Article published In: The architecture of writing systems
Edited by Kristian Berg, Franziska Buchmann and Nanna Fuhrhop
[Written Language & Literacy 17:2] 2014
► pp. 173–194
Jōyō kanji as core building blocks of the Japanese writing system
Some observations from database construction
Published online: 22 September 2014
https://doi.org/10.1075/wll.17.2.01joy
https://doi.org/10.1075/wll.17.2.01joy
The architecture of writing systems metaphor has special relevance for understanding the structural nature of the Japanese writing system, and, more specifically, for appreciating how the 2,136 kanji of the 常用漢字表 /jō-yō-kan-ji-hyō/* ‘List of characters for general use’ function as the core building blocks in the orthographic representation of a considerable proportion of the Japanese lexicon. In seeking to illuminate the multiple layers of internal structure within Japanese kanji, the Japanese lexicon, and the Japanese writing system, the paper draws on insights and observations gained from an ongoing project to construct a large-scale Japanese lexical database system. Reflecting structural distinctions within the database, the paper consists of three main sections addressing the different structural levels of kanji components, jōyō kanji, and the lexicon. Keywords: Japanese writing system; building blocks; jōyō kanji; components; orthographic structure; database
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Share, David L.
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Joyce, Terry & Hisashi Masuda
2018. Introduction to the multi-script Japanese writing system and word processing. In Writing Systems, Reading Processes, and Cross-Linguistic Influences [Bilingual Processing and Acquisition, 7], ► pp. 179 ff.
Joyce, Terry & Hisashi Masuda
Masuda, Hisashi & Terry Joyce
2018. Constituent-priming investigations of the morphological activation of Japanese compound words. In Writing Systems, Reading Processes, and Cross-Linguistic Influences [Bilingual Processing and Acquisition, 7], ► pp. 221 ff.
Joyce, Terry, Bor Hodošček & Hisashi Masuda
2017. Constructing an ontology and database of Japanese lexical properties. Written Language & Literacy 20:1 ► pp. 27 ff.
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