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2004年10月14日
Furigana
Furigana is the term used to describe the small phonetic Japanese text written above the Chinese characters, kown as Kanji, used in the Japanese writing system. Furigana is written in the phonetic script hiragana.
Furigana is used extensively in children's texts, but also in adult text for more complicated or rare Kanji. It is also used in learning material for foreigners. The pronunciation of the Kanji varies with context so it can help someone understand the correct pronunciation of a text. Also, someone reading a text may know a word from spoken language, but is unfamiliar with the Kanji and can, using furigana, understand the meaning.
In the past, when writing Japanese text on a computer, I would sometimes write the pronunciation of Kanji with which I am not familiar in parentheses following the characters. Well, I just discovered a wonderous feature in Microsoft Office XP: it has the facility for interpreting the pronunciation of Kanji and adding furigana to your text!
Most of you will say "who cares", some of you will say "I can't believe you didn't know that", but if only a few of you say "cool", then I will be happy. In my defence for not knowing about the feature, this was the first time I had been using MS Word to edit Japanese text and wanted to add furigana.
To use the feature, simply highlight the Kanji, then choose Format -> Asian Layout -> Phonetic Guide. It's that easy!
Enjoy.
Posted by William at 2004年10月14日 14:37