What did eighth-century Japanese sound like? How does one decode its complex script? This book provides the definitive answers to these questions using an unprecedented range of data from the past and the present, including Chinese, Vietnamese, Sanskrit and Tibetan sources, and enables the reader to approximate the original pronunciation of Old Japanese literature.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203510720

What did eighth century Japanese sound like? How does one decode its complex script? This book provides the definitive answers to these questions using an unprecedented range of data from the past and the present, including Chinese, Vietnamese, Sanskrit and Tibetan sources, and enables the reader to approximate the original pronunciation of Old Japanese literature.