日本語

Damn, 1st time I've ever posted in the text boards...
Anyway, wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of a good resource on euphonic changes in Japanese (i.e. why 一本 becomes ippon and not ichihon)... I have a general understanding but was wondering if their's an established set of rules to follow. Looked around and nothing so far...

I remember there being some good posts about it in the Japanese Ask Questions thread, although to be honest I can't be bothered to find them.

The actual rules are old fashioned and needlessly complex, I believe, and I wouldn't worry about them regardless. I don't know whether you're fairly capable with Japanese already or whether you're more of a beginner, but if the latter, it probably won't take too long before the changes just make sense to you and you can't imagine things any other way, and if the former they should do already, and personally I'd recommend not weighing yourself down with unnecessary technicalities.

Thankyou... and yeah I suppose you're right. I had wondered why I couldn't find a site with any (in-depth) info on it but I guess it's just one of those things that click when you experience it enough (I'm more the latter than the former)

逐出外国人! 荣耀向中国!

Today my sensei said that Japanese originally had it's own way to count then they took up some chinese readings in order to make their lives more difficul- er, because they were culturally impacted?

>>5
The chinese system is waaay simpler. Look at the days of the month for the remnants of the old jap system. Similarly, they use arabic numerals instead of their old static numerical symbols - I'd say the ability to realize your system is shitty and replace it with a better one is a good quality.

>>1
why 一本 becomes ippon and not ichihon
I suggest it's just simpler to pronounce. The ancient pronunciation of ち was "ti" and ほ was "fo". Try to order these syllables together - doesn't it seem to be a bit too hard to say "it'fon"? "Ippon" just represents it in an easier way.

鬼子来了！

>>2
Are you talking about the rules I wrote in the Japanese Ask Questions thread 2? Here it is and I made some corrections too.

Here is the pattern:

When two 音読み(on-yomi) kanji combine to become a 熟語(jyukugo), if the kana of the first kanji ends with つ(e.g.発~はつ 実~じつ 說~せつ 必~ひつ) or ち(e.g. 一~いち, 日~にち), the first kanji becomes 促音(sokuon) according to the rules as follows.

Rule No.1: when combine with the second kanji that begins with kana belongs to kana columns that have no 濁音(dakuon), which means あ(a) な(na) ま(ma) や(ya) ら(ra) わ(wa) six columns, the first kanji does NOT become 促音(sokuon).

e.g. 説明(せつめい),発明(はつめい), the kana め of 明(めい) belongs to ま行(ma column) and ま行(ma column) has no 濁音(dakuon), therefore 説(せつ) and 発(はつ) do not become 促音(sokuon).

Rule No.2: If the second kanji begins with kana belongs to kana columns that have 濁音(dakuon), which means か(ka) さ(sa) た(ta) は(ha) four columns,

A>> If the kana of the second kanji begins with 濁音(dakuon), the first kanji ALSO does NOT become 促音(sokuon).

e.g. 発動(はつどう), 実在(じつざい), the kana ど of 動(どう) and ざ of 在(ざい) are 濁音(dakuon) therefore 発(はつ) and 実(じつ) do not become 促音(sokuon).

B>> If the kana of the second kanji begins with 清音(seion) that has 濁音(dakuon), the first kanji MUST become 促音(sokuon).

e.g. 実験(じっけん), 実行(じっこう), the kana けof 験(けん) and こof 行(こう) belong to か行清音(seion of ka column) and か行(ka column) has 濁音(dakuon) therefore 実(じつ) MUST become 促音(sokuon) and pronounce じっ(sit).

Rule No.3: When the second kanji begins with one of は ひ ふ へ ほ (seion of ha column) five kana, follows rule no.2B>> PLUS the first kana of the second kanji (は or ひ or ふ or へ or ほ as mentioned) MUST become 半濁音(handakuon).

e.g. 脱皮(だっぴ), 出発(しゅっぱつ), the ひ of 皮(ひ) and は of 発(はつ) belong to は行清音(seion of ha column) therefore follow rule No.2B>> that 脱(だつ) and 出(しゅつ) become 促音(sokuon) PLUS 皮(ひ) and 発(はつ) MUST become ぴ(pi) and ぱつ(patsu).

Sorry for my clumsy writing but the point is to understand the pattern, not to learn the rules by rote.

>>4
中华人民共和国万岁！