Arte da Lingoa de Iapam
The Art of the Japanese Language (
Jesuit missionary. It is the oldest fully extant Japanese grammar and is a valuable reference for the late middle period of the Japanese language.[1]
Background
Christian missionary work in Japan began in the 1540s, necessitating the learning of its language. Missionaries created dictionaries and grammars. Early grammars seem to have been written in the 1580s, but are no longer extant.[1]
measures, and other commercial information.[2] There are only two known copies: one at the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford and the other in the Crawford family collection.[1][3]
There is also a manuscript by Leon Pagès.
Following a
William Adams.[2]
Rodrigues then joined the
Macao in 1620.[2][1] It reformulates the treatment of grammar in the earlier "Great Art" (Arte Grande), establishing clear and concise rules regarding the principal features of the Japanese language.[2]
Contents
The grammar is three volumes in length.
- Volume 1 is an outline of fundamental Japanese grammar. It discusses the
- Volume 2 discusses syntax, rhetoric, dialects, pronunciation, accent, and poetry.[1][3]
- Volume 3 describes how to read kanji, documents, personal names, and how to count Japanese years and time.[1][3]
Editions
- Arte da lingua de Iapam by father João Rodrigues Originally published in Nagasaki: Collegio de Iapao da Companhia de Iesv, 1604-1608, first grammar of the Japanese language, in Portuguese, by the missionary João Rodrigues
- Arte da lingoa de Iapam (1604)
- Élémens de la grammaire japonaise [abridged from Arte da lingoa de Iapam] tr. et collationnés par C. Landresse. [With] (1825)
The Great Art was translated into Japanese by Tadao Doi (土井忠生) in 1955.[2]
The Short Art was translated into French by M.C. Landresse as Elements of Japanese Grammar (Elémens de la Grammaire Japonaise) in 1825, with a supplement added the next year.[2]
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
- Chan, Albert (1976), "João Rodrígues", Dictionary of Ming Biography, 1368–1644, Vol. II: M–Z, New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 1145–47, ISBN 9780231038331.
- Doi, Tadao (1955) [1604-1608]. Nihon Daibunten (in Japanese). ISBN 978-4-8301-0297-4.
- Hino, Hiroshi (1993). Nihon Shōbunten (in Japanese). Shin-Jinbutsu-Ōrai-Sha.
- Ikegami, Mineo (1993) [1620]. Nihongo Shōbunten (in Japanese). ISBN 4-00-336811-8.
- Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten: Kan'yakuban [A Comprehensive Dictionary of Classical Japanese Literature: Concise Edition]. ISBN 4-00-080067-1.