If it does take five syllables to say is
in Japanese. and if the language is pretty
rich in polysyllables, Japanese numerals
seem simple enough to an English speaking
person, and any ore who has learned the
numerals finds the names of the months
simplicity itself In fact. the Japs say that
any Industrious American of average abili-
ty ought to acquire pretty good knowledge
of the spoken japanese tongue in about Il
year, and might do it in a good deal less
time by an intensive method of study. To
acquire an easy reading knowledge of the
language. with it's immense vocabulary in
part borrowed from the Chinese, is a much
more serious matter.
Those puzzling Japanese geographical
names become simple enough for the most
part when resolved into their elements. and
translated. as many Of them can be. Most
English speaking persons do not associate
the name Japan" with the name Nippon"
that of the largest island of the empire. AS
a matter of fact. however. the name
Japan is an English attempt to repro
duce the Chinese name for Nippon, which
is "Jih-paen." The name means The Island
of the Rising Sum
ShikOku. or Sikoku. as it is sometimes
Nippon means merely 1.-The four prov
inces, as ST is the japanese for the num-
eral -four
''Yezo." the name of the large island
northeast of Nippon, means 1.-The barbarians
of the shrimps." Again, the group of Jap
anese islands usually called the Kuriles
bears that name because the islands are so
numerous for it means the thousand
Islands.
Gulf of the Tower.
Formosa which the Japanese acquired
from China after the war between the two
countries. is called Tai-Wan, which
means the gulf of the tower" Tusima or
Tsushima- it is spelled on some maps.
an island that may figure in the war news,
for it lies i'm the strait between Kiushiu
and Korea, means the island that makes
a face
Japanese town and city names are signifi
cant and interesting. Toxic means the
capital of the east" Yedo is merely ''the
mouth of the river Nagasaki is 1.-THE long
NaSasald is situated is called NOmo. The
name of the city of Oho-Saka means the
great dixie or bank"
Many japanese geographical names con-
tain the words for mountain, or river, or
water or some other natural feature some
simple significance great high. or
black. little. or strong. Mountain is
''Yama, and is an element in the most
familiar of Japanese geographical names.
as in the famous sacred mountain FuZi-
yama, or Fujiyama, as it is oftener spelled
on our maps. The same element occurs in
Okayama, and in the plural form in other
place names.
A very Slight study of place names makes
the map of Japan a live and interesting
empire have been obScured for English
speaking persons by reason of the fact that
the spelling of such names has greatly va
red upon maps of English and American
origin.
In fact. place names on the popular maps
of Japan so disguised that the JapS
themselves are often puzzled to recognize
familiar towns. islands. capes and the like.
The Japs of New York, however, look for
a marked increase of interest in their coun-
try and language result of the present
war and for greater care on the part OF
mapmakers.