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The or ''Vocabulario da Lingoa de Iapam'' (''Vocabulário da Língua do Japão'' in modern Portuguese; "Vocabulary of the Language of Japan" in English) is a Japanese to Portuguese dictionary compiled by
Jesuit missionaries , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
and published in
Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
, in 1603. Containing entries for 32,293 Japanese words with explanations in Portuguese, it was the first dictionary of Japanese to a European language. The original publication uses the Latin alphabet exclusively, without Japanese characters. Only four copies of the original 1603 edition exist. Facsimile editions were published in Japan in 1960 by
Iwanami Shoten is a Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo.Louis Frédéric, ''Japan Encyclopedia'', Harvard University Press, 2005, p. 409. Iwanami Shoten was founded in 1913 by Iwanami Shigeo. Its first major publication was Natsume Sōseki's novel ''K ...
and again in 1973 and 1975 by Benseisha. The Benseisha reproduction is generally considered the clearer and more legible. A 1630 translation into Spanish published in
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...
, an 1869 translation into French, and a 1980 translation into Japanese (by Iwanami Shoten) also exist. No translation into English has been made.


Compilation

The
Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
(commonly known as the Jesuits), with the cooperation of Japanese people, compiled the
dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologie ...
over several years. They intended it to serve the need of
missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
for language study and research. The Portuguese priest João Rodrigues is supposed to have been the main organizer of the project and its editor: having already published works like ''
Arte da Lingoa de Iapam The ''Art of the Japanese Language'' ( pt, Arte da Lingoa de Iapam and in modern Portuguese: '; ja, , ''Nihon Daibunten'') is an early 17th-century Portuguese grammar of the Japanese language. It was compiled by João Rodrigues, a Portugues ...
'' (''Arte da Língua do Japão'' in modern Portuguese; "Art of the Language of Japan" in English) and ''Arte breue da lingoa Iapoa'' (''Arte breve da Língua Japonesa'' in modern Portuguese; "Brief Art of the Japanese Language" in English) explaining the Japanese language for missionaries, he was known among the Portuguese community as having the highest proficiency in Japanese.


Structure

The approximately 32,000 entries are arranged alphabetically. Each word is displayed in the
Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the ...
according to Portuguese conventions of the late sixteenth century, and explained in Portuguese. The dictionary's primary purpose was to teach missionaries spoken Japanese. As needed, the authors identify such things as regional dialect, written and spoken forms, women's and children's language, elegant and vulgar words, and
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
vocabulary. Many of these words had never been written in any known text before the ''Nippo Jisho'' was published. The system of romanization used by the ''Nippo Jisho'' also reflects the
phonetics Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...
of 16th-century Japanese (
Late Middle Japanese was a stage of the Japanese language following Early Middle Japanese and preceding Early Modern Japanese. It was a period of transition in which the language shed many of its archaic features and became closer to its modern form. The period s ...
), which is not identical to modern Japanese. Both these points provide present-day
linguists Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingui ...
valuable insight into the Japanese language of the
Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
of
Japanese history The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inventi ...
and how it has evolved into its modern form. The dictionary also yields information on rhyming words, individual pronunciation, meaning, usage, names of plants and animals, popular phrases, and customs of the times. Because this dictionary contains the earliest known written example of many words, Japanese language dictionaries often cite it as a primary source, such as the 14-volume '' Nihon Kokugo Daijiten'' (), known in English as "Shogakukan's Japanese Dictionary", published by
Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics ( manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the ...
.


Examples

The creators of the ''Nippo Jisho'' devised a system of transcription for the 16th century Japanese language with contemporary Portuguese Roman letters. Take the following example from Michael Cooper's review of the ''Jisho'' in the journal ''
Monumenta Nipponica ''Monumenta Nipponica'' is a semi-annual academic journal of Japanese studies. Published by Sophia University (Tokyo), it is one of the oldest English-language academic journals in the field of Asian studies, being founded in 1938. Although the jo ...
'' in 1976.
Regional differences between
Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...
and
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...
speech are often noted, with preference given to the latter. "''Qinchacu.''" (modern ''kinchaku'' ) A purse carried in the
sash A sash is a large and usually colorful ribbon or band of material worn around the body, either draping from one shoulder to the opposing hip and back up, or else running around the waist. The sash around the waist may be worn in daily attire, bu ...
. In Ximo (Shimo, present-day Kyūshū) it is called "''Fōzō''" (modern ''hōzō'' 宝蔵).
In this example the syllable modernly romanized as ''ki'' () was transcribed 'qi', ''ku'' () as 'cu', and the modern syllable group ''ha'', ''hi'', ''fu'', ''he'' and ''ho'' () were transcribed 'fa', 'fi', 'fu', 'fe', and 'fo' respectively. Also the syllable ''o'' () was written 'vo', ''tsu'' () was 'tçu', ''shi'' () was 'xi', and ''e'' () was sometimes 'ye'. To what extent these particular spellings reflect how Japanese was actually pronounced in the 16th century is of great interest to scholars of Japanese
historical linguistics Historical linguistics, also termed diachronic linguistics, is the scientific study of language change over time. Principal concerns of historical linguistics include: # to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages # ...
. Other examples: *The name of the country, , was written ''nifon'', ''nippon'', and ''iippon''. *The capital city, (present-day
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...
), was written ''cami'' (probably pronounced "kami", lit. "upper") while Kyūshū was written as ''ximo'' (probably pronounced "shimo", lit. "lower"). *The term meaning "the first call of birds in spring" was spelled ''fatçu coye'' (modern "''hatsu koe''" ). *Spring
warbler Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous. Sylvioid warblers The ...
was spelled ''faru uguysu'' (modern "''haru uguisu''" ). *The word (
samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They ...
) referred to a noble, whereas the word (''bushi'') referred to a
warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...
. *The word (pronounced ''shintai'' in present-day Japanese) was listed as ''shindai''; (''batsugun'') was ''bakkun'' *The word ''rorirori'' meant "unsettled from fright".


See also

*'' Rakuyōshū'' *
Japanese dictionaries have a history that began over 1300 years ago when Japanese Buddhist priests, who wanted to understand Chinese sutras, adapted Chinese character dictionaries. Present-day Japanese lexicographers are exploring computerized editing and electronic ...
*
Romanization of Japanese The romanization of Japanese is the use of Latin script to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is sometimes referred to in Japanese as . Japanese is normally written in a combination of logographic characters borrowed from Ch ...
*
Late Middle Japanese was a stage of the Japanese language following Early Middle Japanese and preceding Early Modern Japanese. It was a period of transition in which the language shed many of its archaic features and became closer to its modern form. The period s ...


References

* * {{Dictionaries of Japanese 1603 books Japanese dictionaries Jesuit publications Late Middle Japanese texts Jesuit Asia missions Translation dictionaries Portuguese dictionaries Edo-period works Japan–Portugal relations