Language Families

A language family is a group of languages which can all be traced back to other languages which a common ancestor. This can be applied to one degree or another to all languages. English for example comes from the Indo-European language family which is one of the main language families. Welsh from the Celtic, etcetera.

Japonic dialects (2008, GNU) Original by Enirac Sum, translated by Zakuragi(en); ShiminUfesoj (bcl).

Language Tree

This broader connection is known as the Language Tree which groups together wider classical (1000+ years and antiquity (2-4000+ years) languages. These for Japan come from the Japonic language family, probably with similarities to the Sino-Tibetan (not Altaic) language tree. Otherwise Japonic is Japan's language tree as it is an isolated genetical language family.[1]

Proto-Japonic

Old old Japanese as a language family begins in around the Yayoi period (300 BCE - 250 AD). This is a sort of mix of Korean, Chinese and other languages, which may have been influenced as well by Siberian and Sinitic language families to some degree.[2] 

Japonic

Old Japanese becomes old Japanese around 500-700 CE.[2][3] This is around the time formal writing becomes a thing in Japan, and Kanji comes into the picture.[4] Around this time, Japanese becomes a trans-polycultural country and language family, becoming influenced by China, Korea, India, South East Asia and as far afield as modern day Iran.

Crackpot Theory

Also, Wikipedia says Japanese is Subject-Object-Verb so lol.[4]

Bibliography

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classification_of_the_Japonic_languages

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Japonic_language

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Japanese

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japonic_languages

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