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Equivalent question: What Japanese letters won't equal 1?

From: the homophonic group: a mathematical diversion → This is an exercise from Michael Artin's Algebra on, well, abstract algebra. In this exercise for the English language, words are equal if they are homophones, kind of like a formalisation of the joke that sin(x)/n=6. So in English:

  • bee=be → This implies e=1 by cancellation of b and e.

  • buy=by → This implies u=1 by cancellation of b and y.

  • rase=raze → This implies s=z by cancellation of r, a and e.

canvass=canvas → This implies s=1 by cancellation of c,a,n,v,a and s. By canvass=canvas and rase=raze, we have s=z=1.

Eventually, all 26 English letters will equal 1. Apparently, this was done for French and Czech.

Earthliŋ
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1 Answers1

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Hiragana is a phonogram, meaning each letter has a distinct sound. There are a few notable exceptions like は pronounced as わ in certain contexts, but mostly I expect the size of homophonic groups to be quite large. If you include 漢字, this gets even larger, though there are plenty of kanjis that share the same pronunciation.

The only hiragana that I can think of that changes pronunciation is は~=わ and を=お

Glorfindel
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Kohsuke Kawaguchi
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  • I can't believe I actually remember hiragana that well. Thanks! Anyhoo, my Chinese friend who speaks next to fluent Japanese seems to say East Asian languages don't have that many 1's. Agree? – BCLC Aug 16 '18 at 15:06
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    what about the う in おう and the い in へい? Are they not considered to be changing pronunciation? – By137 Aug 16 '18 at 15:11
  • Just a correction: although は (ha) does change pronunciation to わ (wa) in some circumstances, neither を or お ever change pronunciation. They are true homophones. – kandyman Aug 16 '18 at 16:32
  • @kandyman have you never heard を pronounced "wo" and not "oh"? I hear it a lot, from people of all ages. – By137 Aug 16 '18 at 16:55
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    The historical loss of the phonemic distinction between を and お is 100% complete, but it is possible *as a modern phenomenon* to pronounce w in を as a spelling pronunciation, and although it's not phonemically distinct, a phonetic glide can be inserted before /o/ under some circumstances. @KohsukeKawaguchi Don't forget the particle へ. –  Aug 16 '18 at 17:40
  • @By137 Although を is sometimes written as 'wo' in romaji, it is still pronounced as 'o'. Anyone who pronounces it as 'wo' with a 'w' sound is doing so in error. As snailboat points out, there may have been a historical distinction but that has since completely disappeared. – kandyman Aug 17 '18 at 12:10
  • @snailboat You say it is possible to pronounce w in を as a spelling pronunciation. What you mean is not clear to me. Spelling and pronunciation are different things, obviously. How can phonemically identical sounds be pronounced differently? – kandyman Aug 17 '18 at 12:14
  • @kandyman Yeah, I wasn't talking about romaji, but more along the lines of the actual pronunciation of almost all the Japanese people I have ever met and elementary schools that are still teaching that it can be |wo|. (^^) But to be clear, I know it's not always said that way, but is dependent on the surrounding words, emphasis, and when said as a stand alone character, and all of that dependent on the person. Also, see the last paragraph of Answer No. 15 here https://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/qa/2036003.html (the answer chosen as best answer was also helpful) – By137 Aug 17 '18 at 15:14