We and Wi?

[ThisistheHenry]

So, as I was experimenting with NJStar's Japanese word processor, I found that "we" and "wi" have unique kana... and I looked it up to find that they are obsolete. However, I assume that there were some Japanese words that had these characters in them. Did those characters get replaced with compounds?

Oh, and while the hiragana stroke order for the characters look straightforward, what is the stroke order for the katakana counterparts (I know it's unnecessary knowledge, but I'd still like to know)

[Airth]

So, as I was experimenting with NJStar's Japanese word processor, I found that "we" and "wi" have unique kana... and I looked it up to find that they are obsolete. However, I assume that there were some Japanese words that had these characters in them. Did those characters get replaced with compounds?

Basically ゑ (we) has become え, and ゐ (wi) has become い. They also share the same pronunciation though they were once slightly different according to Kojien. I still occasionally come across them in things like Buddhist texts. They're kind of cool, aren't they?

[ThisistheHenry]

Yeah, they are cool. I don't know if they look so... different because of the fact that I hadn't seen them before, or if it's that they are really a fairly different style, but they are pretty.
So I am assuming that this is a lot like how "wo" now sounds like "o". Was "wo" used in regular words before and now replaced by "o"?
(I wish English had surprises like this... upon beginning learning Asian languages, English seems so bland )

[kc8ufv]

Yeah, they are cool. I don't know if they look so... different because of the fact that I hadn't seen them before, or if it's that they are really a fairly different style, but they are pretty.
So I am assuming that this is a lot like how "wo" now sounds like "o". Was "wo" used in regular words before and now replaced by "o"?
(I wish English had surprises like this... upon beginning learning Asian languages, English seems so bland )

SURPRISE!

English hasn't always been written with the Roman alphabet, and we have lost glyphs as well.

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/runic.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English_language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorn_%28letter%29

[Garyuchin]

The "we" ゑ is duplicated by the sound of 「うえ」 likewise ゐis duplicated by 「うい」, or very close to, so it isn't surprising that they haven't been maintained in use.
There is a Japanese typing piece that includes ゑ and ゐ - the Japanese equivalent of "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog," which is organised as a practice piece for all the letters. Naturally, the Japanese one is getting close to essay length.

[Bueller_007]

ゑ=うぇ and ゐ=うぃ. At least until about 1000 years ago. Now they're just pronounced え and い.

[Ulver_684]

So, as I was experimenting with NJStar's Japanese word processor, I found that "we" and "wi" have unique kana... and I looked it up to find that they are obsolete. However, I assume that there were some Japanese words that had these characters in them. Did those characters get replaced with compounds?

Oh, and while the hiragana stroke order for the characters look straightforward, what is the stroke order for the katakana counterparts (I know it's unnecessary knowledge, but I'd still like to know)

ThesisThe Henry-san!

Wii Will Rock you!