Japan and the Japanese

558 APPENDIX.
Japanese work, containing a little more than twenty thousand words, with
explanations chiefly in Chinese, and an arrangement according to subjects,
which renders it, as a dictionary, almost useless. A dictionary, which promises
to be much more complete, as well as useful, is now in the course of
publication at Vienna, by Pfizmaier, already mentioned.
The Japanese have learned men far better acquainted with the languages
of Europe, Russian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and especially Dutch,
than Europeans are with the Japanese. In fact, the Dutch may be said to
have, in some respects, of late years, taken rank of the Chinese, as the
learned language of Japan; and to facilitate the study of it, at least one large
Dutch-Japanese Dictionary has been published there.
The nouns in the Japanese language have no discrimination of gender or
number, though sometimes for the plural the word is repeated. To dis-
tinguish the gender of animals, the words male and female are added to
them, as wo-inou, male dog, me-inou, female dog. The cases are indicated
by particles suffixed.* The adjectives (like ours) have neither gender nor
number, and are always placed before the noun they qualify. The personal
pronouns have no distinction of gender, nor are there any relative pronouns.
The prepositions, instead of going before, come after the cases they govern.
The present indicative and the infinitive of verbs are the same, and end
always in u. The perfect indicative is formed by changing the u into t, and
adding la, as kaku, kakita ; the future by changing the u into o, and adding
u, as koku, kokou. The imperative is formed by changing the final u into e,
as koku, koke. There are no changes for number or person. The tenses of
the conjunctive mood and all the other modifications of the verb are formed
by nouns of action, with an indication of time, which may be compared to
Latin gerunds, and which are construed with particles, as in Mandchu and
Mongol. There is also a separate form of conjugation when the verb is
used negatively.
Both verbs, nouns and pronouns, undergo certain modifications indic-
ative of humility on the one part, and superiority on the other, by reason of
the relative rank of the party speaking and the party spoken to. " To express
honor, or to indicate humility," says Rodriguez in his grammar, " two sorts
of particles are used ; one kind attached to tl>e name it is wished to honor
or humilitate, and the other to honorific or humiliating words. There are also
words which, without any particle annexed, express respect or humility. In
epeaking with any person, a certain degree of honor or respect ought always
to be expressed proportioned to that person's rank, except, indeed, in speaking
to one's son, or servant, or to one of the lowest of the people. Even the
absent must always be spoken of in the terms appropriate to their rank. In
speaking of two or more persons, both of consideration, but of whom one far
* Thus, for the nominative we have/to, or the man; or, sometimes, Jito-ga, or Jito-ha
(the particl-a tja and ha being frequently prefixed to the nominative, with the fo ce, as Rod
ri^uez sayg, ot the definite article In the case of ha),Jito-no, of the man^o-nt, the man,
flto-wo, or Jito-wa, man in the accusative or objective case ; Jito-yori, or Jito -kara, with
tue man.