Changes

'''Manyogana''' were [[Chinese]] characters ([[kanji|hanzi]]) used in Classical Japanese to write [[Japanese]] phonetically. That is, a Chinese character was used only to represent a sound, without making use of the semantic value. Manyogana became obsolete in modern [[Japan]], being supplanted by the systems of [[katakana]] and [[hiragana]] which derived from it-- katakana characters consist of radicals or small components of manyogana, while hiragana are stylized cursive versions of the corresponding manyogana.

'''Manyogana''' (万葉仮名 man'yōgana)  was the "alphabet" of [[Chinese]] characters ([[kanji|hanzi]]) used in Classical Japanese to write [[Japanese]] phonetically. That is, a Chinese character was used only to represent a sound, without making use of the semantic value. Manyogana became obsolete in modern [[Japan]], being supplanted by the systems of [[katakana]] and [[hiragana]] which derived from it-- katakana characters consist of radicals or small components of manyogana, while hiragana are stylized cursive versions of the corresponding manyogana.

 

For example, the character 礼 became the katakana レ and the hiragana れ. One can easily see how this was done: For the katakana, the right half of the character was borrowed, while the hiragana is just the cursive style of the character.

[[Category:Japan]]

[[Category:Japan]]

[[Category:Languages]]

[[Category:Languages]]