Page 60 - Difference or Disorder Digital Version

Chapter 9: JAPANESE

 Language Family: The exact language family of Japanese is not known, and it is

considered a language isolate; however, it has been theorized that Japanese belongs to

the Ural‐Altaic languages, or that it is closely related to Korean due to the similarities in

grammar between the two languages.

 Official Language in: Japan and small Japanese communities in American Samoa, North

America (Hawaii) and South America (Brazil), Europe, and Australia (Ota & Ueda, 2007)

DEVELOPMENTAL NORMS FOR SPEECH

Age Sounds
2;0‐2;3 /m, t, p, b, g, k, n/
2;4‐2;7 /j, cɕ, d, w/

2;8‐3;1 /ɟʑ, h/
3;2‐3;5 /ɕ, r/

3;6‐4;0 /ts, s, z, Φ/
After 4;0 /Ҫ /

Based on many studies reported in Ota & Ueda, 2007.

DEVELOPMENTAL NORMS FOR PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES

Age of
suppression Phonological process
4 Assimilation, Syllable reduction, Cluster reduction (C + /j/)
5 Stopping of fricatives, stopping of word‐initial /r/ and rhoticization of
word medial /d/, palatalization, deletion of /h/ and /r/, Velar fronting,

backing of alveolars and palatals, metathesis

Based on many studies reported in Ota & Ueda, 2007.

There are numerous differences between Japanese and English that result in common cross‐ 48

linguistic errors by English Language Learners (ELL). Differences may be seen in the areas of

phonology, phonotactics, morphosyntax, and semantics.

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