Ye_(kana)

Ye (kana)

Ye (kana)

Character of the Japanese writing system

Ye (hiragana: 𛀁, katakana: エ,𛄡) is a Japanese syllable or a kana used to write it, no longer in standard use.[3]

This article contains Hentaigana characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Hentaigana.
Quick Facts transliteration, hiragana origin ...

History

It is presumed that 𛀁 would have represented [je] ⓘ[citation needed]. In the 10th century, e and ye progressively merged into ye, and then during the Edo period the pronunciation changed from /je/ to /e/.

However, during the Meiji period, linguists almost unanimously agreed on the kana for yi, ye, and wu. 𛀆 and 𛄢 are thought to have never occurred as syllables in Japanese, and 𛀁 was merged with え and エ.

Characters

Nara period–Heian period

Japanese people separated e and ye in Man'yōgana, early Hiragana and early Katakana.

Man'yōgana[4]

  • e
    • 愛、哀、埃、衣、依、榎、荏、得
    • 可愛
  • ye
    • 延、曳、睿、叡、盈、要、縁、裔、兄、柄、枝、吉、江

Hiragana[5]

  • e
    • (Undiscovered)
  • ye
    • etc.

Katakana[6]

  • e
    • 𛀀 etc.
  • ye
    • エ etc.

After that, e and ye merged into ye in the 10th century, before eventually evolving back to e.[7]

Edo period–Meiji period

In the Edo period and the Meiji period, some Japanese linguists tried to separate kana e and kana ye again. The shapes of characters differed with each linguist. 𛀁 and 𛄡 were just two of many shapes.

They were phonetic symbols to fill in the blanks of gojuon table. Japanese people didn't separate them in normal writing.

  • e
    • Traditional kana
      • え[8] (Hiragana)
      • (Hentaigana of え. Hiragana.)
      • エ (Katakana)
    • Constructed kana
  • ye
    • Traditional kana
      • え (平仮名)
      • 𛀁[19] (Hentaigana of え. Hiragana.)
      • [20] (Hentaigana of え. Hiragana.)
      • [21] (Hentaigana of え. Hiragana.)
      • [22] (Hentaigana of え. Hiragana.)
      • エ[23] (Katakana)
    • Constructed kana
      • え〻[24] (え with dots. Hiragana.)
      • エ〻[25] (エ with dots. Katakana.)
      • [26] (A part of 衣. Katakana.)
      • [27][28][29] (A part of 衣. Katakana.)
      • [30][31] (A part of 衣. Katakana.)
      • 𛄡[32][33] (A part of 延.[34] Katakana.)
      • [35] (A part of 兄.[36] Katakana.)
      • [37] (A part of 延. Katakana.)

These suggestions weren't accepted.

Unicode

The hiragana version is encoded as HIRAGANA LETTER ARCHAIC YE (with the normative alias of HENTAIGANA LETTER E-1) in the position U+1B001. The katakana version is encoded as KATAKANA LETTER ARCHAIC YE, in the position of U+1B121.

References

  1. [1]
    Traditional kana
  2. [2]
    Constructed in Edo period–Meiji period
  3. [3]
    Iannacone, Jake (2020). "Reply to The Origin of Hiragana /wu/ 平仮名のわ行うの字源に対する新たな発見"
  4. [4]
    『世界の文字の図典普及版』2009年, 世界の文字研究会, 吉川弘文館
  5. [5]
    平仮名(大辞林特別ページ)
  6. [6]
    片仮名(大辞林特別ページ)
  7. [7]
    Frellesvig, Bjarke (1995). A Case Study in Diachronic Phonology: The Japanese Onbin Sound Changes. Aarhus University Press. p. 73
  8. [8]
    綴字篇
  9. [9]
    綴字篇
  10. [10]
    古言衣延辨證補
  11. [11]
    古言衣延辨證補
  12. [12]
    古言衣延辨證補
  13. [13]
    古言衣延辨證補
  14. [14]
    古言衣延辨證補
  15. [15]
    古言衣延辨證補
  16. [16]
    古言衣延辨證補
  17. [17]
    古言衣延辨證補
  18. [18]
    古言衣延辨證補
  19. [19]
    綴字篇
  20. [20]
    古言衣延辨證補
  21. [21]
    音韻啓蒙 : 2巻. 上巻
  22. [22]
    古言衣延辨證補
  23. [23]
    綴字篇
  24. [24]
    小学日本文典入門. 巻之1
  25. [25]
    小学日本文典入門. 巻之1
  26. [26]
    日本文典大綱
  27. [27]
    仮名遣の栞
  28. [28]
    日本新文典
  29. [29]
    日本文法問答. 初編
  30. [30]
    新式漢文捷径初歩
  31. [31]
    実用日本語法 : 日清対訳
  32. [32]
    小学教師心得・小学入門
  33. [33]
    英和単語図解. 前篇
  34. [34]
    古言衣延辨證補
  35. [35]
    辞礎
  36. [36]
    辞礎
  37. [37]
    音韻啓蒙 : 2巻. 上巻

See also

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