language of the Emishi
Archaic term for the language spoken by the Emishi people, an ancient ethnic group in northeastern Japan.
See also: 蝦夷
Ancient documents contain descriptions of the barbarian language spoken by the Emishi.
nanban languages (Edo period)
Archaic term for European languages encountered during the Edo period, especially Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch, associated with the 'southern barbarians' (南蛮).
See also: 南蛮
Archaic general term for any foreign language, often with a derogatory nuance of 'barbarian tongue'. Rare in modern usage.
During the Edo period, the barbarian languages introduced through nanban trade included Portuguese and Spanish.
Many samurai at the end of the Edo period felt resistance to learning foreign languages.
Ancient ethnic group in northeastern Japan; 蛮語 in sense 1 specifically refers to their language.
Standard kanji form for this archaic term.
Variant kanji form; 蕃 also means 'barbarian' or 'foreign'.
Compound of 蛮 (ban, 'barbarian') + 語 (go, 'language'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term reflects pre-modern Japanese attitudes toward foreign peoples.