Historical linguists agree that Japanese is a Japonic language, but do not agree further about the origin of the Japanese language; there are several competing theories: Japanese is a relative of extinct languages spoken by historic cultures in what are now the Korean peninsula and Manchuria.

a n d The Terror of L and R Keiichiro Sugimoto from Japan This story written by Keiichiro Sugimoto was translated from Japanese into English by students in Timothy Mossman's Interpreting and Translating 200 Class, at Canadian International College, North Vancouver, Canada. It was edited by Timothy Mossman.

This study investigated the effects of training in /r/-/l/ perceptual identification on /r/-/l/ production by adult Japanese speakers. Subjects were recorded producing English words that contrast /r/ and /l/ before and after participating in an extended period of /r/-/l/ identification training using a high-variability presentation format.

From "karate" to "karaoke", from "adzuki beans" to "Zen Buddhism", Japanese language has been exporting oriental traditions to the Western culture for decades. Some come and go as fads (bringing up a "Tamagotchi"); some take root ("bonsai") and spread. Breeding giant fish ("koi") or eating raw fish with rice ("sushi"), Japanese is ubiquitous nowadays.

The unknowable sounds Ancient enough to remember World War II movies? Then recall that GIs in the Pacific theater chose passwords overrun with R's -- words like "rabble-rouser" or "rubbernecker." The reason was simple: Japanese people have a 'ell of a time with R, which they often pronounce as "ell."