Japanese is spoken by approximately 125 million people, mainly in Japan, where it is the de facto national language. It is the major member of the Japonic language family and is considered an "isolate" language with an unclear relationship to other languages.
Japanese uses a writing system that combines two sets of phonetic syllables (hiragana and katakana) with Chinese characters (kanji).
At Indiana University, Japanese is offered at the 1st-4th year levels including graduate study. Students who have completed the two-year language requirement should be able to function in daily situations in Japan. By the end of the third year (required for majors), students should be able to begin utilizing authentic materials. By the end of the fourth year, students are expected to have confidence when handling any modern materials. Study abroad programs also are offered.
Additional information and resources can be found through Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures and the East Asian Studies Center.
During the summer, online Japanese courses are available through theLanguage Workshop.