Sentence Structure The Japanese and English Language

Sentence Structure in the Japanese and English Language

Sentence structure is a style that describes the structural form of a sentence and the way its components are displayed. To keep the readers interested and make the sentence structure rhythmic, authors should alter their sentence pattern, just as they must alter their use of language. When people learn a new language, knowing its grammar is unavoidable. Nevertheless, if anyone can have vast language knowledge, but if they cannot interact efficiently with native speakers, they need to learn the proper grammatical structure and sentence patterns. Japanese vocabulary is not the same as English vocabulary (Japanese Sentence Structure and Word Order n.d). Nevertheless, once you get used to the sentence structure in Japanese, it becomes easier to understand how to make sentences since its structure is more flexible when compared to the English one.

The word order in the Japanese language is different from that of English. Japanese has an SOV order to mean that its standard sentence structure begins with S (Subject), O (Object), and V(Verb). Contrarily, English has an SVO language whereby its standard sentence structure begins with S (Subject), V(Verb), and O (Object). An example of a Japanese sentence using the "SOV word order is????????? (Watashi wa hon o yomimasu.)" (Japanese Sentence Structure and Word Order n.d). Contrarily, an example of a sentence using the SVO order in English is 'I read the book.'

In addition, the Japanese language has a more adaptable sentence form. By flexibility, the subject can be omitted when it is clear from the situation or context, and a variable order can also replace the object and subject. For instance, in the sentence "??????? [(Watashi wa) hon o yomimasu.]" to mean "I read the book," the subject can be omitted, and the verb is always at the end of the sentence (Japanese Sentence Structure and Word Order n.d). It signifies that in Japanese, the basic word order is changeable, meaning that the subject might come after the object, and the order of the objects, if there are numerous, is also variable (Toratani 35). In English, the sentence structure is rigid, requiring the subject to come before the object and the verb to always come before the object.

Both Japanese and English sentences are similar since they have distinguishable features. Compared to English, the Japanese language has the predicate as one of the most distinguishable features in word order. The predicate is one of the essential elements of a sentence since it informs much more about the subject (Toratani 37). A predicate in English appears amid a sentence, which applies in casual and polite form. It shows that both languages have a predicate and the only difference is where it is located.

Both languages are similar at the noun phrase (NP) level. The elements of the Japanese NP are the determiner (D) and adjective phrase (AP). The determiner primarily denotes most functions like being definite, ownership, and how close something is to the speaker. The verb phrase-level also plays similar roles in both languages. The Japanese verb phrases are at the end since the Japanese do not have prepositional phrases (Toratani 39). The Japanese sentences have participles that act as prepositions. The noun phrases also have similar potentials to the English prepositional phrases. In some instances, the verb needs other words to compliment it. Lexical restrictions are used to define the specific verbal elements which can be used or not.